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Staying on Track
As a young minister, I've noticed how many ministers seem to get off-track in some glaring way during the course of their ministries. I never want to do anything that dishonors God or become someone who brings reproach to the Gospel or misrepresents the Lord Jesus Christ. I've always heard the admonitions about "the gold, the girls, and the glory," but can you share with me what you feel are the root areas of sin (or neglect, disobedience, attitude problems, etc.) that ultimately open up the door to these more obvious sins. I would love to hear from proven ministers how to stay on-track...how to avoid getting into prideful attitudes or wrong behavior. My heart's desire is to serve God with honor and integrity over the course of my lifetime. What are the specific pitfalls and traps I need to watch out for?
Responses:
Pastor John White – Decatur, AL
I think the number one thing that young ministers need to be aware of is that they are first of all servants to God, and secondly, that they are servants to people. What I have observed in my 32 years of ministry is that ministers have a tendency to get off track in this area. They begin to “think more highly of themselves than they ought.” They get to the point that they believe that the people are there to serve them. We were called to meet people’s needs – not vice versa.
What I have done as a pastor is to make sure that I always smell like sheep. A pastor that doesn’t smell like sheep is not much of a pastor. A pastor has to spend time with his flock. How can you diligently know the state of your flock, as Proverbs 27:23 states, if you are never around them? When we open ourselves to the congregation, we do stand the risk of being judged and accused unjustly but that’s just an occupational hazard that comes with the job. Our lives should be an open book to all who want to read it, but especially to our church members. After all we shouldn’t have anything to hide.
I have observed that when a minister gains a little success that their whole demeanor begins to change. All of a sudden they forget what got them to where they are and began to be untouchable to the ordinary class of people that make up most of their congregation and ministry associates. I have seen many ministers come crumbling to the ground that developed such an attitude.
Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. We should have that same testimony. Remember what got you to where you are and stay faithful to that calling. Love God and love people and you will never go wrong.
Pastor Dave Williams – Lansing, MI
I have a sign posted in my office that reads, “Stay on Target.”
There are enormous demands for a pastor’s time and focus. Anything that doesn’t fit through the grid of your God-given vision, regardless of how “good,” or even “great” it may look, must be ignored or disregarded.
It is just as much disobedience to do more than God has called us to do, as it is to not do what God has called us to do. “Being” precedes “doing.”
I met a pastor years ago at a ministerial breakfast. He told us that he had no more time to pray because of all the demands of “his” people. They were calling him in the early hours until the late hours and he “had to” meet their needs. (Remember, “being” precedes “doing”).
This pastor, rather than equipping the saints for the work of the ministry, was doing all the ministry while ignoring the most important need of being in God’s presence. Within just a couple of years he was divorced, became a drunkard, subsequently married and divorced multiple times, and now claims atheism as his philosophy. And he was once pastoring a Spirit-filled church.
You ask about the sins of neglect, disobedience and attitudinal issues. Personally, I believe that the mother of all sin is pride. It’s subtle and sneaks up on pastors.
Proverbs 8:13
The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy
Billy Graham reminded us, “The first, and worst, of the seven deadly sins is pride. It may be spiritual, intellectual, material, or social. The most repugnant of these four is spiritual pride. This pride of the spirit was the sin that caused Lucifer, the devil to fall (Isaiah 14:13-15). This is where sin actually began.” [Flint, Cort R. and others, editors, The Quotable Billy Graham. Anderson, NC: Droke House Publishers]
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen once wrote, “Pride is the king of vices…it is the first of the pallbearers of the soul…other vices destroy only their opposite virtues, as wantonness destroys chastity; greed destroys temperance; anger destroys gentleness; but PRIDE DESTROYS ALL VIRTUES”
Pride is a deadly virus that will eat away at us emotionally and spiritually. It is a great deceiver. Pride has destroyed more marriages and churches than any other thing. Pride gets us involved in all kinds of things NOT mandated by God.
Pride brings blindness to our souls. This means we cannot see our errors. We cannot see the pitfalls and traps laid by our enemy.
Psalm 36:2 NLT
In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are.
Pride causes us to lose favor with God
James 4:6 (NLT)
“God opposes the proud but favors the humble.”
Proverbs 16:5
“All those who are arrogant are an abomination to the LORD
English clergyman Caleb C. Colton remarked, ‘Pride, like the magnet, constantly points to one object: self. Unlike the magnet, it has no attracting pole, but at all points it repels.’
When we think, "I'm more spiritual than you," or "I know the Bible better than you do”, or “My little group is more right than yours," we’ve probably crossed into pride. When we have moved into this mother of all sin, we find ourselves doing more, focusing less, and moving backwards because we have fallen into the pitfalls of all pitfalls.
Go back to 2 Chronicles and read about King Asa. He started well, but it appears that later in his leadership, pride crept in. He quit seeking the Lord, began rejecting the council of true men of God, and tried to work things out himself. It seems he didn’t finish well.
The antidote for this mother sin:
Philippians 2:5-7 (The Message)
5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
Thank you for this question. I hope this helps.
Pastor John B. Lowe – Warsaw, IN
As you know this is a huge subject with simple answers.
Matthew 22:37–40. Love God and Love People. This will keep you from sinning against either one. Really love them.
