100 Sermon Illustrations on Pastor

Occasionally someone will say, “Our pastor never stops to visit in our home.” If the pastor never stops at your home, you probably should thank God. It means death has not struck, that no serious illnesses have laid you low, that the surgeon's knife has not been necessary, that you have had no serious family problem, or that you are not a spiritually delinquent member. As a rule, your pastor does not have time for “social calls.” It is not that he doesn't want to nor that he would not enjoy doing so, it is simply a matter of priorities...putting first things first. Your pastor does not have time to do everything he would like to do.

However, you may be sure of this: your pastor is willing to come to the hospital, or your home, the jail, the street corner, or anywhere at any hour of the day or night when he is needed. Call him if you need him. Otherwise, he will not know of your need until it is too late. For the moment, thank God you have not needed him. One day you will need him and he will be there when you call. Now he is visiting with someone else who does need him.

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Source unknown

”God takes the very thing we fear and turns it to ringing triumph.” — David Roper

How pastors view themselves vs. how their parishioners view them:

Pastors / Congregants

Inspiring 42% 64%

Self-confident 38% 57%

Helpful 49% 66%

Effective time managers 25% 45%

Adaptable 72% 48%

Analytical 54% 29%

Practical 60% 48%

Flexible 65% 46%

Team player 71% 53%

-- Leadership (Fall 2003)

Two-thirds of pastors responding to a national survey said that their congregation had been in conflict during the past two years. More than 25% of pastors who left a church said they did so because of conflict with their denomination.

-— Current Thoughts & Trends (Dec 16, 2003)

Joy means the perfect fulfilment of that for which I was created and regenerated, not the successful doing of a thing. The joy Our Lord had lay in doing what the Father sent Him to do, and He says — “As My Father hath sent Me, even so am I sending you.” Have I received a ministry from the Lord? If so, I have to be loyal to it, to count my life precious only for the fulfilling of that ministry. Think of the satisfaction it will be to hear Jesus say — “Well done, good and faithful servant”; to know that you have done what He sent you to do. We have all to find our niche in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive our ministry from the Lord. In order to do this we must have companied with Jesus; we must know Him as more than a personal Saviour. “I will show him how great things he must suffer for My sake.”

“Lovest thou Me?” Then — “Feed My sheep.” There is no choice of service, only absolute loyalty to Our Lord’s commission; loyalty to what you discern when you are in closest contact with God. If you have received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, you will know that the need is never the call: the need is the opportunity. The call is loyalty to the ministry you received when you were in real touch with Him. This does not imply that there is a campaign of service marked out for you, but it does mean that you will have to ignore the demands for service along other lines.

Will you pray for me as a minister of the gospel? I am not asking you

to pray for the things people commonly pray for. Pray for me in light

of the pressures of our times. Pray that I will not just come to a

wearied end--an exhausted, tired, old preacher, interested only in

hunting a place to roost. Pray that I will be willing to let my

Christian experience and Christian standards cost me something right

down to the last gasp!

"Lord, I pray for all of my fellow pastors and Christian leaders. Help

us, like Paul, and like Tozer, to finish strong. Amen."

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I asked a preacher, "How are you getting along?" He said,

"We are living in idolatry--just sitting around admiring our new

church. We have arrived; we have it made--no more worlds to

conquer." What ought to be a milestone has become a

millstone. We have run out of goals. - Vance Havner

Thomas a' Kempis wrote that the man of God ought to be more at home in his prayer chamber than before the public....

No man should stand before an audience who has not first stood before God. Many hours of communion should precede one hour in the pulpit. The prayer chamber should be more familiar than the public platform. Prayer should be continuous, preaching but intermittent.

It is significant that the schools teach everything about preaching except the important part, praying. For this weakness the schools are not to be blamed, for the reason that prayer cannot be taught; it can only be done. The best any school or any book (or any article) can do is to recommend prayer and exhort to its practice. Praying itself must be the work of the individual. That it is the one religious work which gets done with the least enthusiasm cannot but be one of the tragedies of our times. God Tells the Man Who Cares, 70-71.

"Lord, I pray today that I might more and more be at home in my prayer chamber. It's exciting to be in the pulpit; it's vital to be in the closet. Let me do this work with deeper commitment and greater enthusiasm. Amen."

He's a former drug dealer and gang member, hardly the credentials sought by most churches looking for pastors. But Huey Harris' dramatic conversion from gangster to preacher has opened doors of ministry in the roughest areas of Montgomery.

Harris, 29, was 12 when he began selling cocaine under the direction of his grandmother while his mother was in prison. By 14, Harris -- or “Shockey,” as he was called -- joined the Disciples gang and set up turf at a local junior high school.

At 16 he was charged with capital murder after driving the shooter away from a street killing, but he avoided prosecution. Meanwhile, he ran a crack house behind a Montgomery high school for five years.

In 1997, at 22, he was arrested for selling drugs. He received five years probation. Then, after shooting at someone who owed him $250, Harris, then 23, was himself shot in revenge -- three times in his side.

In 2001 Harris was looking forward to getting off probation and going back to selling drugs. “But God had another plan,” he recalled.

One night Harris went home, drunk and high from marijuana, and fell asleep. He said he dreamed of Christ's second coming in a vivid, intense panorama of an earth destroyed by fire, a land strewn with dead bodies, and then the beauty of a newly created world.

He said God told him in his dream to “get your life together.” Harris woke up a new man. He began taking drug addicts and gang members to church and preaching Christ to them.

Harris wrote more than 200 Montgomery churches in June 2001. Jay Wolf, pastor of First Baptist Church of Montgomery, was the sole respondent. Wolf got Harris involved in Project Hope, a ministry that plants cell groups in the housing projects of Montgomery.

In 2003 Harris started a church at a Montgomery motel frequented by drug dealers and prostitutes. In the 14 months he ministered there, 2,000 people accepted Christ, according to Harris. When the congregation could no longer afford to meet at the motel, it moved into a building at First Baptist and became Fresh Waters Christian Church International, with Harris as pastor.

Harris' efforts among Montgomery's 16 housing projects has drawn praise from Alabama's attorney general, TV mogul Oprah Winfrey and evangelist Billy Graham. His background as a drug dealer commands respect, he said, but so does his decision to leave that life and follow Christ. He started Brothers for Life, a nonprofit organization to encourage students to avoid gangs, and another ministry that distributes food and clothing to the needy.

While drug dealers and gang members are his primary audience, Harris doesn't limit the gospel's appeal. “It's 'whosoever.’ That's my calling. To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in cities where traditional churches won't go.”

-- Kima Jude is a correspondent with The Alabama Baptist.

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Integrity is the foundation of leadership. You only lead people if they trust you. If you lose people's trust, you've lost it all. That's why the right to lead is earned, and it's earned by being trustworthy. I think the most damaging sin a leader can commit is to betray the trust of his people.

Because Satan is on the attack, I want to share some biblical strategies for maintaining moral integrity in the ministry. In 2 Corinthians 1:12, Paul says, “This is our boast. Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God.” What I like about this verse is that Paul says, “I have ministered with a clear conscience. Nobody can point a finger at me. Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves with integrity.” I think this is a mark of a leader.

Titus 2:6 says that a leader must be blameless. That is the very first qualification. This is talking about integrity. Ephesians 5:3 says, “But among you there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality or any impurity or greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.” I am jealous for the integrity of God.

How can you maintain that moral integrity as a minister? Here are a few suggestions:

• Never consider yourself above temptation.

Don't kid yourself. People say, “It couldn't happen to me.” That's a bunch of baloney. I think we need to be aware how vulnerable all of us are. The first defense is an attitude of humility that says, “I'm a human being.” We need to watch out. 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, “So be careful if you think, 'I'd never behave like that.’ Let this be a warning to you, for you too may fall into sin. Let him who stands take heed lest he fall” (Living Bible). None of us are invulnerable. None of us are immune. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” I think the morning I start saying, “I've conquered that problem,” that I'm open for temptation.

It's like the person who believes he's never going to be robbed, so he never locks his doors, he never bolts down his windows, he leaves his money lying all around. Who's the person who's going to get robbed? The guy who thinks he's never going to get robbed. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can know it?” That means every person has his or her price. My heart is deceitful. That's what God says about my heart -- and your heart. Given the right circumstances and set of events, you can't tell what you'd do. Me either. I think we should have a holy fear of ever thinking we're beyond temptation.

• Keep a close watch on your spiritual temperature.

Be aware of your own level of commitment on a daily basis. It's very important that we watch our manners. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else guard your heart for it is the well spring of life.” Maintaining that daily walk with the Lord is absolutely imperative. I find that in temptation of any kind, I need to continually remind myself of God's omniscience and omnipresence. God sees everything in my life, and He is always with me. The devil always says, “No one will ever know.” That's true in any kind of temptation. If God is always with me and He sees everything, then that is a motivation for me to practice His presence. First Corinthians 9:27 says, “I discipline my body and make it my slave, so after I've preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” That is a verse that strikes fear into me: that I would preach to others, then I myself would be disqualified in any area. I think the integrity of leadership is the bottom line.

• If you're married, maintain your own marriage.

The greatest insurance for moral integrity is a happy home life. I think it's important that if we're married, we make sure that our marriage is growing and developing. Like the old saying, “The grass is not greener on that side of the fence and the grass is not greener on this side of the fence. The grass is greener where you water it.” It's very important that we maintain our own marriages.

Song of Solomon 1:6 says, “They made me take care of other vineyards while my own vineyard I have neglected.” I think that's an important point. There's a danger in ministry of spending more time repairing everybody else's marriage and neglecting your own. I work at this very hard in my family. Kay and I read books together, listen to tapes together. We go to seminars together. I think it's really important. It's important in the ministry, if you're married, that you do not develop separate lives.

• Develop healthy outlets for emotional and sexual energy.

Satan loves to play on pent-up emotions. I've talked with several people who've been involved in the Charismatic movement, where there's a lot of emotionalism. Many times, immorality is rampant among these people, because they're burning out. Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” That's just the Principle of Replacement. You've got to have outlets for balance in your life.

• Guard your mind.

The Bible is very specific about this. The battle for sin always begins in the mind. Always. If you lose the battle in your mind -- your thoughts -- you've lost the battle. James 1:14-15 says, “Sin begins with the desire, and then when it has conceived it brings forth sin, and when that is finished it brings forth death.” It always starts there.

• Remind yourself regularly of the damaging consequences of moral failure.

Sit down and watch the confession of Jimmy Swaggart. It's high drama, probably the most dramatic church service you'll see in this decade. You see how sin destroys a congregation

What do you do? Minimize the pleasure of sin and maximize the consequences. Hebrews 11:25 says, “There is pleasure in sin for a season.” There is no doubt about it. Sin is fun. Nobody would do it if it were not fun. There wouldn't be any temptation if there wasn't some kind of pleasure in it. Even God says there is pleasure in sin, but it's just for a season. You have your kicks, then you have your kickbacks.

What are the kickbacks? James 1:15 says, “Sin when it is finished bringeth forth death.”

