Pastoring

I talked to the head of a parachurch ministry today, someone who used to pastor a church in Toronto. I asked him if he missed Toronto, and he said somewhat, but he didn't completely miss pastoring. As someone who loves pastoring, I can relate. There is this nagging feeling that what's expected doesn't always measure up to what's right. Erwin McManus says that most congregations have lost the essence of what it means to be a church. If that's true, and I think it is, it's no wonder that it's so difficult to pastor. There are glimpses of what it could be like, but as Eugene Peterson aptly said, there's more cleaning horse manure in the stables than there is riding the horse in parades. (Sounds like most jobs!) I'm going off now to rest so I can get ready to clean more stables tomorrow.