Putting Pastors in a Box:

I have been accused on many occasions of placing pastors on a pedestal. Your right I have great respect for them. Let me put it this way. If you wake up tomorrow morning and find all the pastors are gone and find yourself still here on earth. I would not want to be you. The day pastors are gone is the day we find ourselves knowing we missed the boat.

Begin to check our history. Let's look at the 18th, 19th and recent 20th centuries. We find pastors and preachers outspoken and in the fight for human rights, our welfare our very right to live free. The moral watchdog of the country came from the pulpit and not from TV, the news desk or Washington D.C. Certainly not from some day time talk show host or even Hollywood. The moral standard came from the church. Did not Jonah preach repentance and the city did. Giving a time of reprieve for the city. This too has been repeated by the likes of Dwight Lyman Moody, Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, George Whitefield, Charles Haddon Spurgeon and Billy Graham.

Yet today do our pastors and preachers have the opportunity to fight for God as they once did? I say NO. We put them and their families under a microscope each day. When they slip up or make a mistake they quickly come up against fierce opposition. If anyone should be under this type of scrutiny it should be the leaders of our country. Yet another drunk congressman found with a prostitute barely makes headlines anymore. It is unfair to our pastors and preachers to be held to such a high standard when we ourselves could never live up to it.

Example. Could a preacher or pastor be allowed to write a Blog such as this one without offending someone in their congregation and not have their job or livelihood threatened? The answer is no. There is the problem. We do not allow the very ones chosen by God to stand in the gap. The world falling apart around them and we will not allow them to kick us where we need to be kicked to get moving for God? They are allowed to preach to us. They are allowed to teach us. They are allowed to live as an example for us to follow, but few of us ever do.

I know of some pastors who will not even go to a movie theater because they risk being looked at in the wrong way because someone might not approved of the film they are going to watch. Some will not go to popular restaurants because their beverage may be mistaken as the wrong drink of choice. If we demand such perfection of our pastors and preachers should they not expect the same from us? They do, but would never demand it because they love us.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!
1 Cor 13:4-8 (NLT)

I am thankful for my pastor. He loves me even though I have consistently let him down time and time again. God forgive me and bless my Pastor. -Amen

Idolatry

This is not the article you think it should be. The question has come up. Have I committed idolatry? The answer is YES. Look at my writings over the past few years. You see a pattern. I am very quick to defend pastors and preachers. Therefore have I placed my pastor on a pedestal? When have we not? It makes me think do I want to become a pastor? If you had asked me that question 6 months ago I might of answered yes. Ask me that today and I would diffidently say No. What I want is to be what every pastor and preacher aspires to be a servant of God. By idolizing the position of pastor we have done all we can in preventing this man of God from in fact serving God.

Pastors receive enough pressure from associations, periodicals and other pastors on growing their congregations. Look at the back of a baseball card. We Americans are obsessed with numbers. When it comes to church and determining how well a pastor is doing we look at “the numbers.” You know what I am talking about. Numbers published on how many baptisms your church had last year. How many new church members, attendance records, Sunday School enrollments, and let’s not forget the most important one, MONEY. Money received. Money given. Money spent on church operations, buildings, maintenance and so on. Just where in the Bible does it state that is how we measure the success of a pastor? Where?

I am guilty too. Thinking my pastor has some obligation to me to listen to my whining. We expect our pastor to be on call 24/7 without any thought to their families and personal life. Don’t get me wrong. I agree that the Christian life and being a servant is a life of servitude and poverty. Look at the recipe for failure we as followers of Christ have created for pastors. We demand them to have an education that surpasses any CEO of a Fortune 500 company. They need to be great communicators with the ability to draw in the masses like a celebrity. They need to be the CFO so the money is better spent. A degree in counseling and we expect them to repair our marriages and relationships within minutes that took years to destroy. Did I forget to mention years of experience too? How can one man be expected to meet such expectations?

We measure the success of a pastor by the numbers. When the church is packed and the money is flowing in everything seems to be great. Do we dare say a blessing? Sounds like college football to me. One losing season and you are out. When did corporate America suddenly dictate how the church is to be conducted? Have we moved from church members to shareholders? Are we looking for serving Christ and saving the lost or just looking for a return on our investment? I cannot tell you how many church meetings I have attended that spent more time reviewing a balance sheet than focusing on missions or discipleship.

How do we measure the success of a pastor? The same way we should measure the success of a church.

1. Is the pastor’s faith stronger with the Lord than when he first begun? Whatever the answer we as a congregation need to minister to our ministers.
2. Is the congregations’ walk with the Lord stronger now than before? Ask the Sunday School teachers and they will tell you who is thirsting for God’s Word and who is there for the social meeting.
3. Is the congregation participating in worship? Ask the choir members for they see first hand who is engaged in worship and who is there for the entertainment value.
4. Are lay leaders being trained and actively involved in part of the overall ministry of the church?
5. Is there an active new church member class being conducted each month?
6. Is the church supporting the development and making opportunities for members to enter into the ministry?
7. Is outreach a habit of the congregation rather than a chore?
8. Is the church actively involved in new church planting or a cooperative program?
9. Is the church part of the local neighborhood or part of the highway road show with signs rivaling those of an Indian Casino or Wal-mart?
10. Do the sermons contain more text from God’s Word than jokes and illustrations?

