Is 'pastor' a noun or a verb?

I read this question a few weeks ago and dropped it into Evernote as a possible blog topic. While working on an assignment for my Masters degree this week this question dropped back into my mind. So, is 'pastor' a noun or a verb?

My approach to this query is strongly influenced by the thinking of one of my pastors (used as a verb) who didn't view 'pastor' as a title but a calling, a vocation. Although out of respect we young'uns would still call him Pastor John, his conviction was that he was, "John the pastor, not Pastor John. After all, I don't call you Brickie Bill or Plumber Ted..." Now I have no problem with titles (well, maybe just a little bit), but I really resonate with John's view-point: pastor is a function I perform in the body of Christ, not a title or position of authority to aspire to.

In his book, 'Confessions of a Reformission Radical,' Mark Driscoll relates how in the structure of Mars Hill Church no one holds the title of Senior Pastor except for Jesus. I like that. Jesus is the good shepherd (pastor being another word for shepherd), and in Hebrews 13 Christ is called the great shepherd of the sheep. Interestingly I sat in a meeting a while back when an international speaker led the audience in chanting, "We're not sheep." I didn't join in, because I am, and that's good because I have a shepherd whom I follow and who laid down his life for me. The question that caused me to think in my assignment was, if pastor is a verb, a doing word, what does a pastor do?

Naturally a pastor cares for the sheep (he is a shepherd after all), but that can mean many different things. A pastor is also a leader, but what is the right mix between leading and pastoring? And if leading dominates over pastoring are you still a pastor? Some would suggest that many times being a pastor is more like being the owner of a sheep station and making sure the flock is managed well rather than having an intimate relationship with the flock, which is fair comment, but doesn't seem to sit with the biblical picture of a pastor. Perhaps that is more of a leader, so why the title pastor? In the Ancient Near East, including Israel, the kings of the nations were said to shepherd the people, but the New Testament seems to shift the metaphor somewhat and makes it more personal and intimate. So if pastor is a noun, that's fine, but if it is a verb we have some re-thinking to do.

Here's my point, I don't intend to be all negative and pharisaical about this, but I do think that if, like me, a person believes they are called to pastoral ministry, then we need to give serious consideration to what that means in light of scripture and cultural context. If we live in a time when people are screaming out for community and authentic connection, that it seems to me that God has placed within his church people who have been gifted to facilitate love, care and leadership in an engaged and relational manner. Pastors (of the verb kind).

Pastors can't be recognized by title or size of congregation or training or charisma, they are only known by what they do. Pastors shepherd the people of God. Pastors don't pretend to be the voice of God to those they are shepherding (who needs that kind of pressure?), pastors don't coerce or manipulate people, pastors don't seek position or power. That's what Jesus accused the spiritual guides of his time of doing. No, Jesus gave his followers - and those called to shepherd - a different way, the way of the kingdom he inaugurated. Jesus taught us to lay down our lives, to serve, to love, to put the needs of others before our own, and to seek to live in a way that differentiates us from the way our culture operates.

Ultimately I think pastor has to be a verb because being a pastor isn't who you are but what you do. Who I am is husband and father and friend and follower of Christ, my vocation, how I work that out, is through answering God's call to pastor.

Are you a noun or a verb? Do you define yourself by what you call yourself or what you do? Or, is what you do an expression of who you are in your core person?

 

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What difference does a little difference make?

I had coffee with a friend this morning and on returning to my car had a choice to make: do I drive out of the car park the short way or the long way? You see, the short way is in disobedience of the 'one way' sign that guides traffic flow in the car park, and the long way is to follow directions. The short way is only three parking spots to the exit, the long way means going all the way around, only an extra 30 seconds, but my time is precious, right? Besides, other people do it. There are no other cars wanting to enter at the moment. I saw someone come out of the 'in' just last night. So it's ok, right?

I went the long way. (Yay for me, attempt to subdue your admiration at my integrity)

You see, I think that little things can make a difference. It's highly probable that my exit from the car park has not radically affected the fabric of time and space, or even significantly changed anyone's life. In fact, no one even noticed - but I did. My decision this morning made no difference to anyone else but me, and it caused me to wonder how many little choices make a difference to the type of person I am and ultimately who I become? And when we all consider the little choices that we make that, over time, alter who we are and corporately and cumulatively change the world in which we live, I wondered how big a difference these little choices actually make.

