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Give the Pastor a Break, he is a human too, after all!

On my way to the office this morning I thought about how we put pastors on pedestals and then shoot them down when they do not live up to our expectations.

I mean, they are human after all! But we do not like it when they get sick, or so frustrated with our issues that they themselves have a nervous breakdown. What if they need someone to talk to? Where do they turn to? How about your pastor is having an affair, or is caught smoking?

Are you going to burn him at the stake?

What if you see your pastor having a beer in the pub? Or if he tells you he cannot listen to your story at 02:00 in the morning? Does he not have a life too?

I do understand that pastors are in service of people, that they committed themselves to God and their congregation, but they are human, they are not angels.They have faults, they are hurting, they want a minute for themselves and their family, the constant whining of some of the congregation drives them up the wall.

I think subconsciously we put pastors in the place of Jesus, because we can see them. And then we expect them to behave like Jesus would, and some of them try really really hard to live up to our expectations. Some pastors know that they are called by God and does not care what we think of them, their focus is on God and they get their direction from the Holy Spirit.

But we still gossip behind their backs, we still give them unwanted advice, write them flaming e-mails or instigate a witch-hunt.

So give your pastor a break, treat him like a normal person, I am sure deep down he appreciates it.

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