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Two ‘letters from the heart’ – one from a pastor,
another from a deacon – in a state Baptist paper got me thinking.
(Actually that’s my job -reflecting about, and running seminars
on how pastors and church leaders relate. I’m also a pastor, married
to a pastor, and I’m a ‘lay-person’ in my church, Heathmont Baptist).
Here’s a pot-pourri of my reactions:

*** Ten Commandments for Pastors ***

(1) You’re a servant-leader – a servant, responsive
to people’s needs; a leader, ensuring their spiritual nourishment
(sometimes in unfamiliar pastures). The devil tried to get Jesus
to seek power: your calling is to ’empower’, equipping the church
to minister to itself and the world (Ephesians 4:11-16). So you
won’t be threatened by the giftedness of talented co-ministers
in your church.

(2) So your tasks are only three – to pray, teach
and train/delegate (Exodus 18:13 ff., Acts 6:1-4). Suggested time-
frame: mornings with God, afternoons (and about 3 evenings) with
people (half people-time with leaders), and the rest (after your
day/s off) in administration! And ministry begins inside your
front door. A written ministry-description saves a lot of misunderstanding.
Re day/s off: the only thing you can say of all the great biblical
leaders is that they spent a lot of time in deserts.

(3) History does not begin at your induction. Help
’em own their history, and they’ll be more likely to own change.
(And when your history is through, clear out).

(4) Corporate worship should mix tradition and spontaneity,
‘recital’ and praise, trad. hymns and mod. scripture songs. Include
people’s faith-stories, encouragement of and prayer for one another.
(You’ll get about as much encouragement as you teach them to give
– primarily by your own example).

(5) Your preaching (if that’s your gift) is to be
life-related, biblical, warm, dialogical, prophetic – and interesting!
Spend an hour in the study for each minute in the pulpit (Fosdick).
Each week’s sermon should be good enough for publication. Good
preaching – by itself – will not grow a church anymore, but bad
preaching will certainly empty it.

(6) Develop pastoral skills – to ensure each interview
sees persons coming further into the kingdom (you can know that)
and to train others. Read a professional book a week, do a CPE
course, get ‘Leadership’ (and World Vision’s ‘GRID’ of course),
attend seminars.

(7) The ‘blighters’ will work, if they’re well trained
and led, own their own goals, and know their gifts/limits.

(8) Good church organization is like good digestion:
it’s best if it isn’t too obvious. Never call for volunteers for
specialized jobs: you’ll get the wrong people mostly. And never
call a meeting without knowing the minimum number RSVP’d to attend.
Get an administrative person to rustle up the required group.

(9) Don’t develop a ‘messiah complex’. Some people
are best helped by being left alone. And don’t be married to the
church: that’s adultery (the church is already married)! You won’t
survive as a pastor on your own: find a prayer-partner, soul friend,
sharing group, or, better, spiritual director. Watch your self
(Acts 20:28, 1 Timothy 4:16): there’s an Elmer Gantry lurking
within each of us!

(10) Don’t criticize the church, not even to God
(Bonhoeffer). After 3 years it’s what you’ve led it to become
(5-6+ years in rural areas). The pastoral ministry is probably
the most difficult, but certainly the most glorious job on this
planet.

Ten Commandments for Church Leaders

(1) It’s tougher to be a pastor than ever before:
don’t make it harder. Let your pastor be himself or herself (Romans
15:7): don’t compare him/her with other (previous) pastors. (Eg.
pastors ought to visit people, but if you were ‘visited’ regularly
by a former pastor and not by this one, rejoice! This pastor may
have a more biblical notion of visitation: ie, it’s a function
of the whole church, James 1:27).

(2) Your pastor is with you ‘for better for worse,
for richer for poorer’ and God hates divorce. You shall nurture
the relationship by using more words to pray for and encourage
your pastor than to criticize him/her. So watch your tongue: you
are not divinely ordained to be the church’s resident wet-blanket
(see 1 Corinthians 1:10). A fault-finding spirit is deadly, literally.

(3) Remember the pastor is servant of the church,
but the church is not his/her master – Christ is. Sometimes your
pastor will teach something new to you: be cautious before opposing
it (1 Timothy 5:1, 1 Peter 3:8). If he or she has been given an
insight into, say, an approach to justice or spirituality that
has not been a part of your tradition, beware of joining those
who from ancient days have persecuted true prophets. Those persecutors
were defending ‘orthodoxy’ too!

