The man in the office

Being a pastor has to be a difficult job.
I mean think about it, he has to prepare a sermon every week that will motivate, challenge and uplift the people under his care. He has to call on the sick and dying, comfort those that have lost loved ones, plot a course for his church and then get people excited about following the course. At the same time he has to juggle a home life, and be a role model for people. He is watched very closely by the community, to make sure he does everything right. He is not supposed to get mad or upset, and well, we want him to be everything that were not.
Pretty tough job.
And yet I know some pretty good pastors, people that just love people, and love what they do.
And I think that's the key.
Loving people.
You know I have interviewed pastors, and it seems we get really interested in their education, their accomplishments, did they grow their former church?
I think really we need to be asking, do you get along with people?
You might think that's a funny question, but I was listening to a gentleman who had contacted a seminary, looking for a prospective pastor. The man in charge of placement got a large stack of papers and put them on his desk. He went on to say that on each piece of paper was a name of a person that had graduated the seminary and had enough knowledge to teach and preach effectively. But each of them had a problem.
They couldn't get along with people.
Working with people seems to be a lost art, and I think we can point to a couple of reasons why this is the case.
The first reason is that once some people become more educated, they tend to look down on those who aren't so well educated. If you want to get run out of your first church, treat them like their stupid. Talk down to them like your the only one who really knows what's going on. Then read a bunch of church growth books, and then try everything all at once, and then when it doesn't work, complain bitterly that it was your churches fault for the failure, not yours.
You have to earn your peoples trust before you do anything, they won't follow you if they don't like you. I once took a leadership class that stated that when you first take a new church, don't do anything new for at least two years. At first I thought that sounded a little crazy, but the more I thought about it, the more it makes sense. They need time to get used to you, and for you to build relationships and develop trust.
The second reason is more cultural, we don't hang around other people that much anymore. Call it what you want, but as a culture, we are building fences around ourselves. We don't just visit other people as much as we used to. Our homes have become our castles, and we prefer to be left alone to do what we want to do, when we want to do it. Oh were not rude to people who do show up at our door, but were sure glad when they leave.
In this type of culture, it's hard to develop social skills. When you only talk to family and people you know, it's makes it difficult to talk to people you don't know. We find that just avoiding to talk to these unknown people is the solution, which makes people think that you just don't like them (which may or may not be true). We don't learn humility, and being gracious. It's want I want and I want it NOW. That can be a real turn-off.
Look, I know I'm not a pastor, and I know that I really only have the slightest clue of what being a pastor is like. But I do know these three things,
1. Good pastors are in short supply. When you get a good one, hold on to him with all you have.
2. Many won't even consider the ministry, they see it as a low paying job.
3.Finding pastors that have people skills is becoming very hard to do.
Remember, pastors have to deal with people. You cannot become a shepard if the sheep you lead don't trust you. You can have all the degrees in the world, but if you don't love people like Christ loved people, your ministry will come up short.