John Mark Comer on the Role of a Pastor Amidst Today’s Expectations, the Church as an Alternative Society, and Cultivating Peace Despite Circumstances
Episode 60 | John Mark Comer joins Jason for the second time on our podcast to share his reflections and learnings from this past year and what his future looks like as he transitions out of his pastoral role at Bridgetown. They start off reviewing the ways this past year has caused trauma, hurt, fatigue and division in the church and what the pastoral task is in the midst of this. In the last few years, John Mark highlights how he has felt a distinct shift in people’s expectations of him and the increased criticisms pastors are receiving. No longer is enough nuance, a relaxed presentation, and deep cultural analysis and study enough to avoid attacks being hurled at teachers and churches. In light of this, pastors need a deeper conviction than ever on what Jesus has called them to, not just what people want from them; John Mark sees this as primarily centering around a sort of spiritual director and shepherd for people. Jason asks what the role is of the church amidst these cultural conversations. John Mark unpacks the idea of the church as an alternative society, not meant to shape all of culture itself, but rather to give an alternative culture where people experience the kingdom of heaven on earth. Part of this calling for pastors to form these communities is to suffer on behalf of their people, or as John Mark defines it, pastoring is vicarious suffering. To do this, our inner peace must be based on the truth’s of Jesus and not our outer surroundings. Blog | www.ccln.ca/episodes/episode60 Website | www.ccln.ca