(4) You prayed for God’s shepherd for your church
and your prayers were answered: churches like any community, generally
get the leaders they deserve. Your pastor is leader (develop the
art of ‘followership’, Hebrews 13:17), teacher (so be teachable),
and nurturer (be a growing person).

(5) There are three biblical ways a church is governed,
not one: episcopally (so let your leader/s lead!), through elders
(make sure they’re fully accountable to the church), and congregationally
(but a wise congregation will delegate routine matters to gifted
persons/groups). Church members’ meetings are for praise, encouragement,
information-seeking and giving, and prayer for God’s guidance.
The devil wants to make them destructive: don’t let him (ask your
barbed questions to responsible people privately).

(6) The pastor is the loneliest person in the community,
and the pastor’s spouse often doesn’t have a pastor (she/he is
not an ‘unpaid employee’ of the church but fulfils a role commensurate
with gifts, not church precedent).

(7) Be a well-trained leader. What books/courses
have you submitted to in leadership, management, church growth,
small groups, counseling etc? Are you as well-trained for the
Lord’s work in the church as for your profession? Your pastor
does not have every spiritual gift: how can you complement his/her
strengths? Are you a member of a discipleship group? No one should
occupy any leadership position in a church unless they’re accountable
to someone for their own spiritual growth.

(8) Be generous! Put money into the budget for continuing
education etc. (Pastors of dynamic churches tend to travel a fair
bit to learn from others – and vice versa). Provide secretarial
help, telephone answering-machine etc. if possible. Of course
the stipend will always be paid on time. If the church owns a
manse, be a Christian landlord -a deacon should be charged with
the job of liaising with the manse family about their needs. (Anglicans
have a ‘rector’s warden’: Baptists need a pastor’s elder/deacon).

(9) Be a visionary. ‘What does God want us to do?’
comes well before ‘what will it cost?’ When new ideas are suggested,
don’t be a ‘yes-but permission- witholder’! ‘We’ve not done it
that way before before / that won’t work here’ are the slogans
of a dead church. If your pastor’s a bit slow, give him/her books
or articles to read (and don’t labour the issue).

(10) Be a self-starter. If you have a job to do,
do it with your whole heart (1 Corinthians 15:58). ‘When so-and-so
volunteers, the job’s as good as done – well!’ Be that sort of
‘so-and-so’!

Ten Commandments for Church People

* DON’T IDEALIZE the church – it’s glorious, not
because it’s perfect (after all, you’re in it!), but because it’s
being redeemed.

* DON’T CRITICIZE your fellow-believers anytime (unless
the church has confirmed your gifts of leadership and discernment)
or the pastor (ditto, and never ever before or after a Sunday
service: the Devil’s already doing that; don’t you help him).

* DON’T POLARIZE in church meetings or committees.
‘I don’t agree’ is very negative: try ‘Is there perhaps another
way of looking at this?’

* DON’T OSTRACIZE people whose psychological ‘chemistry’
is different to yours, or who do not see things your way. Be Christian,
and greet them warmly, and pray with them anyway.

* DON’T IDOLIZE the pastor or any other leader: we
are all fellow- strugglers and we all have feet of clay.

* DON’T MONOPOLIZE conversations: be that kind of
rare person who is an empathetic listener.

* DON’T ORGANIZE anything ‘off your own bat’. Initiative
is good: initiative plus collaboration plus accountability is
better.

* DON’T ‘HOMOGENIZE’. Talk to people who are not
your cronies (even tax-collectors and sinners do that). Accept
people who are not like you theologically. After all, God’s truth
may include both your and their understandings!

* Above all, DON’T VERBALIZE your frustration or
negativity about the church to others: it is sure to discourage
them. Do it with the Lord, a spiritual director or counselor,
and possibly, after much prayer, to a responsible leader. The
devil is very clever: he puts words into our mouth like: ‘Would
you (my friend) pray with me about the problem I have with…’

* Instead REALIZE that the Church is loved by Christ,
so be patient with each other: the Lord hasn’t finished with any
of us yet!

Rowland Croucher

(The above may be reproduced, whole or in sections,
in any form, with due acknowledgement).