I find it odd that there are three pastors at my church of between three and four hundred people. Although the retired pastor shouldn't count, he carries the most weight of the three of them. Then, there's the staff pastor. I view his ministry as the most effective of the ministries of the three pastors. He visits the sick, acts as a mediator between parties at the church, and handles the cleaning and up keep of the church. Then, of course, there's the primary pastor, the one who does the preaching. I don't know what else he does. Then, there's retired pastor. I'm still confused about what exactly his role is. To me, it seems like he's there to make sure everything measures up to his standards.
I think this arrangement is unhealthy. If all three pastors were equal, they would be able to hold each other accountable. They are not equal. The retired pastor has control of almost everything that goes on at church. He lets others do things for him, like preach, but he still has control. He was very careful to select someone who will do what he wants. And he's there in church every Sunday to make the sermons measure up to his standards.
Our former pastor has been close to the staff pastor for many years, tutoring him. At one point, I think he planned on making this guy the preacher. It didn't work out though because people didn't really like his voice or his teaching. And so the pastor had to find someone who did a good job preaching. His first protege idea didn't work out so he found a second protege, a good speaker.
But I believe the way they went about finding a new pastor was wrong. The whole search for the new pastor was dictated by the old pastor. Obviously, he was looking for a copy of himself or something pretty close. The problem with this is too much inbreeding. Many Universities don't let their graduates return as teachers for this reason. They want fresh, new people who will diversify the teaching and introduce new perspectives.
Our new pastor does have a different opinion about our church than he expresses. But I think he's too weak to stand up against the old pastor and let him know that things need to change. I guess that means the old pastor wins. He picked someone who will carry on his legacy, someone who will almost be his clone.
Our new pastor does have a different opinion about our church than he expresses. But I think he's too weak to stand up against the old pastor and let him know that things need to change. I guess that means the old pastor wins. He picked someone who will carry on his legacy, someone who will almost be his clone.
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