I love being a pastor. I love being involved in people’s lives. I love talking to people about spiritual issues, no matter if they have no faith or are new to faith or an old hat with faith. I love praying with people and connecting with people who need the assurance that God hasn’t abandoned them. I love being involved in people’s lives at the critical moments of life – weddings, funerals, child dedications and baptisms. I even enjoy preparing sermons and I definitely love delivering sermons.
There is really very little about the job that I don’t enjoy. I have enjoyed the last ten years of building this church community with a great group of people that I thoroughly enjoy. It has been exciting planning strategy and figuring out who should lead what ministry and putting together all the details to support spiritual growth. The most exciting thing is to see God work and multiply our meager efforts and turn it into something supernatural.
Yes, I love being a pastor…I just don’t like being called ‘pastor.’ When I tell people that they usually look at me in a flabbergasted way. They are not sure what to do. Some have even told me they don’t think they could do that. I know people tell me they call me pastor as a sign of respect for the position and for my role. They want their kids to do it to teach them to respect people in authority over them. That is good and I can see their point, but you can show respect to someone and don’t have to address them by a title. I don’t call my friends who teach, Teacher Jean or my plumber friends, Plumber John. Why do people feel like they need to call me, Pastor Kevin?
First, I don’t like to be called “Pastor Kevin” because it put me on a different plane than everyone else in the church. Like somehow my gifts are more important than someone else’s gifts. The Bible says that everyone in the body of Christ (the church) has a gift and has a special area where they contribute. No gift is more important than any other gift and no person is more important than another. When anyone in the body is not using their gifts to serve, then the body is suffering. In Ephesians it says when everyone is using their gifts then the body is moving toward maturity. So, everyone is important in making the church function properly.
Second, I don’t like the title because I feel like it separates me from people. It makes it seem like I’m somehow more spiritual than everyone else, or that I somehow have a special connection with God that ordinary people don’t have. That is totally false. I’m no different than any other believer. I need grace and forgiveness just like everyone who comes to Christ. I’m like every believer. I have issues, I have weaknesses that I need to work on and I’m far from perfect. I do have spiritual gifts that I use as a pastor, but every believer has spiritual gifts, and every believer has a place to serve. I just happen to serve with my gifts as a pastor.
So, you can call me pastor, but I will probably cringe and tell you to just call me Kevin. That will be OK to call me "pastor", if you remember that all of us are ministers and have a unique place to serve God with the gifts, He has given us!
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