This kind of thinking isn't new or even vaguely original. An important part of grass-roots resistance to what might be considered unacceptable or unethical practices comes with individuals making simple choices. We see evidence of this when we buy free-trade coffee, or don't buy clothes with fur, or make-up that has been tested on animals, or products from certain countries. But what if we were to expand this type of thinking to something even more radical? What if we were to live in such a way as to be the kind of people we would like everyone to be? What if we lived like we would like to be whether anyone is watching or not? What if we, dare I say, "do to others what you would have them do to you"?

These little differences add up. They determine our character as individuals and our society as a people. These little choices make little differences, but ultimately it is these differences that will determine what tomorrow looks like. At times these choices will cost us, and they should. The status quo is easy and without cost, selfish and self-gratifying decisions require no true sacrifice, but living in a manner that celebrates the possibility of a better world will demand that there will be a cost, there will be sacrifice. That can as minimal as an extra couple of minutes in line because someone else was there before you, or the mum with the baby probably should be served first, or can be as big as not accepting a position that exploits others or achieving 'success' at the expense of personal values.

I guess in a lot of ways what I am suggesting is to challenge the rationality that the ends justify the means. The 'means' matter. The way we achieve something says a lot about who we are and what we value, and that also communicates in many ways what tomorrow's world will look like. When enough people are all communicating the same thing we have what we call, 'culture.' Culture is a terribly complex interaction of a lot of different elements ranging from government and social environment to media and global events. But culture, the shape of our society, is also determined by the values and choices we make.

Jesus famously called on his followers to be light and salt. The interesting thing about light and salt is that they both stand out from their surroundings. Light is seen at its brightest against the darkness, and salt flavours the bland and preserves against spoiling. Little choices may not change culture, but it's the difference that matters. The difference clearly points to a different way, a better way, a way that gives hope for a better tomorrow.

What difference does a little difference make? To be honest, even if my choices have little impact on everyone else and only cause me to be a better me, then that is sufficient.

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Good as gold, mate, good as gold!

I hate losing. It doesn't matter whether we are talking sport, or a game, or if I am just watching, I hate to lose. I have always been a good winner, gracious and appropriately humble in my triumph (a legacy of my roots being in the UK not USA), but I can't pretend to being a very good loser. I think I've improved, but there's still that bitter taste of defeat.Naturally my sporting interest over the last week or so has been the Olympics. I don't want to get into the whole debate, that isn't the point of this post, but I have a couple of thoughts about our Olympic team. Any medal won at Olympic level is a significant achievement, especially from a country of only twenty-two million (I can hear my Kiwi friends starting up already), and we should salute and celebrate all our medalists. However when we have enjoyed spectacular success for so many games now, of course an expectation builds up. Maybe we have been punching above our weight for years, but we've come to expect that, it's what Aussies do. And when we have world champions who are happy with silver...well I'm sorry, but I don't think Usain Bolt would have been happy if he hadn't brought home gold in the 100m. So I congratulate our medalists for their performances, but let's not forget that some could have been expected to go just that little further.

Anyway, that's my Olympic contribution, I'm sure the AOC has been waiting for it. It's the furore over our performance at the Games that has provoked my thinking this week, what does our - my - obsession with winning say about us?

I remember being told, "It's not whether you win or lose its how you play the game." Rubbish! Winning and losing matters!! I was taught by my father to play hard and play fair and play to win. If you lose, so be it, you gave it your best. Vince Lombardi famously said, "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." I wonder how much that philosophy has infiltrated our culture and our minds? I wonder how much of our lives are spent keeping score? Lombardi also said, "If winning doesn't matter, why do they keep score?" Are you, 'they'?

Life isn't like sport. I might be naive, but I don't think I'm competing against other people in the 'Game of Life' (unless I'm playing that board-game, 'Game of Life', and then I'll be competing my heart out). I don't think my attitude makes me a loser, although there would be many who would disagree, I think my attitude makes me human.