I think a good idea is to make a list of consequences and read it often. From Leadership magazine, a guy named Randy Alcorn lists consequences of a moral tumble. He says, “Whenever I feel particularly vulnerable to sexual temptation, I find it helpful to review what effects my action could have: grieving the Lord who redeemed me; dragging His sacred name through the mud; one day having to look at Jesus, the righteous judge in the face, and give an account of my actions; following the footsteps of people whose immorality forfeited their ministries and caused me to shudder; losing my wife's respect and trust; hurting my daughters; destroying my example and credibility with my children; causing shame to my family; losing self respect; forming memories and flashbacks that could plague future intimacy with my wife; wasting years of ministry training; undermining the faithful example and hard work of other Christians in our community; and on and on.”

• Take the necessary precautions to protect yourself.

I think with this issue, as important and as damaging as it can be, we ought to go the second mile. Ephesians says there should not even be a hint of sexual immorality. In Matthew 26:41 Jesus says, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.” It's interesting to me that He doesn't say, “Watch and pray so you will not fall into sin.” Instead, He says, “Watch and pray that you don't even fall into temptation.”

In other words, don't even put yourself in a situation where you can be tempted. It's not an issue of, “Are you going to give in or not,” but, “If you don't want to get stung, stay away from the bees.” Don't put yourselves in situations where you'll ever be tempted. First Peter 5:8 (Living Bible) says, “Be careful, watch out for the attacks from Satan your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion looking for some victim to tear apart.” We have to be careful. We've got to take precautions.

Because of that, let me say that most sexual temptation in the ministry will come from people whom you genuinely care about. People whom you love and who mean a lot to you. It's not going to be from some city slicker prostitute, but from people whom you really care about.

Ephesians 5:3 says, “Among you there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality.” Paul says, “I am jealous for the integrity of this ministry. There is nothing more important than what we're talking about.”

The bottom line is James 1:12: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under temptation, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the victor's crown -- the life God has promised to those who love Him.”

When I get to heaven, I want one of those crowns. I want to be able to look the Lord in the eye and say, “Lord, you know that I was pure through all my years of ministry and that there was never even a hint of impurity in my life.”

Every pastor is called to be a theologian. This may come as a surprise to some pastors, who see theology as an academic discipline taken during seminary rather than as an ongoing and central part of the pastoral calling. Nevertheless, the health of the church depends upon its pastors functioning as faithful theologians -- teaching, preaching, defending, and applying the great doctrines of the faith.

The transformation of theology into an academic discipline more associated with the university than the church has been one of the most lamentable developments of the last several centuries. In the earliest eras of the church, and through the annals of Christian history, the central theologians of the church were its pastors. This was certainly true of the great Reformation of the sixteenth century as well. From the patristic era, we associate the discipline and stewardship of theology with names such as Athanasius, Irenaeus, and Augustine. Similarly, the great theologians of the Reformation were, in the main, pastors such as John Calvin and Martin Luther. Of course, their responsibilities often ranged beyond those of the average pastor, but they could not have conceived of the pastoral role without the essential stewardship of theology.

The emergence of theology as an academic discipline coincides with the development of the modern university. Of course, theology was one of the three major disciplines taught in the medieval university. Yet, so long as the medieval synthesis was intact, the university was always understood to be in direct service to the church and its pastors.

The rise of the modern research university led to the development of theology as merely one academic discipline among others -- and eventually to the redefinition of theology as “religious studies” separated from ecclesiastical control or concern. In most universities, the secularization of the academy has meant that the academic discipline of theology has no inherent connection to Christianity, much less to its central truth claims.

These developments have caused great harm to the church, separating ministries from theology, preaching from doctrine, and Christian care from conviction. In far too many cases, the pastor's ministry has been evacuated of serious doctrinal content and many pastors seem to have little connection to any sense of theological vocation.

All this must be reversed, if the church is to remain true to God's Word and the Gospel. Unless the pastor functions as a theologian, theology is left in the hands of those who, in many cases, have little or no connection or commitment to the local church.

THE PASTOR'S CALLING

The pastoral calling is inherently theological. Given the fact that the pastor is to be the teacher of the Word of God and the teacher of the Gospel, it cannot be otherwise. The idea of the pastorate as a non-theological office is inconceivable in light of the New Testament.

Though this truth is implicit throughout the scriptures, this emphasis is perhaps most apparent in Paul's letters to Timothy. In these letters, Paul affirms Timothy's role as a theologian -- affirming that all of Timothy's fellow pastors are to share in the same calling. Paul emphatically encourages Timothy concerning his reading, teaching, preaching, and study of scripture. All of this is essentially theological, as is made clear when Paul commands Timothy to “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you” [2 Timothy 1:13-14]. Timothy is to be a teacher of others who will also teach. “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” [2 Timothy 2:2].

As Paul completes his second letter to Timothy, he reaches a crescendo of concern as he commands Timothy to preach the Word, specifically instructing him to “reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” [2 Timothy 4:2]. Why? “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” [2 Timothy 4:3-4].

As Paul makes clear, the pastoral theologian must be able to defend the faith even as he identifies false teachings and makes correction by the Word of God. There is no more theological calling than this -- guard the flock of God for the sake of God's truth.

Clearly, this will require intense and self-conscious theological thinking, study, and consideration. Paul makes this abundantly clear in writing to Titus, when he defines the duty of the overseer or pastor as one who is “holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict” [Titus 1:9]. In this single verse, Paul simultaneously affirms the apologetical and polemical facets of the pastor-theologian's calling.

In reality, there is no dimension of the pastor's calling that is NOT deeply, inherently, and inescapably theological. There is no problem the pastor will encounter in counseling that is not specifically theological in character. There is no major question in ministry that does not come with deep theological dimensions and the need for careful theological application. The task of leading, feeding, and guiding the congregation is as theological as any other vocation conceivable.

Beyond all this, the preaching and teaching of the Word of God is theological from beginning to end. The preacher functions as a steward of the mysteries of God, explaining the deepest and most profound theological truths to a congregation which must be armed with the knowledge of these truths in order to grow as disciples and meet the challenge of faithfulness in the Christian life.

Evangelism is a theological calling as well, for the very act of sharing the Gospel is, in short, a theological argument presented with goal of seeing a sinner come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In order to be a faithful evangelist, the pastor must first understand the Gospel, and then understand the nature of the evangelist's calling. At every step of the way, the pastor is dealing with issues that are irrefutably theological.

As many observers have noted, today's pastors are often pulled in many directions simultaneously -- and the theological vocation is often lost amidst the pressing concerns of a ministry that has been reconceived as something other than what Paul intended for Timothy. The managerial revolution has left many pastors feeling more like administrators than theologians, dealing with matters of organizational theory before ever turning to the deep truths of God's Word and the application of these truths to everyday life. The rise of therapeutic concerns within the culture means that many pastors, and many of their church members, believe that the pastoral calling is best understood as a “helping profession.” As such, the pastor is seen as someone who functions in a therapeutic role in which theology is often seen as more of a problem than a solution.

All this is a betrayal of the pastoral calling as presented in the New Testament. Furthermore, it is a rejection of the apostolic teaching and of the biblical admonition concerning the role, and responsibilities of the pastor. Today's pastors must recover and reclaim the pastoral calling as inherently and cheerfully THEOLOGICAL. Otherwise, pastors will be nothing more than communicators, counselors, and managers of congregations that have been emptied of the Gospel and of biblical truth.

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This is Part One of a three-part series. Next: The Pastor's Concentration

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THE PASTOR'S CONVICTION

As a theologian, the pastor must be known for what he teaches, as well as for what he knows, affirms, and believes. The health of the church depends upon pastors who infuse their congregations with deep biblical and theological conviction. The means of this transfer of conviction is the preaching of the Word of God.

We will be hard pressed to define any activity as being more inherently theological than the preaching of God's Word. The ministry of preaching is an exercise in the theological exposition of Scripture. Congregations that are fed nothing more than ambiguous “principles” supposedly drawn from God's Word are doomed to spiritual immaturity, which will become visible in compromise, complacency, and a host of other spiritual ills.

Why else would the Apostle Paul command Timothy to preach the Word in such solemn and serious terms: “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” [2 Timothy 4:1-2].

As we have already seen, this very text points to the inescapably theological character of ministry. In these preceding verses, Paul specifically ties this theological ministry to the task of preaching -- understood to be the pastor's supreme calling. As Martin Luther rightly affirmed, the preaching of the Word of God is the first mark of the church. Where it is found, there one finds the church. Where it is absent, there is no church, whatever others may claim.

Paul had affirmed Scripture as “inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” [2 Timothy 3:16]. Through the preaching of the Word of God, the congregation is fed substantial theological doctrine directly from the biblical text. Expository preaching is the most effective means of imparting biblical knowledge to the congregation, and thus arming God's people with deep theological conviction

In other words, the pastor's conviction about theological preaching becomes the foundation for the transfer of these convictions into the hearts of God's people. The divine agent of this transfer is the Holy Spirit, who opens hearts, eyes, and ears to hear, understand, and receive the Word of God. The preacher's responsibility is to be clear, specific, systematic, and comprehensive in setting out the biblical convictions that are drawn from God's Word and which, taken together, frame a biblical understanding of the Christian faith and the Christian life.

THE PASTOR'S CONFESSION

All this assumes, of course, that the pastoral ministry is first rooted in the pastor's own confession of faith -- the pastor's personal theological convictions.

The faithful pastor does not teach merely that which has historically been believed by the church and is even now believed by faithful Christians -- he teaches out of his own personal confession of belief. There is no sense of theological attachment or of academic distance when the pastor sets out a theological vision of the Christian life.

All true Christian preaching is experiential preaching, set before the congregation by a man who is possessed by deep theological passion, specific theological convictions, and an eagerness to see these convictions shared by his congregation.

Faithful preaching does not consist in the preacher presenting a set of theological options to the congregation. Instead, the pastor should stand ready to define, defend, and document his own deep convictions, drawn from his careful study of God's Word and his knowledge of the faithful teaching of the church.

Our model for this pastoral confidence is, once again, the Apostle Paul. Paul's personal testimony is intertwined with his own theology. Consider Paul's retrospective analysis of his own attempts at human righteousness, coupled with his bold embrace of the Gospel as grounded in grace alone.

“But whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ,” Paul asserted. “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” [Philippians 3:7-11].

In other words, Paul did not hide behind any sense of academic detachment from the doctrines he so powerfully taught. Nor did he set before his congregation in Philippi a series of alternate renderings of doctrine. Instead, he taught clearly, defended his case, and made clear that he embraces these very doctrines as the substance of his life and faith.

Of course, the experiential nature of the pastor's confession does not imply that the authority for theology is in personal experience. To the contrary, the authority must always remain the Word of God. The experiential character of the pastor's theological calling underlines the fact that the preacher is speaking from within the circle of faith as a believer, not from a position of detachment as a mere teacher.

The pastor's confession of his faith and personal example add both authority and authenticity to the pastoral ministry. Without these, the pastor can sound more like a theological consultant than a faithful shepherd. The congregation must be able to observe the pastor basing his life and ministry upon these truths, not merely teaching them in the pulpit.

In the end, every faithful pastor's theological confession must include an eschatological confidence that God will preserve His work to the end. As Paul confessed, “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” [2 Timothy 1:12].

