Surprised by This Fad
I cannot possibly be the only church minister who has been saddened and surprised by the recent spate of pastor-bashing taking place in parts of the evangelical Christian press. At least in the UK.
Every tribe has its bandwagons on which everyone is obliged to jump, and at the moment this is a fad we're all expected to lamely and throughtlessly embrace and promote.
Mary had a little lamb...
But it's essential to question every fad, evangelical or not.
I have never met a dodgy Pastor
I have been in full time ministry for over 30 years and before that lived in a missionary-Pastor's home from birth, so let's call that around 50 years of observation. My parental home was like a railway station, with numerous evangelists, missionaries and pastors flowing through it every year.
In those fifty years I have never once come across a dodgy pastor. I have never met a pastor who was unkind to his sheep or who lived for himself rather than for those the Chief Shepherd called him to care for.
Not one.
Zilch.
None.
I have come across pastors who have weaknesses (every one of them). Pastors who are sinners (that's all of them). I have come across pastors who have made mistakes (who hasn't?)
Let me tell you what I have come across: pastors who have been mistreated by church leaders. Pastors who were slandered by wolves. And churches that are little more than pastor-eating machines.
But in half a century I have not known a single dicey pastor.
Instead I have known dozens of humble, faithful, hard-working, self-sacrificing and diligent pastors of whom the world is not worthy.
Let's thank God for godly Pastors.
A discrepancy that needs Explaining
The enormous dissonance between my personal experience and the current fad needs explaining.
It is possible that my experience is not wide enough.
It is possible that I have worked among an unusual band of godly ministers.
We know that there must be dubious characters out there because the Scriptures warn against false teachers and wolves who dress up in the clothing of sheep, false leaders who appear as angels of light. No-one disputes that.
But none of these facts explain the discrepancy adequately.
I believe there is a deeper problem that evangelicals simply do not want to face up to and here's the tell-tale clue...
The reason for the fad
...nearly every fallen pastor of recent notoriety has belonged to one of the mega-churches, or in some cases to a mega-para-church outfit.
I could list the names, but that would be unkind, and for all I know they may have repented. (Moreover, we are not The Judge.)
As a result of these mega falls, ordinary pastors are tarred with the same fallen big-shot preacher brush.
The underlying problem no-one wants to face is that the evangelical church is plagued by idolatry.
We now all worship at the shrine of B.I.G.
Perhaps mega-churches should not exist. Perhaps they are a twisted caricature of New Testament churches (which were all small, we must assume, since they met in homes).
Perhaps the existence of a mega-church, designed to be a temple of worldly fame, power and prestige "I go to Lakewood," "I belong to the Village Church," "I go to Saddleback," "I attend the Potter's House," "I'm a member of Grace Community," "I used to go to Westminster Chapel," is the real problem.
Why are large churches a big problem?
Because no human being, absolutely no-one, can be trusted with power. The story of the Old Testament kings teach us that lesson. So does the New Testament where no hierarchal church structures exist with some human pope at the top.
Numbers go to the head, and not one person in this world or in the church is immune to the temptations of power. Not one. And its from these large "churches" that most if not all of the recent ministerial falls have come.
Could the real problem have nothing to do with the ranks of ordinary pastors and everything to do with big churches and the notion of a big-shot preacher?
Our idolatry of Numbers?
Perhaps every church should be of such a size that the undershepherd can actually care for them.
By producing and exalting big churches we set up ministers for their falls.
And when the big shots fall they tar thousands of ordinary pastors with the same wretched brush.
Could this not be the underlying reason for the present pastor-bashing fad?
I believe it is.
The Cure
The cure is not to go on a witch hunt, as some evangelical papers are presently doing, but to take the following steps:
1) Break up big churches
Acknowledge that with increased number and finances comes increased temptation. So let big churches disappear from the face of the earth and be replaced by real local churches where the pastor knows every member of his flock.
(I have no doubt that the cause of the Gospel across the world would flourish exponentially if every mega church broke down into dozens; members would be free to serve in new ways and among new groups).
Let pastors pursue care for their flocks rather than chasing power, influence and fame.
2) Exercise Biblical justice
If we can't break up large churches, let's stop honouring their leaders above the pastors of small churches. Every pastor, in God's eyes, stands on equal ground, and as much can be learnt from the one as from the other. By relentlessly honouring the big-shots and their churches (a mistake I have made in a recent blog) we despise the ordinary pastor and set the scene for the fall of the former.
3) Avoid heirarchy structures in church denominations / affiliations
Church denominations are notorious for advancing the cause of their large churches - because those larger churches pay them the most dosh; they have no choice but to treat the big shots preferentially. Denominations must act equitably among their church constituents, treating all pastors equally; if anything, with a Christ-like bias to the poor. But of course they don't, and won't.
Why Pastor-Bashing Matters
There are five reasons we should all be concerned by this present fad.
1) Ministerial discouragement. I cannot be the only pastor who has been profoundly discouraged by writers in the evangelical press in recent years, who rather than being critical of this fad, have embraced and even enlarged it. Some papers have gone on witch-hunts across land and sea to pursue who they regard as dodgy in a programme reminiscent of the inquisition. Fancy that, an evangelical inquisition!
When pastors who work extraordinary hours in difficult labours read article after article either of the fall of the latest big-shot or the need to set up "OfPast" their already difficult work becomes even more burdensome.
2) Profound Imbalance. Add to this the imbalance of reporting. Most Tesla cars do not burst into flames but the reported few give exaggerated negative press to the company. If the number of articles was in proportion to the problem found among ordinary pastors, that would be OK; and if for every negative article there were three positive ones, that would also be OK.
3) Pastors now fear Biblical rebuking. One part of a pastor's work is to rebuke the flock, lovingly and gently, but firmly if needed. I know of no pastor who enjoys this, or wants to do it. Most pastors run a mile from confrontation. It's the nature of a true and loving under-shepherd. But my guess is that in the present climate, they will be tempted to run a mile from any sort of loving rebuke, to the spiritual detriment of the saints. Because they may report him to OfPast.
4) Churches may distrust their pastors. A fourth effect of this fad is the rise of distrust towards goldy loving and upright church pastors. Why should we trust our pastor if most, or so it would appear from parts of the evangelical press, are dodgy?
5) A confusion between personality and character. If churches buy into this false fad they could easily confuse personality with character. Godly character can be found in a wide range of personalities, from shocking pink to boring magnolia. From the Elijahs and John the Baptists of the church to the apostle John's. But, as a consequence of this fad, we are seeing a dramatic rise in magnolia.
Vanilla is OK - but so is Carolina Reaper.
Where among the evangelical leaders of today are there any interesting personalities? Luthers? Grebels? Spurgeons? Wesleys? Tozers? We look in vain!
6) Future pastors discouraged. If, as a young man, I was thinking and praying about ministry today, I would think not twice but three times. Anyone who needs encouragement should stay clear. Only magnolia men should apply.
Prophets stay in your caves.
In Honour of Godly Pastors
Someone needs to say these things, remembering that the approval of Christ is infinitely more precious than the acceptance of men.
October is called "Clergy Appreciation Month." (A new one on me). We should not need a formal month to thank God for our pastors, who do not seek the approval of men in the first place.
But we need to start a new tradition. One in which the tens of thousands of ordinary godly pastors around the world are honoured, loved and cared for, not bashed, bruised and tarred with all those big-shot failures.
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