Equipping Pastor or Priest?

I am half way through Unfinished Business Returning the Ministry to the People of God by Greg Ogden and I wanted to post some thoughts on it.

Ogden is calling for a New Reformation as the Reformation while accomplishing great things did not go far enough in the area of the priesthood of believers. When we look at the institution of the typical church, do we see it set up in a fashion for priestly leadership or the leadership of an equipping pastor? Priestly leadership is one where the church expects the pastor to perform baptisms, weddings, funerals, administer the Lord's Supper, visit the sick, lead the church in vision, prayer, evangelism, discipleship, and so on. You do not have to go far to see this line of thinking in the church - just look at the search team's requirements for a new pastor. Some want so much out of a man that I don't believe Jesus would satisfy them.

An equipping pastor leads people to discover their spiritual gifts and then leads them in using their gifts to advance the kingdom of God. I believe every church would say that this is what they want, but will they be satisfied if the pastor does not visit them in the hospital while a member of the church does. An equipping pastor spends more time investing into people who want to grow in Christ than he does maintaining the flock.

I am doing a poor job of expressing Odgen's words, but hopefully you are getting the picture. For the church to move from a priestly view of their pastor, there must be a paradigm shift. How can this shift occur?

1. It must begin with my view of the pastor's role. I have held on to the traditional role of a pastor meeting every one's needs and being there for them for so long, this will stretch my mind. Let's face it, I feel good when people tell me that I preached the greatest sermon ever, or when they tell me they do not know what they would have done if I had not been there. I must seek approval from God, not others. I so want to spend my time equipping others, not holding their hands for the rest of their lives.

2. The church must change it's view of a pastor. How is this to happen? Like I said, I am only half way through the book. This is what the next section of the book deals with. I'll keep you posted.

On the home front, the couple that looked at our house last week are coming to take another look Thursday at 4:00. Pray that we have an offer on Friday.