Friday, May 6, 2011
The Unbusy Pastor
An excerpt from Eugene Peterson’s The Contemplative Pastor:
“The metaphors Jesus used for the life of ministry are frequently images of the single, the small, and the quiet, which have effects far in excess of their appearance: salt, leaven, seed. Our culture publicizes the opposite emphasis: the big, the multitudinous, the noisy. It is, then, a strategic necessity that pastors deliberately ally themselves with the quiet…it is far more biblical to learn the quietness and attentiveness before God than to be overtaken by what [are the] twin perils of ministry: flurry and worry. For flurry dissipates energy, and worry constipates it.” (25)
Peterson advocates in his chapter on the Unbusy Pastor that a primary orientation for pastoral leadership must be the “ruthless eradication of busyness”, drawing of course from the popular phrase about “hurry”. Perhaps in the same way that “servant leadership” (however we will define that loaded terminology in the Christian sense) is in direct opposition to secular models of power, this concept of being poised in quiet attentiveness is also found warring against the culture’s value of productivity, efficiency, and constant progress. Parishioners continually seek to see their pastor busy at the work of the church: running from one pastoral visit to another, constantly honing their sermon delivery, and so on. And yet, the biblical model Peterson is drawing upon is the still, the quietly poised and productive attentiveness to God’s guiding Spirit. Is this absence of “flurry and worry” as beneficial in a world today that needs constant action for attention to be sustained?
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ReplyDeleteI appreciated this post. I had the privilege of serving at two different churches. The first was a church that was highly program driven. They valued busyness, productivity, and efficiency, which burned me out burned very quickly. The second church had the novel idea that simplicity should be the key distinguish quality of their community. Being a part of this type of church has served to rejuvenate my love for ministry. As I got more involved with this church I found that this did not come easy, they had to fight each and every day to keep their church calendar reflecting their value of simplicity. This church, in my opinion, reflects the intended countercultural nature a vibrant Christian community.
ReplyDeleteThe countercultural role of the pastor Peterson’s calls leaders toward goes well with Chris Price’s post. This week he posted on Walter Brueggemann’s prophetic imagination. Chris suggested a commonality between the role of a Christian leader and the role of a prophet, who in their countercultural-ness, stand against the Royal consciousness, which seeks to rob people of their hope. The prophetic role of Christian leadership is to call out destructive aspects of contemporary culture and then have the courage to offer a new alternative vision.