When it comes to a post like this, I wish I were NOT a pastor, so that I could post it without any apprehension that it will be dismissed as self-serving. I’m going to have to take that risk, though, as I believe God has allowed me to learn some things over the last 5 years I’ve served as a senior pastor…a few of which I want to pass on through this note. Let me say clearly that, yes, I’ve been hurt at times in ministry, and perhaps some of that frustration will come through in this. I hope not, because I’m not writing this with that kind of spirit, but I’m human, so I welcome you to set aside anything that comes from my flesh.

The TRUTH is…I am blessed. I count myself VERY blessed to serve the church I now pastor as well as the previous congregation I served in Ohio. I have nothing but gratitude and love to convey to each of those congregations. Even the times I’ve been hurt pale in comparison to what I’ve seen and heard from others in the ministry. So many of my pastor friends have had far worse situations. I hope you’ll take it in the humble spirit it’s offered and think of these things in relation to your own pastor in your own congregation.

Here are six things every pastor wants to hear and loves to hear from members of the church he serves:

1) “I’m praying for you.”

Every pastor wants to know that the members he serves are lifting him and his family up in prayer. Spiritual warfare is real in ministry, and pastors need prayer cover. Many years ago, when I learned that a pastor I loved fell into sin, my first and painful realization was that I wasn’t praying for him. Pastors are human. They are susceptible to stress, anxiety, temptation, etc., etc. They need prayer.

Prayer is especially pertinent when it comes to grievances. We are quick to complain and slow to prayer. Christians spend a great deal of time, in fact, complaining and griping, and very little in prayer. When you’re upset about something in the church or something with your pastor, why not devote the majority of your time to prayer over the matter? And when it comes time to talk about the issue, rather than complain about it, follow Jesus’ prescription for church conflict in Matthew 18.

Pray for your pastor and let your pastor know that you’re doing so.

2) “Thank you.”

Sometimes, a simple thank you goes a long way. If your pastor preaches a message that touches your heart, why not thank him for it? After all, he spent many hours in prayer and preparation before giving that message. Why not thank him for that time and effort? If the pastor has helped you through a crisis in your life or was there for you when you needed it, thank him. Of course, it doesn’t have to be anything dramatic. It may simply be that you recognize he did something nice for the church or for someone else – or maybe you just want to acknowledge his overall commitment. It’s never wrong to let someone know you appreciate his or her efforts.

3) “We’re glad to have you as our pastor.”

You may not realize it, but even the most beloved pastors have a few disgruntled members in their congregation that would prefer they find somewhere else to pastor. And those are the voices, either directly or indirectly, that pastors tend to hear the most. Obviously, in some cases, pastors have disqualified themselves. In those cases, they need to be lovingly removed. But failing dereliction of duty or some kind of moral failure (see I Timothy 3), the pastor deserves the support of his congregation. And the congregation should show that support by encouraging him. It’s a biblical command, in fact, that we are to “encourage one another” in the church. Encourage your pastor.

4) “Did you take your day off this week?”

It is one of the Ten Commandments, and yet many pastors do NOT take a day off of work. In fact, I dare say that most pastors fail to truly set their work aside completely for at least one day a week. Not only is it a biblical command that they do so, but numerous medical and psychological studies will tell you that it’s healthy to take at least one day off of work each week. And labor unions have conditioned the American workforce to, in fact, expect two days off a week. This is the toughest challenge for me, because ministry is never done. There’s always another phone call to make, another meeting that I need to attend to, or another family that needs pastoral care. It never ends. I have to force myself to stop and take a day of rest. And it’s not easy. Yet, it’s healthy and it’s biblical…and essential for a solid family life. I hope your church is the type of church that not only allows its pastor to take a day off each week, but FORCES him to do so.

5) “How can I help?”

A pastor is human. He can only be at one place at one time. He’s not always available. When he’s visiting with one family, he can’t simultaneously visit with another. When he’s in a close door, sensitive meeting, he can’t take a phone call, unless it’s a dire emergency. When he’s on a date with his wife, he should NOT take a phone call. And when he’s in prayer or in Bible study, he needs to guard that time, because those are the most important aspects of his job (see Acts 6). The pastor is limited in his time, his presence, his availability, and his energy. In his great book “The Disciple-Making Church,” Bill Hull makes the argument that churches are NOT supposed to center around pastors. He writes: “Can one man preach Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night; attend committee meetings, Sunday school socials, and denominational meetings; and still do all the counseling and administration of the church? No!” Hull makes the point that it’s not supposed to be that way anyway. The pastor not only needs help, but is SUPPOSED to get help. Why? Because the entire body of believers in each church is to do the work of the ministry, not simply the pastor (see I Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4 and Galatians 6).

What’s more, the pastor does NOT have all the spiritual gifts, yet (deep down) many church members think that when God calls a pastor, He equips that pastor with all the talents, gifts, and abilities needed to meet the expectations of the church to which the pastor is called. It’s ludicrous…not to mention completely unbiblical. It’s not the pastor that is supposed to bear the burdens of everyone in the church. The church members are supposed to “bear one another’s burdens” (see Galatians 6). The pastor’s call is very specific, and God will equip the pastor with the gifts, talents, and abilities he needs to fulfill that specific call…a call that must be performed to God’s specifications, not the individual preferences or demands of every church member. Nevertheless, the myth that the pastor should be good at everything and meet every need persists. Bill Hull writes mockingly of such expectations, taking on the role of a disgruntled church member: “[The pastor] doesn’t preach as well as Chuck Swindoll, counsel like James Dobson, care for others the way MOther Teresa does, manage like Peter Drucker, and motivate like Ronald Reagan.” Some pastors are great at casting a vision and/or planning out their ministry and/or managing staff. Others are great at visitation, counseling, and hospitality. Others are supremely gifted in teaching and preaching. Some pastors are big picture oriented, while others are great at details. Some pastors excel in large churches, while others do great in small churches. Some pastors thrive in the associate, support role, but struggle as a senior pastor. Very few pastors are highly gifted in all of preceding areas.

