Have Church…Will Travel

In light of the upcoming Ligonier National Conference – with it’s roster of well-known pastors and speakers – I have lately been pondering something concerning whether or not pastors should stay close to home when it comes to preaching. This pondering is really centered around what appears to be a general lack of emphasis on the local church, and how pastors often being away from their churches affects a congregation’s view of itself. I have thought about this more and more as our pastor emphasises week after week how we should be involved in local “body life” and how important the local church body is.

Is it a good or bad idea for pastors to frequently vacate their pulpits in lieu of accepting various requests for appearances to speak or preach at other churches, speaking engagements, extended trips, conferences, etc.?

This is something that I have never really spent much time thinking about, but it may be a question that those who pastor and frequently travel to speak elsewhere may want to ponder. As existing conferences gain in popularity and new conferences emerge – drawing more and more pastors away from their churches during the week – this may become an issue of some significance. Even if most traveling pastors make it back to their home church by Sunday, do they still preach, or do they give up their pulpit following a week away at a conference or event due to preparation limitations while being away?

Similarly, as a pastor’s popularity increases on a national scale – and the requests to speak on Sunday away from home rise – how tempting is it to be away more and more from his pulpit? Is a pastor able to effectly oversee and shepherd the flock under his care when he is frequently speaking abroad? Since the pastor is still expositing the Scriptures (albeit away from home), is this a non-issue anyway? Does this frequent pulpit vacancy actually serve a great purpose in preparing others to preach the word?

Personally, I think a pastor being out here and there (on an infrequent basis) is a good thing, as it gives opportunities for others who are being called to preach the truth a chance to do so. On the flip side, I am not so sure it is good for a local body when their pastor is frequently absent from the pulpit…even if they are preaching elsewhere. My thinking is, since they have been placed by God as undershepherds of a local body of believers, pastors maybe should give priority and consideration to their home church first and foremost. If my opinion meant anything – and it doesn’t – I would suggest that preachers stay at home and preach, and let others who are still gifted at preaching (but who don’t pastor a church) preach here and there and everywhere.

That’s my two cents…though I doubt it is even worth that much.