A Pivotal Prayer Partnership, Part 3
Partnerships have been an aspect of human relationships since the beginning. In a broad sense, partnerships are created for the mutual benefit and common pursuits of two or more parties. Some are strictly business in nature. Some are social. Some are political. Some are spiritual. Some partnerships are bound by legal agreements upheld by law. Some partnerships are bound by social rules and upheld by tradition. Some partnerships are bound by covenant love and upheld by God.
Biblical marriage is an example of the last category. It’s a well-defined, limited partnership for life. A less well-defined, but just as significant in the societies of God created order, is the church, an unlimited partnership. Let me explain what I mean. In marriage, the partnership between a husband and wife in Christ is limited to two specific individuals living together in covenant love for the well-being of the other, pursuing the common goals of biblical marriage.
The church on the other hand is a living organism in which people and pastors change over the course of time. Nevertheless, like marriage, the church is God’s creation composed of new creations in Christ. Unlike marriage, the church may have many pastors over the years and many members who come and go over time. Yet, the partnership remains because the Spirit of the partnership remains along with its enduring mission and purpose in the world. (I’m speaking here primarily of the human partners in this Divine enterprise in which the Holy Trinity is also an indispensable Partner and the essential Power.)
In the previous articles, I wrote primarily about the pastor’s side of this mutual intercessory partnership of prayer. What I shall address in this article is the responsibility of the people to pray for their pastor.
Prayer is one of those spiritual activities that’s difficult to either qualify or quantify. How can we say with any degree of certainty how well people pray, generally speaking, or how earnestly they pray for their pastor more particularly? How can we possibly determine the fervency or the frequency of individuals praying for their pastor? Of course, we can’t. But, numerous studies and surveys seem to point to a dearth of prayer among Christians today.
Growing out of my own experience as a pastor over the years, listening to others, and discerning hearts, I’ve put together a few possible reasons church members don’t pray for their pastor. I acknowledge these as possible explanations rather than authoritative, and I sincerely welcome any comments where we might agree or disagree. The following are 7 possible reasons people don’t pray for their pastor with a few words of explanation:
- Prayerlessness: We have to honestly confront the fact that prayerlessness is a pervasive problem in the church today just as it’s been throughout church history. Prayerlessness doesn’t necessarily mean that people don’t pray at all, though some do not. What it describes is a pattern of prayer that lacks devotion, discipline, and a daily walk with God and communion in prayer. Prayerlessness is carelessness in the Christian life.
- Past Experiences: I’m talking here about lost respect, lost trust, and lost love for pastors in general as a result of real or perceived wounds and disappointments caused by the words and actions of a previous pastor. So, one holds on to his past pain and punishes the current pastor. He’s the one paying the price for someone else’s failures.
- Personal reasons: People don’t pray for people they don’t like, including a pastor they don’t like. They don’t like his looks, his personality, his preaching style, or his leadership style, and so forth and so on. People don’t tend to pray for someone – even a pastor – where personalities clash.
- Priorities: If you pray, you pray your priorities. You pray for what’s important to you. You pray for those who are important to you. You think, “I’ve got enough problems of my own to pray about. I don’t have enough time to pray for me and my family, much less the pastor. I’m sure others are praying for him!”
- Perceptions: “Why do I need to pray for the pastor?” some argue. “He’s got a direct line to God. He doesn’t need my help, and besides, it looks like he’s doing just fine without my prayers.” This is the Pedestal Syndrome – the perception of some in the church that pastors can do no wrong and live above the fray of human frailties and the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. This is simply false.
- Physical exhaustion: If you asked people to explain their weak prayer-life, the excuse of being too tired and exhausted from the busyness of life and chosen lifestyle will find its way to the top of the list. We believe in prayer. We want to pray. We see the need of prayer. And we’re convicted that we don’t pray like we know we should. Nevertheless, we let the flesh rule the spirit.
- Pastor’s aloofness: By this I mean that the pastor chooses not to allow himself to get too close to those in his church because it would make him too vulnerable and open himself up to betrayal and disappointment and personal pain. So, the idea of partnering with his people in prayer, or asking people to pray for him, or inviting people into his struggles like what Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane, isn’t something he’s willing to do. So, he remains aloof, distant, and detached from his people. He’s playing to the so-called Pedestal Syndrome. And that keeps him and his people from reaching their potential in Christ as partners in the ministry of the Gospel.
I recently began serving as Interim Pastor of Bedon Baptist Church in Walterboro, SC. I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. I’m going to be intentional and persistent in forming a partnership with the people of God at Bedon. I’ve already proposed this idea, and they have been more than receptive to the challenge of a vital pastor-people partnership of mutual intercessory prayer. I’ll keep you apprised as we develop this partnership.
Next time, we’ll look at the potential that such a partnership unleashes for the advancement of God’s Kingdom.