Going Down the Path of Co-Pastoring
In a recent post, I announced the upcoming change for our family and ministry. A big part of that change is that my wife and I will be co-pastors.
I have been a youth pastor, an associate pastor, a solo pastor, and a senior pastor. But I have never been a co-pastor before. What will this look like? Good question.
First, a little background. At Queen Street Baptist Church, I was the senior pastor and Amanda was for a time the outreach director (pastor). We had very clearly defined roles. I gave leadership to Sunday morning worship and she gave leadership to Saturday night outreach.
When COVID-19 happened, all of Amanda’s outreach ministries were put on hold. She had free time and I needed help putting on online services. We shared in pastoral care and co-led the worship services. We were unofficially co-pastoring. I say unofficially because that was not the predetermined role and I was still the senior pastor.
The goal for Brookfield Baptist Church is that we would start and continue as co-pastors, completely equal. This of course assumes an openness to women in pastoral ministry and leadership. I explain my views here.
So what will this look like? I expect that there will be a lot of experimentation. Amanda and I are very different in our style, gifts, and personality. There will be natural areas of dividing up roles, although there will be much overlap as well.
But that kind of thing can happen in a senior/associate pastor set up. What is different about co-pastoring? We will both have equal say in the decisions we make. We will be accountable to each other but we will not have authority over each other. This requires an ongoing striving for consensus.
The good thing is that we will be ministering in a Baptist context. Baptist churches are built on a Congregational model. Traditionally the pastor (senior or otherwise) does not have the final say. Amanda and I will be working with the deacons and the rest of the congregation in ministry. This cuts down on the temptation to impose authority.
Do we have it all figured out? Absolutely not! But we are prepared to work together with our congregation to build God’s kingdom in our community.
You might be asking: Is this even biblical? I’m not convinced that there is a clear picture of pastor-led congregations, so we are not going to find a co-pastor model, at least not the way we are doing it.
But I do think that there is a biblical precedent for what we are trying and that is the example of Priscilla and Aquila.
“He (Apollos) began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately.” (Acts 18:26)
I have long been intrigued by this couple, Priscilla and Aquila. They pop up in a number of places and seem to be an influential presence in the early church. They don’ts seem to be an example of a pastor and a pastor’s wife. They come across as equals who are gifted in teaching and encouraging the people of God. That is the vision that Amanda and I have for our ministry.
