Pastoring and Parenting Essay - 937 Words

The problem with being both a pastor and a parent at the same time is finding and adhering to the distinction between shepherding the church members and being a father to one’s children. A distinction must be made between pastoring a church and parenting one’s children because of the nature of each responsibility which when combined with the other produces a difficult situation. While being a pastor requires a caring heart for one’s congregation, being a good parent requires a love for one’s children that is so deep that caring for anyone else pales in comparison. Problems arise when a pastor cares too much for his congregation or what they think of him and ignores his family in the process. One’s family should always come first not†¦show more content†¦In a Pastor’s home, these may be only the basics; expectations may be pilled on the pastor’s kid (PK) to such an alarming degree that many adults, let alone kids, could not handle the pressure. A PK may be so sheltered that they will have no friends aside from those that are chosen for them. They may not be allowed to go to a public or even Christian school and instead forced to be home-schooled in an effort to control who they come in contact with. This desire to have complete control stems from a fear that left to their own devices, a PK will bring â€Å"public shame to the congregation or scandal to the community† (Mickey 22). Usually, when one thinks of a â€Å"sheltered child† it is in a negative way as the earlier examples have shown. However, not all sheltering is bad and within a Pastor’s home it may be very necessary for the sake of the family’s relationship with each other. The necessity is shown in the following examples. The father may shelter the kids from certain members of the church when said members make unexpected visits to the home. The PK may also be sheltered from certain groups or clubs at churc h so that they are not made fun of for being the pastor’s son or daughter. Those who are outside of the pastor’s family may never find it possible to relate to the difficulties faced by the PK and for this reason, a protective barrier is often times needed. As it