CCSG Chapter 3: The Pastor [Part 2 of 2]

Read about this series of posts here, The Christian Culture Survival Guide.

Types of Shepherds

My pastor tried hard to appear as a humble person, one who is slow to anger and judgment. My fellow parishioners thought he was just the most wonderful man. He was a singer, who even recorded a CD in church with the whole congregation singing along. He traveled by plane to other countries often, and according to the videos we got to see when he got back, was well received. But to anybody outside the church, he wasn’t somebody to be admired. The author of the book has described five different types of pastors to look out for, and I’m afraid my old pastor fits the description for all of them.

1. Pastor of Politics- My Pastor did not hesitate to bring politics into the pew. The political agenda was rampant, and we often tried to involve ourselves in social issues. We sided with intolerance.
2. Doctrine Man- This is a pastor who puts more emphasis on his own theology, rather than preaching the name of Jesus.
3. End-Time Fanatics- Just about every church sermon, there was talk about the “end times”. We, apparently, were edging closer every day.
4. Career Pastor- Yes, my church in fact was a business. The Pastor did act like a CEO. After church, it was all business.
5. Control Freak- Consumed with rules for you to follow, anything could halt the blessings god would otherwise bestow on you. I remember being led to believe that one quick thought that seemed displeasing to god would leave me without his grace for the rest of the day. I don’t know what basis this has in more mainstream theology.

My pastor, though, never had much of an ego problem. Sure, he’d sing his own songs for worship, but we all thought he wanted to be original. However, we had plenty of guest speakers who might’ve suffered from an ego problem. And as you may have guessed, here are six signs your pastor has an ego problem.

1. Your church plays commercial advertisements from your pastor advertising Wednesday night bible study (I’ve yet to see this).

2. Your pastor preaches… and sings, plays an instrument, etc. (My pastor did do everything. Either he had a problem designating responsibility, or he really did think he was the best candidate for every job).
3. You pastor has a fashion sense more closely related to the younger audience than the older. (Think of him dressing in the finest threads from the most frequented teen/young adult clothing store. Do way with the blazer and dress shoes, those don’t capture his zeal.)
4. Your pastor has a booking agent, publicity representative, and his own stylist. (Didn’t see this much.)
5. You pastor is stylish, and does ministering at places like the gym. And, apparently, is a self-described “metro sexual”. (I do remember some speakers who were concerned with looks over theology, but they were usually youth group leaders.)

When I became an atheist and left my church, I didn’t miss my pastor. I realized that my life was better when I used rationality and reason instead of accepting what another man told me to accept (especially if it had no basis in reality). Seemingly because of this, I was a black sheep who'd separated from the flock.

The shepherd would rather his sheep to stay how they are, and let themselves be fleeced.