the postmodern pop pastor

This quote comes from a Bib Sac article by John Johnson of Trinity Baptist Church, Wassenaar, The Netherlands. It speaks to ideas of gifting in today's world. It also addresses calling, which Pete brought up in the comments.

Whereas in the past a pastor was principally viewed as resident theologian and preacher, today there is the expectation that a pastor should be, among other things, a chief executive officer, a therapist, and/or a church growth specialist...

(He quotes Neuhaus)

Pastors harassed by these conflictin expectations and claims upon time and ability are tempted to an open ended game of tradeoffs. Today, I'll be a little of this and a little of that; tomorrow I'll be a little of the other things and something else. For the conscientiuos, who are determinded to keep the game going, it is a certain formula for confusion and collapse.

I have spent many hours in my pastoral career attempting to make pastors out of friendly people and preachers out of talkers. I finally asked an older, wiser pastor how he deals with up and coming postmodern pop pastors who are having trouble perfecting their oratory skills. “I tell them they can’t preach,” he answered, “God has not gifted everyone in the same way and that there are many other areas of the pastoral task in a postmodern world that do not require this particular skill.” My eyes were opened. I saw the light.

Postmodern pop pastors are active in the missional work of the community because they are skilled according to their gifting. There are two very important reasons for bringing the pastoral ministry back to the empowering of the Holy Spirit. First of all, if God is not behind the work of today’s pastors then the work will not achieve its intended goals. The gospel will not be preached clearly, sinners will not find forgiveness in Christ’s death on the cross, spiritual formation will not take place and the church will not manifest the wisdom of God to the watching world. Those are tasks that no humans can achieve on their own, not matter how talented. Secondly, if postmodern pastors continued to function in all of the areas that modern pastors did, then the church will continue wither as the body of Christ. It is He who gave some to be pastors and some to be….right? Some, He gifted as the hand and some as the foot. By acting ONLY according to the skill of their gifting, postmodern pop pastors preserve the ministries of the body of Christ for the body of Christ.

As the Spirit is active in truth, postmodern pop pastors are active in the work of the community. They are skilled.

It is essential that postmodern pop pastors know of which of they speak. However, that knowledge is ugly and detrimental if they do not also embody it as best they can as fallen people in a fallen world.

If they are to lead within the community then they must be active in the work of the community, hands on in the mission of God in the church.

I find the need to be realistic by admitting that pastors are not good at everything. Honestly, some of us are quite bad at particular aspects of our job descriptions. In the modern world, it has been expected that each pastor play the role of educator, pastoral counselor, agent of social change, and manager all at the same time. Postmodern pop pastors, on the other hand, are active in smaller, more specific areas of the community’s mission according to their own true skills. They are skilled because of their gifting, because of their training, and because they have practice.

Understood properly, then, tradition, or better stated traditions play an important (albeit secondary) role in theology. Like all Christians everywhere, we read the biblical text today conscious that we are part of an ongoing listening community and therefore that we are participants in a hermeneutical trajectory. We are not the first generation since the early church to seek to be formed into the community of Christ in the world. On the contrary we are the contemporary embodiment of a historical people, the people of God throughout the ages.

Hence, the theological heritage provides a reference point for us today. This heritage offers examples of previous attempts to fulfill the theological mandate, from which we can learn. Looking at the past alerts us to some of the pitfalls we should avoid, some of the landmines that could trip us up, and some of the cul-du-sacs or blind alleys that are not worth our exploration. In addition to warning us of possible dangers, past theological statements can point us in directions that hold promise as we engage in the theological calling.

Stanley J. Grenz, “Conversing in Christian Style: Toward a Baptist Theological Method for the Postmodern Context,” Baptist History and Heritage 35/1 (Winter 2000).

Why should I spend an hour in prayer, when I do nothing during that time but think about people I am angry with, people who are angry with me, books I should read and books I should write, and thousands of other silly things that happen to grab my mind for a moment?
Why?

Because God is greater than my mind and my heart and what is really happening in the house of prayer is not measurable in terms of human success and failure.

If for no other reason, I must spend time at prayer simply as an act of faithfulness. If I believe that the first commandment is to love God with my whole heart and mind and soul then I should at least be able to spend one hour a day with nobody but God. Whether it is helpful, useful, practical or fruitful is completely irrelevant. The only reason to love is love itself. Everything else is secondary.

The remarkable thing, however is that sitting in the presence of God for one hour each morning, day after day, week after week, and month after month, in total confusion and a myriad of distractions radically changes my life.

God, who loves me so much that He sent His only Son not to condemn me but to save me, does not leave me waiting in the dark too long. I might think that each hour is useless, but after 30, 60, 90 such useless hours, I gradually come to realize that I have not been as alone as I might have thought. A very small, gentle voice has been speaking to me far beyond my noisy places.

Henri Nouwen, The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey, (New York, NY: Doubleday, 1988), 30.

