Let me state my bias up front. I love pastors and I loved pastoring. For close to 30 years I pastored churches large and small. Churches so large that I had multiple pastors and staff. Churches so small I had to wash my own feet at communion! And today I spend a significant amount of my time training pastors, from undergrad to grad school to continuing education.
Complaints about pastors are nothing new. Like death and taxes, they can’t be avoided. But over the last several years, complaints about young pastors-and “young” can be relative-have been growing. If I had a dollar for every time I heard some of these complaints I’d be rich:
- “All they want to do is preach.”
- “They don’t do evangelism.”
- “They don’t visit.”
- “They don’t preach the doctrines.”
- “They change EVERYTHING!”
Any truth to the charges? Of course. There is not one of these criticisms that is not true of certain young pastors. And perhaps they are truer of this current generation than past. I don’t know. But frankly, many of those charges are standard fare. I’ve heard them for as long as I can remember. Every generation has its own particular challenges, but there’s nothing new here.
And to be fair, young pastors make up a fairly small percentage of our pastoral workforce. A recent review of pastoral demographics reveals that 50% of Adventist pastors are within 10 years of retirement. So, if you’re having a problem with a pastor, it’s probably not a young one. And frankly most of the challenges our churches face, have been in place for years before most of these pastors were born:
- Our members left the neighborhood, years ago.
- Our evangelism fell off a cliff, years ago.
- Our young people started leaving the church, years ago.
- Many of our members were mean, years ago.
So, this idea that the problem with today’s church can be laid at the feet of young pastors is quite simply, scapegoating. And it’s interesting that often the same leaders and churches who complain about young pastors are generally requesting those same pastors for their camp meetings and open churches. And the same leaders who complain about young pastors, complain that their older pastors are just floating to retirement.
Now some of the complaints are absolutely on point. Many times young pastors are unaware of how much they mirror the characteristics of this crazy generation. So here is some quick counsel to young pastors:
You Don’t Know Everything
You may be the leader the conference sent, but you’re not automatically the leader the people follow. That comes with time and relationships. Every officer in that church has been there longer than you. They have a perspective that you don’t have and sorely need. Resist the urge to make changes before you’ve taken the time to understand the church and the community.
Prioritize Pastoring
A common complaint about this generation of pastors is that their priority is preaching. That’s often true. There are a number of reasons for that, including the instant access to powerful preaching online. But in this impersonal, broken age, people need shepherds more than they need speakers.
Yes, there are some things that only the “foolishness” of preaching can do. But there are some problems that preaching can’t solve. If you prioritize pastoring, even your preaching sounds better to the members.
Love the People
Paul told Timothy in I Timothy 4:12 not to let the members “despise” or think less of him because of his youth. But his remedy for that was not to be a better preacher or more skilled leader. His answer was to be intentional about his integrity and demonstrate real love for the people.
Now that I’ve addressed the young pastors, let me offer some counsel to the members of young pastors.
Be Prayerful– Always make your pastor and family the object of prayer.
Be Patient – It will take time for your pastor to learn to juggle all the responsibilities of ministry. Some things just take time.
Be Respectful – Your pastor may be significantly younger than you, but both of you are younger than God. And God says if you disrespect the pastor, you disrespect the office he holds and the God he represents.
Be Supportive – You might not like the young pastor’s plan, but practically any plan will work if you work it. Support the pastor’s plans and ideas as long as they are biblical and ethical. And where there are disagreements, take them behind closed doors.
Be Protective– Think of the pastor as you would your son or daughter. Get in front of issues that might hurt. Protect the pastor’s family. Members will tell the pastor to put his family first but expect the pastor to put their family first. When you protect the pastor and family, you literally protect yourself.
So, there it is. What do you think? Are we supporting our young pastors enough? What can we do? How do you deal with the ones who won’t listen?
By Dr. Jesse Wilson