Pastors are diverse in their personalities, gifts, talents, strengths, etc. Unfortunately, this is not always accepted by churches. Hull explains: “People will accept one another’s strengths and weaknesses, but they do not extend the same courtesy to the clergy. They look at the pastor’s strengths, and instead of thanking God for his gifts and allowing him to concentrate in those areas, they roundly criticize his nongiftedness and hound him to work on his ‘weakness.’ Few people could survive the ridiculous expectations churches place on their leaders. We stand them up in front and proceed to pick them apart.”

Rather than “pick apart” your pastor, help him. Get involved in the church and fill in the gaps. Don’t complain about the areas of weaknesses. Step in and support those areas. Ministry is a team effort.

6) “We love you.”

There have been some dark times in ministry…times of loneliness and, yes, discouragement. Times when I’ve felt like “What’s the use?” Just being real with you. And almost every time, God has sent a church member my way to encourage me and say those words: “We love you.” When the words are sincere, I can’t tell you how much they’ve meant to me. One time, after a week that I’d been slammed by one of my critics and was feeling pretty low, one of the deacons in our church reached over, gave me a one-arm bear hug and said: “Love you, brother!” That meant a lot to me.

Your pastor isn’t just your pastor. He’s your brother in Christ. And God wants His family, His children, to be united in love. You should love your brothers and sisters in Christ as if they were your real flesh-and-blood family. This should especially be the case in your church. God wants unity, harmony, and joy in His congregations….not gossip, slander, division, and petty squabbling. “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples,” declared the Son of God. “That you have love one for another!” Do you love your pastor? If not, you should. And, if you do, then tell him.

Let me close by saying I count myself blessed to serve a wonderful congregation in Olney, Maryland. I love them and they (at least most of them ) love me. I’m not writing this to send a message to them or my previous congregation in Ohio. I truly am not. I’m writing this, because it’s been on my heart to write something like this for months. After much delay, I felt God push me to do so. I hope it will give my readers a window into a pastor’s heart. That is the extent of my “agenda” (such as it is). And hopefully, a few of you will be encouraged to pray a little more for your pastor and perhaps take some of these ideas to heart.

God bless you.

When you think of a “pastor,” what do you see in your mind? Do you visualize someone visiting the sick and the shut-in, comforting those in grief, and responding to peoples’ complaints and concerns? Or do you see a leader as recruiting, training, rallying, and organizing the troops to “fight the good fight of faith”? If you said the former, you see a pastor as being a congregational chaplain. For you, the “pastoral care” part of ministry is what’s most important and that’s what you expect from your pastor. If you answered with the latter, you understand the biblical role of a pastor better than most Christians do today.

What Does the Bible Say About a Pastor’s Role?

In a recent committee meeting (yes, we Baptists love committee meetings), I offered that a senior pastor should be focused more on outreach and assimilation than on taking care of the emotional needs or spiritual burdens of the flock. For the record, I didn’t say that a pastor should only do outreach and assimilation. I fully accept that part of a pastor’s role is to help serve the valid needs of the current congregation he leads. Nevertheless, one of those present at this meeting did not share my sense of priorities. She responded: “Well, Pastor, you came to the wrong church then.” How encouraging.

Of course, her sentiment doesn’t just describe the attitude of a few members of my current place of ministry. (And, thankfully, it’s the minority view at the church I currently serve). It describes the sentiment that most churchgoing Christians in America have. They see the pastor as a 24/7, on-call, personal chaplain to every member of the congregation. As mentioned in a previous post, most churches today, at least most in the United States, are not interested in their pastor leading them or challenging them or rebuking them or calling them to sacrifice. They want their pastor to “take care of them.” And this mentality has a lot to do with why so many pastors suffer from strained marriages, broken homes, bad health, and depression. And it’s why so many are dropping out of the ministry altogether. If only God’s people would look to the Scriptures with an obedient heart, they would see that these expectations of a pastor are not at all what Jesus had in mind when He gave pastors to the church (see Ephesians 4).

The church’s primary mission and purpose is to lead people to Jesus Christ, baptize those who accept Christ, and then teach them what Jesus taught. To get started on this mission (the Great Commission), the early church “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42, KJV). And to make this work, Paul says that Jesus gave the church “some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12, NKJV).

In this passage from Ephesians, each particular office is preceded by the word “some” (tous de). Yet the recurring “some” (tous de) is not given before the word “teacher” (didaskalous). “Pastors” and “teachers” are instead connected by the simple conjunction “and” (kai). This indicates Paul is referring to a singular office with dual roles. The pastor is, at once, the pastor (poimen meaning “shepherd”) and teacher.

The purpose of the pastor-teacher is therefore not necessarily to visit the sick, call on the shut-ins, perform weddings, or take care of the needs and wants of the flock. There’s nothing wrong with those things, particularly if the pastor does them as an example and means of instruction to others in the congregation. The main purpose of “pastors and teachers” (again, same office) is “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…” (Ephesians 4:12, NKJV).

