The Privilege and Pain of the Preacher

I have just spent two hours with a dear pastor friend of mine who is heartbroken.  It is not his faith that has hurt him, nor his calling that has been shattered; he has not committed any kind of moral or legal failure. He has just become the victim of a few within his congregation who would prefer him to move on.  As a pastor who has himself endured this trial, I think it is safe to say that very few church members can appreciate the agony of what their pastors go through when a few within the congregation take it upon themselves take on the role of the Holy Spirit and take steps to move the preacher out of the church. In one sense we think that a pastor who is walking with the Lord and is seeking the will of God should not be so vulnerable to such things. We tend to think, "Surely anyone who walks with the Father will be loved by all. There must be something wrong with the preacher if there are those who want him gone."  Tell that to Daniel and Elijah and Paul. and the martyrs. Look at Jesus himself.  He was rejected for doing exactly what His Father told him to do.  Are we so foolish to think that the first century church was justly persecuted? Are we so foolish to think that all preachers forced to resign deserved it?  Homer Lindsay Jr, the great pastor of First Baptist Church Jacksonville gave testimony that he was asked to resign a previous church. Who in their right mind thinks all preacher terminations are justified. It is wretched hypocrisy for church members to believe that it was so wrong for pharisees to persecute the church and its leaders when at the same time they organize their 'get rid of the pastor' meetings for reasons that are not biblically justified?

But there is something else to consider.  Pastors are more than spiritual beings.  We are also relational beings.  Just like everyone else, we as pastors trust people to do what they promise they will do.  They trust people to support what and whom they promise to support. We trust God's people to respect and trust what God says.  When that doesn't happen and we get burned, it is a pain few church members can comprehend. We have a biblical right to expect God's people to do what they promise when they call us to serve. When a pastor stands before a congregation to preach, therefore, he has the right to expect that the people of his congregation support him and are willing to follow his leadership because they trust the word he is preaching.  After all, he was called by them to be God's messenger to them, (I'm talking to Baptists). That doesn't mean he is incapable of making mistakes, but it does mean that he has been entrusted with a position that should be recognized by all as a position of grave responsibility and importance.  Most people, baptists at least, should agree with this. No one who has been given such responsibility can perform it without the support of his people and staff. 
It is a great privilege to serve as a pastor/teacher.  While there was a time that this privilege also came with a great deal of respect, fallen preachers and petty pastors have caused some in our congregations to sour on their respect for all spiritual leadership.  I don't for one minute excuse some of the crass and immoral things that have been done by men called preachers. I just can't justify the disrespect given to other, faithful preachers because of the failings of a few.  Yes, some preachers have severely broken the trust of God's people and violated the call of God on their lives.  But what is now happening, with too much frequency, is good men, solid men, faithful men are being disrespected, criticized, rejected, and forced to resign without justifiable cause..

If a preacher has committed a moral, legal or ethical wrong, or if he has violated the trust of God's people or denied the truths of God's Word, he might need to be forced to resign.  But when a man of God stands up and preaches God's word boldly and lives are being touched and transformed under his ministry, those who gather in their groups and complain about his style of leadership or his failure to mention an announcement or the fact that the service went past noon, or the fact that he hasn't done what WE wanted done, should get on their knees before God and repent NOW.  If your pastor preaches God's word and he hasn't committed a moral, ethical, theological or legal wrong, then put your petty selfishness aside and stand up in support of a man who has the courage in these days to say what needs to be said.

My friend is one I love very much.  Most of the church still supports him.  Some of his staff, however, liked the previous guy more and are beginning a 'get rid of the preacher' campaign.'  Such staff does not deserve their posts if this is what they think godliness is.  If they don't like the man they serve under, they should have the courage and integrity to look for some other place to serve, not cause such division and pain where they are.  The same is true for church members.

It is a sad day for the people of God when the petty and inconsequential become matters that divide us.  Yes, there are some things for which we must not compromise.  But whether or not the preacher attends the high school football game is not one of them.  Yes, there are some things for which we must always stand.  However, whether the preacher attends all the committee meetings or not is not one of them.  Yes, there are things upon which we must NEVER compromise and loyalty to the man of God who consistently preaches the truth of God's word with conviction and understands that he is an ambassador of God IS one of those things we must not compromise. Forcing faithful men to resign for anything other than moral, ethical, legal or theological failure is arrogant self-reliance running wild

When I started preaching 30 years ago, the man in the pulpit was a respected man in the community.  Today, he less respected than an ambulance-chasing lawyer, if that much.  Yes, some preachers have brought it on themselves.  Others, unfortunately have had this brought upon them by self-serving, immature, carnal church and staff members who have lost sight of the reality that a true man of God is an ambassador for the Lord.  If our churches are every going to make a difference, we must get over this foul idea that pastors work for the church.  They do not.  They never have.  They may be paid by offerings given to the church, but they are servants of the Lord and should be respected as such.  The Bible makes this clear.  Unfortunately pastor-critics who do not have acceptable reason for criticism, don't believe that part of the Bible any more.

