Tuesday Afternoon Thoughts: Pastor as Tour Guide

"I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them." - Mark Twain

Can you believe these country kids went to New York City??

When I was a kid, my family took a trip to New York City. One of my favorite parts of our trip was the bus tour we took around the city. I remember two landmarks: Katherine Hepburn's apartment and the only grocery store in all of Manhattan with a parking lot. I'm sure the tour guide pointed out lots of other noteworthy places along the way, but those two stood out to me because I never would have noticed them otherwise. Katherine Hepburn's apartment looked just like the others around it. And that grocery store looked just like any other midwestern grocery store. The tour guide helped us see the city with new eyes.

We just returned home from a three-day pastor retreat, and while we were there, I had some time to think about some ways of understanding the pastoral role. One image came to mind that I thought I might take some time to develop further: the pastor as tour guide.


1. Tour guides aren't responsible for creating landmarks. 
It's easy to fall into the trap that my job as pastor is to create a "worship experience" and to think that if life-altering moments aren't happening in our services, it's my fault. But I've seen God work in my life and in the lives of those around me in LOTS of different ways. Whenever I start to get anxious about preaching bad sermons, one of my friends is fond of reminding me that she can't remember a single sermon she's ever heard. She still felt called to be a missionary. My job isn't to create landmarks in the lives of the people in my congregation. That's up to God.

2. Tour guides do know the names of landmarks. 
I grew up in the church, and one of the things that saddens me the most is the sense of inadequacy that so many people feel. I saw godly men and women who cared for me and my peers, who prayed for us, taught our Sunday School classes, let us stay up all night at their houses, rode roller coasters with us, and listened to us complain endlessly about each other. From these same godly men and women, I sense sadness and loneliness, a feeling of failure, a desire to serve God more fully but doubt as to whether they can succeed. Tour guides don't create landmarks, but they point them out. I want to point out the miracle of that investment in our lives, of loving one person, of forgiveness, grace and mercy, of compassion and empathy, of casseroles and sympathy cards, of a sincere musical performance by a nervous teenager, and the loving applause that inevitably follows. I want to name these landmarks, to point them out and stop the bus so we can all appreciate God's hand at work.

3. Tour guides are not celebrities.
Nobody wants to see the home of a tour guide or the restaurant where they drink their coffee every morning. Tourists want to see Katherine Hepburn's apartment and the hospital where Princess Kate had her baby. One of my seminary professors was fond of saying that there are a lot of dyslexic pastors nowadays; they talk more about their D-O-G than their G-O-D. Now that I'm a pastor I know why. It's not always easy to think of something to say every week, and a good anecdote can take up a decent chunk of time! But my job as a pastor is always to direct those who listen to me back to the real celebrities--the apostles and prophets, the saints who have come before us, Jesus, himself. If I get caught up in my own stories and anecdotes, the tour loses its value.

4. Tour guides listen to the experts.
This didn't happen on our New York City tour, but if there happened to be someone on board who had lived in a certain part of the city for thirty years, I would hope the tour guide would hand over the microphone. It's interesting to hear about the famous people who have lived in a place, but it's even better to hear from people who knew them. It's tempting as a young pastor to think that I'm some kind of expert. But most of the people in my congregation have been serving God for much longer than I have. I would be a fool not to draw on their wisdom and experience.

5. The tour guide rides the bus too.
Fortunately, we didn't have any incidents on our tour, but if our bus would have been in an accident or somehow gotten swept away by a flood or some other crazy natural disaster, the guide would have been in for whatever happened right alongside the rest of us. Again, it's easy to think that my life is separate from the life of my congregation. If economic disaster strikes our area, I can pick up and move on. If our church falls apart or splits, I can simply walk away. I can conduct funerals and weddings as an objective outsider. After all, I won't be going in the ground or to the honeymoon suite! But the church is God's church. I'm along for the ride every bit as much as any other member of the congregation. We're all called to respond to whatever happens, good or bad, in faithful obedience to God.

We could have used a tour guide for this trip.
This was supposed to be a waterfall!

6. The tour guide better know the area.
A good tour guide can recite facts and anecdotes, remembers names and dates, and can answer questions. That doesn't happen naturally. It takes intentional study. I have a responsibility to prepare for every sermon. I have a responsibility to keep learning more. I can't coast along on what I already know. There is always more to learn, as well as the need to keep reviewing what I already know. Which brings me to the last similarity:

7. Tour guides make the same trip over and over.
My husband told me that every pastor preaches three sermons. At first, I was sure that I would be different, that I would preach something new every week. After two weeks, I realized I was out of material. But that's not such a bad thing. I just need to make sure my three sermons are worth hearing! I've been reading 1 John. Do you know how much that book talks about love? It's like he only had one sermon! Maybe two--God loves us, we love others. If I'm going to be in this for the long haul, I need to find joy in visiting the same landmarks over and over--grace, forgiveness, healing, mercy, compassion, the kingdom of God. It's my job to name those landmarks every time we drive past them, to remind all those on the journey with me of their location. And sometimes, I need the people on the journey with me to remind me where they are.

In the past few months that I've had this pastor job, I've had some anxiety. Am I up to this task? Can I proclaim the good news of the Gospel with my words and my life faithfully week in and week out? What if our church doesn't grow? What if it shrinks? What if I stand up to talk and forget how to use my mouth to make sounds?

I think this image might help with some of that anxiety. Yes, I have a great responsibility to do my job faithfully, but I don't create the landmarks, and I'm not on my own. I'm traveling with a group of people, and I happen to have the great privilege of pointing out some sites along the way. And just because I'm the one holding the microphone, doesn't mean I'm the expert. I should always be listening and learning from the ones who know this place better than I do.

What do you think? Is this a good analogy? Does it have some limitations? How do you see your role as pastor? As congregant?

Should churches look more like this?