Pastors are People Too

Let me just start this by saying that in general I hate blogs. I really didn't want to start a blog at all... but I could not shake the sense that I needed to -- so I did. God gives us all gifts and He gives them to us to use. So... I am trying to use what God has given me and this seems to be a way He would like me to do that at this moment. I dislike blogs that find fault and criticize things -- so in a sense I am writing today the anti-blog blog which I know makes no sense whatsoever. Call me a hypocrite because that is what I am. So here goes... 

I am a pastor's wife. I love my husband with all my heart and I see how hard he works day in and day out. He has a job inside the church and a job outside of the church, he is a wonderful father and a devoted husband, he tries to take care of our house and cars as well as run a mentoring program and be a youth pastor and a worship leader and oversee the creative ministries at our church. He wears a lot of hats. That being said sometimes there are a few things that might fall through the cracks. I am guilty as anyone of letting him know when something does. For that I am truly sorry. 

There is this trend today that we like to find fault in our leaders or our churches. We post about it, blog about it, complain to each other about it -- but what are we really DOING about it? There has got to be something more productive than that doesn't there? To me it seems really rude. What would we do if our children blogged daily about all the mistakes we make as parents and how we do not run our house the way they think it should be run? That would be devastating to us wouldn't it? We'd say, "That is crazy, no parent is perfect - we are doing the best we can!" Well I am here to say today that no pastor is perfect. Pastors are people too. They have real feelings - feelings that can be hurt. We demonize some we think are insensitive, power hungry monsters, but let me tell you that if they are out there then they are definitely a very small minority. Most pastors I know are just doing their best to love the people who have been entrusted to them. They work hard day in and day out to connect with people, meet people's needs and run the church they are a part of. 

I think it is time that we treat pastors like people too. We are quick to say how we are imperfect people who deserve grace and mercy - but when it comes to pastors we have a double-standard. They have to be without fault. If they say a phrase the wrong way in a message, if they don't call as often as we'd like, if they don't communicate as effectively as we think they should they are chastised. This can be very hurtful. 

I know this is not a perspective heard very often so please hear my heart in this. My heart aches for my husband when he comes home from a long day of working two jobs and dealing with very heart wrenching, real problems in both of them and then he gets online and sees another post or another blog about how what he is doing is not good enough. As a mom if I saw those kind of posts all the time about what I was doing wrong as a mom I think I would have a mental breakdown.  I am not saying that you can never raise concerns, by all means please do! But there is a right way to do that and a wrong way. The wrong way is never ok so don't try to justify it. Even if you don't get the response you'd like from the leader right away that does not give you a free pass to behave badly. All I ask is that you'd consider this before posting something and remember that pastors are people too. <3