Our ancestors may have out performed other species to rise to mastery of the world, but that doesn't mean we have to keep behaving in that way. Humanity achieves more by compassion and co-operation than by a ruthless determination to win and grind our opposition into the dirt. To use the sorting metaphor again, winning or losing certainly matters, but how you play the game reflects the type of person you are.

My wife and I have encouraged our children to seek to achieve success in their lives and to do their very best. We want our kids to enjoy life and to realize the great potential they have. But this enjoyment, success and realized potential comes as we navigate life with others, helping, encouraging and caring for them as well. The Christian faith has a rich tradition seeking to make the most of the times and talents we have been given and of caring for those are find life more difficult. The example of Jesus is to forego 'winning' in order to identify with and journey with the very people our culture would consider 'losers.'

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.....he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." (Phil. 2:3-6) Some would argue that ultimately Jesus was a winner, and they'd be right, but look at how he got there. He set himself for the cross, and was mindful of the journey along the way.

It occurs to me that our obsession with winning, with success, with a contemporary version of 'survival of the fittest' (with concurrent disdain for those we deem to be weaker and wounded) stems from a basic sense of insecurity. Perhaps our modern world places so much emphasis on the external accoutrements of success that we have forgotten the internal strength of a well-developed sense of self. When I know who I am and am content with who I am I can enjoy winning, but I also understand that success doesn't validate or add to my self-worth. Jesus became human, he identified with us and walked with us in our humanity, and demonstrated that a healthy sense of self is based on knowing who we are and in whose image we are created rather than anything we might achieve along the way.

So who are the gold medal winners? Are they the ones who grace the dais as their flag is raised (assuming they have a flag - nod to Eddie Izzard) and their anthem is played, or are the gold medal winners the ones who got them there and whose names we will never learn? Everyone who is hailed a champion owes that success to people who believed in them and contributed to their journey.

Life isn't a game, there really isn't a way to keep score, life is just life. I believe the only way to actually enjoy the richness of being a human being created in the image of God is to know who you are, be secure in who you are, and contribute to other people achieving the same. That, I think, is gold standard.

 

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Moments, Milestones and Occasions

Today is a milestone in our family, our youngest child is turning eighteen. This isn't just momentous for him, the day he becomes an adult (at least in the eyes of the law), but for my wife and myself it is the day when we are parents of four adult children.

At dinner last night we were a little nostalgic and dragged out the kids baby books and photos and memories. We laughed, we joked, we remembered, we ate, drank and made merry. This morning, settling in the Sun and reflecting on my new status there are two things that stand out for me: I don't feel that old; and how important moments such as these are in the journey of life.

Although nothing staggering happened last night, we went to bed and woke up as usual, the sun rose this morning as usual, I read the news as I sipped my coffee as usual, and I was disappointed at the overnight Aussie Olympic performances - which is, sadly, becoming usual - today things have changed. The next phase of life has begun, and although we will always be parents, the children we saw born, the ones we cuddled and fed and changed and comforted and played with are now grown. This is a moment!

Time seems to go so quickly, and it occurred to me that in this busy world we inhabit one of the reasons is that we give so little attention to the moments and milestones of life. These aren't only times to celebrate and perhaps remember, but are a time for us to reflect on our own journey, on who we have become and who we would like to be in the future. These are times to consider how our past has shaped us, the people who share our lives and the values that we hold.

In the Old Testament we read of individuals or the nation of Israel building altars in different places. They did so to record significant events or divine encounters, so that they and their children wouldn't forget. It took time and effort to build these altars. We don't have these things. We record moments and events and occasions with cameras and look at the photos or videos they produce. There is, perhaps, greater clarity with the technology we enjoy, but it may also be that this lack of effort actually diminishes the power of these moments to provide significance and pause for reflection.

Reflective moments don't need to be major events like milestone birthdays or weddings or the birth of a child. They can be the simple, often unexpected times in the day when we are given reason to pause, that split-second between past and present when something in the peripheral vision of our mind's-eye says, "Wait." That is often the time when we are, when we gain a second to consider ourselves and refocus on the day we are living. Perhaps - and I am constrained to remember and practice this - when I recapture the moments of reflection in my day time will slow down, life become more meaningful and I will hear the voice of God speaking more clearly.

