Who Pastors the Pastors? The Cross as Source, Not Just Message
By Michelle Odinma
In passing conversations with fellow ministers, a familiar question occasionally surfaces: Who pastors the pastors? It is a fitting inquiry for any leader who has transitioned from congregant to shepherd—shepherdess, in my case—and now bears responsibility for the growth, nourishment, and spiritual care of a flock. The shift from being shepherded to becoming a shepherd calls forth a kind of spiritual vitality that must be intentionally and regularly replenished. While a minister’s devotional life and personal intimacy with the Spirit are essential anchors, they are not sufficient in isolation. Ministers of the gospel also need one another. We need space to gather, to listen together, and to discern what the Great Shepherd is revealing to our colleagues under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
When ministers come together with humility and openness, something sacred occurs. One receives a healing balm, another a rejuvenating jolt of the Spirit, and still another a divine refocusing after drifting into distraction. The Gospel-centered preaching conference provided precisely that kind of communal renewal. More than an event or professional development opportunity, it served as a summons—calling ministers back to the heart of our calling: to lift high the cross of Jesus Christ.
Throughout the two-day conference, the primary focus was on re-centering our worship experience and reframing our approach to discipleship. The invitation was simple yet searching: to prioritize the sharing of the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ. At first glance, this emphasis may seem unnecessary. Most ministers would confidently assert that proclaiming Christ’s love is already at the core of their preaching and practice. Yet, through presentations such as Ty Gibson’s “Where Do We Go from Here,” it became increasingly clear that much of the prevailing message within Adventism has drifted out of harmony with both the heart of Scripture and the 1888 message of righteousness by faith.
As the conference traced the direction and evolving tone of Ellen White’s writings, a sobering realization emerged. Over time, the love of God revealed through the cross of Christ has often been overshadowed by an emphasis on legalistic obedience to the law. What was intended to be a life-giving message of faith working through love has, in some cases, been reduced to a checklist of behaviors—subtly shifting the center of gravity from Christ’s finished work to human performance. The result is not merely a theological imbalance, but a pastoral one, shaping how people experience God, worship, and their own spiritual formation.
Group discussions provided a vital space to translate theology into practice. Together, we wrestled with what it actually looks like to cultivate a gospel-centered worship experience and an intentional discipleship process rooted in God’s transformative love and power. These conversations yielded several significant takeaways.
First, not everything that appears in Scripture inevitably functions as good news about Jesus’ love, power, or victory. It can be misrepresented. Second, in all our teaching and preaching, Christ’s life, death, and resurrection must function as both the thesis and the conclusion. Without this Christ-centered framing, even biblical truth can be misapplied in ways that burden rather than liberate. Third, the worship experience during the divine hour is one of the most sacred opportunities we have to lift up the love of God through Christ’s life, ministry, and ongoing work. What we emphasize there quietly shapes the congregation's spiritual imagination.
Fourth, we unintentionally create legalistic disciples when we preach the “works” of religion rather than cultivating a relationship rooted in knowing God. Obedience divorced from love may produce compliance, but it will not produce transformation. Finally, reframing the presentation of the fundamental beliefs with God’s love at the center offers a more holistic vision of salvation—one that invites people not merely to assent to doctrines, but to enter into a living, relational experience with God.
So, who pastors the pastors? In the truest sense, the answer is both simple and profound: we do. As a priesthood of all believers, we pastor one another. What the Great Shepherd reveals to one becomes nourishment for all. In gathering together—listening, learning, and submitting ourselves anew to the Spirit—we find our own wells refilled.
This time of shared reflection did more than correct our focus; it replenished our souls. It reminded us that before we are called to pour out, we must first be filled, and that the cross of Christ is not only the center of our message but the source of our life and strength. As we return to our congregations, the invitation is not merely to preach differently, but to lead from a different place—to let the love of God revealed at the cross shape our worship, our discipleship, and our own ongoing formation. In lifting high the cross, we ourselves are lifted—re-centered, restored, and sent back with hearts renewed and a clearer vision of the love we are called to proclaim.