Pastors as Poets -- a Wonderful Analogy

Complaining is usually a veiled lament about deeper issues of the soul. Since people are unaccustomed to exploring the mystery of their own souls, they will often work out their spiritual anxieties by attempting to rearrange something external, like a church's music program. But it doesn't matter how many changes they make to the environment around them. They will never succeed in finding peace for the angst of the soul until they attend directly to it. This is why people have pastors.To be of service to the Holy Spirit, who is at work in human lives, the pastor can never reduce ministry to servicing parishioners' complaints about the church.

The Christian Century February 10, 2009
"Poet in Residence" by M. Craig Barnes

I read this article in at lunch today and was deeply moved. I've seen this happen often, even in my own life. My dissatisfaction ("Why did they let him teach that Sunday School lesson?" "Can you believe the choir sang that song?" "I hate the color carpet the committee chose." "Someone always steals my seat in the back pew.") usually was not the real issue. My complaints were often the result of a deeper spiritual problem that I was not addressing.

I have long been suspicious of pastors who have series of sermons like "How to be a better Christian," or "How to have a happy family," or "Six steps to increasing your financial well being." Here is what Dr. Barnes wrote that also resonated with me:

. . . the pastor-poet does his or her best work not with presenting issues, which are seldom the real issue. This is the fallacy of those who try to define the pastor as a manager, an entrepreneur, or a service provider who is only in need of more skills to be a success in handling the many issues that have presented themselves. Most presenting issues are merely symptomatic of underlying theological issues. Even those who treat the pastor as a spiritual leader often reduce his or her work to treating symptoms. Seldom does a day go by without another advertisement appearing in my mail that offers a new product "guaranteed" to make our congregation better at giving, Bible study and prayer. But if people are not praying, it's the pastor-poet's job to discern why they are hesitant to enter God's presence. And if they are praying, then the question is: Do they really understand what is happening in such sacred communion?

The Christian Century

He said, "God is always present, but not always apparent." Helping people become aware of God's presence is the role I want in my pastor.

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