Pastors Are Human Too

What to do when your pastor lets you down

Stop me if you have heard this one before, but what should you do if you finally find a church with a perfect pastor filled with perfect people? The answer is simple; leave before you ruin it! There is no such place.

I love to see people thriving in healthy church environments. Unfortunately, every church and ministry staff has one fundamental problem: they all have people in them. The fact that we cannot have churches without people means we will all have to deal with some level of imperfection in our shared culture and leadership.

Great Expectations

Even in the best church staff environments, those you work for, with, and who work for you will have shortcomings. Expecting your boss or pastor to be perfect only reveals a lack of health in yourself. It is an unreasonable expectation.

So what do you do if you find out your leadership is imperfect, unhealthy in some way, or even dysfunctional? There are a lot of opinions on this, but I would say the first step is to remember they are only human. Pastors and leaders are limited by the same flesh and blood you have. They are on a journey and in a process just like you.

Those who have an unhealthy perspective of leaders expect them to be perfect while excusing the lack of imperfection in themselves. Our hope must be in God alone. No human was made to carry the burden of being perfect, so let’s not put something on our leaders that God doesn’t or we can carry ourselves.

Exposing Leaders

I used to pray flawed leaders would get exposed. Now those prayers are a little different. In humility, I now pray they will get exposed to the right things, people, and environments that will help them in their journey. I also ask God to expose the dysfunction in me so I can become a better reflection of him.

But Wait, There’s More

We shouldn’t stop there, though. We also need to consider the following five principles when we encounter dysfunction in our team, ministry, or leadership: 1. Pastors Are Human Too 2. Honor Is a Choice, Not a Response 3. Be Honest About Yourself 4. Hear Others Out, and 5. Find a Biblical Path to a Healthy Soul. This post is part one of five blogs I will be sharing on these principles in the coming weeks.

I hope you continue to join me on this journey of soul gardening. I’d also like to hear from you. Leave a comment on Facebook or Instagram letting me know your answers to the questions I asked in this article. Different opinions are welcomed and encouraged.

Further Reading on this topic: