The role of the priest vs Protestant Pastor

[heathernoel]

I am having a hard time articulating the role of our priest vs. the role of a reverend or Church pastor in a Protestant Church. I have a friend who doesn’t understand why I’m disappointed that a certain celebrity priest admits that providing the sacraments made up only 10% of his priesthood vs. time spent evangelizing/selling books. I think evangelizing is CRITICAL…but one of the reasons I love the Church is because the priests are SO much more than a Sunday morning sermon deliverer…

Anyway, for those of us who are ex Protestant or anyone who has $.02 to contribute…what are the differences in roles, if any, that you see?

TIA!
Heather

*My hair is still wet from swimming the Tiber, so if I was wrong in anything that I said, please correct gently. Thanks!!! *

 

[JonNC]

I am having a hard time articulating the role of our priest vs. the role of a reverend or Church pastor in a Protestant Church. I have a friend who doesn’t understand why I’m disappointed that a certain celebrity priest admits that providing the sacraments made up only 10% of his priesthood vs. time spent evangelizing/selling books. I think evangelizing is CRITICAL…but one of the reasons I love the Church is because the priests are SO much more than a Sunday morning sermon deliverer…

Anyway, for those of us who are ex Protestant or anyone who has $.02 to contribute…what are the differences in roles, if any, that you see?

TIA!
Heather

*My hair is still wet from swimming the Tiber, so if I was wrong in anything that I said, please correct gently. Thanks!!! *

The role of the ordained pastor in the Lutheran Church is to care for the spiritual health of his parish -to preach the word and administer the sacraments - amongst other things.

Jon

 

[Glen_Ellen]

I am having a hard time articulating the role of our priest vs. the role of a reverend or Church pastor in a Protestant Church. I have a friend who doesn’t understand why I’m disappointed that a certain celebrity priest admits that providing the sacraments made up only 10% of his priesthood vs. time spent evangelizing/selling books. I think evangelizing is CRITICAL…but one of the reasons I love the Church is because the priests are SO much more than a Sunday morning sermon deliverer…

Anyway, for those of us who are ex Protestant or anyone who has $.02 to contribute…what are the differences in roles, if any, that you see?

TIA!
Heather

*My hair is still wet from swimming the Tiber, so if I was wrong in anything that I said, please correct gently. Thanks!!! *

Here’s a Presbyterian perspective. The sacrament of communion is not as important in many Protestant churches (we only have communion once a month, which is typical of many Protestant churches). Protestant pastors generally also don’t do things like hear confession (although the spiritual counseling they may give to members may come close in many instances.) The emphasis in Protestant churches is generally on preaching and teaching, and, perhaps to a lesser extent, being a spiritual leader for the church in terms of counseling. That’s why in Presbyterian churches the pastor is referred to at times as a “teaching elder” or as a “minister of word and sacrament,” “word” referring to teaching and preaching.

Protestant pastors also have a lot of administrative responsibilities, including essentially fundraising for capital campaigns and annual pledges. The pastor also has to oversee associate pastors (if any), and employees/volunteers such as Sunday School teachers, youth ministry people, clerical and administrative staff. Also many Protestant churches have a lay board of deacons, or session of elders, which have greater or lesser powers of decision-making and responsibility, and the pastor has responsibility for overseeing them and essentially keeping them unified–although often such boards ultimately have more power than the pastor, including having the power to fire and hire the pastor.

In summary, for better or worse, a Protestant pastor’s job is a lot like being the CEO of a company, in additional to spiritual responsibilities.

 

[Dave_Noonan]

I am having a hard time articulating the role of our priest vs. the role of a reverend or Church pastor in a Protestant Church. I have a friend who doesn’t understand why I’m disappointed that a certain celebrity priest admits that providing the sacraments made up only 10% of his priesthood vs. time spent evangelizing/selling books. I think evangelizing is CRITICAL…but one of the reasons I love the Church is because the priests are SO much more than a Sunday morning sermon deliverer…

Anyway, for those of us who are ex Protestant or anyone who has $.02 to contribute…what are the differences in roles, if any, that you see?

TIA!
Heather

This is a good question.

I think because there are so many different kinds of denominations and settings, it’s really difficult to generalize about how the roles differ. In my own observation, Catholic priests spend a larger proportion of their time around celebrating Mass and other sacramental work, simply because of numbers and necessity–there are a lot of Catholics per priest in the average parish–more Masses, etc. (Many Catholic parishes would meet a religious demographer’s definition of a “megachurch” even though they are not designated as such.) Because of the numbers, I think Catholic churches have to rely more on parishioner volunteers to make things happen–if they are going to happen–and thus priests have to delegate a lot of non-sacramental tasks and be more of a leader who inspires other people to lead.

