Can I let you in on a little secret?
I hate being called pastor.
It is literally the worst.
I meet new people every single day, and I genuinely love talking to others and getting to know them. However, the moment they learn that I’m a “pastor?!” Everything gets weird.
They stop cussing around me. They ask me hard theology questions. They start hating on their church, or my church, or all churches. The conversation just changes and everything becomes different.
Plus - have you ever considered the stereotype that comes with the title of Pastor?
It means I’m supposed to be perfect! It means I don’t sin. It means I know all of the answers to every question you may ever have about the Bible. To me, it sets this invisible high standard that you may think about me - but on the inside, I know for a fact I am so far from what you think I am.
I hate being called pastor.
//
You know what I do like being called?
Kevin.
That’s my name. That’s a better representative of what you are going to get when you talk to me:
- A down to earth guy who is easily distracted and always has to fight back a natural joke brewing in his head.
- A guy who loves basketball and loud rap music and is possibly the most impatient driver you’ll ever meet in your entire life.
- A husband who is not always the best husband; a dad who is not always the best dad; a follower of Jesus who fails every single day.
My name is Kevin.
Yet, the older I get and the more that our church grows - the more people continue to call me this term “pastor.”
//
A few years ago I met a pastor who did not know that I was also a pastor.
We talked for a while and he told me about what he does. He took pride in his job and in his church - and I believe he truly loved the title “pastor” (which is totally fine by the way). But when I told him what I did for a living, he laughed and thought I was joking with him.
When he discovered that I was not indeed joking, he apologized and worried about offending me. However, the reality is that he did the complete opposite; I was thrilled.
He viewed me as a regular person. He viewed me as this tatted-up hood rat guy in blue jeans who lacked tact and proper vocabulary. And here’s the kicker: he was spot on.
//
I’ve been reading this book recently called “Good Shepherd’s smell like sheep.”
It is pretty straightforward with the title, and the whole idea is that if you are going to be a “good” pastor, you better not create a barrier between you and your people.
In Jesus’ day, they had special teachers called “Pharisees” who often taught very difficult things to people and elevated themselves much higher than those around them. Jesus actually calls them out in Matthew 23 -
“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. 4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. 5 “Everything they do is for show.”
To be a good pastor means you are not in it for the show - but that you are there to help teach and lift that burden. You are not “above” others - you are below them, serving them, guiding them. In the same way, a good shepherd smells like sweat, dirt, and animal waste, a pastor is not too good to love people who have dirty, messy lives.
After all, when we look at Jesus, He is constantly hanging out with people who don’t have it all together. He shared company with thieves, rebels, and prostitutes, and he openly welcomed them as friends. In fact, the number one question He is constantly asked is not “How do you get to heaven?” Or “Where do I find God?;” The number one question He gets asked is “Why are you hanging out with those people?”
//
Those people.
Why are you hanging out with people who are cussing?
Why are you hanging out with people who are tatted up?
Why are you hanging out with people who are hotheads?
Why are you hanging out with people who are addicted?
Why are you hanging out with people who are cheating?
Why are you hanging out with people who sell drugs?
Why are you hanging out with people who are violent?
Why are you hanging out with people who hate God?
Why are you hanging out with people who hate church?
Why are you hanging out with people who hate Jesus?
Why are you hanging out with those people?
And it’s in this moment where I feel the tension from being called “Pastor.”
Because honestly, I connect less with the title “Pastor” and more with the title “those people.”
I am a person who has lived an incredibly selfish life.
I am a person who has tried multiple times and failed.
I am a person who has made tons of mistakes and had no idea how to get home.
But can we just thank God that Jesus came and hung out with people like me?
Because of His grace, I have been changed and transformed and God is still working on me today.
I am no different than anyone else - I am saved and forever grateful to have a spot at the table with Jesus in the life to come.
And the reason I don’t want you to call me Pastor is because I want you to know that I’m more like “those people” than I am like a pastor.
So when you tell me your struggles, I get it.
When you tell me your pain, I hear you.
When you explain your broken situation, my heart is right there with you.
Because I have been there, and I know how terrible that feeling is.
If anyone gets it, I get it.
But most importantly, Jesus gets it.
And if anyone can change your life, it will be Him.
//
As I am writing this, someone literally just texted me and said “Hey Pastor Kevin” lol.
I suppose I cannot get rid of this title. It is not a bad thing, and if anything, I hope I can help improve the stereotypes that come with it.
If God has called me to be a pastor, I’ll be a pastor. I’m thankful for the incredible church and the people He has allowed me to lead over the years.
Just please remember that although you call me Pastor - I’m not some superhuman holy priest. I am just a broken guy whom Jesus has saved and is continually working on.
So in the meantime, just call me Kevin.
Sincerely,
Your Pastor :)
