Leading vs. Pastoring
Recently I had a long chat with another brother sorting out the difference between leading and pastoring. It was helpful to me and I wanted to pass on a distillation of that talk to you.
Those of us who are called to pastoral care face an ongoing dilemma of discernment-when does pastoral care devolve into a kind of extended babysitting for folk who really are quite comfortable with a level of walking with Christ that remains relatively infantile? Or when does an approach to pastoral care eclipse our call to lead the flock of God into its missionary calling to engage a broken world?
Most of us in the ARC are fairly skilled in the areas of teaching the Word of God and helping folk to incorporate into the local body and then to pour on the salve into hurting souls or provide wisdom for the strained marriage or a distorted approach to finances. But I think God wants to “upgrade” (think cell phones!) our anointing to LEAD the flock beyond still waters and green pastures to the paths of righteousness that might go through valleys, ford rivers and encounter enemies that have potential to undo us. How can God “spread a table” for us in the midst of our enemies unless we encounter them directly?
The apostolic writer of Hebrews got after the flock in this regard. “About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (Heb. 5:11-14).
There was some expectation from this leader that people would grow by “constant practice.” The Greek word is gymnazo. One of the brothers at Christ Community picked up on this and started a men’s bible study entitled, “God’s Gym.” Every Friday morning a group of men get into the Word of God with the intent of growing closer to Jesus and to the full maturity of their gifts so that they can be more missionally prepared to be effective ministers of the gospel. The writer of Hebrews thought his readers ought to be further along “by this time.” What happened to them? Our great calling is to help folk avoid the “consumer” approach to our life together and become “teachers” or those who can translate what they’ve ingested to the help of others.
Paul said that leaders were to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). Leaders are to help equip people in such a way that they can provide useful help to others. Merely tending to their hurts and discomforts doesn’t get that job done. We have to lead people forward and outward or the natural tendency to settle in and avoid all obstacles will prevail and the consequence of passivity and complacency easily rules our life together so that the old 80/20 rule is in force. Do you know the 80/20 rule-80% of the work is done by 20% of the people, the usual breakdown of any volunteer organization.
Leading will mean that we will do the hard work of prayer and gaining sight of our calling and the place and condition of where God has called us. Leading is challenging. It goes beyond maintenance. It means calling people beyond their hurts and fears and needs to the place of exercising the gifts deposited in them by the Holy Spirit. We deeply need pastoral care but it must have a goal to equip and release people into their callings to “build up the body of Christ.” Leading means taking people from believers to the gyms of discipleship and into the missional expressions that Paul no doubt had in mind in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus FOR GOOD WORKS, which God prepared beforehand, that we should WALK IN THEM.”
So I would like you to think with the Holy Spirit about these things and let him move you into any adjustments that He sees fit.
I hope you all enjoy this season of remembering the Incarnation of the Son of God. Perhaps your gift giving and receiving will be reduced by our common economic challenges. No worry-this season was never meant to be driven by gifts but by a GIFT. Amazingly, your children will survive if they don’t receive some great electronic gadget, but if you have to cut back on that front, try to add in some genuine Incarnational celebration. I’m not so crazy about catchy phrases but I can get on board with, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” Really, He is. Let’s do it well this season. Celebrate His coming and His coming again.
Be sure to mark your calendars for our annual ARC conference entitled, “Altered States: A Fresh Vision For Generational Unity” to be held at Grace Church in Toledo, Ohio on April 24-25. We are going to start Friday morning and go through Saturday afternoon. We’ll have great workshops and I’d like as many of you as possible to get off work on that Friday to attend. I think this will be a watershed time for all of the ARC. Pray for this and bring a lot of young people with you.
Ned