By Dr. J. Mark Beach
In our previous article, we made the case that pastoral leadership is not optional, that it sometimes requires courage, and that, with courage, it takes initiative. We also explored models of pastoral leadership: one being a transactional model where the minister is regarded as hired help, not a spiritual leader. He is to "do for us," as we pay him to do. He must stay within the lane we circumscribe for him. A different model, the biblical one, is a transformational model. This model will not be circumscribed by the status quo; rather, the Word of God prophetically calls all God's people—ministers, elders, deacons, the whole flock—to account, to discipleship, to a devout and growing walk of faith with the Lord. Pastors lead; sheep follow.
Now, people who know me well know that I prefer to be clear and direct rather than vague and around about. I certainly believe in being tactful, but I don't believe in forever beating around the bush or hem-hawing. Thus, to be clear and direct, this series of articles aims to correct what I perceive as a "hired help" model of the office of minister, wherein the pastor is contracted to perform a set of duties (biblically mandated and important duties, to be sure), submit to the eldership who, collectively, are the leaders and body of authority in the church, and lend assistance to them if needed or when asked for.
The problem of the "hired help" model exists on several levels:
1. The Congregation's View: The congregation itself may view this as natural and obvious, "Of course, the pastor is hired to help us and do what we expect him to do. We pay his salary."
2. The Eldership's View: The eldership, the office-bearers who have oversight over the flock and the church's affairs, may likewise share this view. "The pastor is under our oversight and authority; he is required to do what we say."
3. The Pastor's View: And the pastor himself may view himself in this role as well. "I have duties to perform, principal among them being preaching and teaching, and that circumscribes my calling for the most part. I'm willing to help elsewhere, if I have time."
What is missing from this model is that a pastor is Christ's servant before he is the church's servant. Also missing from this model is that a pastor will answer to Christ on Judgment Day, not to the church or the eldership. In addition, what is missing from this model is that authority is not grounded in the eldership, not as such, but in the Word of God to which we must all submit. Finally, what is also missing from this model is the prophetic calling the pastor has as Christ's servant, to exercise authority and leadership from the Word of God, calling himself, the flock, and the eldership to reform, to greater devotion, sometimes to repentance, so that we conform more and more to the Word of God. The minister, as a pastor, exercises oversight, too!
I have a genuine concern that a generation of ministers is being lured away from their prophetic calling (which includes exercising spiritual leadership from the Word of God) by an erroneous set of notions about their own lack of authority and the elders' own unqualified authority. That is, the hired help model is not helping the church to be scripturally faithful to its head, Jesus Christ our Lord. I worry that pastors, some pastors at least, are being encouraged to step back in their leadership role as pastors of the sheep, or they have been flat out stripped of this role by design, or some of them are maneuvering themselves into this passive role where they deliberately assume the role of hired help. Pastoral leadership, in each case, is being parked down some side alley and forgotten. Meanwhile, either by design or as an inevitability, a certain domineering elder or dominant families take the reins and announce, "I'll drive." There is leadership, to be sure, simply not pastoral leadership.
Now, in order not to be misunderstood, I want first to make clear that I am not suggesting that this is true of all Reformed pastors who are inside "our circles." Second, my comments, in what follows, are not to be construed in any way as advocating for a "lone wolf" pastor, or some remake of the pastor as "bully." Nor are my remarks designed to encourage a model of pastoral leadership in which the pastor becomes a "one-man army" for, say, getting back to practicing church discipline or doing evangelistic outreach. Nor, further, am I pleading for a passive, sit-on-their-hands eldership. That has never served the church well. And, last, I know that exceptions apply, that specific churches may have situations that call for allowances, or otherwise that their pastor may not be equipped to take on certain duties at once. (A short article like this cannot address all circumstances.)
That said, what I am pleading for is a wholesome, biblically balanced approach between the work of the pastor and that of his fellow shepherds (the elders), so that the work of ministry is appropriately shared, the elders are properly trained and equipped, the pastor is engaged in the multiple facets of pastoral ministry, and the flock is well cared for, along with the lost being sought out and discipled.
Specifically, then, my remarks are aiming to correct two incomplete models of pastoring:
The pastor who seldom pastors at all or strives to minimize it (as much as he can get away with). He loves his study, preparing sermons and getting teaching-lessons ready (playing on the internet!), while he ignores, as one example, visitation ministry. He does not get out among the flock under his care. But how can this be? In being a pastor, he inevitably needs to get out and about and in and among them. To borrow a metaphor, a good pastor cannot help but smell like sheep, for it comes with getting to know his flock. He smells like sheep because he enters into their hurts and struggles. He encourages, instructs, corrects, nudges, and weeps with his people. He laughs, dines, and shares life with them. This is not, then, the work of elders to do while the pastor ignores it. This is work for the pastor to do, and to lead and train elders on how they can do some of this work, too. We should always remember that elders, who have an oversight role in the church as co-shepherds, and rightly participate and take on this work to varying degrees, do so in their off-hours from their regular full-time jobs.