Postmodern pastors must never be alone. They may serve in a solo position, but to be alone is to initiate the inevitable countdown for pastoral destruction. Collaborating lay leaders in the church can be great friends and co-workers in the cause of Christ. However, in order to continue well on their own journey so as to embody the community’s beliefs, the postmodern pastor will need to be devoted to God in spiritual guidance. My thinking on guidance is influenced by Howard Rice, The Pastor as Spiritual Guide, (Nashville, TN: Upper Room Books, 1998). I am distinguishing between direction and guidance for my own understanding. Spiritual direction speaks of the objective instruction for an individual that is common to all Christian people whether it is educational, moral or behavioral. Guidance refers to the more subjective advice given to a particular individual’s context; it is a prompting to certain learning, disciplines or behavior. We need this kind of authoritative voice in our pastoral lives. One who knows our hearts honestly, knows God and his work sufficiently to speak directly to us for the sake of our spiritual growth. This is the role we take as pastors in a postmodern pop culture; we must submit ourselves to it as well. (I appreciate the 10 year rule in seeking a spiritual guide – one who is at least 10 years older will have already experienced much of what we are currently experiencing).

Postmodern pop pastors will be personally devoted to God in the Scriptures, to God in prayer and to God through submitting to a spiritual guide. The aim of such devotion is to bring glory to God and to lead His people by embodying the spiritual beliefs of the community.

The natural outflow of the Scripture in our lives is a devotion to God in Prayer. There really is no space between our involvement with the Bible and prayer. We immediately, consciously respond to the one with the other. Is it possible to read the glorious revelation of God in the Bible and not speak back to Him? Can your heart really not react in gratitude to the messages of hope and promises of redemption found in Christ? Do you not cry out to God instinctively when you read about how the plight of the poor grieves His heart or when Jesus sheds tears over Israel’s unwillingness to be gathered to Him? Prayer is this two-way conversation. (I find no biblical warrant for thinking that I speak to God in prayer and then wait for an answer. I wonder how often we deceive ourselves by this practice? I wonder how often we use it as God’s authoritative OK on our own plans?). To be devoted in prayer means to avoid the Evangelical cop-out that says, “I pray without ceasing” as justification for failing to spend extended time in solitude before God. There is no substitute for this kind of time. To embody the spiritual beliefs of the community is to be devoted to leisurely retreats with the Father, in the name of the Son, through the intercessory work of the Spirit.

As the Son is the incarnation of truth, postmodern pastors embody the beliefs of the community. They are devoted.

This is not to say that they play the role of Jesus in the church. A pastor is not a pope. What it does say is that the one very essential characteristic of postmodern pop pastors is that they themselves believe what they teach. They believe, authentically, the beliefs of the community. This includes the community’s belief that all are flawed and in need of the redemptive work of Christ and the sanctifying work of the Spirit, all the days of their lives. Postmodern pastors prove that Christians do not believe in perfectionism.

These things will become true as postmodern pop pastors pursue a constant deepening of their own faith through devotion to God in Scripture, prayer and being under spiritual guidance.

Devotion to God in Scripture is a foundational posture for all who believe, how much more for those entrusted to teach and to guide. This devotion will take two primary forms that I can see, efforts to know the content of the holy book as the inspired revelation of God and efforts to find oneself in the story of God. Both are essential tasks. I believe that this is the correct order of things. We must begin with the arduous and time-consuming task of learning the words of God in the Bible. John Wesley, it was said, required all of his ministers to have a “working knowledge” of the Bible. That is, he expected that they would be readily familiar enough with the entire revealed text that in the case of a random question from a parishioner on chapter 21 of Leviticus, they could speak intelligently on the regulations of priests concerning dead bodies. That kind of understanding, while perhaps seemingly mundane, is vital to the work of postmodern pastors. God forbid that we speak from knowledge of any other book than the book that the Spirit of God has promised to illuminate in the task of transforming the human heart. Secondly, since we are in need of this transformation in our own hearts, there must also be time in which we sit before the Word in order to find ourselves there. These two tasks can most certainly happen simultaneously, there need be no distinction between study time and devotional time. In fact, it is the information gained in study that most often leads to the transformation of the heart. Ignorant and out of context encounters with small portions of God’s Word are no substitute for a heavy arsenal ready for the Spirit’s use. Both must occur in our minds and in our hearts.

A Quote

There are good souls who yearn to see Pentecost come to North America, to see God move in our time in ways that sweep across the landscape and change it. People who have given their lives to the church believing this has been obedience to God but now wondering whether obedience will lead them out of the church and into the streets. Followers of Jesus who are convinced that his life and death must not be squandered on an institution that seeks and saves those who are ... saved.

Reggie McNeal, The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church

A little Luther to remind us what we are about, the extravagent mercy of God in Christ:

If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, says Peter (2. Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign. It suffices that through God's glory we have recognized the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day. Do you think such an exalted Lamb paid merely a small price with a meager sacrifice for our sins? Pray hard for you are quite a sinner.