Not one of these 10 measurements involves the American Corporate yardstick of what they call success. Just ask a cattle rancher. You might have more cows than the other ranch but that does not mean better beef. You need to decide if your goal is raising hamburger or steak.

If you agree or disagree with me have the guts to leave a comment. Just click the comments link below.

Pastors, Pastors, Pastors

Some recent events have come to my attention. As a seminary student we look forward to our assignment in continuing service to God for God. Lately I have notice the number of churches that are in the process of looking for a pastor for their church. Statistics show that the average tenure for a Southern Baptist Pastor is 27 months. That seems outrageous to me. How can churches survive? How can a Pastor expect to be able to serve God knowing how little time he has? How can a Pastor’s family survive with such change and lost of their church family? How can a church congregation move from "welcome" to "please leave" in such a short time?

In 1 Peter we learn the great responsibility that is placed on the shoulders of the Pastor.

Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. 1 Peter 5:2 (NLT)

A Pastor is called by God to serve God. It is for this reason that so many seem to be rejected by the very flock they are entrusted to care for. Though it may not be popular it is required to preach of the cross, the blood of Christ and dare I say it, SIN. Yet the Bible clearly tells us of the gifts we have been given.

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
Eph 4:11 (NLT)

Please see my posting of Sheep without a Shepherd.

I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. John 10:14-15 (NLT)

I am ashamed to admit it but I have seen Pastors belittled, discouraged by and beaten up more by their own congregation than from Satan’s own demons. Make no mistake I am guilty in allowing this to happen within my own church as anyone else.

Again statistics show that half of all seminary students drop out before graduating. Half of those who do graduate and enter the ministry leave it within their first two years. That leaves only 25% of those who enter seminary continue in their service for God. The parable of the farmer scattering seed in Matthew 13:1-8 comes to mind.

It is a small group that continues to bare the burden that enters the ministry. It is a hard life. One filled with longsuffering, disappointment, hardship, poverty, and relentless service for others.

And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Romans 8:17 (NLT)

But, it’s your job:

Would you call your work or your job fun? Chances are very low you answered YES. Those days when things are not going so well we often have someone come up and say, “But it’s your job.” As if to say if we do not like it then we can leave.

Let us put it into perspective. You are at the foot of the cross. You look up and see Christ bleeding from His wounds about to take His last breath. You see the blood pooling at the base of the cross. It is a very horrific sight. The stench of death is all around you. Then you look Jesus in the eye and say, “I know you are in great pain. Betrayed, mocked, whipped and beaten. You have taken my punishment. But, it’s your job.”

What an insult to all mighty God! You would not say that to Jesus. Then why say it to His children? To our brothers or sisters in Christ?

Hey D.C. get real. You are taking it a little too seriously.

Perhaps you are right. But, I see it all the time. I have been told those very same words. Have we not said it or even worse thought it with regards to our pastors? I was just reading in one of my devotionals about a pastor who would drop everything to help others. He was a workaholic. His family suffered the most and needed him. Yet this pastor’s desire was always to help others. It was killing him. Do you dare tell his wife and family, “But it is his job?” NO.

I am guilty. Too often I focused on what I thought someone else’s responsibilities were rather than listening to what God’s Word has said about my own. Do not make the same mistakes I have.

Who wants to be a Pastor?

I am just finishing my first semester experience at seminary. I personally feel every Christian should attend at least one semester. It is an intense study in our Lord’s Word. It is eye opening to say the least. So why do statistics show that 1 out of 2 seminary graduates leave the ministry after just a few years?

If you had to write up a job description for your Pastor how would it look? Just looking at what our ministers have to go through I would describe it like this.

Skills include but not limited to: cop, referee, cheerleader, manager, fundraiser, financial advisor, judge, counselor, administrator, teacher, student, salesman, marketer, news anchor, and so on and so on. Not one CEO in the Fortune 500 could meet these requirements. Yet we require our Pastors to meet these standards and more every day of the week.

Our church has several hundred who meet every Sunday. Can you even imagine what it might be like to be on call 24 hours a day? You could receive a call at any time from hundreds and have to respond to their needs immediately regardless of your own family’s needs. It is not fair. It is not biblical.

Mark 16:15 (NLT) And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”

God’s Word is clear on what we all should be doing. Our Pastors have dedicated their lives to just that. Why as Christians have we decided to get in the way and try to stop those fulfilling what we are all commanded to do? Our Pastors stand in the open to preach and teach God’s Word. They stand in judgment of God and are a clear target for Satan to attack. Many of our Pastors seem to be engaged in having to pull our churches along rather than leading us from the flames of Hell.

There are only two professions I have any respect for. First are firefighters. The building is on fire. People run out. Firefighters run in. It is not natural. The second is ministers. They have given up their lives to serve others. Both save lives. One profession is for eternity.

Please pray for your Pastor. Pray for protection and strength for them. Look for ways to minister to your Minister’s needs.