Do you know your pastor? I mean really, really know him (or her for progressive churches). Chances are you don’t. In an era of larger and even mega-churches, the answer is likely “no”.
The central role of pastor when I was young was to take care of his “flock”. I grew up in a small Baptist church in East San Jose. There were on average 175 people in attendance in our one room cathedral, with its plush, red seating and it’s stained glass windows. At the end of every service we would roll out the center aisle and shake the pastor’s hand. At every church picnic I can remember my pastor sitting with us and talking to my mom. She knew the pastor. (It didn’t hurt that my mom served at women’s functions).
But times have changed. How we do church has changed. And so has the technology. Virtual sites are the new rage in church planting, where a pastor is pumped in to a remote location. And in response, Chris Salzman writes,
“One of the big criticisms of churches that pump in video for their sermons is how distant the congregation can feel from the pastor.”
And I would ask if the pastor needs to be virtual or multi-site to even reach this point? Has the role of pastor changed in the era that we currently live in? Has the role morphed from essentially shepherds of a flock to presenters of spiritual information?
Interested how you feel on this. Speak your piece.
