Pastors Are People Too

By Alan L. Newlove

Every dynamic church has a strong partnership between the pastor and the active members of the congregation. A necessary ingredient for this partnership is a deep understanding and appreciation of pastoral ministry. What motivates your pastor? What are a pastor's responsibilities? What support does your pastor need? How does one discern a call to pastoral ministry and what does that mean? Pastors Are People Too addresses the topics of family, money, teamwork, responsibilities and authority,and more - all the while acknowledging and addressing a pastor's humanness - to provide a basis for building healthy, dynamic churches.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781973694618

Alan L. Newlove

Alan L Newlove currently serves his church as Pastor Emeritus and has served at all levels of church leadership, from being a lead pastor to lay leadership to serving in multiple volunteer positions. He also taught in public schools for 19 years and is currently an adjunct professor in the School of Education at Fresno Pacific University in Fresno, CA. He earned a Master of Divinity degree from Golden Gate (now Gateway) Theological Seminary in the San Francisco Bay area. He lives in Clovis, CA, with his wife, Carolyn.

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Copyright © 2020 Alan L. Newlove.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-9462-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-9463-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-9461-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020912452

WestBow Press rev. date: 07/14/2020

My wife, Carolyn, is a gift from God. Without her

unconditional love and support, this project never would have

seen the light of day. I dedicate this work to her with all my

heart, for all my life, and to the glory of God in His Church.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Multitasking

Chapter 2 Superman? Not!

Chapter 3 Family Matters

Chapter 4 Money Issues

Chapter 5 Authority

Chapter 6 Mutual Respect

Chapter 7 Mutual Care

Chapter 8 Building a Team

Chapter 9 The Calling

Endnotes

Introduction

I have been on both sides. For twenty-three years, I had the extraordinary privilege of serving the church in pastoral ministry as an assistant pastor, as a solo pastor, and as a lead pastor overseeing a staff of dedicated servants of Christ. I have also had the extraordinary privilege of serving as a layman. In fact, prior to 1974 and between 1997 and 2018, I was a person in the pew. Since 2018, I have been honored to serve as pastor emeritus in my home church.

Before I entered pastoral ministry, I had a very high regard for pastors, though I had relatively little understanding of what they did and why. There were vague ideas about preaching and pastoral care, but I could not fathom what they really were all about or what it actually took to fulfill the calling of a pastor. Once I had joined the staff of a dynamic church in San Francisco, I embarked on a crash course of learning and developing the heart of a pastor. It always left me in awe because I had very high regard for pastors but did not see myself as fit for such a high calling. I was convinced that my humanness, my human weaknesses, would certainly disqualify me for such an important and honorable position.

Over the years, I discovered the joys and the heartaches most every pastor experiences. I learned by reading, sharing with other pastors, and mostly by trial and error (especially my errors, of which there were quite a few). Though I aspired to be the best pastor the kingdom of God had ever known, I always admired other pastors in their giftedness, effectiveness, and grace. I always felt there was more to learn. And indeed there was.

Now that I am no longer in a full-time pastoral position, my love and respect for those in pastoral ministry has not diminished in the least. I find particular delight in supporting my pastors, praying for them, and being available to assist them in whatever ways they need. They are not perfect people, because no one apart from Christ is. But the fact that they are human—real, live, breathing people—actually makes them better pastors. It’s not unlike Hebrews 4:15, which explains that Jesus is fully suited to be our intermediary and savior because of His humanity. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin (NIV). Jesus can shepherd us because he gets us. And our pastors are equipped in part to shepherd because they get us too. They know the trials and tribulations, the temptations and pitfalls, that lie in every person’s life.

My hope is that this book will not only be of help to laypeople but will also be an asset to pastors. My hope is that the information offered here will provide a bridge of understanding and cooperation between pastors and their congregants. When I served full-time as a pastor, there were times I wanted my congregation to know more about what made me tick, to know me for who I am as a man and as a man called by God to pastor. I worried that I might seem to be promoting myself or advocating excessively for my own needs and concerns. Now that I have a bit of distance from serving in a full-time position, my aim is to help the Church succeed in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19–20) by uniting congregations with their leaders. As my first mentor in ministry, the Reverend Richard Jefferson, once said, when the church comes together with shared giftedness, shared leadership, and shared ministry, nothing, not even the gates of hell, will be able to withstand us. By the grace of God, may it be so.

Author’s Note

Much of the material in this book was originally published under the title Understanding Your Pastor (Pleasant Word, 2007). I have rearranged, updated, and supplemented some of the material in the hopes it is more clear and useful to the reader.

Multitasking

CHAPTER 1