The Myth of the "Jack-of-all Trades" Pastor

I am a retired officer (kinda pastor) of The Salvation Army. In all my years of serving our people, one of the things that bothered me most was this "myth" of the pastor having to do everything in the church. 

Oh sure, at first thought, I'm sure most would agree with me- pastors can't be expected to do everything in the church. HOWEVER. Big word there. HOWEVER, in reality, many people get all bent out of shape if their pastor doesn't do what they want. It doesn't matter that your needs are met by others in the church. If the pastor doesn't do it, for some strange reason, that makes all the difference.

Hypothetical: You're in the hospital and your pastor doesn't come to pray with you. Mind you, there are lots of others from the church who come to visit and pray with/for you, and help you but because the lead guy/gal doesn't, you grouse about it.

I'm now in a corps that has a lot of retired officers. When someone is sick or in the hospital, an email goes out and informs everyone of what's going on and what is needed. From what I can tell, that person is nearly overwhelmed with food, transportation, prayer, visits, and a whole lot of helpful things. The need is met.

HOWEVER, if the pastor isn't in that list, I will likely see a post on facebook mentioning just that. Remember, we just agreed that the pastor CAN'T do everything! And I add- frankly, SHOULDN'T.

In Genesis 18 we find the story of Moses who is literally killing himself trying to do it all for his people. Fortunately, his father-in-law sits him down and shakes his finger in his face: "DUDE! YOU CAN'T DO IT ALL!" (Burr translation).

Then he tells Moses how to spread out all the responsibility. So Moses job is to make sure everyone gets their needs met, by using others to cover where he cannot.

THEREFORE, if the needs are being met, the pastor is doing his job . . . and should be encouraged for doing good work.

HOWEVER, there are STILL people who think THEY are most important and somehow deserve ALL the attention of the pastor. UGH. (That may be putting it in a rough way, but this REALLY gets to me).

I seem to remember another scene in Genesis with Moses. His sister Miriam (and Aaron) grouse about Moses. To make a long story shorter, God hits her with leprosy to punish her for carping about their leader, which God gave them (why Aaron did not get the same thing is for another blog).

It is a very dangerous thing to carp about the leader God has placed over you. If you do so, you are putting yourself in a precarious situation, to say the least. 

One more thing as I wrap up my rant . . . We each have our own spiritual gifts. Not everyone has the gift of pastor. Frankly, even many pastors do not have that gift! Pastors do a LOT of different things, only one of which is pastor people. If they do not have that gift, they need to make SURE their people are getting pastor-ed. If they do that, they are doing well and can then focus on the areas God has assigned to them via their spiritual gifts.

When I think back over the different pastors I have had over my lifetime, I find that each was doing what God called them to do- even if it did not meet with MY expectations.

If you find yourself in the place of carping about your leadership, I suggest you repent and find a way to support them. Pray for their blessing and some of that might just fall down onto you as well. 

Leadership Series: Part 4. Fraternizing

Perhaps "fraternization" isn't really the word I want here, but at least it should get your attention. What I'm referring to is how leadership relates to those they lead.

When I think of fraternization, I think of the military. I picture uniformed leaders with lots of brass on their shoulders (or at least a high rank) relating to the rank and file soldiers. Fraternization doesn't have a good connotation, for it brings to mind a leader relating to a lower soldier in ways that are not permitted. For instance, a leader dating a lower soldier- who has to obey the leader and would have a hard time putting off unwanted advances without placing themselves in a position of being disciplined by the leader if they do not obey. So rules against fraternization would be good for such situations.

This situation aside, there is a misunderstanding of what a leader's relationship should be to a follower. I recall a common discussion some of us had during our training school experience- whether Cadets should go to the altar at public meetings where soldiers could see them struggling. I recall being taught in a classroom that we should not let our people see we are struggling or that we have issues that need to be addressed at the altar. I immediately bristled at this thought!

Should we pretend we're not human? Should we act like once we have become officers we no longer have spiritual issues to deal with? What a sham! What a falsifying of the truth . . . what a lie.