No faithful servant of God should be hurt by God's people like my friend has been hurt.  No child of God has the right to reject a pastor who has been faithful in his service.  This idea that "I don't go there because I just didn't like the preacher." Is often more truly stated as, "I don't go there anymore because he preached what I needed to hear but not what I wanted to hear."  If you have a pastor with the courage to preach what you need to hear, thank God for him and support him.  Someone in your congregation may be holding meetings now on how to get rid of him.  God help us all!  We have become such a proud and disobedient people!

The Gift of Choice

Let me put before you two make-believe scenarios.  First, there is a young boy who lives in relative wealth.  Both his parents have six figure incomes so almost everything he has wanted he has been given.  Some would say he is in an ideal home. The young boy grows to believe he can have anything he wants but that leads to some wrong values, selfish behavior and eventually incarceration.  The second scenario is about another young boy who lives in financial stress from a single parent environment.  He doesn't have everything he wants but grows to be a responsible individual who cares for others and contributes to his community as an adult. 

These two scenarios are not based on any real person, but few would be so foolish as to think that such scenarios are not being worked out in real life even as this blog is read.  Let me also acknowledge that there are those from wealthy homes who do grow up as responsible adults and, yes, there are those who grow up in poverty who end up incarcerated. However that simply affirms the point I am making. The question we need to ask is, "What makes the difference?"  If environment does not dictate a person's character, then what does?  Home, culture, experience, education, all of these things influence a child as he develops, but it is still his choice that will determine the kind of person he will become. No human being lives in such isolation that he is not exposed to choices.. Granted, they may not have enough exposure to alternatives to easily make right choices, but it is still their choice they are making  It is these choices that dictate what kind of person we are going to be or what kind of community we are going to be or what kind of nation we are going to be. Circumstances influence choice but do not dictate choice.  Bonhoeffer was imprisoned for his Christian beliefs during Nazi control of Germany under Hitler.  Bonhoeffer could have chosen to reject his beliefs and live more comfortably as a Nazi.  But he chose to be incarcerated physically and be free in his spirit to be a disciple of Christ rather than be under the spiritual bondage of Hitler's ideology and have mere physical freedom.  In the German prison where he eventually died he saw himself more free than the blind masses who followed Hitler to war.  He made a choice.  He chose not to be controlled by his circumstances, but to be free to choose Christ. His life became an inspiration to millions.  Hitler became the poster boy for all that is wrong in man. How would you prefer to be remembered?

Surely there are things that happen in one's environment that makes choices easier or more difficult.  But Bonhoeffer proves that it is still possible to make right choices in bad circumstances and wrong choices in good circumstances.  It is these choices we make that determine our direction.

With this new discovery, we now have a decision to make.  Before we decide, let's do a brief review! It is true that we may not be able to control our circumstances, but we can choose how we are going to respond to them.  It may be a difficult choice to choose to do what is right in very bleak and difficult circumstances, but it is still our choice.  We choose who or what is going to influence our values.  We choose to determine the attitude we are going to have toward others.  We choose to allow grief to consume us or not.  We choose to acknowledge Jesus' right to be Lord of our lives or we choose something else to rule our minds and lives.  We cannot always choose our circumstances, but we can always choose how to respond to those circumstances.  So, what do I choose?  What decision will you make?

Joshua understood all of this when he said to the people in Joshua 24:15 (HCSB), ". . . choose for yourselves today the one you will worship."

Some have chosen to believe they have the right to anything they want and to do anything they want. They often end up in jail blaming society for their suffering.  However, they are the ones who chose poorly.  Some, on the other hand, have chosen to believe that Jesus has the right to every part and particle of their life.  These are the ones who walk today in victory, but it is because they had the wisdom to choose rightly.  Some are overcome by their circumstances and live in defeat, anxiety and discouragement. They believe themselves to be victims of circumstances when it is probably the result of their poor choices. Some, on the other hand, have chosen to surrender their circumstances to the Lord they serve and have found victory and peace in the midst of their storms.  I may not have much control over my storms, but I have a great deal of control over how I respond to them.  I choose whether to respond in fear or in faith.  I choose to trust in Him who is Lord, gracious and holy or man, corrupt with the guilt of sin.  I have been blessed with the gift of choice. 

Who doesn't remember the Indiana Jones scene where the "keeper of the sacred chalice" says, "He has chosen poorly."  Later Indy chooses and, of course, "He chose wisely."

What I pray is that when I stand before the Lord one day, I will hear the Father say to me, "You have chosen wisely!"