I think in both cases (Protestant and Catholic) if the parishioners are not so well educated–religiously, I mean–Fr./Pastor X is looked upon as the authority on all spiritual matters and is the religious professional. Though I think Catholics tend to be more deferential to their priests–if the parishioners try to have a priest removed, it makes the paper (as happened here recently). Such an event wouldn’t be all that unusual in an average Protestant church–people tend to challenge the clergy more because the churches are usually structured more democratically–Pastors can be “voted out” etc.

I’ve seen both Catholic priests and Protestant ministers work well collaboratively with parishioners and I’ve also seen both that must know about and control everything that happens within the parish. I wouldn’t say that clericalism is more the norm in one versus the other.

 

[VivaCristoRey27]

Not all Catholic priests are pastors. A Protestant pastor is a functionary role as a leader of a group of Christians. Some priests also have a role as pastor but that is not the definition of priesthood.

A priest has two primary functions – to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and to forgive sins. These two functions were given to the Apostles on Holy Thursday (the Mass) and in the Upper Room (Absolution). Anything a priest does apart from this is not essential, he may have a flock of his own in a parish or he may be a monk or a hermit, it does not matter. What matters is that he is ordained to offer the Sacrifice and to forgive sins.

http://www.shrineofsaintjude.net/mass-33.jpghttp://www.michaeljournal.org/images/penance.jpg

 

[heathernoel]

Not all Catholic priests are pastors. A Protestant pastor is a functionary role as a leader of a group of Christians. Some priests also have a role as pastor but that is not the definition of priesthood.

A priest has two primary functions – to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and to forgive sins. These two functions were given to the Apostles on Holy Thursday (the Mass) and in the Upper Room (Absolution). Anything a priest does apart from this is not essential, he may have a flock of his own in a parish or he may be a monk or a hermit, it does not matter. What matters is that he is ordained to offer the Sacrifice and to forgive sins.

http://www.shrineofsaintjude.net/mass-33.jpghttp://www.michaeljournal.org/images/penance.jpg

TY TY TY TY TY TY TY TY TY TY TY TY TY!!! Exactly what I was looking for!

 

[Holly3278]

Well, a Protestant pastor is simply a false teacher. They may not be trying to teach false doctrine because many, if not most, of them are simply ignorant of the truth and desire to teach the truth. However, a Protestant pastor is nothing more than a false teacher and a leader of a false church. A priest, on the other hand, is a pastor. He is a shepherd. He is ordained by God. The same is not true of a Protestant pastor.

 

[VivaCristoRey27]

TY TY TY TY TY TY TY TY TY TY TY TY TY!!! Exactly what I was looking for!

I am glad to have helped.

 

[Cat]

Well, a Protestant pastor is simply a false teacher. They may not be trying to teach false doctrine because many, if not most, of them are simply ignorant of the truth and desire to teach the truth. However, a Protestant pastor is nothing more than a false teacher and a leader of a false church. A priest, on the other hand, is a pastor. He is a shepherd. He is ordained by God. The same is not true of a Protestant pastor.

This isn’t what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says.

Please check out Paragraph 838. In fact, all the paragraphs in that section of the Catechism are pertinent to this topic.

 

[Cat]

In many of the large evangelical churches, the pastors are hired to fulfil specific responsibilities and ministries. Only in the smaller evangelical churches does one pastor do it all.

Their titles often reflect these ministries.

Senior Pastor–in charge of the all the pastors and the congregation.

Administrative Pastor–finances, business aspects

Minister of Music–music, arts

Children’s Pastor–children’s ministries

Youth Pastor–teen ministries

Minister to Senior Citizens–ministries to the senior citizens. Often this pastor also does visits to shut ins and hospital patients, so sometimes this pastor is called the “Compassionate” Pastor or some cute name like that.

Evangelism Pastor–reaching out to non-Christians

etc.

It’s been seven years since I converted to Catholicism. I’m guessing that many evangelical churches now have a Minister of Social Networking and/or a Minister of Technology. It would make a lot of sense, since so much of a church’s ministry is now done through various online venues.

In many churches, laypeople do a lot of these ministries, and often hold the same titles, but without the word “Pastor” or “Minister.” Usually laypeople will be referred to as “Director” of whatever the ministry is, e.g., Director of Children’s Ministries, or “Director of Outreach,” etc. Sometimes these laypeople are paid church staff, but more often than not, they are strictly volunteers. This is really good for the church budget, but it can be very bad for stability, as a volunteer can just “not show up” for work, or leave with no notice whatsoever, and then the ministry flounders, feelings are hurt, and people leave the church.