Herein lies the real issue of this discussion- are leaders better than the people they lead? I offer a resounding NO!

We are all the body of Christ and a leader merely has a different role to play than any other part of that body. Not more important, just different. Not more important than an intercessor, just different. Not more important than an administrator, just different (yes, a leader is different than an administrator). Not more important than those who speak in tongues, just different. etc, et al.

A leader is not higher than, rather equal to; on a par with; on the same level. It is Jesus alone who rises above us all. Yet what was his response to this very discussion going on among his followers?

Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.
- Luke 22:24-27 (NIV)

At another place Jesus says "you are not servants, I call you friends." With that kind of example, how in the world can I, chosen by this very Jesus to be a leader, act any differently than he did? What would be my justification? How could I stand before him and say, "I know you said 'do it this way,' but I think . . ."

This goes back to a previous post where I told you about my desire for people to call me "Doug." I'm not interested in you knowing or using my rank or my position. It's man-made and offers nothing in the spiritual realm we move in.

Perhaps there are those who are insecure in their position, who feel it necessary to make sure their subordinates (really not a good word here!) show them the "proper respect" (whatever that is). I believe you cannot require respect from people. If they do not have it, you cannot manufacture it. It will come only when they see your love for them and desire to work with them, shoulder to shoulder. Not over them or above them.

A leader's task is to gather people together and lead them as a team. Each using their gifts together for the benefit of the team to accomplish what God has for them to do. Where each member takes the "lead" now and then in their area of expertise.

My people are not "my people," they are Jesus' people- I am just the hired hand; the steward of what The Master owns. I have to report back to him with how I treat his loved ones. Woe unto me if I do not treat them after the manner he does!

Just in case you're wondering- I fraternize with the best of 'em!

Leadership Series: Part 3. Developing a Team

It's not about me.

Jesus seemed (still seems) very concerned that we understand the world does not revolve around us. William Booth got that and taught us well with his famous "Others" telegram. In fact I am told the world's smallest package is someone all wrapped up in himself!

Lucifer did not get that, fought God vehemently over this very subject, and has caused one third of God's angels and much of humanity to side with him in focusing on "Numero Uno." He still trips many of us up with this in a variety of nefarious ways.

How this fits into leadership is in the way a leader chooses to work with the people God has placed around him/her (notice I didn't say "under" him/her? We'll get to that in part 4). An apostolic leader will always understand that the church is made up of a body- a team. No one person can do it all by themselves. They NEED other members of the body if they expect to actually accomplish the mission God has for them in their area of ministry. Paul talked about this as a body working together. Let's try another analogy.

Imagine a baseball team- we'll take the Tampa Bay Rays, because their theme this year is "We are One Team" and that fits nicely! Each player has a specific role to play on the team. They "specialize," if you will. One may catch, one play infield, one outfield, one pitch, one coach. But there is even finer specialization- An outfielder may play left, center or right field. An infielder may play short stop, second, third or first base. A pitcher may be a starting pitcher, long reliever, set-up man, closer, left-handed reliever, etc. There are first base coaches, pitching coaches, batting coaches, et al.

No one person does it all. To get the job done and win the game, they work together as a team. Each person plays their specific role in which they are specifically trained.

Now place a superstar on that team (your pick- Crawford, Upton, Kazmir, Pena). Imagine them coming to spring training camp the first day and expecting to do it all. And it doesn't take much imagination to see the manager promptly kicking them off the team! It is simply impossible.

While the baseball analogy is easy to see, we still sometimes miss the concept in the church. True, the manager/leader leads all of the players on the team, but he ultimately gives them their job, steps back and lets THEM do it. You never see the manager on the field pitching, fielding or hitting for them.

I've got employees who work with me. I hire employees who know their job and after training, I trust them to do their job. Some of them are trained very specifically and often in areas I know little about. I do not do their job- I've got my own work to do. I coach and manage- sometimes even getting in there to work specifically with them for a time, but ultimately, it's their work to do.

