Several years ago at my previous congregation I remember a discussion I had with the church council. It was very revealing of the kind of distorted vision of ministry that is very much afoot in the church these days.

I had a sudden change in my vacation plans and was going to have to be out of town for a Sunday that I had not planned on. I was having great difficulty finding another pastor to fill the pulpit. It was the summer. Many pastors are already on vacation and those who are available for pulpit supply were already booked. I suggested to the council that, if we continued to have a problem, we could call on one of several very capable lay people in the congregation, perhaps even one of them, to handle the preaching in my absence.

At first I think they thought I was joking, as a ne…