I came across a post which touched on an issue that has arisen in some churches, at this blog:

http://merecomments.typepad.com/merecomments/2006/04/toils_of_the_re.html#comments

I have begun to realize in recent weeks that there are two very different schools of thought on the relationship of pastors to their congregants. Some feel that pastors should make an effort to get to know their people, fellowship with them, and visit them. Others feel that the role of a pastor is to preach and administer the sacraments, and that this is the extent of the role which they should be expected to play in their congregants' lives. (You will see both schools of thought in the comments on that blog post.)

I would be really interested to know what you folks think about this: which school of thought would you fall into on this issue? I am beginning to think there actually may be a denominational divide on this issue, but I have not figured that out for certain.

Theo