In the end, every preacher receives the same mandate that Paul handed down to Timothy: “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you” [2 Timothy 1:13-14].

In other words, we are the stewards of sound words and the guardians of doctrinal treasure which has been entrusted to us at the very core of our calling as pastors. The pastor who is no theologian is no pastor.

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This is Part Three of a three-part series.

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Love her or loathe her, Oprah Winfrey has become proof that you can't be too rich, too thin or too committed to rising to your place in the world. With 49 million viewers each week in the USA and more in the 122 other countries to which the show is distributed, Winfrey reaches more people in a TV day than most preachers can hope to reach in a lifetime of sermons.

“One of the things that's key,” says Marcia Nelson, author of THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO OPRAH, “is she walks her talk. That's really, really important in today's culture. People who don't walk their talk fall from a great pedestal — scandals in the Catholic Church, televangelism scandals. If you're not doing what you say you do, woe be unto you.”

In Ellen DeGeneres' stand-up comedy act several years ago, she included a joke about getting to heaven and finding that God is a black woman named Oprah.

In a November poll conducted at Beliefnet.com, a site that looks at how religions and spirituality intersect with popular culture, 33% of 6,600 respondents said Winfrey has had “a more profound impact” on their spiritual lives than their clergypersons. Cathleen Falsani, religion writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, recently suggested, “I wonder, has Oprah become America's pastor?”

At one of her LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE seminars, Winfrey repeatedly spoke of her relationship with God. She even sang a chorus of “I Surrender All.”

“I live inside God's dream for me. I don't try to tell God what I'm supposed to do,” she told the crowd. “God can dream a bigger dream for you than you can dream for yourself.”

Claire Zulkey, 26, an Oprah follower who has written about Winfrey in her online blog at zulkey.com, says, “I think that if this were the equivalent of the Middle Ages and we were to fast-forward 1,200 years, scholars would definitely think that this Oprah person was a deity, if not a canonized being.”

One of Winfrey's most appealing subtexts is that she's anti-institutional, says Chris Altrock, minister of Highland Street Church of Christ in Memphis. He says Winfrey believes there are many paths to God, not just one. After doing his doctoral research three years ago on postmodernism religion, a religious era that began in the 1970s as Christians became deeply interested in spirituality and less interested in any established church, he came up with what he calls “The Church of Oprah,” referring to the culture that has created her.

“Our culture is changing,” he says, “as churches are in decline and the bulk of a new generation is growing up outside of religion.” Instead, they're turning to the Church of Oprah.

“People who have no religion relate to her,” Nelson says.

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Copyright 2006 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. All Rights Reserved.

From shepherd to manager and missionary

SHEPHERD

The term “pastor” comes from the Latin word for “shepherd,” which is used in both the Old and New Testaments as the image of one who protects and cares for God’s people. The primary shepherd/pastor is the Lord himself (Psalm 23), but the Bible also recognizes human undershepherds.

But the New Testament instructs elders to be good shepherds. “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock,” writes Paul. “Savage wolves will come in among you… So be on your guard!” (Acts 20:28-31).

In the Bible, then, pastoring is presented primarily as protecting and feeding the flock of God. But over the centuries, these essential functions developed into specific and distinct roles.

PREACHER

The Reformation recovered the emphasis on the pastor as the “teacher of God’s Word.” Preaching had been neglected. But the Reformers restored preaching to its place. Breaking the Bread of Life means, in part, preaching the Word.

CURER OF SOULS

In the 1600s, the Puritans enhanced the concept of pastor by stressing the pastor as a “physician of the soul” — a spiritual director. This means knowing a person’s spiritual condition — healthy or unhealthy — primarily by asking questions such as: How is it with your soul? Are you resisting evil? How are you serving God?

And if the physician of souls discovers the fundamental ill, he prescribes some remedy to restore spiritual health and vitality. As theologian (and contemporary Puritan) J.I. Packer describes it: “There is such a thing as spiritual depression. Relationships or a marriage can collapse under you. Children disappoint you. The business can go bankrupt. You may be grieving. And all these traumatic events produce in the Christian states of mind and emotion that call for spiritual counsel, because we’ve got to live to the glory of God, and all our moods have to be brought into relation to God, his love, his work, and the ongoing process of sanctification.

“The sanctifying of troubles is a prominent New Testament theme. Troubles are to be expected, but God sanctifies them all. The pastor, in the Puritan understanding, is there to be God’s agent, God’s lightning rod, if you like, actually achieving the transforming link between the distress of the Christian and the love and power of God.”

ARRANGER OF RELATIONSHIPS

One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Methodist awakening in the 1700s was organizing people into groups in order to “maintain the glow” that the Lord had ignited in the hearts of so many. Thus, every Methodist conference (or regional group) would be subdivided into classes, every member expected to participate in a class — 12 persons with a leader. And the classes, like home groups today, would meet once a week between Sundays. Under the class leader, these small groups would pray together, discuss Scripture, share their experience with each other, and try to encourage each other.

So in Methodist circles pastors became leaders of Christian community, the overseers of small groups for the purpose of nurturing believers.

MANAGER AND MISSIONARY

With individualism and isolation increasing, the need for community is stronger than ever. Pastors have assumed more of a role in maintaining corporate life, or put more crassly, “running a church” — recruiting, motivating, administering.

Put positively, the pastor now finds himself extending the role of “organizer of nurturing relationships,” tending to the health of the community. The downside is that the pastor feels more a manager of church business than a shepherd of souls.

And surrounded by a decreasingly Christian society, pastors have become missionaries to their own neighborhoods. Whether in a “seeker sensitive” church or not, every pastor is now aware of the need for outreach and evangelism.

And the task of protecting and feeding the flock widens.

“Mom, my knees ache!” I can still remember what my mother called “growing pains.” Like most early teens, my physical growth was not gradual and manageable -- it was sudden and explosive. For mom and dad the pain of my rapid growth was felt in the wallet as I outgrew my clothes before I would break them in.

Yet I can still recall with painful detail the physical pain that kept me from sleeping as my stretching joints and muscles cried out for relief. Dad’s salve for my pain was the simple promise that I would be bigger in the morning. For an aspiring athlete this was sufficient and I naively marked the door jam to record my “overnight” growth.

Growth is always a two-sided coin. It is a sign of health and vitality, and thus desirable. Nonetheless, it is painful. The same is true about growth in the church. Growth creates physical symptoms such as the lack of parking or space. It may mean that people must adjust their schedule to accommodate a second service. It may mean that the pastor and staff often will be stretched beyond their ability in their attempts to care for the needs of the congregation.

I pray that we all want growth. No one wants their church to die. What most of us want to know is: Can a church grow and yet maintain a personal, caring connection to all its members?

Everything we read about the church in God’s Word makes it clear that God designed the church to be the primary instrument for Kingdom advancement until the Good News of the King penetrates the darkness to the ends of the earth. Can we be faithful to this task and still nurture those whom God has placed in our immediate care? Good news, God has biblical solutions for our growth pains -- one is called “deacons.”

AS THE DISCIPLES WERE INCREASING IN NUMBER

An inaugural baptismal service of about 3,000 persons was a pretty good beginning for a new church. It is likely that many of those persons baptized on the Day of Pentecost returned to their homeland. Yet, the Acts account makes it clear that the disciples that remained in Jerusalem continued to grow. “And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). I love verse 14 of chapter 5: “Believers were added to the Lord in increasing numbers -- crowds of both men and women.” With many of our churches plateaued or declining, we have become so accustomed to “no growth” that we think it is the norm. God designed your church with the potential to invade the earth with the Gospel.

Exponential growth did not dilute the deep level of fellowship experienced by the early believers. “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers” (Acts 2:42). Great fellowship creates a natural climate for evangelistic outreach. The depth of fellowship need not be diluted by the numerical growth that naturally occurs when the church becomes Kingdom-centered.

A COMPLAINT AROSE

It is no surprise that the impetus for the expansion of the ministry structure of the early church was “growth pains.” “In those days, as the number of disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution” (Acts 6:1).

If you have been in church for more than a few months, you may have heard a few complaints. When complaints occur because of growth, our natural reaction is to ease the pain at all costs. This application of a shallow topical ointment may give temporary relief, but it fails to address the underlying problem in a biblical way. This will lead to compromise and often result in stagnancy as the church loses its focus and its vitality.

The particular issue that caused growth pains in the early church was the inability of the apostles to meet the pressing needs of providing for the widows and still maintain the quality of the ministry of the Word and lead the church in prayer. The specific issue was the distribution of food provided for by the common funds generously given by the early believers (Acts 4:34ff). The Jewish community placed a premium on ministry to the widows and orphans (Psalm 82:1-4), and this same concern was embraced by the early church. It is possible that the cause of the initial complaint was a simple oversight caused by too much work and too few hours. But then the prejudice card was played and tempers flared. Fingers were pointed and the harmony of the church was threatened. Sound familiar?

A SOLUTION OFFERED

The apostles neither ignored the complaint nor allowed it to deter the church from fulfilling its mission. They sought a solution that would resolve the tension, preserve the fellowship of the church and allow the church to continue unabated in its Kingdom agenda. The solution had to be one that would not require the apostles to ignore their God-given tasks. Growth had created a situation where it would have been physically impossible for the apostles to be faithful to their own calling and give hands-on attention to the distribution of food.

The church elected seven Spirit-filled men to handle the task of serving the widows. The meeting of the practical needs of the congregation was vital and, thus, it was brought to the attention of the church as a whole. The issue here is not one of status or authority; it is one of calling and function. The apostles (pastoral leaders) of the Jerusalem church could not do everything -- nor should they have. A law of diminishing return affects any leader who attempts to spread himself too thin. Unless ministry is shared, dissension reigns and Kingdom growth is halted.

We generally look to this text for the beginning of the ministry of the deacons. The English word “deacons” is virtually a transliteration of the Greek noun “diakonos.” The original idea was “waiting on tables,” but this meaning was extended to mean “serving” in a general sense. I think it is likely that this particular word was chosen for these early “growth ministers” because of Jesus’ emphasis of greatness through servanthood. It is not clear from Scripture when these words were used to speak of the office of deacon, but 1 Timothy 3:8 refers to an order of deacons who were clearly recognized for their service. This passage should be carefully studied to determine the qualifications for diaconate service.

DO WE WANT TRADITION OR SCRIPTURE?

What is the role of the deacons in the church? At this point, tradition may create a problem for some churches. We may have grown up with the idea that the pastor and staff are called to do the ministry and the deacons are elected to administrate the church. This has led many churches to refer to the deacons as a “board” and look to them for all administrative decisions. We have actually reversed the biblical order, and it has adversely affected many churches.

It may have caused the mistaken idea among laity that one must have seminary training to effectively minister to people’s needs. Thus, most ministry roles and opportunities have been assigned to the professional clergy. This, in turn, led the deacons to assume more of the administrative tasks of setting the direction and vision of the church.

This reversal of roles can have many detrimental effects on the life and health of the church. First, the pastor who feels compelled to do the entire ministry will neglect his God-given priority of preaching and leading the church to become a praying community. The pulpit ministry will suffer and the discipling power of the Word from the pulpit will be diluted.

