Pastor: Job Description

Lots of pastors make me cringe. Anyone, and I mean anyone, can call themselves a pastor and open up a religious shop in America. You don’t have to have an education, a certificate, a moral foundation, or even common sense to call yourself pastor. I cringe most when “Christian” pastors misrepresent the biblical idea of leading a church. 

“Cringe worthy” pastors include those who drift toward being heartless and isolated CEO’s as well as those who drift toward operating a “24/7 answer every beacon call counseling center”. Especially “cringe worthy” are the men and women who have impure motives for easy money, an easy job, or fame. The freedom and lack of government oversight is good, but it’s not cringe proof. I guess that’s why more than a few strangers have cringed when the find out I am a pastor. Want to change the whole flow of conversation in almost any circumstance (in the gym, at the golf course, at the beach, in line at the grocery store, trying to buy a car) just let everyone in the room know you are a pastor.

I find that I constantly have to define expectations for the people around me because of rampant misrepresentation of my job description. The Bible does not call me to be a gentle soul who soothes feelings, a priest who represents the people before God, a shepherd who baby sits the sheep, a referee who protects people from conflict, a counselor who leads people on a therapeutic journey, an advocate of political causes, or a  jack of all trades who does everything and anything whenever asked. Bill Hull says, “Not many people champion the belief that the pastor can and should do everything. But if you combine the total congregational expectation, you get exactly that.” When the pastor tries to do everything, no one wins. When the pastor is a people pleaser who lives to meet the expectations of everyone then everyone loses – the pastor, the church, the pastor’s family, the community, and God.

So what is my job? 

Primarily, I am called to be a trainer of people. (Ephesians 4:11-16)  I train people to do ministry. Yep. My ministry is not doing ministry as much as it is helping others do ministry. I train people to be active disciples who in turn help others be active disciples. (Matthew 28:18-20)  I lead people to change the world! Why would God gather 100’s of people under one roof so they could just sit and pay for one person (or a staff team) to do the ministry?  God wouldn’t do that, but we often try. We think our job is to attend church but we are called to “be the church.”  Each believe is called to be an active minister, using their individual gifts and talents to honor God and bless others.

The most loving thing I can do a the pastor is not counseling, care giving, shepherding, therapy, advocacy, etc. If I am to steward the calling God has placed in my life then my primary job is to train others to be self-feeding disciples who influence the people around them with the light of Jesus.

Let me put it in terms that everyone can understand. A pastor is a coach. Pastors are supposed to be player/coaches who call others to enter the playing field of faith, using their lives to bless others. Christianity is not a self-help religion. It is a world changing, life transforming movement of the Creator God.  Christianity does not exist for Christians, it exists for all people. Legendary Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry once said that a coach “makes men do what they don’t want, so that can become what they want to be.” As a pastor that is exactly what I am called to do. A pastor as player/coach does not have an easy job. He or she never stops playing, but they also don’t even think about trying to play every position while the so called Body of Christ gathers to watch. 

The coach has played, but when the game starts he stands on the sidelines to direct the action on the field. The coach demonstrates skills, develops team philosophy, tries to put the right players in the right positions, designs plays and strategies, motivates the team, disciplines, aggravates, calls for the best from each player, manages assistant coaches, hires medics, enlists tutors, and schedules trainers. The coach’s primary objective is to produce a winning team full of players who are reaching their full potential for God.

So grab your jersey. Let’s find the best place on the field for you. Let’s do win some ballgames!