Just because you are an ordained pastor does not mean that you consistently know the will of God. Given the sinfulness of humanity, we know that clergy are also subject to their own narrowness of vision and understanding. So when we talk about the freedom of the pastor, we are not advocating that the pastor should be free from restraints. However, since they are speaking to an equally sinful humanity, the criteria for that restraint can not be the popular opinion of the gathered people.
At the same time, if the Word of God is to be enfleshed in the lives of humanity, it must be accomodated to their capacity to hear. To paraphrase an old saying, if a truth is spoken where no one can hear it, is there any point in speaking the truth? H Richard Niebuhr, in his book The Meaning of Revelation points out that when the revelation came to Moses it had to be framed in a human experience such as the burning bush to be received. The pastor is called to communicate God’s truth, not simply to speak words that are not heard.
So the freedom of the pastor is not exercised independent of the thoughts and concerns of the people but the source of his or her understanding of the truth begins not with humanity but with God. This obviously requires investment in both prayer and the study of Scripture. It also requires an honest engagement with the community of the church–both the current and the historical church. The issue for a congregation is whether they support that engagement. Do they encourage the pastor to explore the truth or do they insist that the truth only be what they already believe.
There could be some very exciting conversation going on in churches where the pastor is encouraged to engage the congregation at such a deep theological level where all of them are open to being challenged by God.
