The Pastor came a-callin' ... or was that the Preacher?

is there a conflict between the role of pastor vs. preacher?

 

Ok, so I might be splitting hairs on the title because the person who has shown up at the parishioner’s door is one and the same person: the pastor of the church, the spiritual leader, the parson, the preacher. No matter what title is attached, that particular person has taken time to come calling, and that same person will be at the pulpit the following Sunday delivering the sermon. There are questions, however: which is (or should be) the dominant role, and does it matter? Should more emphasis be intentionally placed on one over the other? What can a congregation reasonably expect, and what can they reasonably demand?

 

I have known and witnessed some exceptional pastors who were marginal, at best, as preachers, and I’ve known and witnessed some exceptional preachers who seemed to have no clue what it means to be a pastor, a shepherd of a flock, a spiritual leader of a people called forth in mission and ministry to the world. Of course there are many who are adept and gifted at handling both roles very well, and they have dynamic and thriving congregations to show for it. There are even some churches which seem to do well with an outstanding preacher who puts very little into pastoral tasks, believing that the dominant role he or she is called to fill is at the pulpit where the Word is proclaimed. 

 

Dynamic and lively worship experiences most certainly fill pews as is evidenced by so-called mega-churches that spend extraordinary amounts of money to hire professional musicians, for instance, to lead worship, but can we reasonably question the mind and the heart of a worship leader who is there only because he or she is being paid to be there? If the church ran into financial difficulties, would that music leader or musician still show up for worship at that particular place of worship for the sake of worship itself … for free? Somehow I think not which is why I wonder what role it is that a pastor should put emphasis on. It is not reasonable to expect any human person to be all things to all people, and a church’s pastor should be no exception to this reality. 

 

Having been appointed only this year to my first full-time appointment (I have been a part-time local pastor since 1999), I now find myself with more time to do the things I really did not have much time for when I had a full-time secular job in addition to my part-time pastorate. Subsequently I find it much easier to manage time for sermon preparation, prayer, and study with ample time left to devote to visiting parishioners. The time I have devoted to sermon preparation, however, is not necessarily planned more than it is allowed. I do not close my office door because someone walking in will be no less disruptive than a knock on a door. Still, isn’t this why I’m here, to be available? 

 

The conflict I wonder about, however, is the seemingly rigid policy that some pastors have in which their study and sermon prep time is an absolute, no-visitors-no-calls-allowed time that will surely from time to time conflict with the congregation’s or a parishioner’s need for a “pastor” when the “preacher” will not allow himself to be disturbed.

 

Maybe it is not so much the role of the pastor than it is the expectations of a congregation. Does a congregation want to be fed, or does it need to be entertained? This question may seem unfair, but the reality is that for far too many it falls on the pastor to get and keep a parishioner’s attention. If this much is true, has that pastor somehow failed or did the previous pastor fail to do his job? Or is it a lazy parishioner who does not have a heart or a mind set for worship and is, instead, expecting “paid staff” to do his worshiping for him? And is this a pastoral problem, or can a preacher best deal with it?    

 

I have no conclusions, only questions that I intend to answer as I go. I’ve gotten compliments on my sermons, and I’ve been greeted at parishioners’ homes with more surprise and suspicion than with hospitality because too many pastors in the past did not put much emphasis on “pastoring”, so maybe I have found a least a tenuous balance between the two but I also sense that the balance can be tipped either way rather easily without much notice until it is perhaps too late.

 

This balance surely cannot depend on a pastor’s personal preference, but it also should not be so much an answer to a congregation’s desire above their genuine need for spiritual leadership which would necessarily involve uncomfortable challenges to those most content with “navel gazing” than with social ministry, for instance. Maybe the bigger question would be how dominant a pastor/preacher should even be to his congregation.

 

I hope for perspective and will welcome input.   

Reviews

[C.T. Bailey]

You are not splitting hairs...yes there is a difference. The role of the "pastor", by scriptural definition is EXACTLY the same as these: elder, overseer, shepard. The preacher, again scpripturally defined, is shared by the EXACT greek words as: evangelist and minister.

This is one of many, many, many scriptural errors infused in Christian religous community. At the very root of this problem is this persistence of people to take the word of other people, without challenging them as to what the Bible actually says on the subject. It is the rank cause of confusion in a church that should otherwise not cause confusion.

Your subject matter here is further confused by the erronious teaching of many that appear to "mix" the roles of preacher and pastor with elder and deacon. This is a similar problem of confusing two completly different roles in the New Testament church. Deacon, from the original greek, directly means "servant". Pastor, or elder is directly intrepreted as "overseer".

The Bible CLEARLY speaks of three separate roles in the church: The Elder, which is the overseer of the local church congregation, the Deacon, which operates in service to the congregation, and the Preacher, or evangelist, which by the original greek translation of "preacher", means to elevate the voice.

The dominant role in the local church is Christ...which scripture says the "He sits at the head of the church". Under Christ, scriptures place the Elder. And that is it. Period. The role of preacher or evangelist is one more closely related to that of congregation member.

The evangelist or minister is to attend to the harvest of souls. The elder or pastor tends to flock. The deacons ATtends to the flock.

Don't take my word for though....go to the source...the Bible.

Other topics for exploration such as the one described here include The Lord's supper, music in the church, baptism, faith and works...and oh about two dozen others....but I'll not bore you here.

How very preceptive you are. Thank you for posting this and allowing my comments.

Todd

[Silent Kim aka mizmetap..]

I don't go to church I have been disillusioned with orgained religion for a lot of the reasons that you expressed. Churches are too commercial, to much of a show. I use to live two blocks from Allen AME, the congregation was so huge they satelite the mass in the school because the church couldn't hold all it's members. So they broke ground and built a Chathedral, beautiful it takes up a whole block, he provided a parking lot and brought the properties across the street, low income housing and senior citizen homes and such. The Reverend, has been investigated for money lundring, infidelity and his daughter had a baby out of wedlock, and he found it fit to fire a teacher in his school because she had a baby out of wedlock, and she was of consentual age as where his daughter was not.

What I'm say if as a preacher, pastor, reverend expect his followers to behave according to the teachings, and condemded them if they don't, shouldn't the same rules apply to them. He fired a teacher who was unmarried and pregant, I think she need her job at that time more then any other time. Was that a rightous act?

Ministering should provide food to the soul, spiritual up lifting, no the door to your office should never be closed, the sheep in your flock will wander if you negelect to lead them in the right path. And most of us are weak to temptation and are easly swayed. This is probly why outside choirs and musicians are hired to attract, but couldn't the members of the church put on just as great of a show for God.

I believe that our religious leaders should be there to give guidence and live as God wants us to live and lead in the same manner. But each person must find his God, his spiritual up lifitng in his own heart, we know what's wrong and right, and shouldn't have to have anyone tell us the proper behavior if they can't show by example. We are so use to hearing and not seeing that when pure love, devotion and concern comes our way we are shocked.

Continue to keep your door open and visiting your flock, you will be responsible for leading many through heavens gate.