Pastors Are People (Part 2)

Pastors Make Mistakes—

Pastors are people!  They make mistakes.  Just because a person is called to preach the Gospel, he or she is not necessarily placed beyond the possibility of making human errors.  The Scriptures say that we shall be like Jesus, when we see Him as He is; but until that time, we are in the flesh, and are heirs to the weaknesses of the flesh.  All of us are capable of making wrong choices, unwise decisions, unfortunate remarks.  We all exhibit flaws and make mistakes.  To lead a victorious life should be the goal of every Christian—not just the pastor—and to expect perfection in them (which we do not achieve in ourselves) is unfair.  Pastors will sometimes make mistakes.  These are God’s concern, not ours.  The Scriptures say, “To his own master he standeth, and falleth.”  Indeed, they say more, “Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make them stand.”

Pastors Need Privacy—

Pastors are people!  They need privacy.  Because men and women of God, like persons of medicine, are on twenty—four hour call, their private lives are constantly invaded.  The pastor has less time with their family than does the average person—but needs more.  They who give constantly to others have needs of comfort, understanding, and warmth which are the basic portion of life within the family circle.  Unnecessary phone calls to their home rob them of their all-too-brief opportunity to be alone with their own.  The surprise “I-just-dropped-in” visit you were planning to make may be more than a surprise—it may be an intrusion.  It is God Himself who “setteth the solitary in families”—so there must be something there which a person can find nowhere else.  The pastor’s privacy needs to be guarded by their congregation.  Over against this fact, there stands another opposed to it, but equally true.

Pastors Become Lonely—

Because pastors are people, they are often a little lonely.  The very nature of their tasks makes them that way.  They have been set apart by God for a holy work, and they spend much time apart with God, in preparation for that work.  For this reason they often seem aloof.  The man or woman in the pulpit has been dwelling “in the secret place of the most High,” and it is as unfair to expect them to come suddenly down to earth at the sanctuary door as it would be to expect Moses of the shining face to come down from the mountain to inquire, “And how are all the children?”

The pastor’s aloofness may trouble them more than anyone else.  He or she must no play favorites with the members of their flock; he or she dare not discuss their problems with anyone in the congregation.  They are people who “must show themselves friendly,” yet have few intimate friends of their own.  If they seem a bit aloof, don’t forget that they are a bit lonely, too.

Pastors are people—very special people, to be sure—chosen vessels of the Lord, to be used of Him that others might know the Saviour; but they are human, nevertheless.  As people, they have feelings, physical limitations, human desires, weaknesses as well as strengths, even as you and I.  Perhaps they would like for us to remember this sometimes.

Perhaps the greatest service we can render our pastors is to grant them the same understanding that we would extend to any fellow Christians, and not expect of them more than we would have them expect of us.

-Helen Frazee-Bowler