Who Pastors the Pastor

When my father graduated to Glory almost 18 years ago, I was given the solemn privilege of preaching his funeral.  My father had been an evangelist, a church planter, and pastor during his over 50 years of ministry, he had been faithful to my mother, loved to see see souls saved as an ardent soul winner, and so preaching his funeral was both the easiest and most difficult I have ever done.  It was easiest because there was no hinderance of preaching the Gospel or sharing God’s Word in anyway as I had complete liberty, which I do not always have at every funeral.  But in turn it was most difficult because it was MY father and so while I was grieving myself I was called upon to “pastor” my family through their grief.  Now it is true that God’s grace was wonderfully present and I kept my composure right up to the invitation which I turned over to the pastor of the church building where the funeral was being held, and, wonderfully two souls were saved that day.

But something unique occurred just before the funeral service began and that is the heart of my post today.   You see, as my family was sitting in the side room waiting to walk into the arraigned seats at the front of the church, my sister-in-law came up to me, knowing my duty for the day, put her arm around my shoulder, and said she was praying for me because she knew, “On days like this, no one pastors the pastor.”  Her words were, “No one pastors the pastor.”  As I have pondered upon that thought for the past several years, I felt it time to share a few thoughts here today.  Because during my over 28 years in ministry with almost 20 of those years spent as senior pastor, I have gone without the benefit of having an actual pastor, because I WAS the pastor.  I was the one that people were looking to for support and strength during times of grief and struggle and I had to learn how to be “pastored” by other means.

Yet everyone of us, pastors included, have those moments of time where we need encouragement and support from someone outside of ourselves.  That is one of the reasons God gave pastors in the first place.  Now mind you, pastors cannot always meet everyone’s needs and sometimes they don’t even realize there is a need.  So there are going to be times pastors are proactive because they see a need and seek to fill it without being asked.  While there are other times people are going to need to ask their pastor’s help, because the pastor does realize the full extent of the need.  But to whom does a pastor go when he has a need or a burden going unnoticed or unmet?  

I ask you today, “Who pastors the pastor?”  To really understand this I believe we must look at the three titles given to the pastor and see who can fill each role to “pastor the pastor.”

1. Bishop - the one who leads.  In 1 Timothy 3 we are given the qualities of the pastoral position of “Bishop.”  However, upon closer examination of this list we see that these are mainly qualities of personal behavior as an example in leadership.  In other words, the “Bishop” part of being a pastor, at least based upon 1 Timothy 3, is setting an example before others.  This is much the same role model concept as Paul references in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”  So who “Bishops” the “bishops?”  I as a pastor need someone to set the pace in front of me as my “Bishop” or example and I need someone to mirror my life after in such a way that I can safely trust their example, and there is only One who can fill that role effectively - Christ!  Remember Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “..as I also am of Christ.”  So when it comes to fulfilling the pastor’s role in a pastor’s life in a “Bishop” fashion - it is Christ.  There can be no greater “Bishop” for a pastor than Christ (1 Peter 2:25).  Follow Him whenever you need a “pastor for the pastor.”  Pastors may need advise from time to time, but let Jesus be the pastor’s “Bishop.”
2. Shepherd - the one who ministers.  I truly believe that the greatest fulfillment of being a pastor is not the preaching or authority over their church, but the ability to minister to people in their sorrow.  As an example, I do not enjoy hospitals or funeral homes but I always come away from these places with a sense of peace and fulfillment greater than walking away from the pulpit after a sermon.  I cannot explain it, because in my flesh I would loath these events, yet I am called, and, enabled by God to “shepherd” or care for people..any people in their times of need.  Jesus shows us this in John 10 as he speaks of being the “Shepherd” and Paul writing in Hebrews 13:20 calls Jesus the “Great Shepherd” or “Minister” of the sheep.  But who do pastors have that ministers to the minister?  I know the obvious answer is Christ again, and He truly can minister to our souls, but every pastor can surely use another person to come along side just to encourage and uplift.  Here is where I remind of the need to seek out help when no one sees the need.  Yes, it is humbling to seek out help, but it is not a failure for a pastor to seek help from another trustworthy believer.  If you are a pastor and need encouragement, don’t ignore the need, ask for it.  You see we are told to “Bear ye one another’s burdens…” (Galatians 6:2).  How can we do that if we do not know there is a burden to carry?  Jesus is the Great Shepherd, but even the under shepherds can be encouraged by others.
3. Elder - the one who has wisdom.  Pastors have been called to be a voice of reason in a world of confusion.  This means that there are going to be times that people seek the advise of their pastor, hopefully NOT in a “may I have my pastor’s permission” attitude, but more in the vein of “I am seeking an opinion” mindset.  This is what I believe the “elder” part of pastoring is all about.  But once again, who serves as the elder for the elder?  When I struggled with this concept some years ago, I found a truth in 1 Peter that made it crystal clear!  Peter is explaining the qualities of a pastor/elder in 1 Peter 5:1-5.  But  notice his words in the first verse, “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder…”  He is saying that one of the duties/qualifications of being an elder is being able to serve as an elder for other elders.  This is the wonderful truth shared in Proverbs 27:17 where “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”  We NEED other pastors to get wisdom from.  No pastor has the right or the ability to just make every decision without the counsel of others.  Our church members would probably be surprised how many times I have called other pastors to just seek advise on a decision I was about to make.  There is no shame in a pastor seeking wisdom from another pastor.

Here is the point of this lengthy article - every pastor needs to be pastored!  A pastor may not have a single pastor to go to, but, the process of being pastored does not stop when you become THE PASTOR.   If you are a pastor, you must intentionally seek to be “pastored” by the Lord Himself and with the help of others.  I am convinced that the minute a pastor/bishop/shepherd/elder stops being pastored…IT’S TIME FOR HIM TO STEP OUT OF THE PULPIT!!!!  He is no longer pliable and “He is proud, knowing nothing…” (1 Timothy 6:4).  Because “pastor” is not a position alone, but a biblical process of being ministered to and ministering to others.  

So pastor friend, are you being pastored?