Pray For Your Pastor

This week’s Pastor’s Blog is not about the church, not about our mission, and really it is not about anything I have preached about over the last few months.  In fact, this week’s Pastor’s Blog is a bit self-oriented.  I say it is self-oriented rather than self-ish, because honestly as a pastor, it is not just for my benefit, but for the sake of the entire body of Christ.  And to those reading this who are not a part of my congregation, I say that everything in this blog will apply as much to your pastor as it applies to me.  This blog post today is a plea, and that plea is simply this: PLEASE pray for your pastor.  Allow me to elucidate – to explain the reason for my plea…

Over the last several months, I’ve been putting a great deal of thought into what exactly it means to be a good pastor.  Why?  Quite simply because I want to make sure that I am a good pastor.  A pastor, being an under-shepherd for the Good Shepherd (Jesus Christ), ought to seek and to strive to be a good shepherd himself.  It just seems, however, that everywhere I turn, I see massive failures in ministry on the part of pastors.  I think about the leadership failure that led to the absolute collapse of the Mars Hill movement with Pastor Mark Driscoll and I am saddened.  I think about the moral failure of Billy Graham’s grandson, Tullian Tchividjian, and I am saddened.   I think about any and all ministers of the gospel who may have found themselves outed by the Ashley Madison hack – and I am saddened.    I hear all kinds of stories of pastors who have had some form of failure either from friends or in the media – and I am saddened.  Then I realize that I too have personally known pastors who have acted in the most ungodly manner, who have had moral failures, or who have abused power.  And while justice would suggest that I be glad their true colors have been revealed, I am instead… saddened.  I wish it were not so.  I wish their colors did not have to be revealed.  It makes me think – are there any good pastors left out there? More importantly, how do I make sure I do not become one of these who fail so miserably?

Don’t get me wrong.  I know there are lots of good pastors – and I know many of them.  Hopefully none of my pastor friends who by some miraculous chance may be reading this will think that I am referring to you.  You should know that I am not.  I know there are still armies of good, Godly men out there serving in the Kingdom.  However, sometimes the strife and division that goes on in churches and the leadership failures that become so public have a tendency to weigh me down and make me question how I will avoid the same traps.   It’s not that I am feeling sorry for myself like Elijah was when he was being pursued by Queen Jezebel.  It’s more like a concern – yes even perhaps a moment of weak faith – in which I wonder if I can have what it takes to be a “good” pastor.   You see… I know myself… and I know I am just as capable of failure as the next guy.

This is where my ponderings, however, take a turn.  In musing over this bleak train of thought, I began thinking about the leaders in the Bible and I remembered something very important about them.  They were all human.  That’s right.  Not a single one of them – with the exception of Jesus Christ, of course – was somehow superhuman or divine.  They were all descendants of Adam just as I am.  Consider a few of them and their situations.

Abraham was a liar and a coward – until he placed his faith in Yahweh.  Jacob was a cheat and a thief – until he wrestled with Yahweh.  Moses was a murderer and a coward – until Yahweh revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush.  David was an adulterer and a murderer until he repented and threw himself on the mercies of Yahweh.  Solomon was a philanderer and an idolater until he realized that the chief end of man was to fear God and keep his commandments.  Elijah was perhaps one of the greatest prophets but ran in fear and wanted to commit suicide after his greatest victory!  I could go on and tell of Noah’s drunkenness, of Gideon’s cowardice, and of Samson’s pride – and lest we forget, Peter betrayed Jesus three times.  That’s why I love the Bible so much – it is sooo real and raw and doesn’t sugar coat anything.

Your pastor is no different than any of these men in the Bible – we are all humans capable of failure.  However, there is a very subtle difference in some of these stories versus others.  Many of these failures in the Bible came before these men fully surrendered themselves to God.  As such, they can be said to have experienced a sort of redemption before being elevated into leadership.  I will tell you that I, too, have had many failures before surrendering completely to Jesus Christ and being placed in a position of leadership.  Frankly, there are not enough words to express my gratitude for the redemption I have received.  

However, some of these stories are not so clean.  David was already King when he failed.  So was Solomon.  In both cases, the consequences were catastrophic.  David lost his son and then his kingdom was plunged into a Civil War that resulted in the loss of yet another son.  Solomon ended well, but his failures resulted in the kingdom being ripped from his family and so Israel was forever divided thereafter.  In other words, the failures that came after these men had been placed in leadership did not just affect them – it affected everyone around them.

This is precisely what makes it so sad when a preacher experiences a significant failure.  It doesn’t just affect him.  It affects the entire flock.  I want to avoid that kind of failure with all my heart.  I know that I will never be without sin as long as I remain on this earth.  I also know that at some point there will be something about which I will certainly fail.  However, there is much that can be worked through and not every failure disqualifies a pastor or destroys and divides the flock.    But God forbid that I should ever fail so fantastically that it sends the body of Christ entrusted to me into a tailspin.

Being in ministry means being in a war – a spiritual war.  Satan and his minions will do everything in their power to destroy the effectiveness of the church and, as the flock’s shepherd, the preacher is always his primary target.  I praise God that greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.  I praise God that he has overcome through the cross and the power of the blood.  But I am not so arrogant that I do not accept and acknowledge that I, too, am a man just like Elijah.  I am capable of great acts of faith – just like Elijah.  But I am also capable of great acts of cowardice – just like Elijah.   And every other pastor out there – no matter how high profile or famous he may be – is in exactly the same boat as am I.

Therefore, I plead with you to pray for your pastor. 

Pray that God would put a hedge of protection around him. 

Pray that God would strengthen his resolve. 

Pray that he would remain faithful. 

And then after praying for him, perhaps give him a word of encouragement now and again, because I assure you… he probably needs it. 

And never forget this… if he really is a good shepherd, he is praying for you too.