God-fearing, Christ-centered pastors are a great blessing to all Christians. It is a precious thing to have someone who loves God come to our aid when we are in need of counsel and someone to share our burdens with.
However, while pastors work hard to take care of the flock that God has entrusted to their care, the flock should not expect that the pastor is a superman who can do so many things. They are still humans with limitations.
That said, here are a few things every Christian should not expect from a pastor.
1) The pastor will only tell you what you want to hear
While pastors are often looked up to for encouragement and comfort, part of a pastor's "job" is to lead people in God's ways. What this means is that pastors have to call out and rebuke those who are sinning, correct those who are in error, and tell people the honest truth that is not always flattering or easy to hear.
Other times, they will sound like a broken record, repeating the same admonitions again and again until we learn what we need to learn. Those who don't take easily to discipline or correction won't like that.
Have you ever noticed that Jesus didn't butter people up with His words? In fact, His words ran like a razor-sharp double-edged sword that struck the hearts of every person who listened to Him. His words exposed the very hearts of those who listened to Him speak. He called out and rebuked evildoers and even strongly chastized His own disciples. Those who loved God accepted and respected His correction, but those who loved no one but themselves hated Him.
2) That pastor always knows what to do
Another common mistake. We must never think that our pastors know what to do all the time.
Some Christians can act like kids who need extra supervision. They want to be spoon-fed all the answers to all questions and problems. Thus, they come to their pastor and expect his leading on every single aspect of their life.
While good pastors will do their best to help any person in need, it's a fact that they're only human. They're not God. They don't know everything, and so we shouldn't think that they know everything.
Guys, let's be like the Berean Christians. They search the Scriptures always, even just to confirm if what a preacher said was true. Acts 17:11 says of the Bereans,
"These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."
We should prayerfully read our Bibles and see what God says.
3) The pastor is perfect
Now this is something I want to zero in on.
Friends, pastors are humans who are in need of God's mercies and grace on a daily, moment-by-moment basis, just like us. They aren't perfect, they don't know everything, and they don't have the perfect character that God wants us all to have: Christ's.
We should never expect that our pastors won't ever disappoint us.
The Bible tells us that all of us, ministers included, are in the process of sanctification. We are all being molded into the likeness of Christ. God is still at work in all of us, taking away all unrighteousness as we confess and repent of our sins (see 1 John 1:9). He also does this to our pastors.
With that in mind, we must never think that our pastors don't have the capacity to disappoint us. Our pastors won't be able to meet all our needs. They are limited, and have their own personal responsibilities especially to their respective families. We can't expect them to be there 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
But we can count on God. The Lord our God is perfect, always available, knows all things, wants nothing but the best for us, and will never ever get tired of us especially if we just come to Him in humility and submission.
In conclusion
Friends, remember that pastors are a blessing to all of us, but just like anyone they are also human and have limitations. Let's put all our burdens on Christ, and shower brotherly love to those who labor tirelessly among us.
"Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine." (1 Timothy 5:17)