The pastor who pastors faithfully enough, but only as a hireling, as hired help, as performing duties under contract. Under this model, the pastor is contracted to perform many needed and requisite duties, but he is forbidden to be a leader himself. His place is on the periphery of leadership. His role, especially where it gets difficult and messy, and needs theological acumen and pastoral sensitivity, presence, face-to-face encounter, courage, and wisdom (often in cases of discipline ministry, often in cases of marital break-up), is to sit on the bench, look on from the sidelines, and remain passive. I would suggest this model lacks biblical support! Oddly, under model one above, it is the pastor who acts as a sort of bully. His pulpit work is too important to be occupied with the mundane work of personal care for sheep. He pressures the elders to pick up all the slack of pastoral neglect.
In our circles, there exists (in some churches at least) an "abstract" and "as such" conception of the eldership's authority. I would suggest we reconsider this approach. Elders do not have authority as such, no more than the pastor does. Authority belongs solely to Jesus Christ, the head of the church, and solely through his Word. The Confessions do not trump the Word of God, even less the Church Order; and neither the pastor nor the eldership may trump the Word of God. Elders do not rule in the name of the eldership. "We, the elders, declare … thus and so." In discipline cases, the grounds for excommunication may never be: "Brother John Doe has not heeded the admonition of the elders, and therefore we move to excommunicate him from Christ's church." We need to add a most critical phrase, "Brother Doe has not heeded the admonitions of the Word of God, conveyed by the eldership." An eldership that thinks it has authority in the abstract, divorced from strict obedience to Scripture, is departing from godly and scriptural practice. The flock is under Christ's care through His Word, not under an eldership divorced from that Word. Elders may not assume authority that fails to be from the Word of God, or otherwise, what may be taken from it by good and necessary inference.
All of this demonstrates that the Word of God is the sole source of authority in the church (also the consistory or session room), and it further demonstrates why it is quite wrong to think of the pastor as hired help. When this view prevails, the prophetic Word has been emasculated. There is no room left, not in principle, for the Word to teach, to reprove, to correct, to train in righteousness "that the man of God [elders, too] may be competent, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17 ESV).
The preached Word, as well as the Word administered in face-to-face counsel and discipleship, calls every believer to submit to it. No exceptions! An eldership is not above the Word of God, and it exercises legitimate authority only when it submits to it. Therefore, it must submit to it relative to the office of the pastor as well, for the pastor's duties may not be so circumscribed as to eliminate what is biblically mandated of him and the office he holds. Remember, Paul instructs the young pastor (the pastor!), Timothy, to exercise leadership in discipline, even in the cases of elders: "As for those [elders, see v. 19] who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear (1 Tim. 5:20 ESV). Such is the instruction for timid Timothy! He is to be no pastor on the sidelines! The point is repeated in Titus 2:15: "Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you." Get that? The pastor is not to be sidelined! (The pastoral letters are addressed to pastoral leaders! They are not hired help!)
In some churches within our circles, the implementation of these texts may seem challenging or unfamiliar! Why? "Well, because the pastor is our man, our pastor, our servant, our hireling. Where does he get off telling an elder thus and so?" Well, the Word of God is the authority, and he must exercise it! This shows that a pastor does not have abstract and as such authority either. He is a servant of the Word, Christ's Word, and that Word requires him to warn the church of errors and threats (1 Tim. 4:6, 11; cf. 6:2). He is to dissuade errant teachers (1 Tim. 1:3f.; Titus 1:13). He is to "wage the good warfare" (1:18). He is to urge and instruct about prayer (1 Tim. 2:1-3, 8), about women's adornment (2:9), about proper conduct in worship (2:11ff.), exercising supervision over qualifications of elders and deacons (3:1ff.; 8ff.). He is to set "an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity" (4:12; cf. 2 Tim. 2:22; Titus 2:7, 12). The pastor is called to command and teach proper conduct and order in the household of God, and propagate sound doctrine (1 Tim. 3:15; Titus 2:1). He is not laboring outside boundaries by being involved in the enrollment or non-enrollment of widows (5:9ff.); he is likewise not laboring outside his boundaries in being involved in matters of members providing for needy relatives (5:8, 16); he is involved in sticky cases, as when a charge is brought against an elder (5:19), and the discipline that might follow (5:20); he is involved, indeed, he is charged with, keeping (seeking to implement) the rules of instruction he has received (5:21).
