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Ask NOT What Your Pastor Can Do for You!

previously published in April 2005

As we explore the question of what a church should expect for its pastor, the words of our late president, John F. Kennedy, comes to mind: “Ask not, what your country can do for you, but ask, what you can do for your country.” Our relationship with our pastors is often one-sided, with the attitude of what services or ministries does our pastor have to offer us. We then become disappointed, if the pastor does not meet our needs. The relationship between a pastor and his church should flow both ways. We often expect pastors in our churches to be everything to everybody, at any given moment. This expectation we have of our pastors is not only unreasonable and impossible to fulfill, but also not biblical.

The unrealistic expectations we have of our pastors come in many different forms. They are often expected to be everything from preacher, Sabbath School leader, music leader, deacon, bulletin secretary, official transportation service, moving service, custodian, entertainer, etc. I am sure the list is endless; and this is only a sampling of all the things our pastors are typically called upon to perform. There is no way that one person can adequately carry out all these duties, and invariably members and leaders become disappointed when the expectations are not fully met. Pastors unfairly shoulder many of there responsibilities of the church as well as much, if not all, of the blame.

The church can be thought of as the body of Christ, as outlined in 1 Corinthians 12, and it is our spiritual purpose to fulfill our roles along with the pastor. Paul points out that we all have different spiritual gifts and responsibilities, we all contribute to form the body of Christ. As different parts of the “ body of Christ,” each part is given value in the context of the entire body. For example, the feet would have no value or purpose if it had no body to transport. The heart would have no value without a body to pump blood for. All of us in the church, including the pastor need each other to enrich and fulfill our spiritual purpose as “parts” of the body of Christ. Our pastors are typically the most visible parts of the “body” as our spiritual leaders, but they cannot be the whole body by themselves and their role is only valuable as others participate and carry out their roles.

Rather than expecting our pastors to do everything for our churches, we need to be asking ourselves what we can do for our pastors as lay leaders or members. We need to fulfill our role in the church as lay leaders in order to remove the unnecessary burdens from our pastors. This will allow them to focus on ministry, teaching, and preaching to meet the spiritual needs of the congregation.

We also need to pray more for our pastors. It is said that Charles Spurgeon had a large group of members and leaders praying for him throughout the week and during the services in the basement of this church, which led to a Spirit-filled ministry. One can only imagine how much more powerful and effective our pastors would be if all the lay leaders and members were fervently praying for him every week. We need armies of praying warriors for our pastor and churches. It is very easy for us to take our pastor for granted and many are taken advantage of. I urge you to pray and support your pastors.

It has been over a year since our church, Chicago Unity, has had a senior pastor and we have consequently faced many challenges. Although it has been difficult, the lay leaders and members have learned the importance of taking responsibility and contributing our time and effort to fulfill our individual roles and assignments in the church. We have grown and continue to pray that we grow as an entire body, rather than just in part. We have learned not to take the ministry of a pastor for granted in Chicago Unity.

As we approach the last chapter of the Great Controversy, I urge all to ask not what your pastors can do for you, but to ask what you can do for your pastor. As much as we expect from our pastors, we need to expect from ourselves, to accept our role in supporting and praying for our pastor. It takes time and commitment not only to God, but to each other. We should expect much from our pastors, but as we do, we need to remember that the responsibility lies with us, the members and the lay leaders, to support and pray for our pastors. We need to remember that we may have different gifts and roles but we are all one body in Christ. Jesus prayed for the unity of His people in the closing moments of His time here on earth. I pray that as we take on this attitude, we will be able to grow and fulfill the desires of our Lord to be one in Him.

Charles Ahn serves as the head elder of the Chicago Unity Church. He works as an ophthalmologist in the Chicago area.


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