I wish I had discovered Eugene Patterson long ago. He's a Presbyterian Pastor, and also an outstanding writer. He's the pastor of Christ Our King United Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland. He has been there for 27 years; (maybe I'll make it that long here).

This is one of Patterson's simple, matter-of-fact, powerful expressions of truth:

"There is no such thing as successful churches. There are, instead, communities of sinners, gathered week after week by the Holy Spirit, in towns and villages all over the world. And in these communities of sinners, one of the sinners is called Pastor...and it is his or her responsibility to keep the community attentive to God."

That's who we pastors are -- sinners like you laity -- and our task is an awesome one: To keep the community. The task o…