To be a pastor is to represent the presence of God, who is present with others. It is to see people—full, embodied, messy, sinful, beautiful people—and to see them the way Jesus does, as creatures of unsurpassable worth. To be a pastor is to freely give what we possess, which is nothing the world values and yet is the most valuable thing in all the world. The world values what is useful, which is what Church, Inc. tries to provide, but all we have is Jesus. To be a pastor is to say, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you.”