Second, the reversal of roles between pastor and deacons often creates a situation where the pastor is given no freedom to lead the church in developing a strategy for ministry. A fine line of balance must be maintained between pastoral leadership and congregational polity. The pastor is not a dictator who drives his people, but a servant who leads his people. Pastors must earn the right to lead by their consistent walk with God and service to the people. The members must encourage the pastor to lead, be willing to follow, and support his leadership through successes and failures. We often lose sight of the truth that we are on the same team and working for the same goal.

Third, and perhaps the most disconcerting effect of the pastor/staff doing all the work of ministry, is the loss of opportunity for the laity to serve according to their gifts. All believers are gifted for service, and thus, when deacons are deprived of the privilege of ministering according to their gifts, the church suffers. It stands to reason that churches should elect deacons who demonstrate gifts for service and then provide training and organize them to serve the body.

A PRACTICAL SUGGESTION

What is the biblical role of the deacon and how does the church organize itself to allow the deacons to accomplish their God-given ministry? Many would say, and I agree, that the Acts model and the qualifications listed in 1 Timothy 3 indicate the primary role is ministry, such as visiting the shut-ins and caring for church families. The ministry to the widows did require that the deacons have administrative ability since they were to oversee the allocation of food. Churches grow and the deacon ministry flourishes when deacons assume their biblical role as partners with the pastor in ministering to the congregation.

Many churches have found it helpful to organize their deacon ministry through the Sunday School or small group ministry. Each deacon would serve alongside the small group leader to provide for the ministry needs of a specific class. For this model to be effective it is important to ensure that everyone is enrolled in a small group Bible study unit and that deacons are assigned to each group. From my own personal experience, small groups that have deacons who take seriously their family ministry grow rapidly and maintain a high percentage of attendance to enrollment.

THE DRAMATIC RESULTS

I know that some of the changes suggested may require radical changes in our thinking, structure and priorities. Will it be worth it? Luke tells us the results in the early church: “So the preaching about God flourished, the number of disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).

To please the King and advance His Kingdom is worth all the pain!

Rev. David Holwick

First Baptist Church

West Lafayette, Ohio

June 25, 1989

Acts 20:17-37

A PASTOR'S DEPARTURE

I. The Apostle Paul's goodbye.

A. Many have told me they hate goodbyes.

1) I also hate goodbyes.

2) (That's why I'm wearing my black funeral suit.)

B. But if you have to do it, Paul gives a good way.

II. The Spirit moves us to new situation. 20:22

A. Potential in NJ unknown, but I feel it is God's will.

1) There will undoubtedly be obstacles. 20:23

a) West Lafayette is hard to top.

2) But ultimate task is following Spirit & preaching gospel.

III. Looking back at the past.

A. Lifestyle. 20:18

1) You know how I lived.

a) Not always an asset.

b) But we have opened our lives to you.

1> You have done the same.

2) Difficulty of being a preacher. 20:19

a) Tears (I store it inside). 20:19

b) Tension:

1> Faithfulness to God.

2> Acceptance by people.

B. Preaching. 20:20

1) Discuss sermon series and Bible studies.

a) Sermon series:

1> John, Ephesians, Philippians, Sermon on Mount, James.

b) Bible studies:

1> 1 & 2 Samuel, prophecy, Holy Spirit.

2) Tried to stick to Bible. 20:21

a) Repentance and faith in Jesus is content of gospel.

b) Apply it to real life.

1> Effective?

2> Sometimes I have my doubts.

3> But many have said they've learned about Lord.

3) House to house - Bible studies. 20:20

a) Lay leadership important.

b) Inter-personal challenging, not just church services.

C. Focus of the preaching.

1) Innocent of blood - the necessity of the gospel. 20:26

a) Salvation proclaimed.

b) Have you accepted Jesus?

2) Whole gospel - the difficulty of the gospel. 20:27

a) Hard aspects of obedience to gospel.

1> Amazed me how people were convicted by sermons.

b) Some have turned away.

1> Whole gospel says it is never too late (till death).

2> Even those who have fallen away may come back.

IV. Look to the future. 20:28

A. Church leaders (deacons). 20:28

1) Be on guard. 20:28

a) Don't get a loser for a pastor. 20:29

b) Watch out for false doctrine. 20:30

1> Much worldliness in our church.

2> Distortion of truth. 20:30

A> Not just sin, but half-truths.

B> Easy believe-ism.

c) Watch out for splits in body. 20:30

1> Keep love and unity.

2) Be shepherds. 20:28

a) Great examples of shepherds in this church.

1> Bev Marshall.

A> Critical notes in margin of S.S. leader's book.

2> Howard Brown.

A> Missing World Series (?) to come to church.

Game went into extra innings.

B> Kicking through snow banks with artificial legs

to come to prayer meeting.

3> Merrill Beal.

A> Push screaming and kicking into being SS teacher.

B> Image of Apostle Paul: short, bald, bowlegged,

looks like angel, then fierce.

4> Grover Taylor.

A> Preacher's voice, messages backed up by integrity

of life.

5> Glenna Hartsock.

A> Acting out raindrops of blessing as she teaches

young children.

b) Shepherds must care for the sheep.

1> Love is mark of true church (Jesus). John 13:34-35

2> This church has attracted many because of love.

c) Only one shepherd is leaving.

B. Life is a race for all Christians. 20:24

1) We know where we are going.

2) We have gone far already.

a) Physical changes in church.

b) New people since we have arrived. (raise of hands)

1> Ron Gordon saved in Ruthie's living room.

2> Julie Courtright, Carolyn Clough, Jeanne Swaney.

3) We have far to go still.

V. Commitment to God. 20:32

A. Only He can build up. 20:32

1) He can be trusted to hold us till the end. Phil 1:6

2) He has an inheritance waiting for us. 20:32

B. Give, rather than receive (Jesus). 20:35

1) Help the weak.

a) Virgil Lutgen, Tom Daugherty, other shut-ins.

VI. Tearful goodbye.

A. Future Fellowship.

1) Paul thought it was his last visit. 20:25

a) Wrong according to pastorals? (2 Timothy 1:18)

2) We intend to visit again.

a) (Once things settle down.)

B. We are attached to this life, though heaven is real.

1) Other dear Christians have already said their goodbyes.

a) Mae Rice, Dan Brenneman, others who have died.

2) Personal attachment:

a) Grew up without sense of community.

b) West Lafayette is only place I have lived where I was

made to feel I belonged.

c) This church has treated me as family.

C. End with prayer and embraces.

[An analysis of why so many liberal mainline pastors lose their faith and drop out of church after retiring.]

“Be merciful to those who doubt.” — Jude 22

I belong to a support group of seven retired Mainline clergypersons. Six of the seven no longer affirm historic, creedal, orthodox, traditional theology. The same six members of the group no longer actively participate in a congregation. If you do the math, that means 86% of my retired clergy group have, to a large degree, lost traditional faith and left institutional religion.

For a long time, I assumed this dynamic in my support group was an anomaly. Surely, I thought, this is not typical. So, several months ago, I decided to take an informal survey of retired clergy to help find out. I asked them two questions: “Do you still affirm traditional doctrines/theology? Why or why not? Are you still actively involved in a church? Why or why not?”

Before sharing the results of the survey, a significant disclaimer needs to be made. This was not a large or a scientific survey. Instead, it represents the responses of about 100 retired (almost all Mainline) clergy who read DoubtersParish.com, ProgressiveChristianity.org or Baptist News Global. In short, the responders to this survey already trend “liberal/progressive” theologically and ecclesiastically. Had I surveyed retired clergy from conservative evangelicalism, the results likely would have been significantly different.

With that important disclaimer, I’d like to share some of the findings of the survey. Overall, it identified the following three categories of retired clergypersons (with percentages):

Those who affirm traditional theology and participate in a church (19%)

Those who do not affirm traditional theology but participate in a church (40%)

Those who do not affirm traditional theology and do not participate in a church (41%)

Three major trends that surfaced in the survey will now be reviewed, followed by a tentative attempt to explain why so many retired clergy have lost traditional faith and left church.

A majority remain in church

Fifty-nine percent of the retired clergy who took this survey still participate in a local church. This includes clergy who retain traditional faith and those who do not. A few representative quotes from respondents follow:

“I am still active in a congregation. How can a good son abandon one’s mother?”

“I believe in the church, in the sense that we were never meant to go it alone in our faith.”

“I certainly don’t believe all that is preached from the pulpit but have stayed for the social connection.”

“I appreciate the mission work and the camaraderie. It is affirming for me.”

“I am actively involved in my church, partly because it has jettisoned dogma.”

“I go mostly because it is a communal activity in which I have participated all my life.”

“The church is where community can be found, care received and practiced, and prophetic voices can be heard. The church can be frustrating, but it’s also the place where I learned to love Jesus, my neighbors, the Bible’s story and the power of hope.”

A significant minority have left church

Although 59% of retired clergy who responded to this survey remain in church, 41% have left. For people who devoted decades of their lives to institutional religion, this seems like a large number. A few representative quotes from respondents follow:

“The church is not going to change. For example, the language used for worship is so gendered and theistic. When people ask me what I did before retiring, I tell them I am a retired pastor who no longer goes to church.”

“Today’s church has become a political pawn in the American culture. It has lost its voice and credibility in the world. Other cultures often see the American church as an instrument of imperialism.”

“Churches are prejudiced, racist, they don’t think, they are comfortable with 1950s understandings of the Bible and theology, and they spend almost all of their money on themselves.”

“The church has abandoned the example and teachings of Jesus for power, politics, money and the status quo.”

“My experience is that many churches continue to offer only white worship, white music and white liturgy, thus resembling a white country club that really doesn’t want to do any hands-on work with the least of these.”

“I found parish ministry to be very draining, and I’m still feeling the need to have my own well filled up with peace and beauty rather than theological squabbling, meetings, committee work and toxic relationships in troubled systems.”

“I’ve shoveled enough church crap to last a hundred lifetimes. I’m finished, and it’s absolutely liberating.”

A large majority no longer affirm traditional theology

The biggest surprise of this retired clergy survey, at least for me, is that 81% of the respondents no longer hold traditional (historic, creedal, orthodox) theology/doctrines. A few representative quotes from respondents follow:

“I no longer believe the doctrines of the church. Instead, I follow the life, teachings and example of Jesus.”

“I believe in a nontheistic God who is universal energy.”

“I am closer to the Jesus of The Jefferson Bible and the Jesus Seminar than to the Jesus of The Apostles’ Creed.”

“Sometimes I’m not sure if I still believe in God, but I’m sure I still believe in Jesus.”

“I no longer affirm the doctrines I learned in junior high Sunday school like heaven, hell, virgin birth, physical resurrection, ascension or the second coming.”

“I cannot reconcile reality with traditional doctrines, nor do they make logical sense anymore. Some of the traditional doctrines I find to be morally corrupt and inconsistent with a loving God.”

“I still possess a belief in God, but it is not bound by what lies in the formulated canon of Scripture.”

“Far more important than any creed or system of beliefs or principles is having a moral compass and great kindness.”

Why have so many retired clergy lost traditional faith and left church?