Pastoral Leadership

The main responsibility of the pastor is not pastoral care, but rather leadership. The pastor is to lead, as he is the under shepherd of Jesus’ church at the local level. I realize that it’s possible for pastors to abuse such a position, and it’s happened all too often. But this doesn’t negate the plain teaching of Scripture. On the contrary, it merely shows why it’s vital for churches to insure that the pastors they call meet the qualifications Paul lays out in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Those qualifications wouldn’t be so high, if the responsibilities of the office weren’t so serious.

The pastor’s role is to lead the church in a way that it is able to accomplish its God-given mandate, namely the Great Commission, and that the body of Christ is able to support one another according to biblical instruction. In the case of the Great Commission, the pastor is responsible before Christ to see to it that the church effectively teaches its mission field about the Good News of Jesus Christ, baptizes those who repent and accept Christ, and teaches and trains those new converts to become disciples of Jesus.

What About Pastoral Care?

When it comes to the care of widows, orphans, shut-ins, the disabled, the homeless, the hungry, etc. and/or those Christians who are wounded in life due to marriage problems, family problems, etc., the pastor’s role is to train, motivate, and equip the congregation to effectively “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6), not get lost in the details of ministry himself. This isn’t because he wants to avoid the “dirty work” of ministry. On the contrary, the pastor should do some of the ministry work himself, so that he can be an example to the others in the church. And that’s a key point. If the church is trained to expect the pastor to do everything, then how will they use their gifts in the church or experience the joys of ministry?

What’s more, when the pastor stays focused on the Big Picture, which means a heavy emphasis on training, organization, and delegation, he can multiply himself and serve more people. More people will actually be served and helped when the pastor does what the pastor is supposed to do.

The Pastor as Protector

Not only is the pastor’s role focused on multiplication and mobilization, it’s also about protection. The pastor must commit himself regularly to prayer for his congregation. In Acts 6, the apostles (the first pastors after Jesus) identified prayer as one of their leading responsibilities. That the details and burdens of ministry (benevolence and care-giving ministry specifically, by the way) were taking away prayer time was why they called on the church to elect the first deacons — officers that, in many respects, were the genesis of not only deacons, but associate pastors, officers, volunteer leaders, and staff. The pastor must devote himself to fervent prayer, not simply for God’s guidance for the church but in intercession for the members of the church. He should pray for the protection of those in the flock he is charged to lead.

In addition to prayer cover, the pastor must use his teaching responsibility to safeguard the congregation from deception. The Apostle Paul instructs Timothy to be wary of false teachers outside the church (and within the church). This is one reason why “ministry of the Word” (see Acts 6) is so vital to the work of the pastor. The pastor must make Bible study a top priority of his work week. A pastor that’s not regularly in the Word and studying it in-depth will not be effective in carrying out his responsibilities. Bible study, for the pastor, is much more important than doing a routine hospital visit, looking in on a shut-in, or handling a request for financial assistance. The deacons are supposed to take the lead in those things. The pastor must be in the Word!

The pastor must also protect the flock from division within. Sometimes, it’s people within a congregation that cause division by engaging in slander, gossip, excessive complaining (see Philippians 2), etc. The pastor must deal with that as well, hopefully with the support of the other church leaders. And in some cases, divisive members must be identified and even expelled (see Titus 3 and Matthew 18).

Support Your Pastor

One of my favorite westerns is Support Your Local Sheriff with James Garner. It’s funny, and it frankly gives me some great ideas for a comedy about church life: Support Your Local Pastor. The thing is, I’ll probably have to wait until retirement before I write it.

Before I became a pastor, I used to believe that pastors played an important role. I respected, albeit only intellectually and at a distance, what pastors went through. But, now that I am a pastor, I see it up close. It’s no longer theory. It’s personal. Because it’s personal, I realize that some of my more cynical readers may view this post as self-serving. I hope that they will look past their skepticism and cynicism and check what I write against the Scriptures. I ask the same of you. Hopefully, you are someone willing to approach God’s Word with an open mind and an obedient heart. And if so, I believe you’ll find that God indeed places a great deal of importance on the role of pastors and the ministry they perform.

The question you need to ask yourself is whether, as a church member, you support and affirm your pastor in carrying out his God-given role and responsibilities, or whether you are dragging him into the details of ministry or burdening him with your complaints and negativity. Are you supporting and helping your pastor? or are you making life challenging for him? I want to encourage you to pray about that and to pray for your pastor.

For those of you who are in the ministry, I want to encourage you to keep your eyes on God, and to remind yourself of the many folks in your ministry who do support you and pray for you. Let them be an encouragement to you. God bless you for your work.

This is a wonderful tribute to Ronald Reagan, with an emphasis on his Christian faith…

Christmas is full of tradition, but can Christians credibly embrace the claims of the Bible surrounding the birth of Jesus, even in our present age of skepticism? Bestselling author Lee Strobel lays out the evidence for Jesus Christ and why we can trust the Gospel accounts of the first Christmas…

The doctrine of the Trinity maintains that God is one God in three Persons. It is perhaps the most confusing and contentious belief in evangelical Christianity. The Trinitarian view has drawn the scorn of numerous critics of Christianity, and even from some who consider themselves Christian.

The Trinity in the Bible

While the word “Trinity” appears nowhere in the Bible, the apostle John wrote in his first epistle that “there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (I John 5:7). With the advent of textual criticism, a majority of biblical scholars have called the authenticity of I John 5:7 into question, pointing out that most of the Greek manuscripts do not contain verse. Even if I John 5:7 is set aside, however, the doctrine of the Trinity can still be inferred from other passages, including the account of Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-23).

