It was a winters night on a typical Sunday night, church service had just finished at hillsong castle hill and I was ruffling through my notes. This was a rare occasion as the pastor who had preached this night was a ring in, and he presented us with several bible verses, not very hillsong at all! I had written some cool notes during his preaching but in my haste, I didn’t catch a particular bible verse.

After the service I looked down and seen this pastor near the stage, All the lights came on and I thought surely, I can just walk down and ask him what it was? As I approached the pastor I said, excuse me pastor, wondering if….. It was at this precise moment he looked at me with contempt, and his “group” around him looked at me as if to ask, why am I here bothering him! I regathered my thoughts after this awkward pause and said, I’m not here to bother you, I was just going to ask you what bible verse related to this topic you preached on? He answered swiftly then walked away to… safety.

This event did not leave me for months, I was in my mid-twenties and was turning into a biblical literalist but had not yet discovered the small independent bible believing churches. I now had many questions that needed answers,

• Surely a class system shouldn’t exist within the church?
• Shouldn’t the pastor of any church want to spend time with me, even if just a few minutes?
• Was this event a by-product of megachurches?
• Is the general congregation not good enough to mingle with the stage elite?

10 years later I was a regular attendee of an independent church, and for the most part feeling right at home. I had the fortune of meeting a man of God who gave me biblical direction that I will forever be thankful for. It was a complete surprise to me that the feeling that I felt 10 years earlier would return even in this environment.

As my understanding of biblical doctrine was growing strong, I noticed several areas of doctrine where I did not agree with my pastor, and I often approached him with questions in an attempt to find the truth. I cannot remember specifically but after a time it dawned on me, this guy is never wrong, like never! I was searching wide and far from almost every source on the internet on topics of interest, and here I was in a suburb in Sydney within a church of 50 people, and this guy knew better than the whole world, on everything.

The Problem

Like any institution here on earth, us humans tend to trust authority. We believe doctors know what’s best for us, and every and any lawyer we visit will know what to do in our situation. The reality is there are some very bad doctors and lawyers out there, and Pastors in churches are no different, we just expect that all of them know the truth, and believe they are there for us. The problem is, just because a person has achieved the position of Pastor, does not mean they hold the qualities required to be successful at the role.

Unfortunately, over the years I have learnt that this problem of pastors being unapproachable is not uncommon. It is widespread and exists over almost all denominations. The damage that can be done to a member of the congregation by a “know it all” pastor, or an “elitist” pastor is immeasurable.

Without building an exhaustive list of the qualities of a Pastor, let’s focus on just the following simple biblical concepts that would correct a large portion of the problem.

1. No one! Knows! Everything! We all can be sharpened.
2. A pastor is there to serve God’s flock.

• 1 Peter 5:2-4 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock.
• Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
• Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves

The young man in Hillsong all those years ago didn’t know better, that church and that environment was never going to create an environment where the pastor serves his flock. This fact immediately excludes the Hillsong organization from being a New Testament Christian church! But what of all these smaller independent churches?

First and foremost, this statement comes to mind, “if you can’t be wrong, you’ll never be right” When I interpret the bible or teach doctrine to my brother or sister in Christ I always, always tell my fellow Christian to search these things for themselves. It is my job to teach sound doctrine, it is not my job to be right on everything. If that was the measure, I would fail instantly! On a wide range of biblical topics there are some very significant numbers of very smart Christians on both sides of the topic, what makes you so sure you are on the right side?

Second, its God’s flock and the pastor is there to serve you. It is not his church, and he cannot treat you any way he chooses. If you ever experience contempt or elitism from a pastor, exit the congregation immediately!

Third, A pastor is limited by scripture. Sure, he can and should give his personal opinion, but he should never push his personal opinion as truth. If it isn’t explicitly in the bible, it shouldn’t explicitly be in the church.

Conclusion

No pastor is perfect, how he handles the times where he acts in error defines how he honors God and serves his flock. A good pastor should apologize and admit when he is wrong, he is not exempt from this process he is called to lead his flock in it. A good pastor should be approachable, his flock should never feel like they are going to be “steam rolled” by him if he is questioned. We need to accept that some very godly men, who are excellent members of Godly congregations make their way into positions of leadership without acquiring the skills to be successful at the role.

This problem is widespread in western countries, especially in business and companies and Church is not exempt from it. Find a pastor who does not claim to know everything, a pastor who believes the church does not belong to him and is not a place for his personal opinions. If a pastor possesses these three attributes he is already along way to being an excellent support for you in your Christian growth.