Dear Small Church Pastor,
The first summer job I had as a teenager was loading watermelons for a local farmer. He was the one who contacted me to come to work, and he was the one who gave me my “job description” in relationship to all the other farmhands he employed. He was the one who paid me at the end of the day or week, depending on the job we had to complete. He was the boss. (Just to let you know how long ago that was, the going rate for teenaged farm labor was $.50/hour, which netted us $5 at the end of a 10-hour day.)
We all knew who the boss was, and we all knew we were expected to live up to his expectations when it came to handling the melons correctly as they were harvested and loaded for transport from the field to the packing house. We knew he had the answers to any questions about our work that we might have. We also knew any correction or discipline that might become necessary in the field would come from him. After all, he was the boss.
When you were called (contacted) by God and given a job to do as a minister in His kingdom, God became your spiritual “boss.” God is the one who established your job description. God is the one who placed you in the body of Christ as a pastor. He is the one to whom you answer and the one from whom you will receive any necessary discipline. God is the one who will reward you at the end of your time in his “field.”
Why am I making this comparison? Simply put, we sometimes forget who the boss is. Pastors sometimes forget whose expectations we need to meet and who it is that anoints us, equips us, guides us and, yes, even disciplines us as we move forward for His kingdom. We sometimes forget who it is for whom we are working.
Pastors are given to the church by God. Church administrative boards, deacon boards, and congregations did not create the office of pastor. God created this office, and he did so in order for the members of His church to be guided, strengthened, and motivated to become mature in faith and successful in fulfilling God’s great commission to go out into all the world and make disciples and God’s great commandments to first love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and then to love one another with unconditional love.
In our modern church environment, pastors are often misled by social constructs and traditions into thinking man is the boss. We are told to “read the by-laws and go by them.” We are told the “board” has the last say on all matters. We are separated from our ministry partners by the titles “clergy” and “laity,” and heaven forbid if we don’t follow the prescribed patterns set by our ancestors. We’re even sometimes threatened by dismissal if we do not adhere to what has always been done in a particular church setting. Essentially, we are deceived into believing man and his rules are our boss.
There is nothing wrong with traditions, by-laws, titles and patterns within the confines of a congregation. They help to create stability and purpose in a congregation. However, if these concepts are not used properly under the spiritual umbrellas that God places within a congregation, they tend to tempt people into trying to become “the boss” in response to those traditions, by-laws, titles and patterns. (More about spiritual umbrellas in another letter.)
When a congregation understands the Biblical role of the pastor in relationship to the congregation, it is less likely to try to become the one to whom the pastor is ultimately accountable. The expectations of the congregation will reflect the expectations God has already established for the office of pastor. The pastor can then fulfill his responsibilities to God’s calling without having to worry about whether or not he is keeping the congregation contented because they have expectations that do no line up with God’s expectations as noted in scriptures. The congregation and the pastor will both know who is in charge of the body of believers called the church.
This knowledge will empower and liberate the pastor. A congregation who understands who the pastor’s boss is will allow the pastor to flow in God’s anointing. They will accept God’s messages that come to them through the pastor and will learn how to apply those messages to their lives. They will be a blessing to their spiritual leader because they want to obey the boss as much as the leader does. Such a congregation allows the pastor to bring truth into their lives, and that truth is brought without fear of rejection by those who learn it.
That type of congregation can exist. The Pastor will have to teach the congregation who is in control of his ministry and who is in control of the overall ministry of the congregation. Among other concepts, the pastor will have to help everyone involved understand who the head of the church is, what the pastor’s Biblical job description is, and what the individual disciples of Christ should be doing as they all minister under the auspices of God. The pastor who leads such a congregation will be a blessing to them, and they will be a blessing to the pastor.
First, though, the pastor must remember who “the boss” is.
Sincerely,
A Small Church Pastor