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| (Green Lake Conference Center, Wisconsin) |
Pastors are to lead people spiritually. Thankfully, to do this they don't need to put on a performance. If a pastor puts on an act, they will mislead people spiritually.
Lots of energy gets expended performing before others. When I was in college, I was in several musicals. That was hard work!
There is a lot of pressure to fake it in ministry. Faking it can make you appear more attractive than you actually are. Some people will fall for the charade. The pastor may even come to believe their mask is who they truly are. A pastor who is an actor before their people is a fake.
Thankfully, a pastor doesn't have to be an actor. They just need to be in process of being formed into increasing Christlikeness. (Gal. 4:19)
Ruth Haley Barton writes:
"In a high performance culture (both secular culture and religious), holding to deep spiritual values in the face of the pressure to perform—whether performance is measured by numbers, new buildings or the latest innovation—is one of the greatest challenges of spiritual leadership." (Ruth Haley Barton, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry, pp. 27-28)