Work in Process

Scriptures: I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:3-6)

Last Saturday, we had an installation service for our new pastor. Many pastors and leaders of churches in the area came to share that joyous occasion with us. One of the pastors who spoke to the congregation used the way Apostle Paul presented himself in his epistles to talk about how the congregation should handle our relationship with the pastor.

He pointed out that Paul seemed to have a two-fold role in mind whenever he wrote to the early churches then, a servant and an ambassador. For example, in the beginning of the book of Philippians, he called Timothy and himself, “servants of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:1) And, in the book of Ephesians, he called himself, “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.” (Ephesians 1:1)

The speaker reminded us that the combination of these two images tells us that: First of all, the pastor is a servant to Christ Jesus, but not a servant at our commands. He is just like anyone of us, a human being, with limited time and energy and, when overloaded, can easily burn out. How true this is! How often have we tried to have the pastor work as if he’s there to serve us exclusively.

This lead to his second point, which was, the pastor was an ambassador from God. As such, he came with a mission defined by the One who sent him. We, as the flock to be shepherded by, should respect and honor this calling God has for His ambassador. Moreover, as the pastor was the ambassador from our Lord Jesus, we should help and support him so he could serve with dignity.

He concluded that, in order to have a fruitful ministry from this new pastoral relationship, setting the correct expectation for each other in this relationship is crucial. To this, I thought, “Isn’t it true for any relationship we have?”

Sometimes, I think we expect too much of a person, especially a spiritual leader. It could have been because of the office or position he/she holds in the church; it could have been because of certain ministries or deeds performed. In any case, we often look upon our leaders so high that it becomes unattainable for them. We expect them to be a “superman” who can do all things, sharing messages from God, visiting the elderly, the sick and the needy, training the co-workers, typing Sunday Service programs, fixing plumbing problems in the church, caring for the little children, conducting choirs, leading weekly bible studies, providing church long-term strategic planning, caring for homeless, providing transportation services to those who have no vehicles, and the list goes on and on.

All of these expectations were because he/she is a leader and should exemplify all these virtues. There’s really nothing wrong with any of these things. All of them are great and blissful things. But, we seem to forget that they are also just human beings, they need rest; they need encouragements; they need to have time with their Lord; they need to have time with their families; they need all these just like us. We forget that, just like us, they are God’s work-in-process. They may be more advanced in spiritual maturity, but a work-in-process nonetheless. Sometimes, I feel that we expect them to be God and do not allow them to be human.

We seem to forget that there is a reason why God prepares co-workers in the church. Co-workers are us, you and me. We are called to assist our leaders and support in every way, especially in prayers, so they can concentrate on the mission laid before them and complete them. This is also true of any relationship, be it marital, friendship, professional, parental, in-laws, or others. If we remember they are just human beings and are work-in-processes like us, we will do well to help them be the persons God wants them to be and, at the end, they can claim, just as Paul did, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (II Timothy 4:7)

I am convinced that is part of the reasons why church is here today!

Prayer Request:
For all pastors

Prayers:

Our loving Father, thank You for Your continuing leadership through Your faithful servants, our spiritual leaders. Help us to be understanding and sensitive to their needs as they strive to grow and lead all at the same time. We pray in the name of our Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ, A-men!