When each employee does their job and I do my job a team develops. I don't own that team (the owner does. Hmm, who might that be?), I am merely a manager of that team.

Apostolic leadership develops a team, by getting the right people in the right jobs (based on how they are gifted and trained) then manages alongside of his team. He is not above his team, he is alongside them.

I am reminded of Jesus and how he worked with his disciples. Certainly he was the leader, but often he sent them off on their own to do their work. In fact, he ultimately placed his entire mission in their hands and left them to do it on their own. Well, not really on their own . . .

Next up: Part 4. Fraternizing.

Leadership Series: Part 2. Concensus

Are you ready for shocking statement #2?

Leadership is not about making the decisions. It is about listening through the Body for God's decision.

Consensus is an interesting thing. Here's the American Heritage Dictionary definition:

1. An opinion or position reached by a group as a whole or by majority will.
2. General agreement or accord.

The assumption is that everyone in the group will come to agreement with interaction and discussion. Sound impossible? Maybe in the world, but not in the church. Why? Two reasons:

1) The church should be together. We find this in the second chapter of Acts- the KJV uses the term "with one accord" (Greek 6374 Strong's: homou where we get the prefix "homo" as in "homogeneous"). This doesn't just mean they were in the same room together, it's more like "they were in agreement with each other."

2) The church has Holy Spirit to guide us. TSA doctrine #8 speaks of a witness within:

We believe that we are justified by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and that he that believes has the witness in himself.

This witness is Holy Spirit that lives within every believer and regenerates us into salvation. In other words, the Holy Spirit within me is the SAME Holy Spirit within you. And God cannot have 2 opinions about something. If Holy Spirit tells me one thing, he will not tell you the opposite. If he wants the group to do one thing, won't he certainly tell everyone the same thing?

Therefore the church can go to God and seek his wisdom and direction (in fact, we SHOULD). And if we all are listening carefully, we will all get the same answer- that's consensus!

A leader in the church should be about his Father's business. He should most importantly want to know what God wants in any given situation (and what God wants may not always make the most "human" sense, remember?). It's not about who's smarter or who knows more than anyone else or who's in charge and gets his way. It's about listening to God as a group and coming to consensus. In fact, as a leader, I would be most remiss if I chose to make all the decisions myself and not allow my family of believers to listen with me so that I don't accidentally make a mistake (I actually made a mistake once. It was back in 1990 . . . no- wait, it was 1991. Dang! Now that's 2 mistakes!).

Here's an example from my own experience: I once met with my Corps Council regarding a new mission statement for our corps. It is the leader's responsibility to go before God and seek his direction for his congregation where they are placed. Prayerfully over time, I did that and prepared a mission statement to bring before the group for confirmation and implementation.

I spent time explaining consensus and then asked each person on the Council to speak to what they were hearing from God about the statement. As we went around the table, all were in agreement that this was what God wanted for us. But just before we finalized things, one person dared to speak up ("dared?" Yes- remember they weren't used to consensus- most "armies" lead by the leader telling their followers what to do and everyone else just salutes). This person said they couldn't be sure, but there was something "nagging" inside them that they had to speak up about. They were uncomfortable approving the statement as it was.

I was a bit saddened, because I wanted to get going, but I knew God had something to tell us. So I then tabled the approval so that each of us would go pray about what God was trying to tell us. Next month we would readdress the subject. It was almost funny to watch the members! They were shocked we didn't just go ahead with what was prepared. After all, everyone but one person agreed- and he didn't even know what it was that held him back!

During our month of waiting on God, that person was told by God what the issue was. Something had been left out of the statement. And when I was told, it was one of those "DUH!" moments! Of course! Why didn't we see it before?! (Probably because God wanted us to see how consensus worked!).

So at that next meeting our mission statement was approved as amended and all agreed in consensus as Holy Spirit spoke to us. It was a great example of leading by consensus.

Now don't get me wrong- we can't always take the time to move through such an exercise. There are times when the person most gifted in the subject and/or is appointed to lead must step up and take quick action. But when the issue is not immediate, consensus is how God wants a Christian leader to lead.