The author of the Gospel of John describes Jesus as “the Word” and writes that the “Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1.) And references to the Spirit of God abound throughout Scripture. In the Great Commission, Jesus ties all three together, instructing his disciples to baptize new believers “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Is the Trinity Logical?

Critics of the doctrine of the Trinity maintain that a Triune God smacks of polytheism and contradicts the way Jehovah is presented in the Old Testament. Christian theologian Norman Geisler argues that the doctrine of the Trinity is not a contradiction. Says Geisler, “A contradiction occurs only when something is A and non-A at the same time and in the same sense. God is both three and one at the same time but not in the same sense. He is three persons but one in essence. He is three persons but only one in nature.” (Zacharias, Ravi and Geisler, Norman. Who Made God? And Answers to Over 100 Other Tough Questions of Faith. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003).

The late great Christian thinker C.S. Lewis explained that the human mind often has a tough time grasping the Trinity because we are limited to one-dimensional experience. However, once we remove those limitations from our mind (or at least open ourselves up to the possibility of their removal), we begin to see reality in a different perspective. In Mere Christianity, Lewis explains:

A world of one dimension would be a straight line. In a two-dimensional world, you still get straight lines, but many lines make one figure. In a three-dimensional world, you still get figures but many figures make one solid body. In other words, as you advance to more real and more complicated levels, you do not leave behind you the things you found on the simpler levels: you still have them, but combined in new ways – in ways you could not imagine if you knew only the simpler levels.

In a talk at Penn State University, brilliant Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias, picks up on Lewis’ argument. While strongly defending the Law of Non-Contradiction as a key pillar of Reason, Zacharias argues that the Trinity represents no logical contradiction whatsoever. In fact, Zacharias says that the Trinitarian God avoids breaking the Law of Non-Contradiction. The Bible, for example, presents God as a God of Love. How would this be possible if God were a singular Being with no one to love? With the Trinity, one can appreciate the fact that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each loved one another before the human race was created.

Jennifer Keeton, a graduate student with Augusta State University, is yet another casualty in an ongoing war against Christianity and religious freedom. While pursuing a degree in counseling at Augusta State, Keeton was forced to undergo a “remediation plan,” due to her biblical worldview. Keeton, you see, is a Christian. So long as Christians set the Bible aside or water down their views or keep them private, there’s no problem. Not yet anyway. But when a Christian actually takes the Bible seriously, particularly on an issue like homosexuality, and then dares to express her biblically based views, well, quite a few people do have a problem with that….as Ms. Keeton is learning.

When Keeton was assigned this remediation plan (which reportedly included a requirement that she attend a gay pride parade), she filed suit. A U.S. judge ruled against Keeton, saying that the remediation plan was “academically legitimate.” With support from the Alliance Defense Fund, Keeton appealed. Now, a three-judge panel has upheld that ruling, dealing Keeton another setback. Her attorneys have now filed for an appeal with the Circuit Court.

Keeton probably believed that, because of the Bill of Rights, she had the freedom, even as a graduate student, to believe the Bible and express her religious views. Unfortunately, Keeton is learning that when those views come in conflict with an agenda that modern society has declared politically correct, then religious freedom takes a back seat in an increasing number of places in American society today, including Augusta State University.

I have no problem with a university teaching its students to be sensitive and compassionate in how they express their views. If Keeton were abrasive or hateful in her comments, then I can certainly appreciate the need for Augusta State University to deal with that accordingly. But, according to what I’ve read, this was not the case. Keeton simply said she believed homosexuality was “morally wrong,” a position that is certainly in line with Scripture. This case has wide ramifications. For example, now that gays and lesbians are serving openly in the armed forces, will chaplains (including evangelical, Bible-believing chaplains) be required to counsel gays and lesbians in ways that conflict with their biblically held beliefs? There are already indications that the answer to this is yes.

Must Bible-believing Christians operating in academic, military, and government settings be required to jettison their beliefs or openly work against them in order to pursue successful careers and make a living for themselves and their families? If the answer is yes, then religious freedom is perhaps seeing its last days in the United States of America.

Is it okay to say “Merry Christmas,” now that the President of the United States publicly identified the December 25 holiday as being about the birth of Christ? Since our public schools tend to be among the most sensitive battlegrounds of political correctness and the censorship of anything religious, I wonder if it would be okay with the American Civil Liberties Union or the Americans United Against the Separation of Church and State for public schools to post the President’s Christmas message. Maybe that might be pushing it, so how about just calling their season parties “Christmas parties”? No, still too much?

Pardon my sarcasm, but the Christmas season always brings out the ridiculousness in our society. In order to avoid offending people who don’t believe in Christianity, our society (local schools, government agencies and offices, private businesses, stores, restaurants, etc.) will often bend over backwards to offend only those who consider themselves “Christian,” which, interestingly enough, describes the majority of the American population! “Merry Christmas” is out. “Happy Holidays” is in!

Well, this “holiday season,” the President of the United States publicly linked Jesus Christ with the December 25 holiday that still legally bears His name. He did so, while lighting the National Christmas Tree. So, if the President can do that before the nation, is it okay if we mention “Christmas” in our schools and communities? Hopefully, for most of you, the answer is yes.

Merry Christmas!

