Ben Workman

I used to volunteer at the local hospital when I was pastoring in Kansas.  One of the auxiliary ladies who was running the gift shop found out that I was a pastor.  I remember her first statement and question following the revelation of my occupation.  She began by talking about a pastor who was either her next door neighbor or was the pastor of her church.  “He comes out and works on my garden. What do you do?” The lady was being honest with her question.  She was not being selfish, nor do I think she was trying to get a bid from another pastor.  I do think her question was merely a reflection of what she has grown up believing about the role of pastors.

At first, I wasn’t sure how to handle that question.  This occurred during my first year in my first pastorate. But after having been a senior pastor for ten years I do believe her view of pastors is not an isolated one.  So, I began to ask people, “think of a previous pastor whom you enjoyed the most.  Now, tell me why you enjoyed him.” The answers I received were a mixture of sorts.  I would get answers like, “he was a great preacher,” “he was so funny,” “super nice guy,” “he welcomed me no matter what,” “he was there for me after my loss,” and sometimes I would get the occasional, “his wife was great here.”

Those are not bad qualities in a pastor. I would like to think that the pastor would have a compassionate heart, communicate effectively, and have a wife who loves the church.  But my concern I have with those answers is the absence of Jesus.  Not once does the topic of Jesus come to the surface when discussing about previous pastors. Often it seems the pastor was enjoyed the most because of how the pastor made the people feel. I believe this is a symptom of a major problem.  Jesus is not the center of our worship but rather man centered.

Jesus is our King who has forgiven us of every sin we have ever committed and will commit.  There is no other man on earth that can match all that Jesus has done.  You would think that the statement above would be the “be all” statements about why we go to church and for what purpose. But sadly, it seems we often go for our own sorts with the pastor helping us cope with this difficult grind of life.  I want to encourage you to change your perspective on the pastor. Let the pastor feed your obsession with Jesus.

Love Jesus with all your mind, heart, soul, and strength. Be obsessed with the God who loves you more than your parents and spouse. Jesus is the only name that truly matters in our lives. His name is the most precious name we speak of when we gather. We gather to praise, pray, listen and obey to Jesus our King. The pastor is not the head of the church nor are his sermons the center of the church.  Jesus as revealed in the bible is the centerpiece of the church. It is time to take the aurora away from the pastorate.

As servants of Jesus the pastor plays only one role in the line-up servants our Lord has in the local church.  And just like many servants he too will disappoint you. He will disappoint you either with a comment he should not have made or perhaps by his absence. Maybe you will be passionate about something, but he doesn’t share that same level of enthusiasm. A pastor plays an important role in exhorting and shepherding people to Jesus. But he is not the Great Shepherd nor is he the one who has forgiven you of all your sins.

 My prayer is for believers everywhere to not be fixated on any one man whether they are your pastor or some popular speaker. Love your pastor but understand that his role is one of many in the local church to help feed your obsession with Jesus.