A serious pet peeve of mine are pastors that treat their job like a career. Not that I’m opposed to people that prepare well to serve God in a professional manner. I’m talking about those that see their current job in ministry as a stepping stone to something bigger and better for more money. And it isn’t the bigger or the better or even the money thing that drives me crazy – it is the fact that some pastors treat their job like a job.

You just make different decisions when you are thinking about the next assignment. You only want to do things that look good on a resume. You don’t rock the boat, make the hard decisions or dig though the apple basket looking for the rotten one. You are happy leaving that to someone else. And if you are looking for a quick exit, you don’t want to screw too many things up for the next guy. So, you do the same broken things over and over.

After all, if you take some ownership and take some risks, the outcome may be hard to manage. Then you might be stuck trying to mop up a disaster of your own making. Then, when that prestigious job opens up you will be in no position to look like you deserve the bump.

Tom Ehich, in his article in the Winston-Salem Journal says that many pastors in the Lutheran tradition feel entitled to their next assignment, much like a tenured professor feels entitled to his/her job. He looks around and finds that churches with great growth are churches were the pastor is sold out to the ministry of that church – not because the church is doing well. No, the reason theses churches are growing at all is because of the dedication and free thinking involved in the pastor making that church a career.

I identify with that. How about you?

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