Recently, my children had their career day in school. While getting prepared with their career attire, my wife jokingly said that our son would dress like a pastor. The elder sister asked; “But is pastor a profession?” When the question was directed to me, it got me thinking.
Friend, are you a professional pastor or a called pastor? You can either pursue pastoring as a career or do it as a calling (1 Thessalonians 5:24). The way and manner in which you carry out your ministry will tell if it’s a career or a calling. When you see pastoring as a profession, you begin to compare yourself with people in other professions (2 Corinthians 10:12).
As a pastor, if you are comparing yourself with your banker, doctor, or engineer friends, you have just signed up for discouragement and frustration (Isaiah 42:4, Acts 20:24). You would also be positioning yourself for a ministry of compromise, not a ministry of integrity. What you get by compromise would ultimately land you in trouble.
Jesus warned that we must be true shepherds and not hirelings (John 10:1-3, 11-13). The true shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hireling does not sacrifice for the sheep. A called pastor feeds the sheep, a professional pastor, or a hireling fleeces the sheep (Jeremiah 3:15).
Don’t attend a church that is led by a professional pastor. To him, you are just a number, not a member (John 10:16-18). He will use you to build his vision rather than use the vision to build you. A professional pastor is always looking for what to get from you, not what to give to you (2 Corinthians 12:15).
Whereas there is nothing wrong with being professional in our approach to ministry, we must be careful not to cross the line of spirituality and sacredness (Psalm 78:70-72). We need to build systems and structures. We need to carry out the work with excellence. But we must never treat pastoring as a mere profession or career. It must be a calling (Hebrews 5:4).
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria