A Pastoral Position Paper -- Ben Alexander

            This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil (I Timothy 3:1-7).

If a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict (Titus 1:6-9).

ALEX’S STORY

            Once there was a man of God named Alex.  Called to the ministry at 16, his first sermon at 18 had him so tongue-tied and fear-stricken that he had to sit down out of sheer terror.  He saw then something of the real weight of preaching the gospel to sinners.  Alex paid careful attention to his life and his growing theological acumen.  He had a sincerity and thoughtfulness about him that struck every one he met.  He slowly gained confidence in preaching and teaching the Word of God to His people.  Alex was beginning to notice the younger youth imitating his life, and this caused him to swell with great encouragement.  Pretty soon he noticed there was no one around him possessing the kind of maturity he had.  This would remind him of how careful he must be to not become spiritually stagnant and short-sighted in his own wisdom. 

            Eventually Alex went on to seminary.  He spent most of his time there reading, writing and taking tests.  He knew his connection with God’s sheep was growing weak, but he had to finish his degree in three years he told himself.  After that, he would get plenty of practice in dealing with people, “probably too much,” he warned himself with a chuckle.  Six months after graduating Alex was installed as pastor at First Presbyterian Church.  He was used to the heated and fervent debates in seminary and wanted to approach his people the same way, because that is what he was used to now.  Before, he was surrounded almost all the time with guys that “got it.”  He grew quite accustomed to the rough and tumble pace of intellectual conversation at seminary and his expectations of his friends there were high, as were theirs of him.

            His ministry looks very different now.  His family has been led into much debt through unwise spending habits.  On more fingers than Alex has on his hands, he has been rebuked for his tendency to heated debate.  When someone challenges his thinking and puts some pressure on him, he is like a kettle on the verge of alarm.  It wasn’t always this way.  The primacy of theological-rightness has seemed to push out the “niceities” of respect for  others.  Another disturbing trend in Alex’s life is his drinking habits.  At church socials, he has been known to put down 3 beers and be coherent, though the joking and laughter become markedly silly, more than funny. 

            Alex would have to admit, it has been a year since he looked over the qualifications for office in the Scriptures.  One morning a few Sundays previous, after service, Pastor Alex was conversing with one of his parishioners, and he was complaining about the Allen family in the congregation.  Alex said, “Jeff just does not get it.  As many times as I have preached against pride he will not see.  And not only that, Jeff and Julie are just not hospitable people, it’s that simple, and it really annoys me.”  Sadly, Julie Allen just happened to be coming up the stairs when the pastor said that.  Their eyes met, Julie’s welled up with tears, and stormed out to the car.  Pastor Alex tried to call after her and apologize but it was awkward and embarrassing, especially because he said a very pathetic, “Julie!  I really didn’t mean that.”  It was obvious to everyone that he did indeed.  Alex should have confessed his sin, but he did not.              

Everyone who heard of the incident, which was the entire congregation, hung their heads at Pastor Alex’s insensitivity.  As a matter of fact, Jeff and Julie Allen left the church largely over this grievance.  One other family left too.  Now, even more families are planning on jumping ship.  All of this is largely due to Alex’s accumulated spiritual pride and insensitivity to others.  He had stepped away a long time ago from the gravity and weight of the pastor’s responsibility in meeting the qualifications of office by God’s grace.

The damage caused by a pastor like Alex can be extensive.  Alex was the kind of man who became disqualified from the pastorate by losing sight of his responsibility to uphold the dignity of the office.  He lost his good standing by his bad habits of poor character.  It is easy to read the passages describing qualification for office and treat them as common.  This is what happened to Alex.  We can be familiar enough with the qualifications that we gloss over the high standard expected of the one who is to serve as a father to God’s people. 

            Examining Alex’s life with the Scriptures in hand, it seems conclusive that he is not qualified to be a pastor.  The sobering question is, how many men are in office who could be described in this way?  At a minimum, he must step down for a time to pursue repentance and new habits in the Spirit.  Perhaps after a time, Alex could be restored to office when he has demonstrated victory over his pattern of poor character.  For now, wisdom points to his need to develop Christ-like habits in these deficient areas for some time outside of the responsibility of the pastoral office. 

            Though Alex was called of God to the work of the ministry at just 16, his hasty entrance into seminary at 21 and his race to the pastoral ministry put him in positions of leadership that exceeded his maturity.  Alex’s behavior as a pastor was not like outright adultery or embezzlement.  However, when his life was reviewed under the Word of God, it revealed all sorts of holes that would challenge his qualification.  His drinking alcohol for one, could not be characterized as temperate, or sober-minded.  He had been rebuked myriads of times for his temper and for being self-willed.  Yet, he did not take up the means of grace to change.  The ten-thousand dollar debt on the credit card and the blameful tendencies he had with relationships all accumulated to reveal his need to step-down from the ministry.    

THE WEIGHT OF OFFICE

            Serving the Church of God is noble.  It is a great honor to officiate over covenantal marriage vows.  To stand in the pulpit, the prow of the world, and declare, “Thus says the LORD,” is perhaps the highest calling.  This is why holding office in God’s Church is one of gravity.  It is serious.  Gravity means dignity or sobriety of bearing.  Likewise, the Hebrew word cabod, means weight and glory.  In the Hebrew Scriptures, the word is used in conjunction with dignity, respectability and honor.  Cabod describes the work of the ministry well.  It is weighty and there will be a stricter judgment for those who teach (James 3:1). This teaching from the Apostle James, should cause us to pause and think soberly on our gifts.  “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). However, for a man called of the Lord of hosts, there is no other greater work.  “To me the work of preaching is the highest and greatest and most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called” (D. Martyn Lloyd Jones).  My heart echoes the same sentiment.

             The man of God is to be:  blameless, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, not violent, one who rules his own house well; who is possessed with all reverence, not self-willed and who is self-controlled.  In other words, this man is to be mature.  The common experience of church life is that the sheep will not rise above the maturity level of the pastor.  This is why the pastor must be one of the most mature leaders in the congregation.  It is clear from the stated qualifications that he must be a man of patience.  He must be a man of profound unselfishness.  He is to have seamless integrity in his own household, the outside world and in the church.  This is a man who is free of any sort of toeholds, footholds, and strongholds of sin on his life.  He will not be mastered by anything (I Corinthians 6:12b).  The Holy Spirit of God has mastery over this man making him to live in self-control over his desires, thoughts, and appetites.  In a word, this is a man of dignity.  He is the man of gravity.  The sheer weight of responsibility causes this man to be slow to anger, careful in all he does and sober.  This weight should make a man tremble.  God is serious and grave about this man’s conformity to his holiness, because the effects of a man holy or not, on many in the parish life of a church, is profound.

CONCLUSION

            Those ordained to ministry in the local church must be men with experiential grace in their hearts.  They have to be men who by the power of the Holy Spirit are victorious over sin in their life.  “A bishop then, must be blameless…” (I Tim. 3:2a). 

            Desiring the work of pastoral ministry is a good thing, a very good thing.  The Apostle Peter writes about the reward of faithful service as an elder; “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory” (I Peter 5:4).  And equally with deacons, it is no light blessing when Paul says, “For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus”  (I Timothy 3:13).  Serving in office in God’s Church is one of the highest callings that a man can do.  Being a high calling, it should be approached with all sobriety and dependence on the Lord of mercy.