#239 UCC Board for Homeland Ministries Department of Evangelism 27th Annual Pastor's Study Conference--February 26-27, 1962 Theme: "The Role of the Christian Pastor" THE PASTOR AS HOLY MAN Of the aspects of the pastoral role 2. Our culture's lust for con- we are considering at this conference, this creteness and its disdain for com- one is conceptually and emotionally the plexity and abstraction nudge the most difficult. The very raising of the sophisticated clergy toward precise, question of the pastor's holiness elicits non-fuzzy thinking; and what word wide, wild, and sometimes mirthful is harder to get a fix on than "holy"? responses. A little boy who described The pastor as a holy man--that is as his process of picture-making as "I get vague, a job description, or an ele- a think and then draw around it" often ment in one, as can be imagined. comes to mind wryly in this connection: Intellectual clarity and functional on this subject, each pastor in a group efficiency are both offended. seems to get a think whose bounderies coincide with_those of the think of no 3. In our pragmatic culture the other pastor! This paper hopes to de- pastor is apt to feel that he must rep- fine the terrain at least enough to make resent himself as both personally discourse understandable, if not to successful and socially helpful. His organize a few scouting parties. relation to the holy does not seem to speak directly to either of these image Why so tough? -- Here are a few needs. reasons why this aspect of the pastoral role is so difficult to consider and dis- 4. Pastors tend to feel some cuss: guilt that in all their busyness they do not do enough business with the holy, 1. The idea of the "holy" has or thiat the business with the holy be- about it, for the Protestant clergy, a comes so common that it becomes musty odor of Catholicism east and unholy. This was a worry to Francis west plus the reminiscence of the Bacon, a father of secularism but a sacred in primitive religion (shaman, devout man: "Cursed is the man who magic, incantation, divination, etc.) handles holy things without feeling." plus the old-lace smell of Protestant pietism on both sides of the English 5. The current revolt against in- Channel and on this side of the Atlantic dividualism is against the pastor's Ocean (with sub-smells of Puritanism, seeing himself on his knees, his Victorianism, traditionalism, funda- primary longing as being for God and mentalism, socio-economic and polit- his primary relationship being with ical conservatism, and anything else God. He knows he must be related nasty you nice liberals might think of). to God, to things, to ideas, and to To change the figure, the concentrated persons; but he is driven to the fire of so much artillery would sink any (feminine7) conclusion that the fourth word! Yet for biblical, historical, is the most important. This tendency devotional, and psychological reasons is so powerful that human interperson- "holy" is here to stays al relationships can come to dominate • ■■■,, The Pastor as Holy Man - Page 2 the concept of the holy. The false mo- -towaid mobility upward--to transfer nastic alternative of God or man gives to a'larger parish (where size is a way before the false psychosocial alter- respectability plus-factor) and to be native of man or God. (An excellent accepted on equal footing with those exposition of the balance of the two is he considers his peers (in medicine, Paul Tournier's Escape from_Loneli- law, state,craft, business manage- ness [Westminster, 19627-R . ) ment, and the academic realm). This striving can be rationalized as the 6. The idea of the holy is at odds desire for increasing relevance--a with the culture, which has bypassed it, more influential ministry to more and therefomwith the church, which is persons. But when such effort im- largely a prisoner of the culture. For proves one's status 1 in the perspective this reason, depth involvement in the of holiness the whole process be,- holy, sets the pastor at war with the comes suspect. The truth is that the church as well as with the world--a holy has no standing in a secular cul- lonely business. He appears to be ture. Its protagonist is asked "What's isolated in apparently antique piosity in it for you?" and "What are you that is neither practical nor prophetic. trying to prove?" And, additionally, To him, however, what is "practical" he must ask himself "What - are my is far less simple-mindedly defined Motives?" and "To whorn am ',try- than it is by the culture. It includes, ing toprove' it? Myself? My family? for example, the "practice" of his faith Status persons? The opinion-makers? (which makes a difference in his life and The successful? Failures? The masses? relationships). As for the prophetic, Families? Men more than women? Or his concerned life in and witness to the vice versa?" 1 ) holy makes him prophetically critical of culture and church in the light of the . Despite its disguised reappear- Kingdom. Theoretically, the pastor as ance in the world of arts and letters, holy man is the least obvious aspect of the holy in its traditional forms has the pastoral role; but practically, the no visible means of support in com- pastor who makes this aspect central munity values, which therefore"take" makes it, whether he would or not, the it for the little work it can do toward most obvious aspect of his role as pas- support of the contemporary idols. The tor. (A pastoral predecessor of mine, holy is that which the secular culture on his pastoral calls, was given to yoga least understands and most comfortably head-standing. This method of breaking neglects. When the holy presses its the cleric stereotype is not recommended. claims through the Christian witness, Something in it is obvious--even obtrus- the culture tends to lose its easy ive!--but is it the holy? Odd, "si" tolerance and becomes first%omfort- when intrinsic: queer, "no.") able and then antagonistic. Even pastors are not free from the tempta- tion to be hostile to the supernatural Against the culture? -- The holy and to think of it in terms of super- is supra-cultural, self-existent. The stition and interference with the cos- goal of holiness is therefore set in mic order revealed by science (though opposition to modishness and respect- interest in spiritual healing and other ability as goals. Through the years the charismatic rnanifestations is returning, pastoral role has lost so much face that and the occult is in resurgence). In a many of the pastor's temptations are world concerned with proximate values The Pastor as Holy Man - Page 3 the pastor is tempted to make slight use Do the members want the pastor of all other bands of the sanctional spect- to be holy? -- Yes and no. There is rum than the autonomous and the social. 2 ) a deep but vague and largely residual The culture's overconfidence in psycho- (i. e. , non-functional) belief that the social techniques as omnicompetent for pastor should somehow be closer to interpreting the spiritual dimension of God so that he can lead the people man's existence tends to intimidate the closer to the Source and Destiny of pastor, in whom such considerations as life; and in their increasing aware- these arise while he is on his knees: "Am ness of the deep disorganization of I communing with God or is this self- modern life (not to say disintegration hypnosis or at least auto-suggestion? Am and chaos) pulpit committees are cur- I brainwashing myself? It this4 - after all, rently a little more inclined to up- jiitt a-pioUs veision of positive' thinking?" grade this trait. Upgrade it, that is, (He may -be a 'little comforted by the to about the sixth or fifth spot. If you OrientaLinVasion of manipulative devices make it in a half dozen other ways, for controlling the inner life--e. g. , neo- you will be permitted to be holy or Hindu yoga and neo-Buddhist Zen. A perhaps even encouraged to be so. secular culture tends to fall victim to The question of whether your 'making the exotic esoteric. ) it in these other aspects of your role might exclude holiness--this question One must not fail to mention that the is not often asked. general permissiveness of our culture and its intoxication with individual lib- This is a complex one, and it erties combine against the whole tradi- may be well to line it out: tion of discipline, both of the person and of the church. 3) 1. Holiness--from man's side, direct and personal and continuous And finally, the reality principle of devotion of one's life to God as life's the Zeitgeist is outward rather than in- fundamental dialogue, sanction, and ward, objective rather than subjective, hope--is that aspect of "religion" in the hands of the scientist rather than which makes least contact with the of the saint as the psychosocial scientist current secular culture. 5 ) While 4) rises in esteem and status. The cul- there is no typical devout believer, ture is approaching a secular synthesis a composite picture (using the tradi- of inner and outer without reference to tional factors) would locate such a what our spiritual heritage has meant person at maximum distance from by the holy. As Kant tried to produce a the power-persons of the culture.