free the pastors! pastor for free!

Building on my last post, here is a post from Alan Knox at the assembling of the church describing how being a pastor in a participatory gathering of the church contrasts with being a pastor in an institutionalized traditional church.  First He shares many of the things he has read and heard lately describing what he sees pastors worrying about.  Then he shares his own experience and how he is free from these kinds of worries to do what pastors are called to do.

Alan writes:

Because of many of the above, I don’t worry about how many people meet with us each Sunday. I don’t have to worry about filling the pews (or chairs). I don’t have to worry about recruiting people to fill ministry program slots. I don’t have to worry about how much money people give.
Instead, I can focus all of my time and energy on people… caring for people… serving people… discipling people… teaching people… sharing my life with people.

Click over and read the whole post, it paints a clear picture of how our structures and traditions of having paid professional pastors actually distract us from what we are called to be in Christ.