Ordination is a term that varies in different Protestant denominations. In some denominations, ordination requires many years of school and seminary, and an advanced degree. In other denominations, anyone who is involved in a ministry in the church is “ordained” at a service where the Senior pastor prays and lays hands on the people who are being ordained. It is important to understand exactly what ordination means in each Protestant denomination so that you don’t assume that a person who is “ordained” has more education than they really do.

I hope this information is helpful.

 

[Dave_B]

Well, a Protestant pastor is simply a false teacher. They may not be trying to teach false doctrine because many, if not most, of them are simply ignorant of the truth and desire to teach the truth. However, a Protestant pastor is nothing more than a false teacher and a leader of a false church. A priest, on the other hand, is a pastor. He is a shepherd. He is ordained by God. The same is not true of a Protestant pastor.

Protestants are a very varied group. Some protestant denominations, such as some Anglicans have theology similar to Catholicism.

The weely communion service at Anglican church I attend is very similar to the daily mass I watch on EWTN. Except for the use of latin for certain prayers, and references to Mary, I cant see any significant difference.

Are these protestants also ignorant and false?

 

[rinnie]

Here’s a Presbyterian perspective. The sacrament of communion is not as important in many Protestant churches (we only have communion once a month, which is typical of many Protestant churches). Protestant pastors generally also don’t do things like hear confession (although the spiritual counseling they may give to members may come close in many instances.) The emphasis in Protestant churches is generally on preaching and teaching, and, perhaps to a lesser extent, being a spiritual leader for the church in terms of counseling. That’s why in Presbyterian churches the pastor is referred to at times as a “teaching elder” or as a “minister of word and sacrament,” “word” referring to teaching and preaching.

Protestant pastors also have a lot of administrative responsibilities, including essentially fundraising for capital campaigns and annual pledges. The pastor also has to oversee associate pastors (if any), and employees/volunteers such as Sunday School teachers, youth ministry people, clerical and administrative staff. Also many Protestant churches have a lay board of deacons, or session of elders, which have greater or lesser powers of decision-making and responsibility, and the pastor has responsibility for overseeing them and essentially keeping them unified–although often such boards ultimately have more power than the pastor, including having the power to fire and hire the pastor.

In summary, for better or worse, a Protestant pastor’s job is a lot like being the CEO of a company, in additional to spiritual responsibilities.

This AMAZES me the Sacrament of Communion is not as important. This blows me away. The Sacrament of Communion receiving Christ is the CENTER of the RCC.

The Eucharist is the CENTER of our faith. What could be more important then eating the bread from heaven and getting the Grace of God that enters your body and soul and mind?

The Priest in the RCC is nothing like a CEO in a company. The Priest is the person who stands in for Christ and does his work here on earth.

The Priest is who has authority to change regular bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. The Priest is the one who has authority to forgive us our sins in the name of Christ.

The Priest is the one who teaches the word not by his own interpretation but by the way that Christ taught it. The teaching comes straight from the mouth of Christ and his Apostles.

 

[rinnie]

This isn’t what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says.

Please check out Paragraph 838. In fact, all the paragraphs in that section of the Catechism are pertinent to this topic.

Cat I understand what you are saying and agree with you.

But I do have a question for you. What about when a Protestant Preacher teaches something that goes against the teachings of the Apostles?

I agree that we are to love and respect them but in all fairness what is the difference between the personal interpretation of a Protestant preacher on the word of God and yours or mine?

The Priest cannot interpret the word of God just like we can’t. We are taught the word of God through SS and ST.

So what I am saying is the Priest has Apostolic authority to teach in the name of Christ. Where is the authority to teach for the protestant Preacher?

 

[JonNC]

Well, a Protestant pastor is simply a false teacher. They may not be trying to teach false doctrine because many, if not most, of them are simply ignorant of the truth and desire to teach the truth. However, a Protestant pastor is nothing more than a false teacher and a leader of a false church. A priest, on the other hand, is a pastor. He is a shepherd. He is ordained by God. The same is not true of a Protestant pastor.

