Pastor Disaster

One of the advantages of living in New York is being able to get an instant smile on your face when you see the front page of the New York Post. There is always some outrageous thing in print that stares back at you at the news stand. One such morning I saw the phrase “Pastor Disaster” and, of course, I had a sigh of relief when I found out it wasn’t me. I am sure it’s every pastor’s nightmare to find him- or herself on the front page of the Post with that label. In this case it was Barack Obama’s pastor Reverend Wright’s turn. Following the rather courageous speech of Obama who tried to put Rev. Wright in perspective, Rev. Wright came before the American press and threw Obama under the bus. Rev. Wright spoke about himself over and over again, ad nauseum. Yes, he was a disaster, and it is unfortunate that Obama was associated with him.

To be fair to Rev. Wright, I am sure he is a good pastor to his people. He has done a lot for people in this church. The place has grown under his leadership. He brought Obama in to the church and married him and his wife and baptized his children. His church has helped the poor directly and he has, I am sure, been very effective. At one time or another, if you are a good pastor, you feel like a disaster, or you feel that you have made a mess of things. All of us card-carrying reverends find ourselves in this situation at least once in our career. Usually, what leads to becoming a “Pastor Disaster” is when the pastor has too much ego infused into the situation. Being a minister is not about “me” and my troubles and my needs and my desire for attention, it is usually about trying to be a caring, non-anxious presence for someone who needs help. Ministry isn’t me first, it is trying to park your ego at the door and go into situations putting others first. I am not saying that I am always successful, but I do know that a pastor can make a mess out of things very quickly, when our narcissistic self rears its ugly head.

That is precisely the pitfall that took out Rev. Wright and labeled him as “Pastor Disaster”. Of course, he has made outrageous statements on the topics of race, AIDS, associations with Farrakhan, and a few inappropriate sermons that were filled with misdirected anger. Believe it or not, that stuff, while it is nothing I agree with, does not upset me as much as a minister getting up to talk about himself at the expense of a family that belongs to his church and one of whose members, by the way, is running for president. While I have not made up my mind about for whom I am going to vote, I have to agree with Bob Herbert of the New York Times who said that for the first time in American history a black man has a serious chance of being president and his pastor really cared more about himself when he got up onto the national stage to address his audience.

Jesus puts it this way as he addresses his disciples for the last time and insists on washing their feet: “I am among you as one who serves.”

Let that be a lesson to all pastors who could be heading for disaster.