As one sitting in the pew, I did not have time to go to all the meetings of the church….I often thought to myself – I am not able to go to this meeting, I do not need to go to a meeting….Standing behind the pulpit, I believed there could never be enough meetings for the people of God.  Sitting in the pew, I believed there were way too many meetings.

I have been on both sides of the pulpit.  I have been behind it as the preacher and I have been in front of it sitting in the pew as a regular part of the congregation.  For many years, I labored in the ministry as an ordained minister, and for many years I worked in private enterprise.  I’ve seen the ministry and the church from both sides of the pulpit.  It certainly gave me a unique perspective.

As a minister behind the pulpit my life was focused on the local church.  Being the preacher of the local church was my calling and the local church was the center of my world.  The success of the church was my success and the failure of the church was my failure.  I never missed attending Sunday school, a morning worship service or an evening worship service.  I never missed attending a session meeting, a deacon’s meeting, a prayer meeting, a men’s breakfast, a committee meeting, a mission’s conference, a church workday, a presbytery meeting or even a presbytery committee meeting.  Of course, I was being paid to do all of this.

As a minister behind the pulpit, I was so wrapped up in my calling as the pastor of a local church that I was blind to something very important.  I thought if I could make every meeting, then so should everyone else.  The local church was the center of my world and I thought it should be the same for others in the congregation.  It was very important to me that every member of the church be at every meeting of the church.  Actually, my self-esteem and success was tied up in numbers.  When the numbers were down, I was down.  When someone missed attending a meeting, I was hurt.

On the other hand, as a part of the congregation sitting in the pew in front of the pulpit, my views were quite different.  I still loved Christ as much I did as when I was behind the pulpit.  However, the local church was not the focus of my life.  I had to work 40 to 50 hours per week for my employer.  I had to perform satisfactorily at work to keep my job, and more than satisfactorily to get a promotion.  Very often I left home before daylight and arrived home at the end of the day after dark.  Saturday was the only day to catch up on all the errands I could not do during the week.  It was the only day to get a haircut.

I had a family to feed and I had to provide shelter for my family.  My wife and I decided that she would stay at home with the children rather than seek employment outside of the home.  I had to make sure we did not spend more than our budget allowed.  I worked extra jobs to make ends meet.  I attended the school events of all my children as much as possible.   I had to repair broken down cars.  I had to do fix the water leaks in our broken down house.

As one sitting in the pew, I did not have time to go to all the meetings of the church.  I developed a bad attitude when I felt the preacher’s pressure on me to be present at every meeting.  I often thought to myself – I am not able to go to this meeting, I do not need to go to a meeting, and I am not going to feel guilty for not going to this meeting. Standing behind the pulpit, I believed there could never be enough meetings for the people of God.  Sitting in the pew, I believed there were way too many meetings.

Maybe age brings wisdom.  Maybe, being on both sides of the pulpit gave me a better understanding of the struggles of both the preacher and the man in the pew.  I once gave a bit of advice to a young preacher who was full of enthusiasm and eagerness and who had just assumed his first pastorate.  I told him, “You need to realize that the church is not as important to everyone else in your congregation as it is to you.”  I hope he took heed to my advice.  Indeed the landscape is very different on both sides of the pulpit.

Larry E. Ball is a retired Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and a CPA. He lives in Fleming Island, Florida.