When 81% of retired clergy (who took this survey) have lost traditional faith, and 41% have left church, you cannot help but ask why. There’s no one definitive answer. For example, numerous respondents never affirmed traditional faith in the first place, especially those in the noncreedal, highly progressive United Church of Christ. But the primary explanation respondents gave for losing traditional faith and leaving church is that, as retired clergy, they now have the theological and ecclesiastical freedom to do so.

For example, when you are a professional minister, even if you are fed up with institutional religion, you obviously do not have the freedom to leave church. Retirement allows you, for the first time in a long time, to make a decision about your church participation.

As already noted, the majority choose to stay. After spending a lifetime working in church, most clergy want to remain connected to their life’s work. However, retired clergy who have grown disillusioned with institutional religion are now free to cut their ecclesiastical ties — and many do.

As one respondent said, “I am not involved in a church. Short version, I had enough. Retirement provides freedom not to.”

This freedom is even more pronounced when it comes to theology. For active clergy, not believing in traditional doctrines can create major crises on many levels. Therefore, most clergy attempt to avoid this painful reality, even if it requires not being fully forthright with themselves or their congregations.

However, once they are freed from vocational constraints, many of them come to the realization they no longer affirm traditional beliefs. Very few become atheists. However, many of them, like those in this survey, become far less orthodox.

As one respondent said, “Although I struggled with doubt my entire career, I convinced myself that I still believed in the core tenants of historic Christianity. But when I retired, I realized that I didn’t.”

While writing this article, I came upon a provocative quote by Upton Sinclair: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

Although he was not specifically referring to religion or clergypersons, it certainly applies.

I don’t share this quote in a judgmental or cynical way. Instead, I share it to illustrate how difficult it is for doubting clergypersons to understand and admit (to themselves or others) that they have lost important tenants of their religion. Why? Because, as the quote suggests, losing those beliefs can result in the termination of your salary, which is no small matter.

But it goes much deeper than that. Losing faith also can lead to a loss of call, vocation, identity, community, purpose, meaning, reputation and even family relationships.

For someone with “Reverend” in front of their name, admitting he or she has lost faith feels overwhelmingly frightening and threatening. As a result, most clergy find a way to hang on to some semblance of faith, if only by their fingernails.

But when they retire, such fears and constraints dissipate, giving many of them the freedom to acknowledge (perhaps for the first time) that their faith has significantly strayed from traditional orthodoxy.

A case study

Let me share a specific example. A few weeks ago, I read a book by a clergyman narrating his struggle with doubt. I won’t go into many details, but he laid out numerous factors that led him to doubt his faith. They included the usual suspects (questions about the Bible, the problem of suffering, skepticism about a theistic God and a divine Christ, difficulty believing in supernaturalism, and the massive failures of institutional religion).

By this point in the book, most readers would expect to turn the page and discover he has given up on faith and resigned as a minister. Instead, the author makes a surprising shift. Instead of jettisoning his religion, he decided to take a “leap of faith” and “trust” Christianity. Given his massive doubts, I’m sure many readers felt a bit of whiplash.

However, his decision to retain faith despite debilitating doubts will not surprise most clergy. The cost of giving up his faith was too high a bar, the price too steep. He acknowledged as much when he admitted he could not bring himself to leave his vocation, which is all he knew and which he was good at. Nor could he bear to leave his denominational tribe and the community it provided. He also loathed to give up the spiritual comfort traditional faith offered him. So he found a way to keep faith alive, although just barely.

When I read his story, which was published 12 years ago, I thought to myself, “I bet his perspective changed when he retired.” My hunch proved correct. An online search revealed he recently retired. I then read several of his current blog posts. He no longer talks about “a leap of faith” or “trust” in God. Instead, he talks about his “slowly dissolving faith.” He clearly no longer believes in traditional Christianity, and he’s deeply frustrated with institutional religion.

I do not criticize this man for hanging on to a minimum of traditional faith while serving as a minister, only to let it go upon retirement. Instead, I can empathize with him. When we are still in the ministerial arena, it’s extraordinarily difficult to acknowledge our deepest doubts to ourselves, much less to others. The stakes are simply too high. Therefore, many doubting clergy — often subconsciously — defer and deny such threatening thoughts.

However, according to the participants of this survey, when we retire, and gain the theological and ecclesiastical freedom that accompanies it, our perspectives often change. And that, more than anything else, appears to be the primary reason so many thoughtful and well-educated clergy, upon their retirement, release (at least some) traditional faith, embrace (at least some) nontraditional faith, and rethink their relationship with institutional religion.

After over 18 years of researching pastoral trends and many of us being a pastor, the "Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development" has found (this data is backed up by other studies) that pastors are in a dangerous occupation! We are perhaps the single most stressful and frustrating working profession, more than medical doctors, lawyers, politicians or cat groomers (hey they have claws). We found that over 70% of pastors are so stressed out and burned out that they regularly consider leaving the ministry (I only feel that way on Mondays). Thirty-five to forty percent of pastors actually do leave the ministry, most after only five years. On a personal note, out of the 12 senior pastors that I have served under directly, two have passed away, and four have left the ministry totally — that is, not only are they no longer in the pulpit, but they no longer even attend a church. And, I run into ex-pastors on a regular basis at conferences and speaking engagements; makes me wonder “what’s up with that,” as my kids would say.

From our recent research we did to retest our data, 1050 pastors were surveyed from two pastor’s conferences held in Orange County and Pasadena, Ca — 416 in 2005, and 634 in 2006 (I conducted a similar study for the Fuller Institute in the late 80s with a much greater sampling).

• Of the one thousand fifty (1,050 or 100%) pastors we surveyed, every one of them had a close associate or seminary buddy who had left the ministry because of burnout, conflict in their church, or from a moral failure.

• Nine hundred forty-eight (948 or 90%) of pastors stated they are frequently fatigued, and worn out on a weekly and even daily basis (did not say burned out).

• Nine hundred thirty-five, (935 or 89%) of the pastors we surveyed also considered leaving the ministry at one time. Five hundred ninety, (590 or 57%) said they would leave if they had a better place to go — including secular work.

• Eighty-one percent (81%) of the pastors said there was no regular discipleship program or effective effort of mentoring their people or teaching them to deepen their Christian formation at their church (remember these are the Reformed and Evangelical — not the mainline pastors!).

• Eight hundred eight (808 or 77%) of the pastors we surveyed felt they did not have a good marriage!

• Seven hundred ninety (790 or 75%) of the pastors we surveyed felt they were unqualified and/or poorly trained by their seminaries to lead and manage the church or to counsel others. This left them disheartened in their ability to pastor.

• Seven hundred fifty-six (756 or 72%) of the pastors we surveyed stated that they only studied the Bible when they were preparing for sermons or lessons. This left only 38% who read the Bible for devotions and personal study.

• Eight hundred two (802 or 71%) of pastors stated they were burned out, and they battle depression beyond fatigue on a weekly and even a daily basis.

• Three hundred ninety-nine (399 or 38%) of pastors said they were divorced or currently in a divorce process.

• Three hundred fifteen (315 or 30%) said they had either been in an ongoing affair or a one-time sexual encounter with a parishioner.

• Two hundred seventy (270 or 26%) of pastors said they regularly had personal devotions and felt they were adequately fed spirituality.

• Two hundred forty-one (241 or 23%) of the pastors we surveyed said they felt happy and content on a regular basis with who they are in Christ, in their church, and in their home!

• Of the pastors surveyed, they stated that a mean (average) of only 25% of their church’s membership attended a Bible Study or small group at least twice a month. The range was 11% to a max of 40%, a median (the center figure of the table) of 18% and a mode (most frequent number) of 20%. This means over 75% of the people who are at a “good” evangelical church do not go to a Bible Study or small group (that is not just a book or curriculum study, but where the Bible is opened and read, as well as studied). (I suspect these numbers are actually lower in most evangelical and Reformed churches because the pastors that come to conferences tend to be more interested in the teaching and care of their flock than those who usually do not attend.)

Here is research that we distilled from Barna, Focus on the Family, and Fuller Seminary, all of which backed up our findings, and additional information from reviewing others’ research:

• Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches.

• Fifty percent of pastors’ marriages will end in divorce.

• Eighty percent of pastors feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastor.

• Fifty percent of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.

• Eighty percent of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years.

• Seventy percent of pastors constantly fight depression.

• Almost forty percent polled said they have had an extra-marital affair since beginning their ministry.

• Seventy percent said the only time they spend studying the Word is when they are preparing their sermons.

Most statistics say that 60% to 80% of those who enter the ministry will not still be in it 10 years later, and only a fraction will stay in it as a lifetime career. Many pastors — I believe over 90 percent — start off right with a true call and the enthusiasm and the endurance of faith to make it, but something happens to derail their train of passion and love for the call.

Focus on the Family has reported (http://www.parsonage.org/) that we in the United States lose a pastor a day because he seeks an immoral path instead of God’s, seeking intimacy where it must not be found. F.O.F. statistics state that 70% of pastors do not have close personal friends, and no one in whom to confide. They also said about 35% of pastors personally deal with sexual sin. In addition, that 25% of pastors are divorced. The statistics I had with church growth resources is even higher. Pastors who tend to be very educated seem to have the ability to embark in sin on Saturday and preach the Word on Sunday without thinking anything is wrong.

Remember, Pride and Arrogance will be the diving board that will spring the pastor into the pool of sin and cause a church to fight amongst themselves!

Out of the 1050 pastors we surveyed during two pastors conferences held in Pasadena, California, 825, or 78% (326 in 2005 and 499 in 2006) said they were forced to resign from a church at least once. Sixty-three percent (63%) said they had been fired from their pastoral position at least twice. In the survey, we asked why they were fired — from the reasons given by the church board versus what they felt the reason was. We laid out 15 categories with a blank space to fill out what we may have missed: poor leadership, conflict with key staff or lay leadership, gossip, lack of funding, doctrinal divide, hardship on family, not connecting with membership, power plays, church council refusing to resolve conflict, resistance to their teaching, resistance to their leadership style or vision, failure to teach biblically, poor people skills, failure to follow job description, inappropriate relationship, or other sin. They gave us a top five main explanations on a scale of one to five, with few (8%) reporting on any of the other categories. These stats are based on number one response; at the same time, over 70% of pastors stated three of these five reasons. Here is the order (these findings have been retested and back up in internet polls done since 1998, and church survey studies done since 1980:

1. Four hundred twelve (412 or 52%) stated that the number one reason was organizational and control issues. A conflict arose that forced them out based on who was going to lead and manage the church — pastor, elder, key lay person, faction, ...

2. One hundred ninety (190 or 24%) stated that the number one reason was their church was already in such a significant degree of conflict, the pastor’s approach could not resolve it (over 80% of pastors stated this as number 2 if not already stated as number one, and for the rest, it was number 3!).

3. One hundred nineteen (119 or 14%) stated the number one reason to be that the church was resistance to their leadership, vision, teaching, or to change, or that their leadership was too strong or too fast.

4. Sixty four (64 or 8%) stated the number one reason to be that the church was not connecting with them on a personal level or they could not connect with them, or the church over-admired the previous pastor and would not accept them.

