Pastor as Network, Not Nodes

A few years ago, I moved into a new city to begin a role as pastor. Early on I received an email to join a cohort from an organization I had never heard of before, Overseed. I was new to New England and new to the role of senior pastor, so I was glad to connect with other pastors in the area.

Since that initial invitation, I have met each month with a group of pastors who understand the call, the world, and work of ministry and know how to speak into and pray for the issues that ultimately arise. This group of pastors has been at the front line of maintaining my sense of pastoral sanity. They have allowed me to arrive excited, hurt, curious, sad, frantic or otherwise, meeting me with questions, concern, and prayer.

Over the 5 years I have been a part of this cohort, our monthly meetings have been a kind of necessary rhythm to my work. The first Thursday of the month is a highlight, one where I come prepared to be challenged, to grow, to listen, to pray. Over time, as we have learned to trust each other, we have learned to hold each other up when another is exhausted and listen while someone needs to vent.

A pastor in the local church is responsible for preaching, teaching, leading, and counseling. To meet those demands there are intangibles that are relied upon that weigh down the role but are necessary to it. These emotional, spiritual, and creative demands form the foundations and boundaries of pastoral ministry. We need spiritual reserves to prepare a sermon or to meet with someone we are anxious about meeting. We need emotional reserves to lead through elders, ministry, and staff meetings. In all of these we are called upon to be creative in our approach and execution. These are necessary reserves, needed for the work, but are not meant to sustain an individual long term.

Pastors cannot thrive by only serving, giving, teaching and leading. Churches will make endless demands in the name of the well-worn path of ministry effectiveness. Ministry assumes that the pastor is creating, defining and communicating from scratch to a particular congregation. It is significant but demanding work. That demand cannot be met through the skill set or call of an individual pastor. Ministry asks for much more than any one individual can give. Pastors cannot live on their work alone. When they attempt to they become nodes, a point at which all things come together. Pastors as “nodes” cannot sustain what is asked of them. Acting as nodes, as a central point at which all things connect, will ultimately isolate and exhaust any pastor. The pastor is not the point where all things end. The pastor is a point that connects to other points. The pastoral role cannot be considered a node and survive, the pastoral role must be more of a network.

If a node is a point where all things come together, a network is an interconnected relationship in which one element is necessarily connected to another element. Pastors won’t survive as nodes but will as part of a network. The ability for a pastor to connect to others in trusted relationships can create a sustainable path that holds up the role when the demands are too much.

Other pastoral relationships provide a particular role in the life of pastoral ministry. They can offer all the benefits of a trusted friendship without the expectations of ministry. At the monthly cohort, we don’t have to rely on our skill set or call, we can rely on each other. There have been times when I have shown up with nothing to offer, nothing to give. The others were just glad I showed up. An important part of my ministry has been a group of pastors who understand the work and know what it takes.

These relationships have been reminders that I can’t impress through performance and that I can’t entirely do my job on my own resources. Each month is a small confession that I need help. Pastoral work is primarily comprised of communicating the Gospel to others. To do that well we need people who are willing to communicate that same Gospel back to us. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in proclaiming that Christian community is the place where we understand and grow in Christ, writes that “the Christ in one’s own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of another Christian. The heart in one’s heart is uncertain; the Word is sure” (Bohnhoeffer 2005, 5). I have shown up uncertain and have left with a reminder of God’s kindness through the word and prayer of a group of pastors.

Pastoral friendships offer the security of a network in a ministry setting that often sees pastors as nodes. Pastors need friends, not to minister to, with, or under, but who are gifts that don’t require reciprocity. This reality has been a primary part of my ministry and I realize it is not easily found or created. But it is worth the attempt. My own ministry has been shaped, formed, and sustained to a degree by my Cohort. In interacting with this same group of pastors over the years I have realized that the support of others has been my most valuable pastoral asset.

References Cited:

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, and John W. Doberstein. 2005. Life Together. Princeton, N.J.