My son won't turn eighteen again, none of our children will. Oh, there will be other moments, other milestones and events in the years to come. There will be more birthdays and weddings and even, maybe, hopefully, grandchildren! (Though how I will cope with being 'Grandpa' is a whole other issue...) We will celebrate these moments and use them to give pause on the journey of life, but if these times are the only times that I stop, look and listen, then my time will fly and my life will be unexamined.

As I write I can see my garden. It isn't very attractive, we are hopeless gardeners. It seems to me that my life is a garden, and if I leave it untended, unexamined, it too has the propensity to grow weeds. The moments in my days and the milestones and occasions of life help me to tend my yard and truly be present in and enjoy every day I am here....and cake, with or without candles....

 

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Thank You!

I have a friend who is posting 365 days of gratitude on his Facebook, he is up to day 253 and I am genuinely impressed. I know we have a lot of things to be thankful for, but the consistency and creativity he has shown is inspiring. Well, almost inspiring, because much as I have thought a number of times to join him in his year of gratitude, I'd hate to get to day 72, or 105, or whatever and hit a wall. So I'm grateful that I know my limitations and that I have a friend who reminds me to appreciate what I have in life.

Whilst doing an assignment for my studies recently I thought of my friend because one of the authors suggested the importance of developing a theology of gratitude. My assignment was considering the stress related illness, depression, burnout and withdrawal from ministry of pastors in Western nations. Research has found that one of the factors that assisted in decreasing the alarming attrition rate and assisting in longevity in ministry was gratitude. Minsters who had learned to be grateful were healthier and more likely to continue in their vocation than those who hadn't.

In the study they asked people to list five things they were thankful for over a ten week period. The results were compared to another groups who wrote down ten irritants. At the end of the ten weeks the people who were grateful had a more positive view of life than the second group. The results suggested that developing a spiritual discipline of gratitude is one way to build resiliency in life. Coupled with another study that highlighted the importance of 'flexibility' and 'buoyancy' in life, the year long commitment of my friend would suggest that if we were all more intentionally grateful for the good things in life we would be healthier people and enjoying our lives a lot more.

In 1Thess. 5:16-18, we read, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." The verse reads as though God's will is that we learn to be thankful, to be grateful. I think that we benefit from being grateful not only for the positive effects it has on our spiritual and emotional, well-being, but also for how it affects our relationships.

When we are grateful we tend to appreciate people more. Everyone needs to be and feel appreciated. There is so much in life that goes un-noticed, so many things that may be done for others, often as part of a daily routine, that become expected or even taken for granted. Most of us lead busy, often stressful lives, and in the 'rush' of life we miss the opportunities to appreciate the people who contribute to our days. In our homes, in the workplace, at the coffee shop or super-market, in traffic or in a queue, there are a myriad moments in our lives when we can pause for a moment and express our gratitude. It doesn't take long, it doesn't cost anything. It may be as simple as not answering the mobile when paying for groceries and taking that opportunity to thank the check-out person properly and afford them the dignity of your full attention.

Over the course of my life we have become far more aware of our rights and value - probably even demand - that we are treated in a way we feel we deserve. I know that having been involved in people related industries my entire working life I am very aware of the times I receive what I consider to be bad customer service. Though I rarely mention it, I certainly note places that won't be receiving my business in future. But how often do I appropriately appreciate good customer service? Many times, but not enough.

There is an old proverb that goes something like this, "I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet." Developing intentional gratitude serves to remind us that whatever we may be experiencing, not only are there people worse off than ourselves but that we have much to be thankful for. Very few people (actually, no one) I know are in the position where their lives are so difficult they have nothing to be thankful for. I have some friends who have recently lost their daughter to cancer. She was an incredibly vibrant and gifted young woman with so much to offer our world. The courage and dignity with which the whole family negotiated this tragedy was inspiring, their courage and faith was staggering, and the gratitude they expressed for the years they shared was humbling.

