The Pastor You Won't Be Pastored By | What the Room Cannot See E4

There is a particular kind of loneliness that comes from working closely with your senior pastor and never quite being pastored BY him. This is not because your pastor is a bad person. It is structural.

You are his employee. You are his worship leader. You are almost always one of the people he is responsible for — and very rarely one of the people he is shepherded by. You can love him, respect him, be loyal to him, and still feel like the person you most need pastoral care from is the person whose care you cannot ask for.

Anchored in Ezekiel 34:11-12. In the middle of God's long indictment against shepherds who failed his people, he says something extraordinary: "I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out." Not "I will appoint better shepherds." He pastors directly.

The Chief Shepherd has not delegated everything. Honor your senior pastor. Serve him faithfully. But do not make him your father, therapist, or only spiritual covering. Go to the Chief Shepherd for what only he can give. And practically — find someone outside your local church to pastor you.

Formation to Transformation is a worship devotional for people who want worship to be more than a song set.

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