Last week I wrote about how unbiblical church structure is killing the church. By having an unbiblical structure the church opens itself up for unqualified leaders to be put in place, and the schisms and disunity that comes through constantly holding church votes. Today I want to talk about another characteristic that is killing the church: unbiblical expectations of pastors.

Growing up as a pastor’s kid I thought it was the pastor’s job to be available to everyone in the church 24/7. No matter what day or time, if someone called, the pastor dropped what he was doing and sprinted out the door to “minister.” This meant being available via phone while on vacation – if you took a vacation, and not letting family outings or anything else get in the way.

The pastor was required to wear a suit and tie at all times – apparently it’s in the Bible somewhere. And while the pastor is expected to be an expert in all things Bible – such as theology, Greek, Hebrew, and application – his primary job was to serve the people of the church in any way they desired. Such things as vision are better left to the people that have been at the church since it began. And decisions regarding the budget and how to spend the money are for committees the pastor isn’t a part of. And should the pastor feel led to being or end a particular ministry it would be in his best interest to get approval from the congregation by holding a vote.

It doesn’t take long to see that the above description is not of a pastor at all. The above description is, at best, of a Deacon (at worst it is the description of an abused Deacon). Sadly, many churches have such unrealistic and unbiblical expectations of their pastor’s that both the church and the pastor (and his family) suffer.

So what is the role of the pastor?

Simply stated, based on Acts 6:4, the main responsibility of the pastor is to “devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” In other words, the main job of the pastor is to spend time in prayer, study the Bible, and teaching/preaching.

Now, I have actually had to try and explain the time needed to adequately prepare a solid, biblical, expository lesson; only to be told my explanation didn’t make sense. Yes, there is still some people in the church that believe a pastor just opens his Bible, gets divine inspiration from God and preaches “what comes to him.” This, no doubt, is a result of many unfit pastors preaching from the hip the same sad sermons they’ve been repeating for years. Any pastor worth his salt knows that 6-12 hours each week is a minimum of what is needed to properly prepare an expository sermon or lesson.

But many church members have a problem with the pastor spending so much time in his office. What does he do all day? I’ve been asked that question, too. This is the result of unbiblical expectations on our pastors that demand they be at the beckon call of every person in the congregation.

But we clearly see from Acts that pastors are to be “devoted” to prayer and Bible study. The two most important aspects of a pastor’s day, according to the Bible, are often the two most neglected. What is needed is churches that will not only expect their pastor to spend a majority of his day praying and studying for sermons and lessons, but churches that will demand their pastors do so and ensure he is able by having biblical deacons and elders.

A deacon, as described in the Bible, is a servant. A servant of the church put in place to meet the physical needs of the church body. When someone is in the hospital it should be the deacon called. When a family in the church has a need it should be the deacon called. This does not mean the pastor cannot be involved, but simply that both church and pastor recognize the priority of duties set forth in Scripture. For pastors that is prayer and study, for deacons it is serving the church.

By having a biblical structure the church will put in place qualified deacons that will carry out their biblical duties in such a way so as to be a blessing to both the church and the pastor. When unbiblical structure and expectations on the pastor are employed the result is a church that is confused about the roles of pastor and deacon.

Are unbiblical expectations hurting pastors and their families?

This is an easy question to answer. The website PastoralCare.com, in conjunction with the Fuller Institute and George Barna of the Barna Research Group, lists the following statistics concerning the pressures of ministry:

•  90% of the pastors report working between 55 to 75 hours per week.
• 80% believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families. Many pastor’s children do not attend church now because of what the church has done to their parents.
• 33% state that being in the ministry is an outright hazard to their family.
• 80% of pastors and 84% of their spouses feel unqualified and discouraged as role of pastors.
• 70% of pastors constantly fight depression.
• 70% say they have a lower self-image now than when they first started.
• 70% do not have someone they consider a close friend.
• 40% report serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month.
• 50% of pastors feel so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
• 50% of the ministers starting out will not last 5 years.
• 80% of pastors’ spouses wish their spouse would choose a different profession.
• Over 1,700 pastors left the ministry every month last year.
• Over 1,300 pastors were terminated by the local church each month , many without cause.

This is just a partial list. The longer list is even more discouraging. The reality of what pastors and their families face in many churches – much of it the result of unbiblical expectations – is killing churches. Another blog by a Southern Baptist blogger says that the “24/7 mentality” is causing many pastors to burn out. The blog also states that “All pastors would be problem-free if they were omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. Of course, no pastor can meet all the expectations of church members. But many try. And they burn out as a result.”

Many of the statistics listed above could be eliminated by constantly communicating the biblical expectations for a pastor to the congregation. They could also be eliminated by protecting the family, marital, and personal life of the pastor through employing those biblical expectations. What would this look like?

That can only be answered by each individual church. But, a good place to start is mandatory vacations for every pastor along with extra time off during the holidays. Not expecting the pastors kids to live up to a fictional standard not applicable to every other child. In other words, if it’s okay for the deacon’s kids to run in church, it’s okay for the pastor’s kids. Providing for the pastor (and his wife) to attend annual conferences and seminars to increase their education and understanding in ministry. Not fostering an atmosphere where people feel free to verbally attack the pastor; whether in business meetings or before/after a service. No one should be attacked verbally before, during, or after a church service; or any time for that matter. Make sure the pastor’s wife is supported and encouraged by the ladies of the church; without expecting her to be involved in every area of ministry. Respect the pastor’s day off and put measures in place to ensure no one calls or disturbs him.

I am willing to bet that churches employing some of these measures not only see longevity in their pastoral tenure, they also are a healthy, growing, vibrant church that is actually making a difference in the lives of people in the community. The churches that are not doing any of these things will be the ones slowly dying.

It’s long past time to abandon the silly expectations we’ve had of our pastors (for goodness sakes let him wear what he wants to church). Not a single one of us would take a job with the same expectations we place on our pastor. (On call 24/7, no overtime pay, no holidays off, etc.) Why do we expect our pastor to function normally, or successfully in the same conditions? The Bible makes the pastors priorities clear and the church needs to adhere to those biblical expectations. The combination of biblical structure and pastoral expectations will put the church in place to be most effective, healthy, and growing.

By refusing to acknowledge and follow these biblical guidelines we are telling God we know better than He does. Do we really expect Him to bless our church with that kind of attitude?