New Positions (at Church)

Pastors, ministers, chaplains, faith leaders have always been life coaches. Now, the term “life coach” is several thousand years newer than, say, the term pastor, but the concept of a life coach is just as old. The leader of a faith community has always had as its sole responsibility to improve the lives of those that abide by the religion for which he or she has been affirmed as leader. Of course, “improve” is a culturally contingent idea. It meant something different for a subsistence farm worker in the Middle Ages in Germany than it did for a blue collar office worker in Alabama in the 70’s.However, “improve” in a religious sense, has always meant to better align one’s life with the tenants of the faith tradition. A pastor, then, is simply a person that helps with that alignment, utilizing the resources from the tradition.In that way, a pastor is a life coach.There’s really no reason a local church needs to delineate pastoral responsibilities according to age groups or worship responsibilities. The needs required for an “improved” life are not age specific or day specific or hobby specific. But we break up pastoral responsibilities according to those categories, without question.Are their better categories?More appropriate delineation of responsibilities?More effective ways to group people of faith for positive change?One example: A majority of adults suffer from a diet-related disease. I believe the last I checked the average middle-age American adult takes 19 prescription drugs each year, many of those for diet-related illness. Why would we not have a Pastor of Food and Consumption or a Pastor of Health rather than a Pastor to Senior Adults or Pastor for Young Marrieds?How else ought we be re-imagining the role of leaders in our churches?