Don’t Expect Your Pastor To Be Normal

Mark Tidsworth, Team Leader

We all carry them…expectations for our pastor. We all carry expectations around with us for how a good pastor functions; what a good pastor does. These expectations are formed through many influences over time. Our early experiences during childhood (for those who were part of the Christian Movement as children) when pastors seemed larger than life, contribute to our expectation list. The pastors who have been there in our high and holy life moments certainly leave their imprint on our perceptions of what pastors do. Now we are even shaped by articles and videos found while internet surfing. However our expectations are formed, they actively influence what we believe makes for a good pastor.

So consider this: what’s it mean for the role of pastor when our churches pursue vitalization or transformation? When our churches recognize we’ve grown spiritually lethargic, committing ourselves to renewal and adaptation, what’s that mean for pastors? When we are shifting toward new expressions of church, do we still expect our pastors to be “normal,” fulfilling our expectations for what we believe pastors should do?

Let’s sharpen the dilemma. Even while leading our church to step out in faith, pursuing bold new frontiers for the gospel, we still expect our pastor to be there in the ways to which we are accustomed. When we go to the hospital, when we need to talk, when we have a concern, when our committee is meeting, or when we are putting on our church event…all these are times when someone in our church expects the pastor to be present and accounted for. But now, during times of transformation and vitalization, we need the pastor to invest in people, to cultivate leaders, and to engage with the community in fresh ways. Most pastors already work too much (66 hours a week was last statistic I saw from The Alban Institute), yet now we expect them to do more.

When we are not aware of this dilemma, we think our pastor is not normal anymore, not functioning as a pastor should (normal meaning meets our expectations). We might actually rate our pastor as “not meeting expectations” on our evaluation forms since he/she is not acting normally. We find ourselves disappointed with pastoral job performance. Why isn’t he in the office when I drop by like before?

So, what are we to do? Most churches need some level of transformation right about now, so what can we do about this potential crisis over the role of pastor?

First, establish your Transformation Covenant. We form these regularly with churches who are entering one of our Transforming Church Initiatives. The pastor, lay leadership team, church staff, and sometimes the entire congregation sign a literal covenant which says the church will be in a season of transformation for a specific period of time. This makes it very clear that things are and shall change. This gives pastors blessing for changing their roles to live into their Transformation Covenant.

Second, prevent conflict through direct and proactive intervention. Clearly discuss with your congregation how your pastor’s role is changing. Then later, when people complain about the pastor not meeting their expectations based on outdated perceptions of the pastor’s role, lay leaders and others in the congregation can speak up, reminding one another of the Transformation Covenant. “Yes, our pastor doesn’t attend every committee meeting, since she’s intentionally cultivating connections in our community. That’s what we need her to do in her role at this time.” When our peers in church make these kinds of statements, they powerfully influence our church, preventing much conflict. On the other hand, when silent in these situations, dissension grows.

Third, design clear ways to address the needs created by your pastor’s changing role. You might need a coordinating person to attend committee meetings. You might need a different system for disciple care in your congregation. You might need someone to cultivate the stewardship team. Clearly and overtly discuss these things, not leaving them to chance or silently communicating to your pastor that he must figure it out on his own.

Fourth, redesign your pastoral evaluation process to reflect your Transformation Covenant. Looking at the forms some churches use for evaluating pastors, one can see a certain pastoral leadership paradigm woven into the evaluation criteria. Sometimes, during times of transformation, we need the pastor to function “abnormally” (differently), requiring different criteria in the evaluation. Treat your pastor fairly and design an evaluation which reflects what your church actually needs from the role of pastor regarding church transformation.

So don’t expect your pastor to be normal, meeting your expectations. Instead, let’s expect our pastors to be effective, doing their part to partner with God’s renewal of planet earth, including our churches.