As I was sitting
in the employee lounge of my small-town, local fast food restaurant I was thumbing through the three-inch binder of standard operating procedures and I thought to
myself, “Do I really want to do this?” I was fresh out of high school, enrolled
in a community college, and employed as a part-time youth pastor. I had only been
employed for six months. Starting on grill duties, I worked up the nominal
ladder of responsibilities, and was subsequently already looking at a
management position in our little corner lot fast-food chain. I took the
promotion and soon found myself being the youngest manager of fast food chain in Texas. In contrast to my job as a youth pastor, there weren't many
differences.
Now fast forward.....
After
many years of being in ministry, I think back to my time as a manager and
realize a similarity in the pastoral practices that are arising in the church. This
is not an indictment against managers, but I feel that many ministries have
defaulted to training and managing people rather than fathering or truly pastoring
them. Although a pastor may make a great manager in a secular job,
management is not the commission Jesus gave to His apostles.
I’ve
worked for a few ministries since I began preaching. While I greatly value each
pastor I've worked under, some used their ministry to advance my character
while others used my gifts to advance their ministry. Let me note that I
probably wasn’t the most experienced youth pastor. However, I noticed
a greater sense of allegiance and faithfulness in me toward pastors who
looked beyond their own ministry into developing
me. I believe that my generation
views modern church culture critically because they go to
churches to become faithful disciples and they leave as a
well-managed employee.
Genuine
fathers in the faith are hard to find. So many, it seems, are flaunting the
title of being a spiritual father or mother while merely managing gifted
believers to build their own renown. The titles of bishop, apostle, and prophet
are causally self-proclaimed in hopes of commanding a following. Few seem
to actually know how to father or pastor those who are attracted to their leadership.
What makes the difference between a spiritual manager and a spiritual father?
Fathers
are committed to a disciple’s success in spite of their own. A manager
will look at the benefit or loss one will contribute and make a
cost-effective decision.
Managers will let go of employees while
fathers preserve and develop sons.
Fathers sacrifice their revenue
for the welfare of those they love; managers sacrifice employees to ensure the
bottom line will not be deficient.
A
good father teaches his sons to honor authority. Managers shrewdly promote
their own business and compete to keep their favored workers by disparaging
others.
A
manager will evaluate growth by an employee's productivity. Fathers
evaluate growth by recognizing a son’s development of character. Fathers don’t
look for servants to work for them; they encourage sons to serve the church family.
Fathers
make personal sacrifices of their time to train and impart their wisdom. A
manager will only be responsible to employees during hours of operation. They
relinquish responsibility when an employee leaves their place of
business. A father will have a few
sons with strong character. A manager will have many disposable
employees. A manager will punish failure and promote success, but a
father will use failure and success to promote humility.
We
are in a time where church managers are plentiful and fathers are few. The
difference between the two is reflected primarily in the ones they raise
up. Managers make employees who can duplicate their activity. Fathers
raise sons who duplicate their nature.
It’s
easy to begin in ministry with the right motivations to father and mentor young
believers, but the temptation to build a good, business-like church can
redirect the motives of a leader’s heart. The temptation to have a larger
attendance and financial stability can turn a good pastor into a nominal
manager. The pressures of notability in a community can eventually
distract one from the simple and powerful calling to make disciples.
I
don’t write this as a criticism of hard working pastors. My hope is
to challenge ministers to examine their motives in church relationships. Are
you a follower of Jesus that is building the lives of people or are you a
pastor-manager building a “McChurch”? Those who are not in a ministry position
are equally responsible to seek out fathers who will equip them to do the work
of ministry. We cannot settle for managers who will simply keep us busy.
Thank you pastors and leaders that are raising up the next generation. We love you and appreciate all your sacrifice. We will stand on your shoulders to extend the Kingdom, so that many disciples/sons/daughters will be raised up to honor and love Jesus Christ.
Along with these duties, Stephen is the Mission's Pastor at Cathedral Church and travels throughout the world ministering the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Stephen and his wife, Jenilee, live in Beaumont, Texas and have four boys, Judah (8), Levi (6), Benjamin (5) and Shiloh (2).
