01-27-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 27, 2024
What’s my job? There was a man in the first church I served who never missed an opportunity to say that I shouldn’t be paid much because I only worked for about 20 minutes on Sunday mornings when I preached. After hearing that every few months for four or five years, he went into the hospital for a very serious issue. Over a month of time, I probably visited him eight or ten times. It was interesting how he never made the comment again. Of course, it must be clear that I did not visit him to disprove his point, but at the same time, I was greatly relieved that the comments came to an end.

With that said, I’m certain people wonder what a minister does. The roles of the minister are often divided into four categories (some people say three, but I say four)—priest, pastor, preacher, and prophet. The priestly role is to offer the sacraments, or what our tradition call the ordinances (communion, baptism, marriage, etc.). The pastoral role is to offer care and guidance and to represent Christ’s love at a time of concern. The preaching role is the proclamation of the Gospel in the context of the worshiping community. And finally, there is the prophetic role, which is the speaking of truth to both individuals and systems whose actions are undermining God's love and justice.

As you can imagine, no minister separates these roles as if they exist in single lanes with no overlap. In my ministry, I have received more negative letters and emails in regard to one area than any other area. Some might think that is the role of prophet, or when I spoke what I believed to be a word of truth to people and systems whose actions were seeking to undermine God’s message. And yes, I have received a number of concerned comments when serving in the role of prophet, though I have always been intrigued by how 90% of those comments have disagreed with me without any sort of Biblical or theological backing. That’s for a later discussion. Yet the times I have received the most pushback have occurred when serving in the pastoral role.

That may seem strange to some, for who would oppose the pastor coming alongside someone in need? But the disagreement tends to happen when the pastoral role shows love and compassion to someone whom others deem unworthy of such care. Maybe the roles overlap a bit, but so often what I would argue as the pastoral role has been felt by some as an attack on their belief structures. I’m not suggesting I’m always right, for there are plenty of times when I am wrong, but demonstrating love and compassion to those who have been ostracized and marginalized, often experiencing injustice because they have become the targeted scapegoat, is never wrong. And I’m thankful for a church that is often taking the lead when it comes to the pastoral role, especially among those who need a little compassion and love.

​For the roles, tasks, and functions Jesus provided us, I come to you, Lord God, seeking the necessary assistance in living into whatever role might be needed in the lives of those around me. Amen.