Where do we find our parrallel’s?

The imagery used for pasturing in Scripture focuses on the shepherd caring for his flock. Though some traditional churches preserve this image as one of the primary focuses of their pastors, many contemporary churches seem to shift the focus toward the CEO as their model, particularly for their senior pastor. Understandably, there are numerous iterations as to what a pastor looks like and what their primary functions are within the churches they lead.

I have no doubt that those serving any given community will move through the stages of self or full-time employment to part-time employment while also working in the community through to, perhaps, having all of their time taken up in various ways by the community. This brings me to my real question.

With the shift toward postmodernism and the emerging church, how do we conceive the role of the pastor and other forms of professional ministry?