Here are 5 principles:
- 1 Thessalonians 5:22 - Abstain from every appearance of evil.
- Ephesians 4:27 - Give Satan no place.
- 1 Corinthians 15:33 - Evil companions corrupt good manners
- James 4:7,8 - Submit to God, resist the devil
- 2 Timothy 2:22 - Flee youthful lust. I call this one “Don’t take the stupid pill.”
Read good books of great men of God about personal holiness. Don’t violate these principles and also think. Never do anything you don’t want to read about in the paper or see your face on TV. If you thought it was wrong when you were young and naïve, it is and still is. Stay innocent in a corrupt generation. Pray in tongues and LOVE.
Pastor Ray Almaguer – Glendora, CA
What a great question. Just asking such a question shows me you have a heart for God and for people. I have a few suggestions you might consider, and these are not in any particular order.
A minister must keep his priorities straight. We all know this, but we don't all practice this. I've known of ministers who preached this but didn't live it, and then, when something broke down they wondered what went wrong. My relationship with God must come first, then my relationship with my wife, then my children, then the ministry. A minister must be ruthless when it comes to priorities because they have a way of getting out of place. If we let that happen, problems are sure to follow.
I made up my mind a long time ago that I would not mis-manage the pace of my life. The crazy thing is that ministry can make you unspiritual. You can go from being Mary to Martha if you let the work of the ministry rob you of your time with God.
Every minister needs someone who is speaking into their life. We need to be fed like everyone else. Also, every minister needs someone who can tell them "no" when they need to hear it. In my life, my wife has unqualified veto power, and when necessary she will use it. I also have long-time minister friends who I can trust to be honest with me.
It seems to me that most ministry failures are the result of an erosion that takes place over time; a compilation of little things that go unchecked. Moral failure, doctrinal error, financial indiscretion, integrity issues, etc., are usually the end result of a process that has been going on behind the scenes for some time.
Pastor Loren Hirschy – Dubuque, IA
One of the greatest traps to avoid is isolation -- separating oneself from those with whom God has connected you in life. Even before the moment a person accepts Christ, God is at work in their life, drawing them to Himself, through a network of God-inspired relationships. Once born again, we're so blessed to have people around us, placed there by God, to believe in us, watch out for us, teach and admonish us--pouring love and life into us. (I've always had more people caring about me than I realized; people whom God had inspired to proactively pray for me and help me forward. I think that's God's plan for everyone. For them we ought to be grateful.)
There is great peril in separating oneself from those people with whom God has connected you. From a positive perspective, the richness of life and ministry comes (and safety, also), by acknowledging those divine connections, appreciating them, and doing what's called for to help those relationships mature and bear maximum fruit. It's a foolish man who overlooks the value of the relationships he has with the people in his life. He "seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment. (Pr 18:1) " An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; he defies all sound judgment. “(NIV) "Unfriendly people care only about themselves; they lash out at common sense.” (NLT) HE WHO willfully separates and estranges himself [from God and man] seeks his own desire and pretext to break out against all wise and sound judgment. (AMP)
God admonished the priests in the days of Malachi, "take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.” (Mal 2:16) Though the context of this verse deals with divorcing one's wife to marry a younger woman, it does no damage to the context or the principle to apply it in this way: value and take heed to your God-given relationships, whether it is with your spouse, the ministry the Lord used to grow you up spiritually, your God-given ministerial association, or your friends. You'll find safety, longevity, and life made precious.
Pastor Tim Phillips – Harrison, AR
Every minister has the opportunity to get off track, but right choices along the way will make all the difference in serving God with honor and integrity. I believe it begins with being honest; being honest with God, yourself, and others.
First with God. As a person reads through the Psalms, David is very open with God. He expresses his doubts, his anger and his feelings. In Psalm 73, David declares his vulnerability to an attitude problem. He was living in a correct way but others seem to get away with anything that was wrong. In verse 15 he says, “If I had said ‘I speak this,’ behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of your children.” David then declares he went into the sanctuary of God and there he saw things, “the way they really are,” from God’s perspective.
When we humble ourselves, we open ourselves up for God’s perspective on ourselves and the situation. This is so healthy for the minister. In difficult times, I have chosen to quiet myself to be able to hear God. When he speaks into my life, then I have a renewed confidence and direction.
Second, you must be honest with yourself. This may be the hardest of all three categories.
Unless you are honest with yourself as to why you are jealous, angry, frustrated, your church is not growing, or your spouse is not happy with you, then you will tend to blame everyone else for the problem. When we blame others, the problems persist. You have to be real with yourself. It may take communicating with a trusted peer or counselor who will be unafraid to speak truth into your life. But you must also be willing to accept the truth and allow it to change your life.
I chose to visit with a trusted counselor. He was able to listen but also speak directly into my life. I also have other friends outside the church, people who care for my wife and me that I can speak frankly with and they do the same for me.
Thirdly, you must be honest with others. A tendency in the ministry, which is the business of people, is to manipulate. This may come from a need in our lives to be in control of people and situations. No one wants to be manipulated where they feel “used.”
You must check your motives. Are they pure? If your motives are pure, you are building a firm foundation for good relationships.
When a minister is honest with God, with himself, and with others, he can live with a clear conscience and sleep well at night. God’s peace rules in his heart.
