As a pastor, in every church where you serve, one of your most important tasks is to find a role that works. That may sound easy. But, most ministers will admit in private that they continue to struggle with that assignment. If I may, in the next few blog posts, I would like to share some of my own experiences in finding a role that works.
Soon after taking my first job, I discovered that, cursed as I am with an inquisitive mind and an open mouth, adjusting to a role as an assistant pastor was not going to prove easy for me.
To ask probing questions of the senior minister is to threaten his spiritual leadership. To brainstorm new ideas with other members of the congregation is to be suspected of playing the traitor’s role.
If you function in a manner that smacks of excellence—preaching well, ministering with love, and consequently developing loyalty among the people—you arouse jealousy. On the other hand, if you perform inadequately—the youth group doesn’t grow, or the summer Vacation Bible School is a flop—you are quickly labeled a sluggard. In short, no matter how you perform, you really can’t win.
Both churches with which I worked as an assistant pastor would be considered successful by normal standards. The first, a suburban parish of approximately 1,000 on Sunday morning, was made up of delightful people. On the whole they were attractive, interesting, and cultured. Together they represented tremendous potential.
Looking back in analysis, I feel they were involved in peripheral activities and had no conscious attitude of their real spiritual destiny. They simply had no vision of what God could do through them as a group. Great amounts of their efforts went into the church building itself.
Typical was one board meeting where these men, top executives in their professions, spent a long period of time deciding whether to purchase rubber floor runners or cocoa mats for the entrances in preparation for the coming winter season.
Can you begin to see the dilemma? How does a conscientious pastor fit into this kind of a church? In the next few blog posts, I will continue to address the issue of finding a role that works. I invite you to come back to this blog and read more.
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