Is a Pastor ever good enough?

Message / Question

Is it normal for pastors to feel like they're wearing a mask with their congregations? As in you feel like you can't live up to who the congregation expect you to be, and if they knew how things really were, they might not treat you the way they do? What's the best way to go about it?

Response

Masks are things that most people wear on occasions – probably the members of the congregation often wear their own mask when conversing with the pastor! Whilst I see ministry as a calling rather than a “profession/job”, the reality is that pastors work in a professional capacity. Every pastor will find that there are times when they are under pressure, tired or in some other way “below par” and, in a way similar to doctors, nurses, teachers etc, will “mask” the way they are feeling in order to meet the needs of those with whom they have to meet, counsel etc. So in this way, pastors are like everyone else – whether we like to admit it or not, we have a certain expectation of our pastors and sometimes pastors will “mask” how they feel in order to meet that expectation. Having said that, your question seems to go to how you feel about yourself and your ministry. It should always be remembered that God equips whoever He calls, so if you know that you are called, then you be confident that God will give you whatever you need to do the job. Remember, God called YOU, not someone else – and when He did so, He already knew everything about you. So remember, you don’t have to try to be someone that you’re not, be yourself; I’m sure that your congregation would rather have you “warts and all” rather than have someone who is trying to be someone else. Shakespeare got it right when he said that “all the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely actors...” – I used to wonder who was in the audience if all the men and women were on the stage, until I realised that there’s actually only one in the audience – we’re not called to impress the other actors on the stage, we want to “play to” the audience, we want the audience to be more than satisfied with what they see and hear. When you look down from the stage of life, you will see that you are playing to an audience of only one, so don’t get hung up on “who the congregation expect you to be”, simply fill the role that you have been given and be who the audience expect you be – that audience of one. God is the author, the director and the audience, satisfy Him and when the curtain falls, the audience will applaud and say “Well done, good and faithful servant”.