Jeff Vanlandingham is not the mayor of Lawrenceburg, but I’m pretty sure he could be if he wanted.
I recently sat at a table close to the door of Co-Work Coffee Shop with Jeff and he knew every person who entered. There was a greeting, a handshake, a question about family, or school, or a job, or something else, and then we’d resume our conversation until the door opened again. People came and went, and the process repeated itself for 90 minutes.
Jeff has been pastor at First Baptist Church of Lawrenceburg for 16 years, so in a way it seems obvious that he should know a lot of people in a small town over that period. But Lawrenceburg isn’t that small, and it’s growing.
After interviewing one of his church members for a story, we went to lunch elsewhere in town. Again, a handshake, a greeting, a question, a comment, a joke, a word of encouragement with people walking past our table. Some might call him Mayor Vanlandingham, but that doesn’t fit him. He’d rather be known simply as pastor.
“We all have unique callings,” he said. “For me, my pastoral calling is not sitting behind the desk for hours on end with admin work and endless study. It’s people. I love people.”
Jeff isn’t the only Tennessee pastor drinking coffee with a ministry purpose. I’ve sat with many pastors across our state for coffee or lunch and experienced the same thing. An opened door, a handshake, a greeting, a smile, a joke, a word of encouragement.
To me, there seems to be a correlation between these pastors’ relaxed interactions away from church and the effectiveness of their pastoral ministry.
More than 20 years ago I read John Piper’s book, “Brothers, We Are Not Professionals.” I’m not a pastor but the title intrigued me. Piper makes the point that being a pastor is a divine calling and not a career vocation; that pastors should reject the secularized, corporate model of pastor as CEO and prioritize spiritual authenticity, measuring one’s success by biblical faithfulness rather than professional metrics.
Corporate models of church and pastors who become insulated and isolated from their congregations concern me. When it comes to a church’s business, “all things should be done decently and in order” (I Corinthians 14:40). However, that doesn’t mean the church should be a business. Churches are first and foremost families, where the currency of church health is relational and not transactional. Pastoral leadership in large part determines the value of the currency.
As I’ve sat with pastors like Jeff, I’ve noticed several aspects of their pastoral ministries that encourage me about their pastoral leadership.
First, they create informal “satellite offices” in the community where people can comfortably engage in conversations and voice concerns they might not raise on a Sunday morning. These interactions strengthen community connections.
Second, these pastors recognize that spiritual guidance often happens organically through everyday conversations. There is an interest in a relationship born out of a genuine concern for people rather than seeing people as projects.
Third, the pastor’s accessibility in these informal settings creates pathways for spiritual conversations with those who may never attend a formal church service.
Pastors have mentioned to me after one of these impromptu public greetings that, “He or she won’t darken the doors of our church, but these always turn out to be opportunities to check on them and let them know they are always welcome.
Fourth, when pastors engage in these reciprocal relationships they receive as much as they give, and dispel the mystique and distance people often feel with their pastor.
This mutual exchange transforms the traditional hierarchical pastor-member dynamic into genuine friendship.
Finally, there is an authenticity of faith when pastors are known beyond their pulpits. They become real, ordering the same coffee, discussing local sports teams, or admitting their own struggles. It demonstrates humility, showing others how sermons practically translate to walking with Christ.
I haven’t met a pastor yet, Jeff or any other pastor, who aspires to be mayor of their city. They mainly want to drink coffee with a purpose and connect with people. Ultimately, they want to connect people with Jesus. B&R