Recent news about a Lakeville, Minnesota father punching his son after a youth basketball game has many people understandably shaking their heads at such a horrific display of child abuse. And while this tragic and shameful incident should cause us, as a nation, to consider the horrible reality of child abuse, it should also cause us to soberly consider the state of parent involvement in youth sports. If news reports are correct, this hot-tempered Minnesota dad is the natural outcome of a society full of hot-headed, overbearing parents in youth sports today. We shouldn’t be surprised. We should be sobered.

Youth sports are a great opportunity for boys and girls to get exercise, learn the importance of teamwork, develop important leadership and social skills, and discover much about themselves in terms of their gifts, talents, likes, and limitations. It should also be a place where they encounter positive role models and learn respect for authority. Unfortunately, many parents involved in youth sports make this increasingly difficult. Overbearing parents who push their kids to excel in sports, often beyond their kids’ maturity or physical capacity, have added tremendous stress and anxiety to their children and those around them.

In fact, overbearing parents can often be seen cursing officials at sports games, berating coaches in front of their kids (and other kids too, for that matter), screaming at other parents, and chewing out their own children for mistakes on the field. This kind of toxic influence is disheartening and, in some cases, destructive. How in the world can kids gain any kind of positive influence from this?

Years ago, I read a letter to the editor in a community paper that was written by a 15-year old referee in youth sports games. The teenage referee publicly expressed his sadness at how parents often conducted themselves. To be cursed out by a grown man or woman in front of dozens of spectators for an alleged bad call is not something any teenager involved in community service should have to go through. And it’s not something a child should have to watch his parent engage in. Yet this kind of thing is common.

Several years ago, I myself witnessed a father reprimanding his son for a poor performance after a football game. When the son defended himself, the father told him to “shut up.” I remember thinking, Is a ball game worth that? I recall my father having strong words for me when it came to issues of honesty or respect, but not about what I did on the ball field. Dad would never have chewed me out for making a mistake or having a bad day…in any arena of life, certainly not sports.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a big fan of politically correct, excessively egalitarian sports leagues that strip out all aspects of competitive achievement. I’m all for competition. It’s good for kids to learn to set goals, strive hard for those goals, and sometimes recognize that they will fall short. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the idea of kids getting trophies just for being on the team. I think that’s also bad. Children should learn that it takes hard work, discipline, and solid teamwork to win at sports. And not every team can win every game. Sometimes, they will be on the losing team. There’s nothing wrong with that.

I also think parents should encourage their kids to be the best they can be. But there’s a difference between a child being the best he or she can be versus a child being the best of what the parents want him or her to be. Parents don’t have the right to impose their lives on their children. They may want their children to be star athletes with sports scholarships and all that, but they shouldn’t decide their children’s lifelong fate. My parents never pushed me to a specific career path. They wanted me to follow God’s call on my life, wherever that would lead. They focused on shaping my heart and teaching me important life lessons in discipline, integrity, and faith. With that in mind, my parents encouraged me to be involved in sports, even though they knew I had very little athletic ability. (I still have very little athletic ability). They encouraged me to do so, for the benefits of learning self-discipline, teamwork, physical fitness, and (frankly) being able to take a hit and get right back up again! Mom and Dad wanted me to do my very best in every area of life. They knew I wasn’t great at sports, but they knew youth sports would teach me some important lessons that I would apply in my life overall.

Allow me to cite a personal example of picking up life lessons in youth sports. I recall my days in high school football. While I never amounted to much in football, I remember the punishing hits I took in football practice and the times I wound up at the bottom of an unpleasant pile-up, and the coaches encouraging me to get back up again – and get ready for the next snap. At one summer football camp, I experienced a minor injury, which I saw as an opportunity to skip out of a few practice sessions (and thus postpone any additional pain). I wasn’t very good anyway. I knew it. The coaches knew it. And I figured I wouldn’t play anyway, so what’s the big deal? Well, it was a big deal. Looking back, I remember Coach Perdue taking time to give me a lesson in following through on my commitments. I had a made a commitment. I was part of the team. I needed to participate and give it my very best. While I unfortunately didn’t fully embrace Coach’s lesson that day, I did years later. In fact, lessons like that have stuck with me my whole life. They are important lessons for life. And they are what youth sports are all about.

Youth sports are great. And I applaud parents who encourage their kids to get involved and who faithfully attend games and practices to show their support. There are wonderful coaches and parents in youth sports.

Nevertheless, this tragic incident in Minnesota should give all parents in youth sports an opportunity to reflect. A child deserves to know that, no matter how many mistakes were made on the field or how much of a bad day he had, he can always count on coming home with a father and mother who love him unconditionally and will encourage him to get back up and, once again, do his very best.

Christopher Hitchens, one of the most outspoken critics of evangelical Christianity (and religion, in general, for that matter), died yesterday, December 15, of esophageal cancer. A powerful intellect with acerbic wit, Hitchens was both prolific and provocative. In fact, his entire public identity revolved around provocation. Matt Schudel of The Washington Post accurately describes Hitchens as a “sharp-witted provocateur who used his formidable learning, biting wit and muscular prose style to skewer what he considered high-placed hypocrites, craven lackeys of the right and left, ‘Islamic fascists’ and religious faith of any kind.”

My first brush with Hitchens came several years ago, when I explored some of my own doubts with Christianity. Having been brought up in a Christian family and placed in church at a young age, my decision to accept Christ as a pre-teen was more a natural outcome than turning point. Starting in my twenties, however, I began to experience sharp emotional and intellectual doubts about the faith my family and I had always claimed. In my early to mid thirties, I went on a spiritual and intellectual journey, willing to set aside my Christian beliefs if I could not find some logical and compelling justification for them. As part of this journey, I read, watched, and listened to several of the so-called “New Atheists,” including Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and (yes) Christopher Hitchens.