Life is difficult, often very challenging, sometimes filled with sorrow and grief. Yet life is a gift, every breath brings the possibility of something new, every step takes us into the undiscovered country of our future. Be grateful. There are so many people I can be grateful for, so many experiences and joys I can appreciate, so many smiles and laughs and sunrises and sunsets that I can be thankful to have known.

So I am grateful. I am grateful for a friend whose Facebook reminds me that I am blessed, for others who remind me that my response to life depends on me not circumstances, for family that know me and still love me, for a wife who is more than I ever dreamed of, and for a God who was gracious in blessing me with these people, and the breath to enjoy them.

So, "thank you."

 

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It's all about me!

I am an outstanding driver. At least, I'm better than all the other idiots on the road. No, I don't mean you of course, just everybody else.

 

My wife often wonders why I get so frustrated with other drivers and it's usually because they are so inconsiderate. They can't merge properly, or do the speed limt, or act like they own the road, can't indicate, are in the wrong lane for their turn, are in the right lane for their turn too soon....and I could go on. But it doesn't stop there, I've noticed that a general discourtesy and ignorance towards everyone else is spreading.

 

I was at a department store on Sunday with one of my sons and I mentioned to him how the two people in front of us were able to walk - slowly - in such a way as to completely block the aisle. It happens in the supermarkets as well with trolleys, or people whose kids are running wild! Our kids never did that!! It just offends me that people are so selfish as to ignore the feelings and comfort of others.

 

And then I realized, the reason these people were all upsetting me so much wasn't because they were ignorant towards other people (although I'm convinced some are) but was because I was making it all about me. They were infringing on my road and my space and my time. Where I was judging (yes, the 'J' word) the people around I was actually guilty of selfish, egocentric behavior and thinking myself.

 

I was making it all about me.

 

That isn't a pleasant or encouraging revelation. I like to think of myself as courteous and polite and concerned for the well-being of other people. I try take seriously the words of Paul, "In humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." (Phil. 2:3-4) no one is great at this, but I try, and in my own mind I do pretty well.....but obviously not.

 

At our church a few weeks ago I was speaking and alluded to this by confessing that I was actually quite a judgmental person. I've done the Myers-Briggs analysis and I come out as 'perceiving' not 'judging', so this was a bit of a shock to me. Now I realize just how ingrained it is. Despite my best efforts I treat everyone and react to people as though the whole world revolved around me.

 

And you probably do the same.

 

We can't help it. I think it's hard wired into us as a survival instinct left over from the days when if I didn't get the mammoth before the other blokes did my family would starve - and heaven help the slow, inconsiderate cave person who got in my way! Times have changed, but we haven't. To behave in the manner that Paul indicates is contrary to both my natural inclination and the culture in which I live. Paul goes on link this mindset with that of Christ, a different way of thinking, acting and being human. This is what we were meant to be, this is what God is leading us towards, this is what the future holds.

 

I wonder what our communities would look like if we made life less about us. I wonder what justice and poverty and economic equality would be like if we were more concerned with others. I wonder what our churches and worship services would be like if we looked for a church where we could contribute rather than one that fed our consumerist wants. Even more, what if our churches were less concerned with what Sundays looked like and more interested in what we could do every other day of the week? In other words, I wonder what this world would look like if we took Paul's words seriously.

 

There are a lot of things in my life that need work. Despite my sometimes over-inflated opinion of myself, I have a very long way to go. Like you, I live in a world where the average person is more concerned with themselves than other people, a world that each of us feels revolves around us. But what if it didn't have to be that way, what if it could be different?

 

Jesus opens that possibility up for us. He shows us and leads us in the way that makes us truly human, true imagers of the God who created us to be his presence in the world and for the world. I wish it were easy, I wish I could say I follow him well, but it's tough, a narrow road that is difficult to walk.

 

Yet every journey, Confucius tells us, begins with a single step. The first step to this better world, this world where other people really matter, is to recognize that it isn't all about me.

 

And for that matter, it isn't all about you either - just in case you thought it was....

