Soon I will celebrate 25 years as an ordained pastor. I'm (mostly) happy to report that I in no way think I've arrived and, moreover, that I continually strive to be all that God wants me to be.
So it's appropriate--not to mention highly exhilarating--that I'm reading The Unnecessary Pastor: Rediscovering the Call. It's co-written by authorial faves Eugene Peterson and Marva Dawn--the latter an LCMSer, by the way. Peterson lays the groundwork for the book's "leading premise...that pastors are 'unnecessary', but unnecessary in a defined sense:
- ...unnecessary to what the culture presumes is important: as paragons of goodness and niceness... [Oh, goodie! I don't have to be good and nice anymore!]
- ...unnecessary to what we ourselves feel is essential: as the linchpin holding a congregation together... [That's a toughie!]
- ...unnecessary to what congregations insist that we must do and be: as the experts who help them stay ahead of the competition." [As Peterson says elsewhere, using people for economic ability or institutional effectiveness.]
Hmmm... God empower me to be more necessary!
