If a church member calls the pastor for everything, I wouldn’t immediately see the person as a problem. Sometimes they are new in the faith, going through something difficult, or they simply haven’t learned how to handle certain things on their own yet. The pastor’s role is not only to give people answers; it is also to help people grow to the point where they can make wise decisions without needing the pastor to make every decision for them.
So instead of always answering immediately, the pastor can sometimes turn the question back to them: “What do you think you should do?” or “Have you prayed about this? What do you believe God is showing you?” That creates an opportunity to teach rather than creating dependence.
Paul told Timothy to equip people who could, in turn, teach others (2 Timothy 2:2). That’s a picture of multiplication, not dependency. If everybody has to call the pastor before they can make a decision, the church will eventually become as limited as the pastor’s availability.
Of course, there will always be moments when people genuinely need pastoral counsel. The goal isn’t to make the pastor inaccessible. It’s to help people move from “Pastor, what should I do?” to “Pastor, I’ve prayed, I’ve thought about it, and here’s what I believe I should do. Can you help me think it through?” That is growth.
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