As a participant in a PALS group, now some years ago, I found that our time together did not in any way, shape, form, or implication reinforce a sense of entitlement. Quite the contrary! We shared our joys and challenges as newly ordained servants of Christ and those conversations served as an ideal forum in which to address this very topic of servanthood.

I see no more inherent danger in a pastors-only group (which PALS is not, as it encourages whole family participation) than in any group of sinners in a fallen world. We can always be tempted to look inward instead of heavenward.

The balance between serving, in its many and various forms, and getting bogged down waiting on tables is one requiring continuous discernment. PALS was for me (and I suspect in most cases still is for most) an excellent opportuninty for shared discernment among pastors and spouses.