Pastoral ministry in the Brethren in Christ Church is not limited to a choice or select few or by some odd notion of spiritual elitism. Pastoral ministry in the BIC is a lifestyle to which all of the members of the church are called. Ministry is the expressed byproduct of a covenant people who are deeply submerged in God’s incredible grace. In other words, ministry is not something believers do to earn more of God’s favor and blessing; ministry is what a forgiven and blessed and favored and thankful people naturally do in response to an incredibly good God and his grace in their lives. Everyone is, therefore, called to pastoral ministry. Every last member of every single church is a pastor.
That said, there are obviously specific roles in the community that are occupied by leaders who are gifted and able to lead the entire community in the prayerful quest to fulfill very specific communal tasks, but every member is a pastor because pastoral ministry is neither limited, nor exhausted by these very specific tasks. Pastoral ministry is so much broader than we typically imagine. Everyone is a pastor! Everyone has a pulpit! Our calling, as pastors, church planters, evangelists, and teachers is to make more pastors. Period! That is authentic leadership within Christ’s church. Leaders make pastors who transform their lives into pulpits for the Kingdom!
Leaders also have to take care of themselves too, spiritually speaking. The rigor and daily grind of fulfilling these very specific tasks can take a spiritual toll on leaders who are not disciplined in the art of spiritual self-care. Leaders who do not do self-care will not be leading very long. Two things will inevitably happen to leaders who do not do make/take time for spiritual, physical and emotional renewal: 1.) They will break their community; 2.) They will break themselves. Either way, these individuals will no longer be leading anything or anyone. They will burn out or become victims of spiritual disaster. It all could have been prevented with disciplined self-care. Every leader needs to Sabbath. Period.
Personally, I find renewal in spending quality time with my wife and children, reading books, designing for the web, and listening to music in my study. I also have a small stone altar in my study. It is there on that small alter that I find my deepest source of quiet, peace, and holistic renewal (spiritual, physical, and mental).
Again, it goes without saying, a leader cannot lead if he/she is not taking care of him/herself. Everything will suffer if the one leading the way is not personally connected with the very thing he or she preaches to others. Pastors are followers of Christ, before anything else. When we forget that everything else skews. Pastors – all of us – must care for the spiritual, physical, and mental self regularly.
A pastor who takes care of him or herself will be able to handle everyday pastoral situations with the integrity and etiquette required of him or her. Situations that require ethical pastoral responses will be faced with energy, clarity, and decisiveness by the pastor who is versed and practiced in the spiritual art of self-care.
This statement should not be taken lightly. It is true! A pastor’s ethical response to a situation should not be handicapped by his or her lack of self-care, but it often is so. When this happens things like confidentiality, truthfulness, sexuality, and stewardship suffer. The whole ministry suffers! Our ethical responses are tested daily by an endless number of potential detriments. We need not add to this detriment by regularly refusing self-care.
Since we are on the topic of ethical responses as concerns things like confidentiality, truthfulness, sexuality, and stewardship, let me say this: Pastors should not be indecisive on any of these very important matters!
Confidentiality is a non-negotiable unless another person’s safety and well being are at stake. Confessions of criminal and/or life-threatening behavior should never be hidden in shadow in the name of confidentiality. When those cases arise the proper authorities should be called and the people at risk should become the priority. All else should, however, be protected in the name of pastoral confidentiality.
Pastors should also adhere to the highest standards of truthfulness, unless of course “truthfulness” means we have to hand over innocent people to be killed (think “Corrie ten Boom”) or not smuggle Bibles into a country who forbids such reading material (think “Brother Andrew”). These are extreme cases, of course. Most pastoral situations will be easier to gauge and we should adhere to high standards of truthfulness in all cases.
Sexuality is another area of morality that pastors need to treat seriously. There are too many pastoral affairs and sexual disasters in pastoral ministry. These could be minimized and/or prevented if the pastor would take more time for self-care. This lifestyle can become stressful and exhausting if we are not careful. When it becomes so, we men tend to look for an outlet and wind up leading a few different secret lives. This is not good at all! We men must take care of ourselves and be open and accountable to the men adn women around us while we learn how to rest, invest into our family relationships, and pray deeply. Then we will stand strong together and not succumb to the temptations brought on by lack of rest, meaningful relationships, and family. Sexuality is pastoral ministry is a big deal. We would do well to constantly treat it like the big deal that it is.
Stewardship is another ethical situation that pastors face. Money is a big deal too. Those of us in pastoral ministry would do well to embrace simplicity and not engage in over-exuberant spending or chase a lavish lifestyle. We should model what we preach to our congregations and practice authentic and wise stewardship. Our resources should be our tools; we should never become tools for our resources. Stewardship of all that God blesses us with is important. We would do well to live it, model it, and preach it.
Serving the church as pastor is a serious calling. We pastors need to take t seriously and approach it holistically. We need to understand that we are not a separated class of people who are somehow touched by God in ways that are extraordinary. We are no different than everyone else in the church, save the fact we fulfill a specific role in the community. We are all called to be pastors. Everyone in the community is a pastor. We all need to take time to rest and be renewed. If we do so regularly the ethical situations we will undoubtedly face will be given our full and decisive attention. Pastoral ministry is a privilege. We enter it with the dual knowledge of the incredible responsibility of the call itself and the inspiring grace that makes it all possible.
We are pastors and ministers of God’s incredible grace.
And we are empowered – or fueled – by that same incredible grace.
That is exciting beyond belief!
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