Thoughts on Emerging Pastors (my post off Ginkworld.net)

Hello everyone,
After just recently reading Dan Kimball's Emerging Worship and Eugene Peterson's new one, I have come to a couple of forward questions about pastors in the emerging culture. In the times of the megachurch and the consumerist culture, pastors were shepherds to the ministries. They were innovator's, developers, organizers and arrangers of the ministry to the building church. I wonder if there could be a new paradigm for the role of pastor, priest, minister, reverand or father. Dan Kimball suggested to allow the congregation to have more of an added role in the formation of the church. They could plan and lead the worship gatherings, outreach events, or any other modern pastor role. This was very exciting and unsettling at the same time and it wasn't because I knew I could be out of a job.
It was exciting because the fact the church could become a unified, communal and biblical church. The gathering could be led by numerous people at the same day all on their own. This would be any pastor's dream, but there is just something that kept on tugging at me. In this context there wouldn't be a need for any modern paid pastors, and that is accurate. What we need now is new kind of a pastor/a postmodern pastor. This is where I find the first snippets of this in Eugene Peterson's new book Subversive Spirituality. He explains that in the church he planted and pastored, he did not attend the elder meetings or anything along those lines. He hated doing this, and it gave freedom to members of the church to lead the church. He focused on what he was called to do, care for the spirituality of its members, providing the spiritual food for the people. He was not the head of the church, but just the one to help support the church. As I am writing this, I think wow what an exciting thought. Instead of being the head of the church, the pastor now has a role of being the spiritual servant to the church. I know throughout the 20th century the pastor being a servant was taught, but it was hardly practiced. Eugene Peterson showed an instance where the pastor's role is to really serve the church.
This is where I find a new beginning or paradigm for the pastor in the 21st century. The role is not necessary in the life of the church. Without the pastor, the church could still function and somewhat live. But the emerging church finds a pastor so that the pastor might be supported in his purpose from God.
The new pastor would be always in the thought of spiritual workings. He or she would study the history, methods, theology, and disciplines on spiritual matters. They would be like a professor at a college always working on the knowledge of their discipline. The professor would be continually learning, and growing in their given fields. In the same vein, the pastor will be always seeking to grow and learn in spiritual matters.
It is in this continual spiritual growth that pastors will be able to give back to the congregation that supports him or her. He can provide in the daily life spiritual counseling, leadership, and teaching. Also during the weekend gathering, he will be able to provide some spiritual guidance to the congregation.
This is where the old formula has changed. Before, churches paid pastors to lead the church in its walk. Now, churches will support the pastors in their pursuit in spiritual growth. Because of this, the pastor will be a servant to the church and will provide spiritual guidance to the church that supports him. He or she is now a servant guide...