The message was straightforward; the words, hard-hitting. The man emphasizing his meaning stood squarely in front of the pastor and declared, “We ran this church before you came and we are going to run it after you’re gone.”
All who heard the statement judged it prophetic. The pulpit of the church was like a revolving door. No pastor had served more than three years in the past two decades and nothing indicated any change in the pattern.
What do such circumstances say about the church’s understanding of the role of the pastor? What is our understanding of the pastor’s role?
Baptists have always believed in a God-called clergy. Being a minister is not supposed to be one vocation among many from which to choose. Baptists believe God places His hand on certain individuals and “calls” them into vocational Christian service. This “calling” does not make ministers better or worse than other Christians. It does give them a special function in the church.
In Baptist life, it is not enough for an individual to acknowledge a calling to vocational ministry. The calling must be affirmed by a local church that judges the individual to possess and exercise the spiritual gifts necessary for ministry. That is when the affirming church licenses and/or ordains the individual.
Where vocational ministry is carried out is also the determination of a local church. Alabama Baptists practice a congregational polity, which means each local church determines who it will employ as its ministers. While there are business overtones to the relationship, Baptists believe God guides the process. Again, we use the term “called” to express our belief that God works to bring the congregation and the minister together and that the congregation “calls” the particular minister to serve in that congregation.
Because we believe God oversees the process, there is a certain amount of spiritual authority included in the calling. It is supposed to be within the will of God, which means all parties must treat the decision with utmost seriousness.
In the case of a pastor, Baptists generally embrace the New Testament imagery of the pastor as the “under-shepherd” of the flock. Jesus alone stands between God and man. He is the Great Shepherd of the flock which is the church. Pastors have responsibilities for certain parts of the flock and serve under the direction of the Great Shepherd, Jesus.
Pastors stand beside their people helping them hear and respond to the prodding of God through His Holy Spirit. Pastors are catalysts in their congregations. They help people worship, evangelize, do missions and grow as Christian disciples. Pastors guide the affairs of the church. Pastors are the leaders.
The New Testament concept of leadership is service. The Bible is unmistakable when it quotes our Lord Jesus as saying, “He who would be greatest among you must be servant of all” (Matt. 23:11). It is interesting that sheep do not respond compliantly to abrasiveness. A barking dog only scatters the flock. A well-trained sheepdog guides the flock in silence.
Better yet, a shepherd can start down a path and all the sheep will follow because they trust the shepherd.
Churches are different just as individuals are different. Some desire or even need more pastoral initiative than others. But no pastor is called to be a dictator. No pastor is called to impose his vision or his ideas or his ways on a congregation. Some pastors never learn this simple lesson. As a result, they never serve more than three years or so at any one church.
Nor is a pastor called to be a hired hand. The pastor is not the person who is hired to be religious for the congregation while everyone else does as he or she pleases. The pastor is not there to give lay leaders in the church someone to order about. The pastor’s role is not to be the scapegoat for every idea that does not work.
Judging from situations like the one described above, one might conclude that some churches call a pastor because they need someone to speak during the Sunday services. Perhaps they want a “chaplain” to dedicate the babies, marry the young people and bury the deceased, but they do not want a pastor who might disturb the way things have always been. Such churches do not want a leader. They want a caretaker or a hired hand.
When either the pastor or the church becomes confused about the role of the pastor, it can be like electric wires crossing. Sparks fly everywhere. What is supposed to be beneficial turns into destructive, even deadly, erratic surges of energy.
A pastor is called to be a servant-leader. First, the pastor is called by God to ministry. Then the pastor is called by a local congregation to a particular service. Perhaps it would be well for pastors and churches alike to clarify what each expects of the other in the “calling” process. That could help prevent some of the erratic surges of destructive misunderstandings that are too frequent in Baptist life today.
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