Pastoral ministry has changed quite a bit in my generation. A friend and I attended a pastors meeting in nearby Birmingham recently and I jokingly remarked to him that pastors look younger these days with their beards, spiked hair and skinny jeans! And it’s also true that pastors today have different role models than we did at that particular juncture.
One of my role models was W. A. Criswell who served First Baptist Church in Dallas for 40 years. Dr. Criswell always told pastors to “give your mornings to God.” He instructed us to lock ourselves away in our offices and refuse to be deterred as we studied and prayed and prepared.
I tried to do this for many years. I asked the church ministry assistant to hold calls until lunch when I would return them. And she was able to turn away casual visitors for the most part.
The only regular visitor I had was the church treasurer who came on Thursdays to sign checks. He insisted on coming in to hand me my check, but he quickly pulled it away when I reached for it.
“You don’t want this do you?” he laughed and said.
It was his weekly joke, which I really found demeaning.
Nevertheless, one of my pastor friends was a former salesman and very gregarious. He once told me he couldn’t imagine anyone coming into the church without his walking out to greet them, even if they came for some other reason. His role model was Dr. Criswell, too, but my friend didn’t follow our mentor’s advice on locking ourselves away.
But now I see things differently and believe my friend’s conduct was best.
At my present church I’m the sole full-time employee, so when the part-time ministry assistant isn’t there, I greet those who stop by, including members who come to pick up literature or bring food for a funeral meal, and the fire inspector and the pest control man.
I still schedule hours for study, but I find that I can do this early morning without interruption, or with the advent of laptops, work at home in the evening. And I really can’t say my sermons were any better or deeper theologically when I locked myself away from the world for those years!
The professor my friend and I heard last month said sermons are born in the crock pot, not the microwave. He insisted we study and think and pray all week, but we must also handle the needs of people as they arise.
Every pastor has to find proper balance in study and pastoral care. And I’m sure we’re supported in this by faithful congregants who want us to excel in both.