From the USCCB website:

1. Catholic judgment on the authenticity of Lutheran ministry need not be of an all-or-nothing nature. The Decree on Ecumenism of Vatican II distinguished between relationships of full ecclesiastical communion and those of imperfect communion to reflect the varying degrees of differences with the Catholic Church.(164) The communion of these separated communities with the Catholic Church is real, even though it is imperfect. Furthermore, the decree positively affirmed:

Our separated brothers and sisters also celebrate many sacred actions of the Christian religion. These most certainly can truly engender a life of grace in ways that vary according to the condition of each church or community, and must be held capable of giving access to that communion in which is salvation.(165)Commenting on this point, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation on the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote in 1993 to Bavarian Lutheran bishop Johannes Hanselmann:

I count among the most important results of the ecumenical dialogues the insight that the issue of the eucharist cannot be narrowed to the problem of ‘validity.’ Even a theology oriented to the concept of succession, such as that which holds in the Catholic and in the Orthodox church, need not in any way deny the salvation-granting presence of the Lord [Heilschaffende Gegenwart des Herrn] in a Lutheran [evangelische] Lord’s Supper.(166)
If the actions of Lutheran pastors can be described by Catholics as “sacred actions” that “can truly engender a life of grace,” if communities served by such ministers give “access to that communion in which is salvation,” and if at a eucharist at which a Lutheran pastor presides is to be found “the salvation-granting presence of the Lord,” then Lutheran churches cannot be said simply to lack the ministry given to the church by Christ and the Spirit. In acknowledging the imperfect koinonia between our communities and the access to grace through the ministries of these communities, we also acknowledge a real although imperfect koinonia between our ministries.

usccb.org/seia/koinonia.shtml

Jon

 

[wisdomseeker]

Well, a Protestant pastor is simply a false teacher. They may not be trying to teach false doctrine because many, if not most, of them are simply ignorant of the truth and desire to teach the truth. However, a Protestant pastor is nothing more than a false teacher and a leader of a false church. A priest, on the other hand, is a pastor. He is a shepherd. He is ordained by God. The same is not true of a Protestant pastor.

Spoke the Truth. as the Bible says, for priest cannot make himself a priest. Pastors of protestants make themselves pastores.

I like what fr. Pacwa said today at mass. everybody says they know Jesus, but does Jesus know them. this is the great question.

 

[wisdomseeker]

This isn’t what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says.

Please check out Paragraph 838. In fact, all the paragraphs in that section of the Catechism are pertinent to this topic.

if they preach the truth as you say then somebody is wrong, could be the CC? i dont think so. they dont tell the Truth. what do you call those who dont preach the Truth?

 

[JonNC]

if they preach the truth as you say then somebody is wrong, could be the CC? i dont think so. they dont tell the Truth. what do you call those who dont preach the Truth?

Do you disagree with the Catholic Bishops who wrote this?

If the actions of Lutheran pastors can be described by Catholics as “sacred actions” that “can truly engender a life of grace,” if communities served by such ministers give “access to that communion in which is salvation,” and if at a eucharist at which a Lutheran pastor presides is to be found “the salvation-granting presence of the Lord,” then Lutheran churches cannot be said simply to lack the ministry given to the church by Christ and the Spirit.

Do you disagree with the Catholic Cardinal who wrote this?

I count among the most important results of the ecumenical dialogues the insight that the issue of the eucharist cannot be narrowed to the problem of ‘validity.’ Even a theology oriented to the concept of succession, such as that which holds in the Catholic and in the Orthodox church, need not in any way deny the salvation-granting presence of the Lord [Heilschaffende Gegenwart des Herrn] in a Lutheran [evangelische] Lord’s Supper.(166)

Just curious,

Jon

 

[wisdomseeker]

Do you disagree with the Catholic Bishops who wrote this?

Do you disagree with the Catholic Cardinal who wrote this?

Just curious,

Jon

Do you dissagree wiht what the pope said: “Eucharist in the lutherans is not valid.” it is not the same as in the CC. only a priest can exercise the minister of Sacrifice. you dont have priesthood.

 

[Cat]

if they preach the truth as you say then somebody is wrong, could be the CC? i dont think so. they dont tell the Truth. what do you call those who dont preach the Truth?

I didn’t say that they preach the truth. I cited the paragraphs from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

If you disagree with what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, you don’t disagree with me, you disagree with the Catholic Church, Whom you say teaches the truth. So why do you disagree with the truth?

 

[hn160]

Do you dissagree wiht what the pope said: “Eucharist in the lutherans is not valid.” it is not the same as in the CC. only a priest can exercise the minister of Sacrifice. you dont have priesthood.

Our Eucharist in our eyes is is just as valid as yours and our called and ordained pastors are just as valid as a Catholic priest and Lutheran pastors are just as well educated in Lutheran seminaries as Catholic priest. Don’t give me guff about St. Peter and the Keys. Christ gave the Keys to all the apostles.