\nI think Simon and Garfunkel described the feeling of some pastors today when\nthey sang, “When you’re weary, feeling small.” (Interestingly, the words\ncome from “Bridge over Troubled Waters,” an apt metaphor for much of pastoral\nministry.)<\/p>\n\n
\nThe weariness I see among some clergy is not usually full-fledged burnout.\nIt’s the slow buildup, like wax on a kitchen floor, of too many evening meetings,\ntoo many conflicts, too few days off.<\/p>\n\n
\nThe “feeling small” comes out in conversations. Recently I was with two pastors\nwho serve vital congregations-one of 300, one of about 200 people. According\nto the church-growth statisticians, these two ministers would be the envy\nof 90 percent of America’s pastors. But they don’t feel that way.<\/p>\n\n
\nOne said, “Our church is only about 200.” The other said, apologetically,\n“We’re just a small church.” Something about their demeanor said, “I’m just\na pastor of just a small church.”<\/p>\n\n
\nI thought about the conversation later, and the more I did, the more it bothered\nme.<\/p>\n\n
\nWould we say, “I’m just an Olympian” or “I’m only a ceo” or “I’m nothing\nbut a new parent”?<\/p>\n\n
\nWhy, then, the apologies for our role or our congregations?<\/p>\n\n
\nHave we come to believe the implications of conference brochures (ministers\nare valuable only if their<\/p>\n\n
\nchurches are large)? Or the made-for-tv movies (ministers are scalawags or\nwimps)?<\/p>\n\n
\nThe New Testament knows no such thing as “just a pastor.” And you’ll never\nread “just a small church,” though some assemblies receiving an inspired\nepistle were tiny.<\/p>\n\n
\nToday, then, what seems like pastoral modesty may border on blasphemy.<\/p>\n\n
\nEach church is a gathering of God’s carefully chosen and loved people. A\nsummit meeting of royalty. Part of what Jesus Christ solemnly promised to\nbuild. The only institution worthy to stand not only in this age but the\nnext; even marriage can’t make that claim. God longs to receive “his glorious\ninheritance in the saints.”And the leaders of such a holy endeavor are worthy\nto receive “a crown of glory that will never fade.”<\/p>\n\n
\nSince the Holy Spirit made you an overseer (Acts 20:28), to feel “I’m just\na pastor” is to criticize God’s wisdom, using a scale of comparison he never\ndevised.<\/p>\n\n
\nI went to a conference last summer, and during the closing worship service,\npeople prayed for each participant. During prayer for me, one woman said\nsimply, “Thank you, Lord, that you have entrusted him with the gospel of\nChrist.”<\/p>\n\n