Don't you just LOVE working with the Body?

Leadership Series: Part 1. The Apostle as Leader

As I approach the subject of leadership, I must begin with a question:

"What is it about my leadership philosophy that differs from what could be considered a traditional leadership philosophy?"

After all, there are plenty of good books on leadership. What could I possibly have to offer you that would be different? I was recently reminded by JE at The War College, the difference is I lead from my apostolic gifting.

Therefore I will attempt to share apostolic insight with you in this Leadership Series. And necessarily, this insight will be biblically based. So let's start right there and offer you my most shocking statement at the very beginning:

The church is not a business. therefore those gifted in Administration should not be the ones leading the church.

Let's look at 1 Corinthians 12:27-28 (NIV), "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues."

The church is the Body of Christ. Here Paul gives us an image of a group of members that works together to accomplish its mission. We are all a part of the working-together relationship; we all have a roll to play. In this body, God has established an order. The Greek words here are clear:

First = Proton, [Greek 4412, Strong's] firstly (in time, place, order, or importance):- before, at the beginning, chiefly, (at, at the) first (of all).

Second = Deuteros, [Greek 1208, Strong's] second (in time, place or rank; also adverbial):-afterward, again, second (-arily, time).

Third = Tritos, [Greek 5154, Strong's] third; (as noun) a third part, or (as adverb) a (or the) third time, thirdly.- third (-ly).

Then = Epeita, [Greek 1899, Strong's] thereafter.- after that (-ward), then.

The order we are given is Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, then general categories of gifts such as miracles, healing, service and helps, THEN those with Administration, and finally those with gifts of speaking in Tongues.

Now if we toss out Gifts of Tongues (there are more than one type of Tongues gift) and flip this list upside down, we get a kind of leadership pyramid for a business. O wait! That's what the church does today! Well, not really- parts of the church accept tongues as a gift (oops!).

Here's why this is important: A good business makes good business decisions. But a good church will often make decisions that fly in the face of good (common sense) business decisions!

For example: Joshua, leading the "church" of his day, goes before his CEO and asks for a battle plan to take Jericho (Note: Joshua doesn't call a committee together, he goes to God). With tongue NOT in cheek, said CEO basically tells him to "Walk around the city many times for a week, then yell at the wall."

Sounds like a solid, common sense plan to me . . . NOT!

Imagine a business board of Directors today responding to such a plan by their CEO:

"Say WHAT?!"

"What are you on, man?!"

"Security! Get this NUT out of here!"

Why the discrepancy? Because it's God who is our ultimate leader and even his "foolhardiness is FAR above our human wisdom!" Now Joshua is a simple example, but I think you get my point.

Yes, there is some good advise we can take from the business world, but that human wisdom should not be the largest factor in deciding the future of any Christian denomination.

That said, if we take a good look around Christian denominations today, we see an entire structure of church leadership based around discovering those in our midst who are gifted in Administration and getting them into leadership positions. Oh, did I mention we don't really believe in Apostleship today (or we've neutered it by turning it into the "missionary" gift)? Simply put, an Apostle is a spiritually creative leader (there's a lot more to it, but I'm trying to keep this basic).

Fortunately, there are those Administrators with a gift-mix that includes Apostle, so the church does "get it right" now and then. Yet I've seen that kind of leader struggle with being expected to fit into the old mold (ever read "A Peacock in the Land of Penguins?"). Isn't it sad we don't structure our churches (systems/bodies) in a way that would help us discover people gifted for God's philosophy of leadership?

I should point out that there is no question that when founded, TSA was led by a powerful Apostle- William Booth. And I must not forget the other half of the team- Catherine was the Prophet. In God's design for leadership, he often "hitches" a visionary Apostle with a ground-rooted Prophet. That way the Apostle doesn't float off in the clouds, but can be kept "tethered" by the Prophet holding his/her feet (Oh those visionary leaders)!

And perhaps that's a good place to stop for now, because it leads us to Consensus- a way for the Body to work together and discern God's plan for moving forward.