The struggle to victory is largely the struggle of choice.  We will find the blessing of God's victory as we rightly exercise the blessing of choice.  Joshua is still speaking to us today, "choose for yourselves today the one you will worship."  Will we choose to listen?

Taking the First Difficult Steps

One of the most important elements of learning is willingness.  If one wants to learn, one has to be willing.  If one wants a leader, one must be willing to be led.  If one wants victory in the struggle, one must be willing to struggle. If one is willing to learn, he must be willing to admit he doesn't know.  No one is harder to teach than someone who thinks they already know it all.  As a pastor/teacher for over three decades, it was not those who desired to learn something that caused me grief.  It was those who thought they knew more than they actually did.  When people get to that point, they are almost impossible to work with.  They won't cooperate, they won't join the team, they won't support the vision because they think they've heard it all before.  Because they've read a book or two, or they know some preacher somewhere that does it differently, they are certain they don't need to learn.  They have convinced themselves they have learned enough already.  This is especially true of those people who have made church-life their only social life and they have known all the other members for years or are related to everyone in the church.  They compare themselves to themselves and they come to the conclusion that they know as much as the next guy.  Because they and the next guy have lived together all their lives and their exposure is limited to each other and the community in which they live.


The sad fact of the matter is that there is a great attraction and even a measure of benefit to living in such a secure social bubble.  It is very comfortable and quite honestly very pro-family; but it is also very restricting and therefore potentially blinding.  One has to realize that life is not limited to such bubbles and there is a great deal to learn 'out there.'  Some of what can be learned outside that bubble is very good.  Some of course,can be very bad.  But many times God wants us to risk leaving the bubble and open our minds to what He has in store.  This is exactly what God did to Abram when He told him to leave the land of Ur.  It is not spiritually healthy to always remain in our social bubbles and be content to compare ourselves with ourselves.  The Bible makes this very clear:

2 Corinthians 10:12: HCSB
For we don't dare classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves.  But in measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves to themselves, they lack understanding.

There is a saying I heard a long time ago.  "Learning begins with understanding how much you don't know."  Before we can learn, we must get outside the bubbles of our comfort zones and confess to ourselves that we don't know as much as we thought we did.  Learning is motivated by need.  If one perceives no need to learn more, one will not make much of an effort to do so.  He who thinks he has learned it all is probably the most ignorant.  If we are going to struggle to victory, we must begin by recognizing that the struggle is not merely with day to day circumstances. The struggle begins within the heart of each of us.  It's a struggle to humbly come to the Father to confess our need to surrender our pride.  Yet, we must come to that point if we are going to be a true disciple. Even if that means leaving the familiar bubbles of our comfort zones.  How else will we be able to obey the great commission which charges us to make disciples of all nations.

One cannot be used of God to make a disciple if he is not willing to be one.  One cannot make a learner if he is not willing to learn.  Learning begins with admitting you don't know.  It's difficult to admit we don't know until we stop comparing ourselves with those in our little bubbles. This is a difficult but necessary first step in our Struggle to Victory.  You can't learn until you willing to admit you don't know.

Beginnings

In a world where being comforted and comfortable seems to reign supreme, I find it ironic that when asked, most people would like to succeed as well.  This seems a bit inconsistent.  Unless history is wrong, there has never been a victory without a battle, nor has there ever been success without a struggle.  We cannot prioritize comfort and success at the same time.  If we are going to achieve, we need to put out some effort.  Putting out some effort means comfort cannot be our priority.

I am especially focused on the church, particularly evangelical Christianity.  If we are going to make a positive influence in this world (an influence that is desperately needed), we are going to have to make a tough choice.  Are we going to prioritize being comfortable with the familiar and methods of the past (which are presently less effective than we want to admit), or are we going to make the effort to become true servants of Christ?  The Bible makes it clear that if we are really serious about obedience we should expect to struggle.  That means comfort cannot be our priority for to avoid the struggle because of desire for comfort is to assure there will never be victory..

It is the struggles I have encountered along the way to which this blog is devoted.  They have been surprising, painful and essential. It may be that no one reads what I record, but it will at least be a catharsis for me.  As this record progresses, I will laugh at myself and encourage you to laugh with me, as well as with the humorous and ridiculous I have seen along the way. I will also share my grief with those who care to follow this journey.  It is my hope that you also are in this Struggle to Victory.  Hopefully, I can be of some encouragement.  For I am convinced by the Scripture that in spite of the struggles now, victory is in the future of every true believer.

Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 2:9 "But as it is written: 'What no eye has seen and no ear has heard, and what has never come into a man's heart, is what Go has prepared for those who love Him.'"  This verse tells me that for all the struggles here, there is a coming victory.  Struggling to Victory, then, is an appropriate title for this discussion.  I hope to see you along the journey.