Professional Documents
Culture Documents
• Charles Swindoll quotes an exasperated lady who complained, "My minister is a lot
like God—I don't see him all week, and I don't understand him on Sunday!" Looking
beyond the humor, one can see truth there. Too many of our pastors are
much all week that perhaps they are not clearly seen by their members. And they're
so exhausted Friday evening and Sabbath that perhaps their sermons are a bit
fuzzy.
I believe that the elders of the church can play a significant role in rectifying this
situation. We have taken on a "noble task" (1 Tim. 3:1, NIV). We are commissioned to
be overseers of God's church and we can do that best by working closely with our
pastors. Our pastors are human let us never forget that. They need close friends,
generously. Elders can, by their own example, foster such a spirit in the entire
congregation.
Pastors need adequate quality time with their families, for their own nurture, and
the all-important nurture of their spouses and children. We need to be sure that
they are enjoying some form of weekly recreation so they can relax, recharge, and
But the most important aspect will be our presence, our listening ear, our
friendship. By becoming personal friends of our pastors, we will develop more open
The friendship will also result in mutual accountability. When a pastor is in touch
with a trusted elder on a regular basis, they can help each other maintain ethical,
moral, and spiritual integrity. They can encourage each other to live a balanced life
Too often pastors are exhausted. Their ministry is no longer fun. They feel like
slaves driven by a task master congregation. But their exhaustion is not necessarily
proof of their dedication. It may only reveal their inability to say no, and their
Acts 6 clearly indicates that pastors should not be occupied with the nuts and bolts
of the church organization. Their high priority, their calling, their specialty, is the
spiritual nurturing of the members in the church and the evangelism of the
spiritually hungry outside its walls. Exodus 18 points out that the unnecessary
workload often thrust upon our leaders will only wear them out. Such a load is too
medicine. The head elder (the general practitioner) can take care of the mundane
(howbeit important) day-to day business of the church. He or she can easily chair
the board meetings, organize the other elders to visit every family each quarter,
take charge of In gathering (along with the personal ministries leader), and lead out
This would free up the pastor (the specialist) to concentrate on the critical, high-
reached, and serious counseling and nurture, which hundreds need, both in and out
of the church.
The elders' monthly meeting with their pastor should, however, remain high
priority. Here the focus needs to be on the spiritual and personal growth of the
leaders and the needs of their congregation. Here goals should be set and reviewed.
And here the elders can be trained and encouraged to do more than just fulfill
Pastors should be the leaders, the creative thrust, the chief communicators, of the
church. But they should never be the managers of the mundane. They have been
given a great job to do, challenges to be seized, an eternal deadline to work toward.
Let these specialists do their job. Let us be their support. Then, unlike that dear
exasperated lady, we will all see our pastors where they are really needed all week,