I was serving a church in St.
Petersburg, Florida, when it hit me hard. One of my young children had
playfully fallen on the floor in the foyer after a worship service. A
deacon in the church came up to me and spoke forcefully: “You need to
tell your kid to get up. Pastors’ children aren’t supposed to act that
way.”
My internal emotional reaction was carnal. I’m just glad I held my
tongue. I was really mad. I can still remember my thoughts: “How dare
this man hold my young son to a standard different than other kids! My
boy really didn’t cause any harm. He was just being playful.
I recently conducted a Twitter poll of pastors and their spouses
about this very issue. Though the poll was informal and not scientific,
the responses were nevertheless fascinating. Here are the top seven
responses in order of frequency. A representative comment or combined
comments are given with each of the seven.
- Don’t expect more out of pastors’ kids (PKs) than any other kids. “My children need to have the same expectations as the other children in the church. They are not some kind of spiritual superstars because their dad’s a pastor.”
- Please offer encouragement to my children. “It’s not always easy to be a PK. The glass house thing is real. I am so thankful for the church members who go out of their way to encourage my children.” Continue at Thom Rainer
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