Pastors are called to guard the good deposit of the faith (2 Tim. 1:14). They are to act as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, taking their share of suffering for Him (2:3; cf. 3:12). They are to intervene or interfere so that quarrels and quibbling about words may not infect the body of Christ, and also not allow false teachers to lead the flock astray (2:14; 2:23ff. 3:6ff.; 4:3; cf. 1 Tim. 4:1ff., 5:19-20; 6:3ff.; also Titus 3:9-11; 1:10-15; 1 Thess. 5:12-15; Matt. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 5:1-3).
The pastor's work, as is obvious, is multifaceted, difficult, hazardous, and stressful. It is not supposed to be the repose of the study, cordoned off from life out beyond, while the elders are assigned all the heavy lifting. Sermon preparation and its execution are, indeed, the foremost part of his work; but even that work improves when a pastor is attentive to the abovementioned duties and labors.
Consider with me the tasks and duties that comprise the minister's calling:
This is quite a list, and I could elaborate at length on each task. It shows us why no pastor is sufficient for these things, even as it shows us why we need to pray for, and pray onward and forward, our pastors. Ministers have much to do, and they can't do it all. They shouldn't be expected to do it all. (I'm pleading for balance, not lopsidedness.) God never intended for ministers to be Lone Rangers. A pastor is not to be a one-man-army, whether it be cleaning up the membership rolls, or sponsoring an annual conference for bringing vocational service under godly principles. God has ordained pastors/ministers to labor first and principally in the ministry of the Word, but not exclusively so. However, note that a more experienced minister should be able to prepare for preaching services twice as fast as an inexperienced minister.
Be that as it may, this list also shows us why God saw fit to ordain co-shepherds (elders) to labor alongside the minister for the care of the flock (Titus 1:5; Acts 14:23). Elders, like pastors, may also labor in teaching (1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:9), in visiting the sick (James 5:14-16), welcoming newcomers, and exercising oversight over the flock (1 Pet. 5:2-3; Titus 1:8, 9). They exercise, with the pastor—not to his exclusion—oversight over one another as well.
A common practice is for the pastor to report monthly to the eldership about his work. This is sensible and proper, for the minister is in full-time service and needs to be held accountable. However, elders, too, must be held accountable. This means each elder needs to report on his work as an elder to the eldership and the pastor. (Again, ministers are not hirelings; they have oversight as well.) Alongside this practice, consistories and sessions would do well to implement the practice of a bi-annual meeting between the elder and the pastor—that is, bi-annually, each elder meets with the pastor to go over his district (better, his parish), to report on those under his care, to assess how those members are doing, their spiritual state, their needs and struggles, their burdens and tears, how the church might come alongside them, or where there might be disciplinary issues emerging, needing immediate attention, or who is lonely, sorrowing, or who is in ill-health, who are doing well, how members' gifts might be used, etc.
The pastor should not sit on the sidelines while the elders do their work. He should be involved in their work. He should be aware of what is going on. By meeting together with his elders, each individually, the pastor can offer counsel and encouragement to each elder personally, bring concerning matters before the whole eldership, or they can come with recommendations for action. Further, this enables the pastor to be made aware of the needs, hurts, problems, worries, and struggles of parishioners in order to strategize together and work for solutions. The pastor/elder dynamic is not to be that of elders ruling over the pastor as hired help for the church or of the pastor acting the role of bully, barking orders to elders. Biblically, they answer together to Christ. They mutually help one another.
Such a model of the pastor/elder dynamic is light-years away from the hireling model. I would encourage us to move beyond the limiting hireling approach.
Churches that have unintentionally sidelined their pastors should reconsider their approach, for churches need pastoral leadership. The pastor is Christ's servant. He needs prayer, and he needs an active, well-trained, and dedicated eldership laboring alongside him to equip God's people for works of service (Eph. 4:12).
The only thing left for the church to ask is this: Do we want prophetic leadership leading us forward into greater obedience and service to Christ? How that question is answered will prove pivotal for a church either moving forward or compromising its witness by sins of omission. If a given congregation is satisfied with itself, if it is confident that it is pleasing God because it is pleased with itself, it will not likely welcome any change. But, truth is, most churches can benefit from ongoing reform.
So, do we want leadership, pastoral leadership, bringing us into blessed conformity to Christ? Or will we inadvertently follow the path of the Laodiceans, living in bland lukewarmness? Christ may contemplate spitting us out of His mouth (Rev. 3:16). The church needs pastoral leadership because we all need the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14).
Dr. J. Mark Beach is Professor of Doctrinal & Ministerial Studies at Mid-America Reformed Seminary.
Recommended reading for elders: John R. Sittema, With a Shepherd's Heart: Reclaiming the Pastoral Office of Elder; Alexander Strauch, Biblical Eldership: Restoring the Eldership to Its Rightful Place in the Local Church; Jeramie Rinne, Church Elders: How to Shepherd God's People Like Jesus.
229 Seminary Dr. Dyer, IN 46311