5. Forty (40 or 5%) stated that the number one reason was not having the appropriate relational or connecting skills as a pastor. (It is interesting that no one mentioned lack of teaching ability — only that their teaching was not accepted. Could this be pride?)

The other significant study of pastors that held similar results as ours was conducted by psychologist Richard Blackmon (with ties to Fuller Seminary and Dr. Archibald Heart), also reported by the Los Angeles Times newspaper. In 1985 as well as more recently too, Blackmon surveyed one thousand pastors from four major denominations in California, USA. His research, which was ongoing up to 2004, revealed that over 75% of ministers are extremely or highly stressed. He even found that 31.75% of the clergy surveyed had sexual intercourse with a church member — who was not their spouse! In addition, he found that 30% to 40% of ministers ultimately drop out of the ministry. His research goes on to say the average insurance costs to churches for dealing with mental breakdowns with clergy is four percent higher than any secular industry. Blackmon states that the significance of the stress is mainly based in the areas of personal finances, church finances, building issues, recruitment of volunteers, counseling issues, and visitation. Sermon preparation and teaching seem to be last on his list!

The stress, according to Blackmon, is a primary result of the continual, intense, care responsibility of pastors compared to a medical doctor who will see a terminally ill patient for an hour or so, then see them again in a few weeks. He suggests that the pastor must set personal limits for himself to maintain balance, develop relationships outside of the church, and to be in a support group with other pastors. Very good advice!

The problem, as we have found (and I agree with Blackmon, but as a symptom and not the prime issue), is that people lose focus on what the mission and central theme of the Church is. Both pastor and churchgoer miss the main theme of what a church is about, which is to know and worship Christ as Lord. So, when there is no growth from the pastor’s personal life, no discipleship, few people in Bible Study, then there is no mission or appropriate purpose for that church, and there are no goals; therefore, there’s nothing really to do effectively. The result is the “shearing of the sheep.” Instead of being fed, they will feed upon one another, as well as the pastor, in a feast of conflict and strife. Since the church has nothing to do, then all the energies are turned inward to attack one another. I guess it beats being bored.

When I was with another church growth consulting firm, we did a major study of pastors and came up with some astounding statistics. We found that 90% of pastors work more than 50 hours a week. One out of three pastors state that being in the ministry is clearly hazardous for their families. One out of three pastors felt totally burned out within the first five years of ministry. Over 70% of pastors do not have anyone they would consider to be a friend, and hardly any pastors had any close friends. Ninety percent (90%) of pastors feel they were not adequately trained to cope with ministry coordination and the demands of the congregation. Seventy-five percent (75%) of pastors experience a significant crisis that they faced due to stress in the ministry (Fuller Institute, 1989-1992). We at the FASICLD retested that data by various means starting in 1998 and also retested the results in an internet survey form several times over the last eight years. We found it has slightly worsened. Most pastors now work up to and more than 60 hours a week. Hence, why the divorce rate among pastors is rising and pastor’s children rarely stay in the church or keep their faith. In both studies, over 40% of the pastors reported serious conflicts with their parishioners every month. This leaves pastors physically tired, spiritually weary, and even distant from God! Thus, they cannot properly minister or connect with their flock.

There was a poll taken by a sociologist named Jeffrey Haddan (“Prayer Net” Newsletter, Nov. 13, 1998) in which he polled over 7,400 Protestant ministers. He found that 13% to 51% of ministers, depending on their denomination, accepted Jesus’ physical resurrection as a fact. His poll states between 19% and 60% of ministers believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. The poll goes on to say between 67% and 95% of ministers believe that the Scriptures are true in faith, history, and practice. These statistics are extremely despairing. What do these ministers think they are doing? What is their purpose? And, what are they trying to accomplish in God’s Holy Church? If you are the church leadership and you do not believe in the tenets of Scripture, you have no business being in leadership and certainly no business being the Shepherd and teacher of the flock. What you are is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, which will be harshly judged by God.

We at FASICLD conducted a simpler internet poll in 2005 of 2,245 pastors and another 1050 in person by our surveys in pastor’s conferences as seen above. Because we are reaching Reformed and conservative Evangelicals, the stats are very different. We found that over 90% of pastors polled believe in the resurrection, virgin birth, and the validity of Scriptures (we did not get into the various aspects of inerrancy). The significant problem we found is the “buzz” or willingness to go beyond belief into trust, and then model that to their congregations. Being beat up in the ministry wears them down and derails their focus.

The result of both studies is this: the pastor must be theologically sound. A pastor who does not have a good theology is like an engineer who does not know math; he or she would totally be unable to do the job of designing. A pastor that is not theologically sound is like a surgeon who does not know anatomy and physiology; would you want him or her to operate on you? Would you want a lawyer representing you who does not know the law or the court system? When we are in the pulpit proclaiming the truth of Christ, it better be just that — the truth of Christ, not our inclinations, new ideas, or the latest trend in theological thinking. All these new waves of theology just confuse and alienate the body of Christ, who are the parishioners we serve and are called to protect from false doctrine, rather leading to God’s truth. Most of these new ideas keep changing and conflicting, and only last a few years until the next latest theological fad comes into play. Why play with the fire of that game when God’s truth remains the same and only our creative thinking keeps changing? It’s good to be creative as long as it does not go against the teachings of Scripture!

The results of the survey are that pastors face more conflict, more anger, and more expectations than ever before. At the same time, they work long hours and have little pay, little reward, and produce their own dysfunctional families because of their absence. And, to top it off, they are not being adequately trained nor fed spiritually. I need to state clearly that this is not true of all pastors; there are many who are excellent in obeying their call, pastoring great churches, and being there for their families who are growing in the Lord. And, as a pastor, I must be aware of this so I do not fall in these traps myself. The statistics tell us that many more pastors have not learned to balance family and ministry or adequately deal with the immense struggles of the job. Thus, many are not able to lead their church where it needs to go because they have not been where they are seeking to lead others in growth or in spiritual formation. I totally sympathize with them, yet I call pastors to wake up to what they are doing, and why they are doing it. At the same time, hey church, take care of and respect your pastor!

The bottom line is this: if you are a pastor your job is to serve Christ first and foremost! Thus, it is imperative that we do not become thoughtless or uncaring concerning the buildup and practice of our personal faith. In so doing, we are also to be aware of and embrace the opportunities Christ has and will still bring for us. Our focus must be on the main thing and Christ is the main thing and at the same intention we are not to negate or neglect our personal faith development or our family. If we do, we personally fail and thus our churches will fail too and our family fails and we create the massive destruction, conflict, chaos and strife that has become so rampant in so many churches. We are called to do the opposite to discord and conflict, we are called to bring cohesion and community and show the character and love of Christ first to ourselves, then our family and then our church. In so doing we bring growth, maturity and love, being in and practicing “true spirituality!”

If we do not have a desire to pursue the call of God, we have to ask ourselves why and what is in the way. Why are we in ministry? We have to ask, what is the role of pride and the desire of sin and how is it blocking us from proclaiming Christ as a pastor? Sometimes, we may not recognize sin and will perhaps rationalize it away. This happens especially when solid biblical theology or teaching is not being rooted in us and not thus being taught from us, then our churches become just social clubs of gossip and contention or entertainment and not the real effectual Church of Christ where He is model and shown as Lord. Remember, our election is proven by our obedience, fruit, and growth in Christ!

As pastors, it is our call and duty to be on guard against the erosion of biblical values and damage to our and our churches beliefs and biblical mindset (Psalm 123:3; Mark 4:19)!

Remember, churches fail because we as pastors fail; we tend to place our needs and desires over the Lord’s. It is His Church and we are His servant. Let our focus be on the right target — that is, His Way and not ours! We are called to a higher purpose. We are not called to ourselves. We are to lead others to Him, not to our self. Ministry is a wondrous call, it can be joyful and fulfilling; it is also a dangerous thing because we are before a Holy God. Yes we have grace, but we have responsibility too!

________

© 2007 (research from 1989 to 2006)

R. J. Krejcir Ph.D.

Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development

http://www.truespirituality.org/

[formerly HolwickID #36200]

A writer spent time with a shepherd on the Texas plains. One night, the shepherd built a fire, and the sheep gathered close. Around midnight, a coyote howled in the distance, followed by another coyote from the opposite direction. The fearful sheep began bleating.

The shepherd tossed logs onto the fire. As flames shot up, the writer looked out and saw 4,000 tiny lights — the fire reflected in the eyes of 2,000 sheep. With enemies all around, the sheep looked only toward the shepherd. Why? They trusted him.

Ezekiel 34 describes wicked shepherds, leaders of Israel who exploited God’s people. They fed themselves, not the flock. They butchered the sheep. They let weak sheep become prey. As a result, God said, “Behold I am against the shepherds ... I Myself will search for My sheep and will seek them out” (Ezekiel 34:10-11).

God’s sheep need shepherds they can trust. I want to suggest four “trust” questions every pastor should ask.

Can my intentions be trusted? God intends to search for His flock, feed them and care for them. The word that best expresses the Lord’s intention toward His flock is rescue. God says, “I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered” (Ezekiel 34:12). Rescuing means snatching the sheep away from harm. God never leaves His sheep to danger.

As shepherds with trustworthy intentions, pastors will not abandon the sheep to which God has called us. We will preach the Word of God even when it harms our popularity or offends people of influence. We will sacrifice our preferences and comfort for the sake of the flock.

Can my ability be trusted? God repeats a phrase over and over in Ezekiel 34: “I will...” Each repetition underscores God’s ability to accomplish His purposes. Faithful shepherds should develop and strengthen our abilities to do what we are called to do. Most significantly, we should depend on God to empower our abilities.

When I began my first pastorate, the work seemed impossible. As I tried to preach, lead and care for people, I prayed so many times: “Lord, I can’t do this. I need your help.” God answered and graciously used me. Today, I have ministered to people in nearly every scenario imaginable. Along with every other pastor, I face the danger of thinking: “I’ve got this. I can do it myself.” Training and experience can enhance our skill, but leading with trustworthy ability means constantly relying on Jesus’ power.

Can my judgment be trusted? God promises, “I will feed them in justice” (Ezekiel 34:16). His leadership will flow from wisdom and righteousness. Pastors with trustworthy judgment make choices that follow God’s best purposes. Our congregations want to trust us. We must work not to lose their trust. By seeking the Lord’s direction through Scripture and prayer, a shepherd honors the Lord and blesses the church with wise decisions.

Can my character be trusted? One of my mentors entered ministry after years in the telephone industry. He told me, “I’ve seen employees lose thousands of dollars for the phone company because of bad decisions and keep their jobs. I’ve also seen people get fired for stealing quarters out of a pay phone.” The lesson is clear – errors of skill and judgment can be overcome. Errors of character destroy.

The problem with the false shepherds in Ezekiel 34 was moral and spiritual. Their hearts were corrupt. Psalm 78:72 says of David: “With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.” David’s skill as a shepherd was important, but his heart was essential. A tragedy in ministry is when we elevate ability over integrity.

To guard our character, pastors should ask questions like: Do I consistently tell the truth? Do I seek forgiveness when I mess up? Do I guard my relationships to avoid temptation and reproach? Am I completely above-board in my finances? Am I the same person with my family, by myself and before God that I portray myself to be in public? Questions like these are a good starting place for shepherds who desire to protect the purity of their heart.

