And there is the cruise director/country club pro who is the omni-present social glue that holds the many activities and programs and fellowship events that a congregation plans. The pastor will likely make an appearance at everything: every meeting, every breakfast, every golf or curling fundraiser. The pastor is more mascot than spiritual leader.
And there is the coach and cheerleader. The person encouraging the laity in their calling by passing off the bulk of the responsibilities of the pastoral office. A pastor’s job is to put themselves out of a job is mantra of this style.
So which of these is the right style or idea of the core of pastoral ministry is? Should pastors need to choose?
Jack-of-all-trades pastoring?
Picking one version of pastoral ministry over another actually misses the point. Of course all of the responsibilities are, at times, part of what a pastor does. Sometimes you will be the community expert, other times you will inspire your people to faithfulness, sometimes you be called upon to provide counsel and care for people in need, other times you will be the one checking the boiler and booking rentals, sometimes you will be hiring and firing people. And of course in the midst of all these things there is preaching and leading worship/the liturgy, studying and teaching the Bible, prayer, and helping people grow in faith.
But none of these shifting ideas about what it means to be a pastor are core to pastoral ministry as it has been understood for most of the church’s history. Pastors or priests have always been tasked with preaching the word, administering the sacraments and tending to God’s people. And throughout the millennia, this has put various responsibilities on the shoulders of pastors, managing and tending to groups of people wherever they are is complicated.
Yet, whatever trend or style of ministry is current, and even whatever denomination or part of the world a pastor serves in…the essential of what is a pastor is the same.
Pastors bring the Church to the church.
Whether it is the through high church smells and bells liturgy or someone standing alone on a staff with just a Bible in their hands, whether it is providing expertise, modeling faithfulness, caring for those in distress, managing complicated communities or revitalizing declining churches, pastors are the connection through which a particular faith community (a church) encounters the faithful of all times and places (The Church).
The Office of Ministry is how The Church enters into the life a church or congregation. In all those things that the debates suggest that pastors should be spending their time on, the underlying purpose of doing any of those things is to help local and particular communities be connected to the body of Christ. To help local congregations participate in the mission of the whole Church, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. And we don’t do this in vacuums, rather we serve this mission in consort with all the congregations and communities doing the same around us and around the world.
When pastors, or lay people, or the church as a whole, debate what a pastor is or does, the reality is that in some sense there is still agreement. The different ideas or styles still fit within the scope of a pastor. And yet, all the debates fail to return and remind us of the core.
Pastors bring the Church to the church.
This article originally appeared here.
