It is crucial to understand the distinction between “the office of the pastor” and “the person of the pastor” — the organizational role and the individual human who has been entrusted with that role.
We make a similar distinction in secular politics: It was not office of the President which committed an indiscretion when Bill Clinton engaged in an affair with Monica Lewinsky, or when Richard Nixon destroyed certain tape recordings, but rather it was the person who trespassed.
There is, then, a certain tension between the person of the pastor and the office of the pastor; in a normal case, this tension is slight, and does not greatly hinder the work of the congregation. In severe cases, however, it presents a great challenge to the congregation, as the people must carefully and repeatedly sort out the differences.
In individual decisions, it can come to this: that one must decide to side with the office of the pastor against the person of the pastor, if things have become so extreme that the two are in conflict. This requires some very careful thinking on the part of the congregation. In order to support, and show respect for, the office of the pastor, it may require that we oppose the person of the pastor.
