Critical analysis of Pastors Promise by Jack Hayford

Pastors of Promise by Jack Hayford

In Pastors of Promise, Jack Hayford, the founding pastor of The Church on the Way and chancellor of The King's College and Seminary, discusses the unique role that the pastor plays in the spiritual life of his followers. The book talks about the pastor, not only as a shepherd, but as a man. In it, Hayford talks about the importance of living with integrity, so that one can lead with hope. Furthermore, it outlines the type of character Hayford believes is necessary for one to take a position of leadership in the church. Hayford's goal in the book seems to be to inspire Christian men, in general, to live with more integrity and take a more active role in the spiritual lives and in their communities. His purpose in writing the book is to spread "passion, compassion and promise" in the Christian community (Hayford, 1998, p.26).

Perhaps the most obvious argument against Hayford's vision is that it is very male-centered. He talks about inspiring Christian men to take up roles as leaders. Moreover, in this book, where Hayford describes his personal challenges, he talks about reconciling the roles of husband and father with the role of pastor. It would be easy to assume that Hayford has embraced some of the male chauvinist attitudes that have plagued the church since its creation, but which do not seem to have been the same type of problem during Jesus's lifetime. After all, Jesus' most loyal and devout followers were women. Moreover, it is reaching to suggest that Jesus ever said anything preventing women from taking an active leadership role in the church. Hayford does not suggest male superiority, but he does seem comfortable with the idea that women and men should, at least ideally, play different, complimentary roles within the church. While some have suggested that Hayford tries to avoid issues about which Christians disagree, the role of women in the church is a developing one, with significant disagreement. For Hayford to say that he is dealing with the issue of chauvinism without specifically addressing the inherent sexism in the notion of split roles, and even the inherent sexism in writing a book for shepherds that is geared only towards men, seems as if he is making some unwarranted assumptions about universal tenets of modern Christianity.

However, while Hayford's book is directed towards men, the qualities that he thinks are so critical for men of the cloth seem equally important for any person in a leadership role in the church. For example, he talks about the idea of a crisis of faith. What spiritual leader never encounters a crisis of faith? Even Jesus had a famous moment of questioning. Therefore, for Hayford to point out that a normal pastor can question and doubt and still be an effective leader is very important. When a pastor is young and idealistic, faith may be very, very strong. However, the reality is that as one ages, one is more and more likely to encounter the things that test faith and strength. The death of a child or a spouse, misfortune striking good people, natural catastrophes, unexplained violence; any of those things can cause a person to question faith. Hayford makes it clear that this questioning can help one become a better pastor, rather than disqualifying one from leadership.