I became somewhat of a debate addict, watching recorded encounters between atheists and Christians. YouTube was a favorite place for me to go and watch these clashes. And I experienced mixed emotions as I saw Hitchens sarcastically and convincingly eviscerate standard Christian arguments that, in my youth, I had all too casually accepted. In the book of Proverbs, we’re told that “iron sharpens iron” and that “one person sharpens another.” I doubt Hitchens wanted to sharpen my faith, but that was the outcome. My journey through doubt led me to become even stronger in my faith.

When the Reverend Jerry Falwell, founder of Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University, passed away in 2007,   Christopher Hitchens displayed an animosity that can only be borne out of a bitter and hateful heart. By the time Falwell passed, I had already emerged from my period of doubt, though there remained a shadow of appreciation for some of Hitchens’ more effective arguments. That appreciation all but vanished as I watched Hitchens celebrate Falwell’s death and more or less dance on the man’s grave. Hitchens viciously assaulted Falwell’s character, intellect, appearance, and very soul. In one TV interview, the atheist Hitchens openly wished hell were real, so that Jerry Falwell could go there.

As angry as I was at Hitchens’ over-the-top antics and insensitivity to Falwell’s family and friends, I nevertheless glimpsed the hatred that propelled Hitchens onto his atheistic crusade in the first place. This was not a man with honest doubts about God. It was a man who, deep down, suspected the Judeo-Christian God may indeed exist – and hated the very thought, idea, and concept of such a God. Christopher Hitchens didn’t simply disbelieve God. He hated God and all of God’s followers. I believe it’s the same for many atheists, in fact. If you doubt me, I encourage you to read The Rage Against God by Peter Hitchens, younger brother of Christopher Hitchens.

I take no pleasure in the demise of Christopher Hitchens. On the contrary, I extend my sincere best wishes to his family and friends. I sincerely hope he read his younger brother’s book and that he and Peter had many talks since its publication. I hope that, by some miracle, God broke through the bitter walls around Hitchens’ heart. I hope that, as Hitchens entered the last days of his life, that he reflected on the loving message of Jesus Christ. After all, God did it before nearly 2000 years ago with a vicious anti-Christian named Saul of Tarsus. Why not Christopher Hitchens as well? We can hope.

As an occupation group, pastors have alarmingly high rates of depression, obesity, anxiety-related health problems, divorce, and loneliness. And church congregations must accept the lion’s share of the blame. The solution is for God’s people to renew their commitment to the Bible, to embrace Jesus’ original intent for the role of the pastor (an office He gifted to the church), to grow spiritually, and to affirm their pastor with love, encouragement, and support.

What Healthy Churches Expect of Their Pastor

What is the role of a pastor? What are a pastor’s priorities? How should a pastor spend his time each week? These questions came to my mind as I visited Saddleback Church in California on a recent Sunday evening, where I experienced Pastor Rick Warren challenging his congregation to plant churches in twelve international cities as part of an audacious effort in 2012 to reach over 3,500 people groups that are yet without a Bible-believing church proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ.

As I looked around the crowd of people gathered that Sunday evening at Saddleback’s campus, I could tell that Saddleback is not an internally-focused church. There wasn’t a sense of “Hey, what about me?” I got the impression that all those with complaints about Rick Warren not visiting them enough or being too focused on the outside world as opposed to his own congregation had long since departed. The members of Saddleback Church recognize the purpose of the church and the biblical responsibility of their pastor. Other churches could learn a lot from them.

That Sunday morning, I attended Grace Community Church and heard a wonderful message on the Holy Spirit from John MacArthur. I reflected on how Grace Community has also impacted tens of thousands, dare I say more, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And Grace Community has helped numerous Christians grow in their faith and spiritual walk.

That Sunday, after experiencing those two dynamic and wonderful churches, a truth became crystal clear. Healthy churches are God-centered, mission-minded, and outward-focused. They want their pastor to lead them, teach them, and pray for them. They are focused on the Great Commission. They don’t get preoccupied with whether the music is too loud, what style of music is being played, whether their pastor pays them enough attention, whether their idea or agenda is being considered by the church leadership, or any of that. They want more souls saved, more people baptized, and more people growing in Christ. And they are following the men God has put in their pulpit to lead them in that quest. They are on mission. They are making a positive difference for the Kingdom of God. And they will be rewarded accordingly in Heaven. Sadly, this is not the case with most churches today.

What Most Congregations Expect From Their Pastors

Most churches have a small vision, complete with a narrow mindset, and are full of self-centered people. And nowhere is this more evident than when it comes to what typical church congregations in America want and expect from their pastor.

In a recent conversation I had with a fellow pastor, one much older and more experienced than me and a man of God I greatly respect, we talked about what people expect from their pastor. He said that Jesus would not survive more than three weeks in the average Baptist church today as their pastor. I mentioned Paul, and he said that Paul wouldn’t even get out of the parking lot!

I believe this pastor is absolutely correct. In the post-Industrial Age 20^th century, American Christians became accustomed to the small church complete with care-giving pastors who functioned more like chaplains than pastors. Typifying Norman Rockwell images of simpler times, these chaplain-pastors regularly visited every member family, paying particular attention to the elderly, the widows, the shut-ins, and those in the hospitals and nursing homes. And this is the kind of pastor preferred by most small, tradition-oriented, congregationally-governed, evangelical churches in America today.

