Love, a Rose, and a Pastor

Written on June 6, 2007 in thought

I want to make a few things clear:

I love my church, Rothesay Vineyard.
I feel called to be a pastor.
I want to pastor this church.
I am grateful to be her pastor.

Methinks I don’t protest too much. Let me put it this way: it is as though I came across an extraordinarily beautiful rose in the wilderness. My task is to appreciate, protect and praise its rare beauty. Along come the developers to suggest digging up this rose’s roots in order to plant a whole garden of them. I chase them off because this one rose is all that is needed. I will not kill it for a bigger idea. Along come the horticulturalist experts to tell me how to make it even bigger and more beautiful. I chase them off because they don’t appreciate the rose as it already is in all its splendor. I will not change this rose into another one. Along come the insecticide and herbicide specialists and gene-manipulators to tell me how to develop this rose into a stronger strain. I chase them off because they don’t realize that letting it be is its best protection. It is strong enough if left alone. Along come the reporters and spin-doctors to make deals on how to publish its praise in a more professional, profitable and marketable way. I chase them off because the rose reports its own beauty.

It is the same with this community. I’ve seen, I’ve tried and I’ve done all kinds of programs and agendas and visions and strategies. They all without exception, I’ve concluded, do not appreciate what is. They all try to change it and add to it with the best of intentions and the best of efforts, but they do not realize that in the process they destroy it. I feel my primary job as a pastor is to just allow the rose to be the rose, to enjoy it, to praise it, and to let it be. Nothing more. Nothing less. This, in my opinion, is love. This, in my opinion, is what a pastor does: he or she loves his or her people and cares for them. Simple… simple as that!
The fine art photo is the creation of my friend Jorgen Klausen.

http://nakedpastor.com nakedpastor

yes fred. but with at least two lines of writing… then you’d get the whole quotation marks. you learn fast!
Fred

Polly, thanks for the quote help. I agree with what you’re saying about hierarchy. I don’t think there’s anything “wrong” with hierarchy if it’s “done right,” although I think history is full of examples of it being “done wrong.” I also don’t think levels of hierarchy mandate inequality.
Polly

You got it!
I often forget to add a couple blank, “buffer” lines, too.

There’s room for both, I think. I often hear people decry the evils of organization (like corporations) but it’s a necessary tool (notice I didn’t say evil) that, if managed properly, allows us as individuals to do far more than we ever could alone. The trick is, as you say, “to do it right.” It just takes vigilance.
http://asbojesus.wordpress.com jon birch

if jesus is the model of headship, then headship is sacrificial. a husband will die for his wife if called upon, a shepherd will die protecting his flock if called upon. headship is not hierachy, it’s servanthood!
Fred

That’s how it’s supposed to work, jon birch. But the shepherd is still in front of the sheep. A middle-eastern shepherd leads sheep; he doesn’t drive sheep like a western shepherd.
http://asbojesus.wordpress.com jon birch

yeh, that’s where the analogy falls down… but what about the husband and wife analogy?… sometimes clare leads (because she’s not as daft as a sheep) and sometimes i lead (i am that daft, but she suffers me politely!). i suspect it’s the same for many relationships. i’m not really the leader, although the dog thinks so.