On the day of the Feast of St. Peter the Apostle, 1521

To read the whole letter
http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/letsinsbe.txt

As the Father is the source of all truth, postmodern pastors are the holders of the community's beliefs. They are wise and educated.

If postmodern pop pastors are to be the holders of the community's beliefs, then they must know those beliefs thoroughly. To know beliefs thoroughly, one must know them both broadly and deeply. To know them thoroughly, one must know them readily enough to discuss them without preparation at the insigation of a fellow believer.

In the image of the Father, postmodern pop pastors are wise in the areas of Scripture, tradition and culture. All three shape the Christian community. While, as an Evangelical, I would say that the church's beleifs are entirely delineated in Scripture, the way we hold them and practice them are influenced by the tradition we belong to and the culture in which we live.

One must be wise in the content of the Scripture, as such. I am not speaking of an Evangelical interpretation of the Scripture, but the Word of God as it is revealed. Their knowledge of the stories is such that they can jump in at any point of the plot and speak intelligently. The same is true of the poems and the prophecies. Then, the propositional NT statements of the Apostle Paul will make sense and our comments will more fully in line with the revelation of God. It is said that John Welsey required each of his ministers to have such a working knowledge of the Bible that if any of their parishoners walked up unexpectedly and asked about Ezekiel chapter 37 which they are reading for their own edification, you can speak with them about the valley of dry bones without having to go back to a seminary syllabus.

A believing community does not limit their beliefs to the Scripture, as such. This is true, even for those who claim, "no creed but the Bible," which seems to be a creed doesnt it? We all use non-biblical words in order to clarify our understanding of the Bible. This is necessary for the function of a gathered people. Some beliefs, while acceptable as orthodox Christianity, may not be compatible with others functionally within a single Christian community. The pastor, therefore, must be thoroughly educated on the beliefs of their tradition - is the community Presbyterian, Baptism, Assemblies of God, Mennonite Brethren, Evangelical Free? Know those distinctions and how they came about, like it or not, your spiritual geneology influences how you believe. You are not off the hook by saying that you are non-denominational. You too have been shaped by your schooling, by the anti-authoritation bent of the non-denominational system and by the authors who you read. This is not a bad thing. To be self taught and shaped only by your own understanding would make you the most dangerous pastor in the world.

As pastors, we must know the culture in which our community exists. Simply, I must know the shaping effect of North American Christianity, especially in contrast to that of other parts of the world. Yes, I am biased, so are you. Knowing those and confronting them is healthy and makes the pastor more prepared to nurture Christians instead of American Christians. Think culture in ever smaller circles. Western versus Eastern, North American versus European and African, United States versus Canada, California versus Iowa, Southern California versus Northern California, suburband versus urban, upper middle class versus poor, modern versus postmodern. Most likely, your church will be made of many of these, know them all. If your church is a limited homogenous unit that crossess neither racial nor cultural barier, then it would be good to go back to the first area in which wisdom is needed. The Bible's description of the Christian community does not give that kind of example. The early pattern is one that defies all human delineation, while maintaining community boundaries based upon belief and moral practices.

Postmodern pop pastors will be students of the Bible, the tradition and the culture so as to stand (preferrably with a team of people) as the resident theologians, story tellers, and spiritual guides of the community.

A quote from Eugene Peterson on how he kept sabbath as the pastor. Even more necesary in the busyness of the postmodern age. Peterson spends much time on the need for spiritual guidance.

"For 18 years, Monday was my Sabbath. Nothing was scheduled for Mondays. if there were emergencies, I responded, but there were surprisingly few. My wife joined me in observing the day. We made a lunch, put it in a day pack, took our binoculars, and drove anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour away to a trail head along a river or into the mountains. Before we began our hike, my wife read a psalm and prayed. After that prayer, there was no more talking-we entered into a silence that continued for the next two or three hours, until we stopped for lunch.

We walked leisurely, emptying ourselves, opening ourselves to what was there: fern shapes, flower fragrance, bird song, granite outcropping, oaks, and sycamores, rain, snow, sleet, wind. We had clothes for all kinds of weather and so never canceled our Sabbath keeping for reasons of weather any more than our Sunday churchgoing- and for the same reason: we needed our Sabbath just as much as our parishioners needed theirs. When the sun or our stomachs told us it was lunch time, we broke the silence with a prayer of blessing for the sandwiches and fruit, the river and the forest. We were free to talk then, sharing bird sightings, thoughts, observations, ideas-however much or little we were inclined. We returned home in the middle or late afternoon, puttered, did odd jobs, read. After supper I usually wrote family letters. That was it: No Sinai thunder, no Damascus Road illuminations, no Patmos visions. It was a day set apart for solitude and silence, for "not doing," for being there. It was the sanctification of time.

We didn't have any rules for preserving the sanctity of the day, only the commitment that it be set apart for being, not using."

Eugene Peterson, "The Good for Nothing Sabbath," Christianity Today, (April 4, 1994), 34-36.