Sad Plight of the Solo Pastor: Part 2

I think that basically pastors are set up by the system to fail. What do you think of you when you think of a "good" pastor? Here's a few:

1. Great preacher.
2. Good counselor.
3. Great administrator.
4. Excellent leader.
5. Great servant.
6. Fun and approachable.
7. A natural evangelist.
8. Able to receive feedback.
9. Full of integrity and the fruit of the Spirit.
10. Vulnerable yet strong.

Often solo pastors walk the plank for failing at just one of these! Now character is indeed important and nonnegotiable, but what about the other skills? Do you know how rare it is for a pastor to be a good preacher, a good administrator, and a good counselor? Maybe one in 200. And yet we have such high expectations!

Part of the system is that we expect that a good pastor can do more then they possibly can. Adding to the dysfunction is the pastor also believes they should be able to meet these expectations. You cannot imagine the pressure. No wonder so many good pastors lose it! Eventually they buckle under the pressure and either commit some sort of moral failure or burn out, or leave the ministry (and possibly the faith) completely disillusioned. When a church feels their pastor isn't measuring up to "what a pastor should be" they turn on them. The pastor can do no right and when they do make mistakes they are hung for them. Both pastor and church believe they are correct (maintaining the evil expectations of the system for the pastor) and they resort to incredibly un-Christian conduct (slander, gossip, deception, etc). The wounds are are sharp and deep.

I don't think that pastors or congregations should not take personal responsibility for their actions but I do think we need to make some changes to the system. Some humble suggestions:
-Stop thinking of leadership as the "pastor." Start thinking about leadership as "the team."
-Take the emphasis off pastors (maybe even get rid of the term completely) and put the emphasis on elders and deacons (like in the NT)
-Hire pastors according to their character and gifting, fitting what is currently missing in the church's leadership team.
-Re-teach the congregation (not a quick or easy task!): From now on the pastor will serve according to the abilities, not their old expectations.
-Forget the "universal" pastoral job description. Instead jointly come up with a job description with each new hiring and each new need of the church.

May Light increase!