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In my first two posts on this theme 'What Can A Pastor Do?, I sought to emphasize that he/she is there to # 1 Teach The Word and to #2 Encouage the Vision. The third component of the role of the Pastor that I endeavoured to communicate in the Churches where I served was this:
[3] I WAS THERE TO CHANGE THE ENVIRONMENT
By using the expression "environment", I refer to the sum total of mindsets, structures, attitudes, traditions, precedents etc. that make up the life of the local church; the 'DNA' if you like. Of course the emotive word here is "change".
Since I have addressed the subject of change in another article on this site, I don't intend to go into detail here. However, one truth that I do want to emphasize is this:
We can have change without growth but we can't have growth without change.
Since vision is the picture of a future state different from our present state, then commitment to the vision is, necessarily, a commitment to change - from what is to what will be.
Changing the environment involves, on the one hand, the dismantling of mindsets & structures that resist the realisation of the vision and the developing of every-member ministry - assuming that is part of the vision. In many ways changing the environment is the toughest call of all on a Pastor. Relatively speaking, teaching the Word is a walk in the park compared with drawing people into a change process.
Changing the environment, on the other hand, also involves creating a climate of acceptance, trust, affirmation, opportunity to try and (even!) fail. Without this environment, all teaching & equipping for ministry will be neutralised.
There remains one further dimension that I believe every Pastor ought to embrace with enthusiasm but more about that in my next post
