Words'nTone

“For earlier generations, the ideal minister was the evangelist who was measured by his success in persuading large numbers of people to become Christians. Some were traveling revivalists, and countless others worked in local congregations where they were appointed for evangelistic purposes. In the second era, congregational expectations for ministers shifted from outreach to nurturing the congregation and responding to the needs of individuals. In this era, ministers learned the techniques of the therapist and placed considerable value on pastoral care and counseling. Their task was to meet the ever-increasing perceived needs of the people in the congregation. In the present era, the minister is ultimately measured by the ability to organize, build, and manage a complex organization. Congregations continue to assume that the minister will maintain the traditional roles of marrying and burying, but they believe that the ultimate goal of the minister is to take the congregation to a new level of growth. The minister must be both an effective communicator and an administrator. In a competitive religious marketplace, the task of the minister is to ensure that the congregation maintains its place among religious consumers. Often search committees no longer look for someone who conforms to one of these models. Instead they seek someone who is a combination of, for instance, Jay Leno, Lee Iacocca, and Dr. Phil [James W. Thompson in Pastoral Ministry according to Paul: A Biblical Vision, pp 8-9].

Wow. When thinking about, searching for, or affirming a pastor—everything and anything but a biblical understanding of the role of the minister, pastor, shepherd of the flock. Immediately I connected with what Thompson was driving at in his new book. Over the past twenty-five years, I have read countless books on pastoral ministry, church ministry, and the expected role and duties (requirements) of the pastor. I have not seen many that actually struggles from a theological (what does the Bible actually say?) or an exegetical (what does the text actually say?) point of view. Oh, sure, a few proof texts here and there; a words study because an English word in our English translation of the Bible connects to our perception of what we are looking for; but, no exegesis or theological analysis. Thompson puts the discussion of Pastoral Ministry (at least according to Paul) within a theological and biblical framework. When I read the above words, my heart was saddened: we have traded the patterns of this work of ministry with marketplace values pressed upon the pastoral role and church praxis at the expense (really the replacement) of a Scriptural basis for pastoral ministry. We’ve invented much of what we call church and church life and experience, so a little return to Scripture is a good thing, a very good thing. I anticipate good things from Thompson’s book. I am getting closer to wanting to actually throw my hat back into the Pastoral ring. (Scary thought—for the church! And, after what I have said so often in this blog or written about, not sure bureaucracies and denominational hierarchy would want someone like me in their midst.) Sorry, a Dr, Phil I will not be. More biblical work needs to be done on measuring success biblically—something I have discussed throughout this blog, but also something I hope to tackle more fully in the future.

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