The Difference Between Pastors and Evangelists

      I hear so many "pastors" in the church today speaking about how wrong some Christians and other leaders of the church are for being on the other side of a topic within Christianity and it really bothers me.  Pastoring a church is not about making sure that everyone believes just like you do because the fact is that everyone's beliefs vary slightly because no one has the same understanding or experience as anyone else.  An Evangelist is concerned with whether others share there beliefs or not, not a pastor.  Many "pastors" seem to be more concerned with people agreeing with their belief system than they are of spiritual growth.  The position of a pastor is to help the members of his/her church grow spiritually, not to tell them how they should believe and condemn them when they don't believe that way.  The job of the evangelist is to bring people to their own understandings.  Many "pastors" will argue against this idea by using the shepherd parables from the Bible*.  They will say that it is their job to keep the sheep pointed in the right direction, however, a shepherd is to feed and nourish his sheep to facilitate growth as well as lead the sheep in the right direction.  This "right" direction doesn't mean that the pastor has to conform the congregation to his belief system, but it does mean that he has to give them a general direction and that it is ok for them to waver back and forth because they are all going to the same place as they are all his sheep.  The shepherd is also supposed to protect his sheep, but this doesn't mean that we shouldn't have freedom to explore ideas, it means that the pastor is to be careful of what he allows in his church.  I believe that a great example of the position of a pastor is my Resident Chaplain (RC), Jake.  Jake is a Calvinist and doesn't believe that we have free will to choose God; he believes that God chooses us.  This does not stop Jake from leading Bible studies on our floor and speaking into our lives whether we agree with Calvinism or not because his job is to help us grow in Christ, not to impose his beliefs on us.  Pastoring is not about cloning your own beliefs, but it is about raising up a generation of strong Christians to change the world!  Evangelists on the other hand are the ones who are supposed to bring people to Christ.  Unlike pastors, they are not dealing with people who are already Christians, but are dealing with those who have yet to come to Christ.  Therefore, evangelists are meant to bring people to their own beliefs in Christ and help lead them into a church where they can make their own assumptions about scripture and grow into a healthy relationship with God.

*1 Peter 5:2-4 "2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away."