{"id":21335,"date":"2020-09-29T13:33:23","date_gmt":"2020-09-29T20:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greaternw.org\/news\/?p=21335"},"modified":"2020-09-29T14:45:08","modified_gmt":"2020-09-29T21:45:08","slug":"blow-up-the-damn-pedestal-an-open-letter-to-pastors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greaternw.org\/news\/blow-up-the-damn-pedestal-an-open-letter-to-pastors\/","title":{"rendered":"Blow Up the Damn Pedestal: An Open Letter to Pastors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Rev. Jenny Smith<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

To my pastor friends in this work together, can I share a few thoughts? They\u2019ve been squirming around in the tight spaces of my soul the last few months. Normally, they\u2019d have more room to stretch and skip about but yeah. Not lately. They\u2019re competing for breathing room with pain, anger, disappointment, fear, resentment, and obligation. It\u2019s close quarters in there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which invites denial and distraction. Because it\u2019s all so much lately. It\u2019s cumulative. Piling on top of each other. We take a day or two off in hopes of giving our mental and emotional health a breather. We breathe in the grace of our God and feel a moment of peace. We remember ourselves. Then we descend back into the fray. Into the anxious systems. The complex decisions. The impossible scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We climb back up on the pedestal folks like us to occupy. We reluctantly but dutifully stand in the space where wonderful people believe we have no faults. Well, some people in our churches know we do and don\u2019t let us forget it. But for the ones who think we can do no wrong, it brings problematic expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last few generations have valued professionalism over honesty. Politeness over authenticity. Strength over weakness. As the tides change and new generations lift up shifting values, many of us are caught in the middle. Our hearts long to be honest, authentic and explore our weakness. We know deeper strength lies in that intersection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Rev. Jenny Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But the air we breathe tells a different story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suck it up.<\/em>
Keep that to yourself.<\/em>
Do your job.<\/em>
Keep it together.<\/em>
We don\u2019t talk about that here.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we claw our ways back onto our pedestal, as if we can ward off the dissonance between our heart and the expectations in the air. We continue the cruel game that requires a pastor to live on a pedestal for all to see. It slowly turns as a human somehow becomes an example of how to live, how to be peaceful, how to be good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are pastors allowed to scream? To rage with anger? To cry over injustice? To stand up to church bullies? To fall apart?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does a pastor get to be human?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congregants will read this and say, \u201cOh pastor, please step down off the pedestal. It\u2019s okay to be human. Especially now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great. But some of us will balk at the invitation to step down. As much as we suffer on the pedestal, it\u2019s easier to hide behind supposed sainthood and pretend we have control over the chaos. Maybe it feels safer to move about that confined space then the unknown of mere mortals who aren\u2019t somehow one step away from God. It\u2019s an odd profession we\u2019ve been called into, isn\u2019t it? Our hearts are wired to sense the Divine and we love the Jesus story. But over time, we can fool ourselves into believing we somehow cracked the code and escaped being human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we just pray the right prayers,
Practice enough Sabbath,
Raise enough money,
Seek enough justice,
Climb the pulpit ladder,
Do the right things,
Somehow, we\u2019ll escape the terrible pain in our world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cue exhibit A: Our current reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pastors, I offer something I know you know. We can\u2019t escape being human.<\/em> While we\u2019re trying to guide and serve others, we\u2019re on the front lines of our own pain. Our own shame. Our own uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So would it finally be okay if we all agreed to blow up the damn pedestal?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s killing us. There\u2019s no life in it. It\u2019s keeping us from the work we\u2019re here to do in ourselves and with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pastors, you have a gift to offer in these difficult times. You know a story of hope. Of love. Of justice. A better vision of what humanity can be. We need that story right now. More than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we need that story to come through humans. Not saints on pedestals.
We need that story to come through a heart that\u2019s telling their truth.
We need that story to come through a human who knows their pain so they can help us navigate some of ours.
We need that story to come through a person who allows themselves to fall apart with people they trust. To lay it all out so Love has a shot at getting to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if shame continues to sing its song, convincing us that
Everyone else is fine<\/em>
They\u2019re figuring this out<\/em>
They\u2019re doing pretty good<\/em>
What\u2019s wrong with you?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Love doesn\u2019t get an open door, a crack in the armor, or a fighting chance at loving a very human pastor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because when Love gets to love a pastor, we all win.
When a pastor steps off the pedestal and breathes deeply of their humanity, we all win.
When a child of God gently sets down heavy and impossible expectations, we all win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friends, the isolation of these days is real. We\u2019re in this work together, but we\u2019re not together. Which means loneliness has a playground in our minds. Shame gets a microphone. Uncertainty has a field day. Fear convinces us we\u2019re the only one struggling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I write this today because I don\u2019t think I\u2019m the only one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can we keep finding creative ways to remind ourselves we\u2019re in this difficult season together?
Let\u2019s use our EAP benefit and see our therapists.
Let\u2019s find money to see our spiritual directors more often.
Let\u2019s connect with a few colleagues and make space to share how we\u2019re really doing.
Let\u2019s normalize our humanness in the midst of spaces where people seek our guidance.
Let’s get honest with our leaders about what we can realistically accomplish in this season. It’s okay to hit pause on business as usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s step off the pedestal and embrace presence with<\/em> our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your church does not need you to have all the answers.
They need you to be you, in all your complexity and contradiction.
Because if God can still speak and work and love through the complex and honest pandemic you,
Then they\u2019ll be able to take a step closer to a God who can handle and love the complex and honest pandemic them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone wins when we blow up the damn pedestal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Jenny Smith<\/strong>\u00a0serves as pastor at\u00a0Edm<\/a>o<\/a>nd<\/a><\/em>s United Methodist Church<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in Edmonds, Washington. She writes at\u00a0www.jennysmithwrites.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an open letter for the Clergy Wellness blog, Rev. Jenny Smith encourages her fellow pastors to reject ministry from upon a pedestal. About it, she writes, “It\u2019s killing us. There\u2019s no life in it. It\u2019s keeping us from the work we\u2019re here to do in ourselves and with our people.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":21339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21335","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-clergy-wellness","8":"category-pacific-northwest-conference"},"yoast_head":"\nBlow Up the Damn Pedestal: An Open Letter to Pastors - Greater Northwest Area | News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/greaternw.org\/news\/blow-up-the-damn-pedestal-an-open-letter-to-pastors\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blow Up the Damn Pedestal: An Open Letter to Pastors - Greater Northwest Area | News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In an open letter for the Clergy Wellness blog, Rev. 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