“One Too Few”

Monday, December 31, 2012

We have a pastor for the last three years that will not communicate with me.  In three years, he has not had a conversation that has lasted six minutes.  Outside of our normal deacon meetings, he simply ignores speaking to me unless I speak to him.  I have had several members over the course of a year and half ask me why our pastor is frowning, not friendly, and downright rude.  Beyond this, his hospital visitation is superb, and his sermons and preparation are very good.  But he appears to be fed up with people in general.  He has been a pastor for twenty-seven years and is now sixty-one-years-old.  He gives behind the scenes and conducts himself professionally.  What can I do to get this pastor acting like he wants to be here or at least get him to speak to his senior deacon?  He has done nothing biblically incorrect.  I am not wanting him to leave, just to improve our relationship and others’.  Thank you for your consideration in responding to this question.

Sincerely,
On The Outs

Dear On The Outs,

Have you considered that the problem is rooted in the fact that having only one pastor is outside of the Bible pattern?  Pastors (also known as elders and bishops - Tit 1:5-7, Php 1:1) are the overseers of the church and should never be left to serve by themselves.  The Bible never gives examples of lone pastors; there is always a plurality (Acts 14:23).  1 Tim 3:1-7 and Tit 1:5-9 give the qualities a man must have in order to serve as a pastor.  We recommend you read "Elders" to see more scriptures on the topic.

We often have people write into the site with problems similar to yours.  We have found that the common thread is that when a man serves as a pastor and has that kind of authority without the checks and balances of other pastors – inevitably, there are problems.  Sometimes he becomes power hungry, sometimes he becomes lazy, sometimes he simply becomes indifferent... no matter what, the root cause is the same.  We would recommend your church adopt the Bible pattern of multiple pastors to lead the flock.  The closer we adhere to the Bible’s model for the church, the fewer problems we have.

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