Don’t get me wrong. I love ministering to people. Some of the warmest and most rewarding episodes in my life are when God has graciously given me the privilege (and I most certainly count it as a privilege) to encourage a broken heart, comfort those in grief, help mend a relationship, shine some hope into a difficult situation, or lead someone to a personal decision for Jesus Christ. I do not wish to remove myself from this type of ministry. I simply want to point out that nowhere in the Bible does it say this kind of ministry is exclusive to pastors. On the contrary, the Bible teaches that pastors are to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. That means the pastor is to be one among many doing this kind of work.

Most churches today don’t look to the biblical role of a pastor. They want their pastor to be a people-pleaser. They are not interested in their pastor leading them or challenging them or rebuking them or calling them to sacrifice. They want their pastor to “take care of them.” When they have a complaint or a grievance, they expect their pastor to solve it. When they don’t like something, they expect their pastor to fix it. When they object to something the pastor is doing, they expect him to stop it. And when they hit a crisis or problem in their life, they expect their pastor to drop everything and come running to their aid. Little wonder that the average church in America has fewer than a hundred members, and that pastors, as an occupation group, have alarmingly high rates of depression, anxiety, obesity, and divorce!

While God has given me the privilege to serve two wonderful congregations, no church is perfect. And even I have experienced these kinds of expectations. Several months into my time at my current church, a lady looked at me and said: “Brian, you’re not available to people!” The very next day, I officiated a funeral, and that weekend, I conducted two weddings – in addition to performing my regular weekend duties as pastor. Obviously, I was available to some people that week, not to mention I was available enough to her to hear her accuse me of not being available. (I doubt that irony even crossed her mind). In fact, I spend a great deal of each and every week, ministering to individual church members by phone, email, cards, or in-person meetings (either at church, in the hospital, or in their home). The accusation was unfair, inaccurate, and hurtful.

While in Ohio, a dear lady in our church went into the hospital. I missed going to see her by a couple days, because I was not feeling well. I asked about her and knew that one of the deacons was following up on her, but I was pacing myself to get over a cold and didn’t want to give her my germs. She was in her eighties and quite frail. That didn’t matter. I was the pastor, and she expected a visit from me right away. And she let everyone who would listen to her know about it.

Yet I could point to several situations like the above, where some members insist on immediate attention, no matter what else may be on my plate, whether I was in or out of town, whether I was sick or not, or whether it’s my day off. I’ve had members upset with me because they find it difficult to reach me on my day off! The nerve of me to actually turn off my cell phone – on my day off – and spend time with my wife or do what the Bible says and rest. Some people, I’m convinced, don’t actually believe a pastor should have a day off, never mind that the Bible says about taking at least one day of rest. Their attitude is: “You can rest, pastor, as long as we don’t need you.”

Yet the few bad experiences I’ve had pale in comparison to what other pastors have endured. I know of several pastors personally who have had to put up with ridiculous expectations and absurd demands from their congregations. In one case, a friend of mine told me a member got upset with him one time for not visiting her in the hospital. When my pastor friend pointed out that no one told him she was even in the hospital, she responded: “Well, you’re just supposed to know!” The ridiculousness is never ending. Some of the stories I’ve heard and read have, in fact, left me speechless.

None of this is to suggest that pastors shouldn’t see to the valid needs of people in their congregation. I’m simply saying that pastors alone can’t carry that load. The pastor can only be at one place at one time. He is finite. He doesn’t have all the spiritual gifts. He is limited in what he can do and provide. What’s more, people aren’t supposed to look to their pastor for rescue or fulfillment. They are to look to Jesus and the Holy Spirit for those things.

How do we set things right? Frankly, in my flesh, I’m not very optimistic. Most churches in America are inwardly focused with a DNA that demands care-giving, people-pleasing pastors. They are not passionate about the Great Commission. They are passionate about creating an environment in their church that serves their needs and their agenda. Changing this will require courage on the part of our pastors as well as humility, grace, selflessness, and sacrifice on the part of our churchgoing Christians. And it all starts with understanding the purpose of both the church and the pastor, according to God’s Word.

The Purpose of the Church

As we explored in a previous post, the church of Jesus Christ is universal in scope, yet local in its organization. This is clear from the New Testament, where you had the church in Jerusalem, the church in Corinth, the church in Ephesus, the church in Philippi, the church in Rome, and so on. Obviously, with this article, we are talking in terms of the local church.

The purpose of the local church is to carry out the Great Commission. The Gospel of Matthew records Jesus issuing the following directive: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20, KJV)

The church’s primary mission and purpose then is to lead people to Jesus Christ, baptize those who accept Christ, and then teach them what Jesus taught. In other words, the church’s mission is to produce more disciples of Jesus Christ. In Acts, we see a picture of how, practically speaking, the early church went about accomplishing this mission. According to Luke, the early church “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42, KJV).

The Purpose of the Pastor

Since the church is given the overall and very comprehensive task of reaching the lost world with Jesus Christ and producing disciples of Christ, Jesus gave the church “gifts” to help it fulfill those tasks. Among those “gifts” is the office of pastor-teacher. According to the Apostle Paul, Jesus gave “some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12, NKJV).

In this passage from Ephesians, each particular office is preceded by the word “some” (tous de). Yet the recurring “some” (tous de) is not given before the word “teacher” (didaskalous). “Pastors” and “teachers” are instead connected by the simple conjunction “and” (kai). This indicates Paul is referring to a singular office with dual roles. The pastor is, at once, the pastor (poimen meaning “shepherd”) and teacher.

