Pastors are asked a lot of different questions, but most questions are variations of categories of questions.
There are questions in the “belief category” - “what does your church believe?”
There are questions in the “vision category"” - '“what is the vision of your church?”
There are the questions in the “tenure category” - “how long are you going to remain the pastor here?”
There are the questions in the “ministry category” - “does your church have ‘X’ ministry?”
Bagels
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While there are dozens of categories and endless variations of questions, the vast majority of questions have the same underlying assumption that suggests what is most important. The assumption is that there is some thing that holds the groups together. That “some thing” could be a doctrine, vision statement, pastor, ministry, or some other thing. But the assumption is that there is something and that something is important to know.
And it makes sense to ask that question, because that is what just about every other organization would have. However, the church is not an organization but an organism, it is not a community but a communion.
As such, the thing that makes the Church the Church is not what it has, but what it lacks.
Christianity confesses that everyone is a sinner, everyone falls short, everyone is broken, everyone has some lack. Ironically it is that shared lack of “some thing” is what unites a Church. It is like what unites an AA group. It is their lack that unites the group - their lack of consuming alcohol or their lack of control or some other lack. What makes a bagel a bagel is not what it has but what it lacks. It lacks the center, there is a hole in the bagel If you were to fill the center then it would become a bun or something other than a bagel.
It is tempting to create, start and build a church that defined by what it has. Being a part of a group because of what you all have can feel powerful and it is even appropriate at time. But it is not appropriate for the Church because when we do this, we are no longer a church. It becomes something else (such as a ‘community’ or a ‘market’ or a ‘mob’). The defining feature of the church is that it is a communion of people who confess a lack. We lack the answers. We lack sight. We lack compassion. We lack perfection. We lack control.
The Church confesses that it needs a savior because it lacks the ability to save itself.
Many people in the world will try to point out your lack and then try to sell you something to fill that lack. The Church is the only place that I know of that confesses a lack as a feature not as a bug to be corrected.