________

Stephen Rummage is senior pastor of Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.

In April 2023 a list was circulated among Southern Baptist churches detailing more than 170 churches where women serve as pastors. Most of the women were not senior pastors but associate pastors, or pastors of specific ministries like education or children’s ministry. The critical point was they were called “pastors” which is a calling most Southern Baptists limit to men. The list evidently was composed as a prelude to an attempt to force these churches out of the convention later in the year.

Rev. Arthur Wright Jr. offered an alternative list in response. He believes that God always has called women into partnership as preachers, teachers, schemers, prophets and otherwise.

May you always remember Junia [also spelled Junias], the prominent apostle of Jesus Christ and a leader in the early church. Like her, may you remember that Christ sends you into the world with purpose and with a message of love and hope and good news to share.

May you recall Deborah, a fiery woman, a prophet and the greatest of all of the biblical judges, who led the Israelites so faithfully in war and then in peace for 40 years.

May you never forget Mary and Martha, who both had a part to play in hosting Jesus in their home. May you remember at times to be like Martha, working hard to get things done, to be hospitable and create space for people in your life and in your church. But may you also remember to set apart time to emulate Mary, to sit and listen at the feet of Jesus, to spend time in prayer and contemplation. May you never work so hard that you neglect your own deep relationship with God, because it is in that space of contemplation that we foster our vital connection to God that is so important in ministry.

Like Moses’s sister Miriam, may you sing and dance and celebrate as you partner in God’s ongoing work of liberation in the world.

May you continually recall Huldah, the prophet whom King Josiah consulted when his officials discovered the book of the Law in the temple. May she inspire you with boldness, because she spoke hard words of truth to the king, opening a pathway to repentance and a return to true and meaningful worship for those who had lost their way.

May you, like Vashti, have the courage it takes to defy the powerful. And may you be bold enough to resist like the midwives Shiphrah and Puah.

Of course, may you always remember the Samaritan woman at the well, who had the courage not only to go toe-to-toe with Jesus himself in theological dialogue, but also to be open to new ideas about what God is up to in the world — and then to go and preach to all who would listen.

Like Esther, may you always trust in God’s providence, confident that God has called you — yes, you — to lead in such a time as this.

Finally, like Mary Magdalene, the apostle to the apostles, may you keep your eyes ever open to witness the miracle of the resurrection in your life, and in the lives of others. Amen.

This list is not exhaustive. There is also Eve, Tamar, Rahab, Hannah, Ruth, Priscilla, Chloe, Phoebe, Euodia and Syntyche, ….

________

Adapted by David Holwick from Arthur M. Wright Jr.’s opinion piece, “How dare they publish that list,” March 24, 2023, < https://baptistnews.com/article/how-dare-they-publish-that-list/>. Arthur M. Wright Jr. is senior pastor of Williamsburg Baptist Church in historic Williamsburg, Virginia.

The picture of Jesus "knocking at the door" can have different interpretations. In the 1950's, it was Jesus asking to come in. In the 1990's, it is Jesus asking the people to come out and get involved in ministry.

The decline in religion (actually, in the CHURCH) is due to:

1. Decline in social conformity.

2. Increase in freedom of choice.

3. New forms of social conformity, which don't include church.

4. Lingering customs, habits, and traditions of churched culture.

The last point we can work with. Pastors should make two changes in themselves for every one they want for the church.

Alcoholics Anonymous' definition of INSANITY is when a person keeps repeating the same behavior, yet expects better and different results.

Mission churches fulfill life searches. Culture churches promote programs. Life searches of Baby-Boomers:

1. Individuality.

2. Community.

3. Meaning.

4. Hope.

Dying churches have at least one of the following characteristics:

1. Churched culture.

2. Two-cell.

3. Boss-run.

4. Co-dependent.

5. Abusive or angry atmosphere.

What people look for in a pastor:

1. Good shepherd.

2. Helpful preacher. (not great, but practical)

3. Wise, caring leader.

4. Community pastor.

"Only YOU can grow YOU."

A good way to grow a church is to have 10 community-oriented sermons a year, such as on death and grief, divorce, hope, etc. Have five people write invitations to those they think would be helped, have ten people make phone calls, and put 2 in charge of public advertisement. They will come in droves.

Two clergymen were settled in their youth in contiguous parishes. The congregation of the one had become very much broken and scattered, while that of the other remained large and strong. At a ministerial gathering Dr. A said to Dr. B. -- “Brother, how has it happened that I have labored diligently as you have, and preached better sermons and more of them, my parish has been scattered to them winds, and yours remains strong and unbroken?” Dr. B. facetiously replied, “Oh, I'll tell you, brother. When you go fishing, you first get a great, rough pole for a handle, to which you attach a large, cod line and a great hook, and twice as much bait as the fish can swallow. With these accouterments you dash up to the brook and throw in your hook, with 'There, Bite, You dogs!’ Thus you scare away all the fish. When I go fishing, l get a little switching pole, a small line, and just such a hook and bait as the fish can swallow. Then I creep up to the brook and silently slip them in, and I twitch 'em out and twitch'em out till my basket is full.”

-- Preacher's Lantern

Integrity is the foundation of leadership. You only lead people if they trust you. If you lose people's trust, you've lost it all. That's why the right to lead is earned, and it's earned by being trustworthy. I think the most damaging sin a leader can commit is to betray the trust of his people.

Because Satan is on the attack, I want to share some biblical strategies for maintaining moral integrity in the ministry. In 2 Corinthians 1:12, Paul says, “This is our boast. Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God.” What I like about this verse is that Paul says, “I have ministered with a clear conscience. Nobody can point a finger at me. Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves with integrity.” I think this is a mark of a leader.

Titus 2:6 says that a leader must be blameless. That is the very first qualification. This is talking about integrity. Ephesians 5:3 says, “But among you there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality or any impurity or greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.” I am jealous for the integrity of God.

How can you maintain that moral integrity as a minister? Here are a few suggestions:

• Never consider yourself above temptation.

Don't kid yourself. People say, “It couldn't happen to me.” That's a bunch of baloney. I think we need to be aware how vulnerable all of us are. The first defense is an attitude of humility that says, “I'm a human being.” We need to watch out. 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, “So be careful if you think, 'I'd never behave like that.’ Let this be a warning to you, for you too may fall into sin. Let him who stands take heed lest he fall” (Living Bible). None of us are invulnerable. None of us are immune. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” I think the morning I start saying, “I've conquered that problem,” that I'm open for temptation.

It's like the person who believes he's never going to be robbed, so he never locks his doors, he never bolts down his windows, he leaves his money lying all around. Who's the person who's going to get robbed? The guy who thinks he's never going to get robbed. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can know it?” That means every person has his or her price. My heart is deceitful. That's what God says about my heart -- and your heart. Given the right circumstances and set of events, you can't tell what you'd do. Me either. I think we should have a holy fear of ever thinking we're beyond temptation.

• Keep a close watch on your spiritual temperature.

Be aware of your own level of commitment on a daily basis. It's very important that we watch our manners. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else guard your heart for it is the well spring of life.” Maintaining that daily walk with the Lord is absolutely imperative. I find that in temptation of any kind, I need to continually remind myself of God's omniscience and omnipresence. God sees everything in my life, and He is always with me. The devil always says, “No one will ever know.” That's true in any kind of temptation. If God is always with me and He sees everything, then that is a motivation for me to practice His presence. First Corinthians 9:27 says, “I discipline my body and make it my slave, so after I've preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” That is a verse that strikes fear into me: that I would preach to others, then I myself would be disqualified in any area. I think the integrity of leadership is the bottom line.

• If you're married, maintain your own marriage.

The greatest insurance for moral integrity is a happy home life. I think it's important that if we're married, we make sure that our marriage is growing and developing. Like the old saying, “The grass is not greener on that side of the fence and the grass is not greener on this side of the fence. The grass is greener where you water it.” It's very important that we maintain our own marriages.

Song of Solomon 1:6 says, “They made me take care of other vineyards while my own vineyard I have neglected.” I think that's an important point. There's a danger in ministry of spending more time repairing everybody else's marriage and neglecting your own. I work at this very hard in my family. Kay and I read books together, listen to tapes together. We go to seminars together. I think it's really important. It's important in the ministry, if you're married, that you do not develop separate lives.

• Develop healthy outlets for emotional and sexual energy.

Satan loves to play on pent-up emotions. I've talked with several people who've been involved in the Charismatic movement, where there's a lot of emotionalism. Many times, immorality is rampant among these people, because they're burning out. Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” That's just the Principle of Replacement. You've got to have outlets for balance in your life.

• Guard your mind.

The Bible is very specific about this. The battle for sin always begins in the mind. Always. If you lose the battle in your mind -- your thoughts -- you've lost the battle. James 1:14-15 says, “Sin begins with the desire, and then when it has conceived it brings forth sin, and when that is finished it brings forth death.” It always starts there.

• Remind yourself regularly of the damaging consequences of moral failure.

Sit down and watch the confession of Jimmy Swaggart. It's high drama, probably the most dramatic church service you'll see in this decade. You see how sin destroys a congregation

What do you do? Minimize the pleasure of sin and maximize the consequences. Hebrews 11:25 says, “There is pleasure in sin for a season.” There is no doubt about it. Sin is fun. Nobody would do it if it were not fun. There wouldn't be any temptation if there wasn't some kind of pleasure in it. Even God says there is pleasure in sin, but it's just for a season. You have your kicks, then you have your kickbacks.

What are the kickbacks? James 1:15 says, “Sin when it is finished bringeth forth death.”

I think a good idea is to make a list of consequences and read it often. From Leadership magazine, a guy named Randy Alcorn lists consequences of a moral tumble. He says, “Whenever I feel particularly vulnerable to sexual temptation, I find it helpful to review what effects my action could have: grieving the Lord who redeemed me; dragging His sacred name through the mud; one day having to look at Jesus, the righteous judge in the face, and give an account of my actions; following the footsteps of people whose immorality forfeited their ministries and caused me to shudder; losing my wife's respect and trust; hurting my daughters; destroying my example and credibility with my children; causing shame to my family; losing self respect; forming memories and flashbacks that could plague future intimacy with my wife; wasting years of ministry training; undermining the faithful example and hard work of other Christians in our community; and on and on.”

• Take the necessary precautions to protect yourself.

I think with this issue, as important and as damaging as it can be, we ought to go the second mile. Ephesians says there should not even be a hint of sexual immorality. In Matthew 26:41 Jesus says, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.” It's interesting to me that He doesn't say, “Watch and pray so you will not fall into sin.” Instead, He says, “Watch and pray that you don't even fall into temptation.”

In other words, don't even put yourself in a situation where you can be tempted. It's not an issue of, “Are you going to give in or not,” but, “If you don't want to get stung, stay away from the bees.” Don't put yourselves in situations where you'll ever be tempted. First Peter 5:8 (Living Bible) says, “Be careful, watch out for the attacks from Satan your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion looking for some victim to tear apart.” We have to be careful. We've got to take precautions.