Note also that the purpose of the pastor-teacher is plainly stated. It’s not to visit the sick, call on the shut-ins, perform weddings, or take care of the needs and wants of the flock per se. According to Paul, who is writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, pastors and teachers (again, same office with dual roles) are “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…” (Ephesians 4:12, NKJV).

Of course, the classic KJV inserts a comma after the word “saints,” thus implying to some that “the work of the ministry” is the purview of “pastors and teachers” and not the congregation in general. Scholars well studied in the original Greek argue that this comma was inserted by the KJV translators because it fit with their medieval understanding of the role of a pastor, not because the Greek text called for it. (See “The Importance of a Comma!” by Dr. Larry Perkins). Accordingly, most of your other English translations, including the New King James, do not have the comma, allowing the reader to more easily understand Paul’s likely meaning, which is that the pastor-teacher is to equip the saints, so that they (the saints) carry out the work of the ministry.

I would argue, however, that the insertion of the comma hardly takes congregations off the hook. If you read through Paul’s letters, one does not come away with the impression that only or primarily pastors are to do the work of ministry. On the contrary, Paul repeatedly talks about congregations doing the work of the ministry, including evangelism, caring for those in need, bearing one another’s burdens, etc. Even with the KJV comma in place, the most one can conclude is that pastors should do the work of the ministry along with all the other saints in the church!

Of course it’s wonderful when pastors do hospital visits, look in on the elderly and shut-ins, help out the disabled, perform weddings, officiate funerals, and so forth. But they should do these things in the context of teaching others to do them. It was never God’s intention for pastors alone or even pastors primarily to do the work of the ministry. It’s for every member of the church to do these things! The pastor’s primary responsibility is (in the words of the late Adrian Rogers) to “feed and lead” the flock. This is clearly seen in not only Ephesians 4, but also in the pastoral epistles (I and II Timothy and Titus) as well as I Peter 5 and Hebrews 13.

Putting Jesus Back in Charge of His Church

I realize that some pastors have abused their positions of responsibility, and have “lorded” over their flocks, something that I Peter 5 warns against. I know that, in many cases, the pastors are the main problem, not the congregation. I’m certainly aware of my limitations and the fact that I’ve made mistakes in the ministry. I don’t want anyone reading this post to take away that I’m advocating pastoral dictatorship or a pastor-centered church. On the contrary, I’m arguing for a Jesus-centered church. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd. He is our Lord.

Is the pastor in a leadership position? Yes. Jesus put him there. The pastor is, in essence, the under shepherd of Jesus’ church at the local level. A local church should be pastor-led, but it should most importantly be Jesus-focused and Jesus-driven. Jesus must be the One ultimately in charge of the church. And if the pastor fails to lead the church in the direction Jesus wants it to go, then the church needs to find another pastor.

How will a church know whether their pastor is leading them correctly? Well, the criteria for deciding whether a pastor is successful or not or in God’s will or not should have nothing to do with the opinions, tastes, or preferences of individual church members, no matter how much money they give or how long they’ve been attending! A pastor should be “graded” (for lack of a better word) on the qualifications for his office, which Paul lays out in I Timothy and Titus, and by whether or not he is leading the church effectively in carrying out the Great Commission.

When it comes to the emotional, mental, physical, and even spiritual “burdens” of the congregation, don’t push those on the pastor. He is to help with those things, but mainly in a teaching and leadership role. The Bible teaches that all the members of the church must bear the burdens of the congregation. In Galatians 6, Paul makes clear that we are to “bear one another’s burdens,” while of course bearing our own. Those congregations who have tried to delegate these care-giving responsibilities to the pastor are out of God’s will. The role of the pastor isn’t to bear the burdens of the flock. The pastor can only be at one place at one time. He does not have the physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual capacity to personally “chaplain” every member of the congregation. Requiring or expecting him to do so will insure that your church remains small and that your pastor remains perpetually exhausted and frustrated. As the late Adrian Rogers said, the pastor’s job is to “feed and lead.” And to do so as he himself follows Jesus Christ.

This is something that the folks at Saddleback clearly understand, and it’s why they are embracing the vision God has placed on their pastor’s heart and why, I believe, they will succeed. While most churchgoing Christians in America are preoccupied with how many times their pastor has visited them, whether he wears a tie on Sunday, or how loud the music is, Jesus’ servants at Saddleback understand that they are on a mission. And they know Jesus has given them Rick Warren for “such a time as this” to lead them on that mission. They understand that they need to take up the work of the ministry and let their pastor focus on “prayer and the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6). They understand the Big Picture and their place within it. They know what a pastor is supposed to do and what they as a church are supposed to do. I don’t want to get sidetracked into a debate on whether you agree with all that Rick Warren says or does or whether you’re comfortable with the “seeker sensitive” model or any of that. Let’s put that aside for now and instead agree that Saddleback is committed to reaching the lost for Jesus Christ, equipping the saints for ministry, and cultivating a spirit of love, joy, and fellowship among the family of God.

If more Christians in America had the heart of those at Saddleback, churches across America would experience more joy and love with less strife and internal conflict. Pastors would not be experiencing burnout, depression, health and marriage problems at the ridiculously high levels they presently are, and more people would be coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The United States of America would be a better nation today,  and the world would be rocked to its spiritual core. Jesus’ churches would be unstoppable. Let us pray and work for such a day.