There are also some uncomfortable issues in this ministry. One of them is what we call a “paradigm shift.” Changing the way we have thought and worked for many years is not easy. We develop habits and ways of thinking over a long period of time, and naturally, we become comfortable with them.
I once heard someone involved in ministry say, “Don’t bring in anyone over fifty years old.” I suppose the reason was that older pastors may find it more difficult to change their mindset. In some cases, they may simply not want to change their familiar style of ministry.
One of the greatest difficulties in Lay Pastors Ministry is giving ownership of ministry to the laypeople. When we first give responsibility and authority to the laity, they will certainly make mistakes. But we must give them time to realize their mistakes, learn from them, and mature through those experiences. That is how people learn and grow.
If a pastor cannot wait patiently during that period, the laypeople will never grow. They will remain at the level of spiritual babies forever.
One pastor once complained to me that his congregation—even the church leaders, such as elders and deacons—had never grown spiritually. He said, “I have taught them and preached to them for the last twenty or thirty years, but they are still the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”
Then we must ask: Why are they not growing?
It is not simply the laypeople’s problem, nor is it entirely their responsibility. Sometimes the problem lies with the pastor himself.
I know this pastor and his church. He never trained his people properly. More importantly, he never gave the laypeople sufficient authority or opportunity to do something meaningful in the ministry. Therefore, they could not grow.
He wanted his church to grow, but in another sense, he did not allow his church to grow.
Am I wrong?
No, I do not think so. It is true.
He complained that his congregation was not growing, but he himself had unintentionally made them what they had become. He had kept them dependent on him for too long.
I came to understand why he could not succeed in helping them grow. I discovered two important problems. First, the people did not know what they were supposed to do. Second, they had never been properly trained, motivated, or given the freedom to serve and take responsibility.
As I often say, if there are problems in the church, they may be the pastor’s problems. If there are problems with pastors, they may be the seminary’s problems. And if there are problems in the seminary, they may ultimately be the professors’ problems.
I believe there is some truth in this progression.
Years ago, I began to see these connections. In the end, perhaps the professors did not adequately teach their students about the practical challenges they would soon face in ministry. By the time pastors realized that they had serious problems in these areas, it was often already too late.
Therefore, theological education must prepare future pastors not only to preach and teach, but also to train, motivate, trust, empower, and release laypeople into ministry.
A pastor cannot do everything alone. A healthy church grows when pastors are willing to equip others, give them responsibility, allow them to make mistakes, and patiently help them grow into mature servants of God.