I’m not sure if I’m posting in the correct thread, but did anyone read the WaPo article on pastors and mental illness?
‘It’s Like I Got Kicked Out of My Family.’ Churches Struggle With Mental Health in the Ranks.
Any thoughts?
The whole structure of "pastor" in the modern church is not biblical. It's an advance on the idea of a select group of priests representing Christ to the church, but in practice it's not much different. Many Christians have contracted the pastor to live their Christian lives for them.
When you look at the New Testament, there is surprisingly little mention of pastors. They are not the sole authority in the church and neither should they take all the pressure of leadership. The church is the body of Christ. Elders should be apt to teach. Why bother when the pulpit is the sole domain of the pastor? As a result, Christians are stifled, their growth is stunted, they become lazy and their Christian lives boring. The few who carry the burden are overloaded.
I saw how pastors were treated - as if the members owned them. I was not in the least bit interested in being a pastor. God called me to teach. That means I'm a pastor too. Not at all what I had in mind. So I encourage our small group to find their calling and live in the light of it. My role is to help and encourage but leave the responsibility to them. I teach the basics, and I exhort believers to have a personal relationship with God through Jesus. Otherwise, it is just lifeless religion. No wonder people are leaving the church in droves.
For example, music is a big part of church life. Now we have "music pastors", which is ridiculous. OK, so it is what it is. If the pastor and music leader are in harmony with the Spirit, the pastor can leave the music side entirely to the music leader. I've known ministries where the song leader consistently chose songs that fitted the pastor's theme very well. The pastor has enough to do without micromanaging everything.
