Serving the Church

Back in the early '70's when I was working to earn a seminary degree, it was not uncommon to hear a professor speak of those of us who were going out into the local church as the religious professional of the community, or the resident theologian.  It was something which tickled the ears of young theologians like myself who were looking for some kind of professional validation among other peer professionals.  Oddly, enough, there was not much talk about our going out to live as servants in the church, or in the world.  Occasionally, being a servant might be mentioned, but not so much that it became ingrained as a desired identity.  

And as ministry got underway with its advancements from the smaller church to the larger church, the concept of being a servant faded in the presence of budding ambition.  The larger church hired people to do some of the work of ministry so that ministry became compartmentalized and the pastor assigned had more time for the important things.  Interestingly enough, those important things were never more time to pray, more time to be immersed in the Word, more time to work at being a better preacher, more time for shepherd work,  and more time to visit the sick.  Instead, the psyche of the church in hiring more staff was to give the one at the top of the work pyramid more time to supervise and manage staff, more time to watch over the finances, more time to plan and build bigger buildings, and more time to grow into a CEO type instead of a servant to the church and its people.   

Of course, it is not just something which can be blamed on the church as some might like to do.  The choice of the individual pastor is always paramount.  We choose what we become.  If do overs were possible some of those who have become worn out preachers would be more intentional about going after the servant leader model exemplified by Jesus instead of the model imposed by the corporate marketplace.  Yet, the reality remains that it is never too late to pick up the towel and basin and serve the cause of Christ as a servant.