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SUMMARY
and circumstances. What became clear from the interviews, though, is that
some kind of awareness and the setting of clear frameworks are necessary if we
want to be good stewards of the treasures — including our family and our own
life — that have been entrusted to us.
All environments have their own special culture and vocabulary, and
the church is no exception; it has its own cultural specialties. On the one hand,
we can talk about the church as an institution, a visible organization with its own
hierarchy, employees, volunteers, its own rules, regulations, rites and ceremonies;
on the other, the church may be described as an invisible spiritual community.
This can cause some tension, but may also energize the organization. The church
is an organization that is here and is to come, is visible and invisible at the same
time; it is very much in the world, but does not live by the values of this world.
Living on the border between two worlds, the pastor carries the message of the
Kingdom of God; he represents, for himself and for his environment, a spiritual
value system and lifestyle that is different from that of our world.
To live the Christian life as a community it is necessary that the group
shares a ,breath” (Spirit), whereby the individual affects the community and
the community also affects the individual. The practical knowledge acquired by
following Christ accumulates in the community as a whole and is not possessed
or embodied by individual members of the community. The church is made up
by the network of such practice-communities; thus we can regard the church
as the community of many communities of dialogue with God and each other.
The congregation looks to the pastor for teaching and guidance, and they expect
the pastor to be ahead of them on the path of faith; this, too, belongs to the role of
the pastor. Notwithstanding this role, it must be recognized that the pastor, too,
is on the move and that his age, his upbringing, his piety have to be taken into
consideration. On the path of faith pastors are seekers and homecomers in the
same way as other believers, their role as pastor, however, is an important aspect
of their spiritual growth. It is God who gives the growth, and God summons
us within the framework of where we are. Sometimes this means a desire for
growth; sometimes it means finding a new home, or a new home within the old
framework.
A special characteristic of the spirituality of a pastor is that nurturing his
relationship with God is part of his job, and his own personality is one of his
„work tools”. Today religion is regarded as a personal matter by the world of
work, but in the case of the pastor his faith cannot belong to his private life only.
According to the interviews pastors usually think that, while being spiritually
nourished by their personal relationship with God, their life of faith must be open
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