 

Love is Complicated

I use the word love for a lot of things: I love my wife, I love football, I love pizza, I love my kids. Now we all understand that the way in which I use the word doesn't mean I experience similar intensity of 'love' for all those things. I love and am in love with my wife, but I'm not 'in love' with pizza (truly, I'm not!), and obviously the meaning of the word is different in these two instances, but as I've been thinking about love this week I've been considering how absolutely complicated the emotion is.

 

The way we use the word for so many things is only the tip of the iceberg. Across our world people fall in and out of love. Relationships that may have lasted for decades can be over because love had died, been killed, or just trickled away. We are told that love is a choice as well as a feeling, and there is deep truth in this, but it is more than a choice, it is more than just an act of the will. Ultimately love is complicated.

 

I don't pretend to understand love. I feel it, I express it, I think I know what it is, and I also know that to define it is beyond me. To me, the definition of love isn't found in words but in an image. The strange and compelling image of a man hanging, dying, on a cross. This sounds religious, and it is, but the concept of a creator who could love his creation so much that he became one of them and suffered death for them is breathtaking in its possibility and mind-shatteringly astounding in its reality.

 

Jesus doesn't help in simplifying love, however. He tells me to, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your should and with all your strength." How on earth can I do that? He doesn't even give me the option of using one of my varied meanings of the word 'love.' He teaches that I am to 'agape' God, to love him selflessly and unconditionally, not based on what he can do for me but for who he is. It is a love that is founded in his love for his creation and for me. It is a love that finds its reality in me reflecting back to God the pure love he has for me. As John puts it in his first letter, "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19)

 

But then Jesus adds, "And love your neighbor as yourself." Again he uses that word, 'agape.' We are commanded by Christ to love others with the same selfless, unconditional love that we have for God. This complicates matters. I don't want to love people like that, or at least not all people. We try to get out of it by saying that we love them, we just don't like them. And again, there is some validity to this, but really what we are admitting is that we neither love or like them and would be happy to not associate with them at all - thank you very much!

 

The whole 'loving my neighbor' thing is doable, to a degree, as long as my neighbor is just that, my neighbor. One of the mass of humanity that I can care for and love by donating to Compassion or Oxfam, by bringing in their wheely bin or letting them in front of me on traffic, or by simply expressing my love for humanity. Jesus gets mean, however, and makes this ridiculous statement, "Everyone will know that you are my disciples by the love - agape - you have for each other." Are you kidding me Jesus? Have you met Christians? Some of them are pretty hard to stomach, let alone love. Can't I just tolerate them? Or graciously ignore them? That would work.

 

And then, get this, then he utters the words that really kick us in the....guts, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven." So Jesus, with all due respect, are you out of your mind? I am supposed to 'agape' people who hate me? Who want to kill me ? Love was complicated enough before you started teaching.

 

Here's the thing, followers of Jesus should be known by their unexpected and incomprehensible love. I know this needs unpacking in space I don't have here, but let's face it, we're not. Christians may be misunderstood and misrepresented, at times with malicious intent, but really, followers of the one whose love was evidenced on a cross aren't known for the kind of 'agape' love commanded by their Lord. A lifestyle of this kind of love, this selfless and unconditional concern for others is not only what would mark Christians as followers of the crucified king, but truly be the light on the hill and salt of the earth that is our calling.

 

I can't do it. Love is complicated enough without Jesus adding this extra stuff, and my heart is too corrupt, selfish and greedy to love like that. Until I am reminded of two more truths. This love doesn't originate in me, it it a reflection of the love my Father has for me and all his creation. And this love is enabled by a work of his Spirit within me, a fruit Paul calls it, that grows in me as the Spirit does his work.

 

Love is complicated. It is all tied up with emotions and relationships and values and wants and desires and pleasures and choices. Love, however, is a reminder that God is present in his creation. And the selfless unconditional love he calls his followers to exhibit may not simplify things, but does serve to declare to all the world that the king is present, the kingdom of love is here, and there is a new way of being human.

 

Do you find it easy to love? Are Jesus' expectations unreasonable? Does it help to see discipleship as a journey and not a destination? What would help followers of Jesus be known for their love? What would that look like in your life?