Rethinking the pastor position

Recently we've been reconsidering many of the things we thought we understood regarding doctrine and faith. We have begun to question certain beliefs, church structures, and practices of the western church. Too often we have discovered what we think are unbiblical doctrines and activities. This causes us concern. We have deemed this our “Rethink.” Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?

It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were too lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.

Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.

We should note that there is more than one way to interpret doctrine, more than one way to think about the faith, and more than one way to read the Scriptures. We would not suggest that our way is the only way, or the right way; we are not Bible scholars. But we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to rightly divide the Word of God.

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It is our opinion that the way contemporary church leadership is constructed is not based on the Bible, but rather tradition. For hundreds of years the local church has been presided over by a CEO pastor. Not every church is constructed this way of course, but most churches you will walk into have a singular leader called a pastor with underlings arranged below him. 

The biblical leadership model is found here:

1Pe. 5:1-3 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow-elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

The elders are called to be the shepherds (pastors) and overseers. The elders don't hire a pastor to run the church, the congregation doesn't vote on who runs the church, and the pastor doesn't select elders or deacons to serve under him. The elders are to minister as a team in the roles of pastors and overseers.

Having an improper and unbiblical view of church leadership leads to numerous problems, not the least of which are pastoral domination, burn-out, and/or sexual or other misconduct. The pastor is alternately the celebrity, the Bible answerman, the fall guy for any and every problem in the church, or the one who is supposed to clear the sidewalks of snow on Sunday mornings, visit the sick, and lead church meetings.

So what do we commonly see in churches?

1. The church hires the pastor to do his ministry. 

This is probably viewed as being necessary in small churches because there might not be the people available to construct the biblical leadership structure. We would consider this to be a dodge, however. Even in a small church there are trustworthy people who can be matured into various leadership positions in a reasonably short amount of time.

Commonly the church board or elders hires the pastor to do all the things they don't want to do or don't think the can or should  do. Other than a few of the most dedicated people who do a few things like help in the nursery, serve as an usher, or play the piano, the pastor does most of the work. 

He's either a mere employee or a superhero. Perhaps both.

2. The people help the pastor do his ministry. 

This is the next level, and somewhat better than the "Hired Gun" illustrated in the first point. In this scenario, there are some, often many, people who eagerly jump in to serve in all the ministries of the church. Though the church benefits by the involvement of these people, the pastor is still the spiritual and administrative boss of the church, with the people serving his vision. It can be a positive environment and can be healthy church, but it is still built around the pastor.

3. The pastor helps the people do their ministry. 

This approach is closer to the biblical model. The pastor is still the primary or singular leader, but he has an objective to equip and release the people to do the work of ministry that God has called them to do. The pastor is a coach and edifier, a discerner of the church's gifting and the peoples' abilities. The people are the spiritual heroes who build the church. The people aren't helping the pastor advance his vision, they are serving Jesus and advancing the shared kingdom vision of the church. In this model the potential for fruitfulness and growth is significantly higher.

4. The pastor actually pastors.

This is the tradition-breaker. The first three examples can operate within the traditional structure without too much difficulty, but this example requires a complete rethink of the leadership structure, as articulated in 1Pe. 5:1-3 above. 

The pastor who assumes his biblical role will be a person who cares for the flock. He loves the people, prays for them, and ministers to their needs. He's acutely aware of their well-being. He probably has a team of people with the same desire. He's not necessarily the preacher, because he has read Ep. 4:11-12:

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up...

This passage mentions these gifts to the church as distinct, which means the pastor is not required to be the teacher. He might have more than one of these gifts, but not necessarily.

A pastor who really pastors might mean he's not even in the church leadership. He's not the CEO, because the elders oversee the church. He's not the decision-maker, because he serves the elders or perhaps serves as one of the elders. He's not the Bible answer-man, although he may be insightful and studied. 

He's part of the ministry of the church positioned according to how he's been gifted. It's a church with a view towards finding God's purpose in each person who attends the church and nurturing it and releasing it into kingdom service. This church loves one another. This pastor loves the church.

There are very few bench warmers in a healthy church with healthy leadership. This is the church as Jesus intended it.