Today I was reflecting on the difficulties of being President and thinking about similarities of the position to that of a pastor.  Right now the biggest domestic issue that faces the President is the issue of health care.  He can approach the task in a couple of ways.  He can decide that first and foremost he is a leader.  As a leader it is his job to get what he feels is the best health care plan for the American people regardless of what the opposition may feel.  As a leader he must stick to his principles and do what is best.

Or the president may decide that his main job is to serve the American people and because of this he should try to find a health care plan that pleases the most people possible.

Likewise the pastor has many different roles and often it depends on the perspective of the people in the pews if the pastor is effective.  Should the pastor be a leader who casts vision and takes the church where he believes God has directed them.  Or is the main role of a pastor a caregiver who visits and takes care of the sick.  Or possibly the pastor is expected first and foremost to be a preacher and act like a prophet of old who boldly proclaims the Word of God and calls the people to repent.

A pastor is expected to do all of these duties from time to time but each pastor is different and will view their job with their own priorities according to the way they are gifted.  This can cause problems when the expectations of the church is not the same as the expectations of the pastor.

The same is true of President Obama.  Most democrats desire for him to lead because it means pushing an agenda that they are behind.  But even among democrats the President has already shown that he won’t toe the party line just to keep them happy.  He has sought consensus with republicans, including on the issue of health care.  Of course politics always come into play as republicans will say that he does not seek their opinion often enough and democrats will state that he looks to appease them too often.

We need to pray for our President as he makes important decisions every day.  We won’t always agree with his decisions but there is no denying that he has a difficult job for him.