Because of that, let me say that most sexual temptation in the ministry will come from people whom you genuinely care about. People whom you love and who mean a lot to you. It's not going to be from some city slicker prostitute, but from people whom you really care about.

Ephesians 5:3 says, “Among you there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality.” Paul says, “I am jealous for the integrity of this ministry. There is nothing more important than what we're talking about.”

The bottom line is James 1:12: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under temptation, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the victor's crown -- the life God has promised to those who love Him.”

When I get to heaven, I want one of those crowns. I want to be able to look the Lord in the eye and say, “Lord, you know that I was pure through all my years of ministry and that there was never even a hint of impurity in my life.”

July 28, 1727: Moody, stiff young preacher Jonathan Edwards marries Sarah Pierrepont, a lively 17-year-old. The union proved happy and produced 11 children, six of whom were born on Sundays. This caused a bit of a scandal, because it was believed children were born the same weekday they were conceived. Nonetheless, the marriage was admired by many, including George Whitefield, who declared, "A sweeter couple I have not seen"

Eight years ago, the Boston neighborhood known as Dorchester had hit bottom. The crack epidemic had not only produced hundreds of addicts, it had spawned a terrible wave of violence, in particular among young people.

The extent of the problem was driven home when, at a funeral for the victim of a drive-by shooting, gang members entered the church and began shooting and stabbing one another in front of the congregation.

Out of this mixture of shock and outrage was born a model for reclaiming neighborhoods like Dorchester -- not only in Boston, but across the country.

The model became known as the "Ten Point Coalition," and the driving force behind the coalition was Eugene Rivers, the pastor of the Azusa Christian Community in Dorchester. Rivers, who was a gang member in his youth, had personally witnessed the toll violence had taken. His own home had been shot into twice, and broken into many more times.

One day he asked a local drug dealer, "Why did we lose you? Why are we losing other kids now?" The dealer told him, "I'm there. You're not. When the boy ... wants a pair of sneakers or just somebody older to talk to or feel safe and strong around, I'm there, you're not ... I win, you lose...."

As a result of this conversation, Rivers and other pastors made it their mission to "be there." The plan was multi-faceted. It included summer recreation and literacy programs. It included mentoring programs and one-on-one drug treatment programs. And Christians manned neighborhood patrols.

After Dorchester's pastors proved their commitment to both their community and the lives of Boston's young people, they were invited to participate in various criminal justice initiatives. These included anti-gang policing, juvenile probation monitoring, and crime prevention initiatives.

This commitment to kids reflects a Christian understanding of human nature. Rivers won't hesitate to recommend locking up a dangerous juvenile. Nor will he flinch from telling parents that their 14-year-old son is a "sociopath" or "a homicide waiting to happen." He knows that Christian love of neighbor includes telling the truth about their condition.

The results the pastors achieved in Boston were astounding. The crime rate dropped 77 percent in less than a decade. Even more amazing, Boston, which had averaged nearly 20 juvenile homicides in the years preceding the Ten Point Coalition, went nearly five years without a single juvenile murder.

What's more, the drop was accomplished without an accompanying rise in tension between the police and community -- as has happened, sadly, in New York.

Their Ten Point model has now spread to other cities and is credited with helping reduce crime in neighborhoods that, like Dorchester, some people had given up on.

In addition to saving lives and bringing hope where none existed, the story of Eugene Rivers and the Ten Point Coalition is a reminder of why, as Augustine said, Christians make the best citizens. Love of God and neighbor drives Christians -- like Eugene Rivers and his friends -- to do more than is required.

It moves them to go places that government can't and won't go, to "be there." And it's a great testimony of what happens when faith-based solutions replace cumbersome government bureaucracies.

___________________

Copyright (c) 2000 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

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Howard Hendricks challenges pastors to be transformative leaders by following the example of God-called men and women whose lives were influenced by an eternal perspective. A distinguished professor and chairman of the Center for Christian Leadership at Dallas Theological Seminary, Hendricks outlined seven marks of transformative leaders.

“Each believer must have a strong sense of purpose [#1],” Hendricks said. “Our objectives will determine the outcome.”

He added that each Christian must have a mission statement, a brief, definitive testimonial of his or her purpose. Referring to Philippians 3:13-14, Hendricks asked, “What is the one thing that drives you?”

Influential leaders also have persistence [#2], Hendricks said, as outlined in Hebrews 12:1-3. “We need to hold up courageously under fire,” he said, “being committed even to death.”

In order to be effective leaders, he said, Christians must make an accurate appraisal of their strengths and weaknesses [#3]. A successful team, Hendricks said, is made up of individuals with different strengths and weaknesses. Likewise, wise leaders will surround themselves with talented people [#4], those who will make them look good.

Leaders must also be perpetual learners [#5], he added. “As long as you live, learn,” he said.

Simply put, leaders have followers, Hendricks said. As long-time chaplain for the Dallas Cowboys, he related a story of quarterback Roger Staubach, who still holds the record for the most wins in the last two minutes of regulation play. Hendricks said he asked one of Staubach's fellow team members what happened in the huddle during such a comeback. The player looked a bit glazed, claiming he wasn't quite sure why, but said under Staubach's leadership they were convinced they would win.

The next mark of an effectual leader is risk-taking [#6], Hendricks said. He referred to the parable of the pounds, in which the only failure was the one who did not take a risk. “These are among the strongest words of rebuke Jesus spoke,” he said, describing the servant as wicked and lazy.

“There is no such thing as faith without risk,” Hendricks added. “As humans we prefer to be safe, but if you always play it safe, you will never inspire those around you.”

Finally, Hendricks said that effective leaders are also excellent followers [#7].

“Jesus told His disciples to 'follow me and I will make you fishers of men,'“ he said.

Hendricks said that Jesus was speaking to seasoned fishermen, yet twice in Scripture “we see Jesus take a failed fishing expedition and turn it into a net-breaking catch.”

“If you fail to trust and follow, you are a failure,” Hendricks said. “You cannot impart what you don't possess.”

*

Sermon in 1 Timothy series - Clean Up the Church, #6. 1 Timothy 3:1-7

MORALS CLAUSE

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I. The most expensive portion of a contract.

II. Local church leadership in the first century.

A. The early church began with apostles.

B. Soon after this, a variety of leadership positions appear.

C. The position of overseer.

III. Qualifications of character for pastors.

IV. Qualifications of domestic life for pastors.

V. Qualifications of calling for pastors.

VI. What this means to you.

A. Most of you will never be a pastor.

B. Have high expectations.

Sometimes pastors are the loneliest people in the church. Often their hours are long, the pay minimal, the criticism considerable and constant. Feelings of disappointment, discouragement, and defeat may begin to plague the best of them.

Paul's admonition to "serve one another in love" (Gal. 5:13) should encourage us to remember our shepherds. Here are eight ways to make their lives better.

1. CUT THE CRITICISM

Presbyterian minister Fred Rogers, creator and host of television's "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood," recently gave an address describing the time he was a student at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and attended a different church each Sunday in order to hear a variety of preachers.

One Sunday he was treated to "the most poorly crafted sermon (he) had ever heard." But when he turned to the friend who had accompanied him, he found her in tears.

"It was exactly what I needed to hear," she told Rogers.

"That's when I realized," he told his audience, "that the space between someone doing the best he or she can and someone in need is holy ground. The Holy Spirit had transformed that feeble sermon for her-and as it turned out, for me too."

Unlike most workers who are evaluated once or twice a year, clergy are often critiqued weekly after each worship service. It's not unusual to hear people say "the music was poor," "the hymn selection was awful," or "the sermon was boring." We would do well to remember that most spiritual leaders work hard to make worship a unique celebration each week.

2. PRAY REGULARLY

Ask God to shower your pastor with an abundance of love, hope, joy, faith, peace, power, wisdom, and courage. Pray for your spiritual leader's maturity and growth in the faith. As you pray keep in mind this wisdom from German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: "If you treat a person as he is, he will stay as he is; but if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be, he will become what he ought to be and could be."

3. EXPRESS APPRECIATION IN WRITING

A spoken compliment is always welcome, but a written one can be read over and over again for years. So, when you hear or see something you like from your minister, write an appreciative note.

4. USE YOUR SKILLS TO BLESS

Are you proficient with computers? Help your pastor master the church's new computer. Are you a mechanic? Offer to service the car free of charge or at a reduced fee.

One pastor I know recalls: "I was pastoring my first church-a small congregation with limited resources. While there, I developed a series of dental problems and could not afford treatment. What a joy it was when a dentist in the church offered to treat me for free. Correcting my dental problem involved nearly a dozen visits. He treated me carefully and cheerfully each time. I have thought of that dentist many times since then and the memories of his kindness continue to bless my life."

5. SQUELCH GOSSIP

If you hear a negative comment, respond with a positive one. If misinformation is being spread, correct it with the accurate information. Or, if people are gossiping, just walk away. Remember the Bible soundly condemns gossip and careless speech. James 1:26 says, "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless." And Psalm 34:13 reads, "Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies."

6. OFFER TO MEET A NEED

Some people make their spiritual leaders defensive and angry by saying, "You need to ..." That approach is seldom welcome and almost always counterproductive. If you see a need, approach your spiritual leader by saying, "I'd like to help by ..." If you see an area that can be improved, take responsibility for working on it.

Be an active participant in your church. Get involved by teaching a class, leading a workshop, singing in the choir, feeding the hungry. Ask your spiritual leader where and how you can employ your gifts.

7. BE OPENLY RESPONSIVE

Nothing so animates and excites a spiritual leader as seeing people respond to the preaching and teaching. Imagine the surprise and delight of a pastor in Virginia Beach, Virginia, who, when greeting a visitor to his church, found she came because of the kindness of a church member who was her neighbor.

"I'm recently divorced, a single parent and new to this community," she told the pastor. "To keep up with rent and provide for my three children, I must work two jobs. That leaves me very little time for yard work. I was relieved when the weeds didn't overrun my yard as I had feared they might. However, when I made an unscheduled trip home in the middle of my workday, I discovered the reason why the weeds had not taken over my yard.

"My 86-year-old neighbor - a member of your church - was on his hands and knees pulling my weeds. I barely knew this man and he was embarrassed to be caught in this anonymous act of kindness. He explained that he heard you preach a sermon on the importance of living a life of compassion and kindness and decided to put that sermon into practice by weeding my lawn."

One pastor's heart filled with joy when a group of women in Washington, D.C., responded to a sermon preached from the words of Jesus - "Do not judge, or you too will be judged" (Matt. 7:1). After hearing the sermon, the women decided to give a baby shower for the young woman who provided childcare while they met for Bible study. She was unmarried, close to going on welfare, and without support from her family or the father-to-be. The young woman was moved to tears by the surprise baby shower.

Later, the women explained to the pastor, "Your sermon taught us that it's possible to reach out to someone in need-in this case, an unwed mother-without judging or condoning the situation."

8. THROW AWAY THE MEASURING STICK

Don't expect that your present spiritual leaders will do things the same way their predecessors did. Lay aside personal agendas and preferences. Instead, focus on how your leader is being used by God to do effective ministry now. By serving your shepherds, you will ensure that they will not only be encouraged but will feel appreciated and continue to minister with enthusiasm and energy.