Man of Depravity - Tyler Braun's posts on Church Ministry, Worship, Seminary, and Theology.

Servant

2009 October 14

by Tyler

One of the scarier things about being in seminary and pursuing a role in church leadership is how elevated and revered some pastors are. I don’t just mean by their own congregations, because there are plenty of pastors out there writing books and doing the conference circuit who many people idolize but have no connection to their church. That scares me because I find my heart desiring that for my future role as a pastor, and I shouldn’t. That isn’t the role of a pastor nor should it be the desire of pastors.

I think the number one role of a pastor is quite easy to distinguish: servant-hood.

I love what Chuck Colson said:

“Nothing distinguishes the kingdoms of man from the kingdom of God more than their diametrically opposed views of the exercise of power. One seeks to control people, the other to serve people; one promotes self, the other prostrates self; one seeks prestige and position, the other lifts up the lowly and despised.“

Our American culture is turning the role of pastor into more of a celebrity role.

Being a pastor does not mean:

Speaking at conferences
Giving messages
Making decisions

It does mean serving the people who God has placed in front of you. Too often I think we see pastors as doing those above 3 things, rather than focusing on the root of what should be driving everything a pastor does: Servant leadership.

I’ll leave you with something I read that really hit home for me:

“When we reflect on the history of the Church, are we not bound to confess that she has failed to follow the example of her Founder? All too often she has worn the robes of the ruler, not the apron of the servant. Even in our own day it can hardly be said that the ‘brand-image’ of the Church is of a society united in love for Jesus, and devoted to selfless service to others.”

Any thoughts on this?

(Photo: Worx)

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http://thoughtsaboutnothing.com Kyle Reed

Money, this was a great reminder for myself.
I often get caught up in this as well. I think we, the consumer, are the main reason we turn servants into celebrities. Promoting them to a role and attitude that they did not start with. Thanks for the reminder.
http://levittmike.wordpress.com Michael Levitt

You nailed it with this post.

I have a special needs daughter, and just about every morning, I have to put her socks on for her. When I’m placing the socks on her feet, I’m often reminded that Jesus, our Lord and Savior, King of Kings, washed the feet of others.

We are called to serve, no matter if we are a pastor, or otherwise.

Blessings!
http://www.halfwaytonormal.com/ Kristin T. (@kt_writes)

Yep. You nailed it. So what’s the solution? Do you think the problem stems from our society’s dependence on hierarchy? Or the natural human urge to grasp power? Or the desire of Christians to personify a God they can’t see and understand? Or is there an attitude in seminaries that makes everyone think they’re about to reach hero or icon status?

And what about pay? What if churches based how they paid people on the amount of time given, not on status/education? Someone who spends 50-60 hrs a week working for mercy and justice, spending time with youth, & visiting the sick gets paid the full-time salary, while someone who preaches on Sunday morning does it because they love it and believe it is important. People do crazy things like that, you know—just think of all the time we spend on our blogs.
Sovann

John Piper’s dad wrote a letter to him that described it well:
http://shar.es/1wMHI

“If the Lord has called you, these things will not deter nor dismay you. But I wanted you to know the whole picture. As in all of our Lord’s work there will be a thousand compensations. You’ll see that people trust Christ as Savior and Lord. You’ll see these grow in the knowledge of Christ and his Word. You’ll witness saints enabled by your preaching to face all manner of tests. You’ll see God at work in human lives, and there is no joy comparable to this. Just ask yourself, son, if you are prepared not only to preach and teach, but also to weep over men’s souls, to care for the sick and dying, and to bear the burdens carried today by the saints of God.”
http://manofdepravity.com Tyler

I think it is probably a combination of all those questions you posed. I don’t see the problem in seminaries. They teach the Bible and prepare us to not get sucked into what “success” means to most people and should mean for pastors. And I honestly don’t think this is about pay. Some pastors are able to be more effective by working less time than the pastor who works 60 or 70 hour weeks. In fact I think pastors have a great chance to provide an example of a healthy balance between a job, ministry, and family. If people don’t see it from their pastor…where will they see it?
http://manofdepravity.com Tyler

Loved this Sovann. Thank you for sharing it.
http://jojoagot.wordpress.com/ jojoagot

People always have these “expectations” about what their pastors should or should not be doing. A church with 500 members is a church with 500 different set of expectations. Moses was never good enough for the people he led.

Just as we need to find our balance between family and work, pastors also need to find balance between family, low salary, Sister Bertha’s ingrown toenail, baptisms, correct grammar in discipleship manuals, his neighbor’s sick grandfather, loud drums, dirty church toilet, well- defined eschatology, evangelizing a third world country, political pressure, public appearances, scandals of some members, a wayward son, and cool sermons every Sunday.

And there we sit in the pew at the back of the church every Sunday, silently wondering why the pastor isn’t acting like the servant of all or why he failed to do anything to meet our expectations.