Pastors and Ministers

I grew up in a family with a heritage of ministers. My grandfather was a minister; so was his father, and his father, going back many generations. Ministers. That is a name given to preachers of protestant church denominations. Our denomination was Congregational; now it is known as the United Church of Christ as a result of several mergers with other denominations.

The Congregational churches in America share a history that began in England just before the emigration as Pilgrims to a land called The New World, or America. Yes, the Pilgrims arrived on the shores of Massachusetts and immediately set up their churches. Those churches became Congregational.

Preachers and ministers. That was and is their professional title. Reverend, too.

In other Christian denominations religious leaders are called priests and pastors. Lutherans in America call their religious leaders pastor. For the past 12+ years I have been a member of a Lutheran church in Warrenville, Illinois. It is a ‘liberal’ church theologically, a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. There, Pastor is the title of our minister.

It took me some time to realize there is a difference between minister and pastor. Just the term – pastor – makes me appreciate the role involved. A pastor shepherds the flock, nurtures understanding, teaches theology intersecting with modern life, and calms members of the flock in times of sorrow and crisis.

A minister on the other hand, at least those I was familiar with throughout my earlier decades of life, were teachers, lecturers, authority figures and leaders. They were removed from me and many of the rest of us. I know this is a personal feeling, the removal part. I set that up, not they. I felt inferior to their understanding of church things and their education. Today I feel differently. I understand their role is the same as pastor, but I didn’t realize it then.

As I recall my relationship with my reverend grandfather, he was stern, academic and intellectual. Cool and aloof, too; but then perhaps that was my own deference to his age and position? He was, after all, a man and a family relative. With large age differences we see these people differently. Maturity helps shift meaning and understanding. As it ought.

As my congregation seeks to call a new pastor to our church, I understand the pastor title even better. It is a leader with heart, soul and wisdom. A tender of a flock in need of guidance and nurture. A pastor guides, informs, teaches, and helps others move toward their own decisions. And that is all good.

As I jettison the title of minister from my inner vocabulary, I gladly embrace pastor in its place.

April 12, 2018