Admonishing the Preacher

I had an interesting dialogue last week with a roomful of about 200 Ugandan and Kenyan pastors (I was speaking at a conference in Tororo, Uganda). They wanted to talk about pastors who are less than sincere, who don't do a very good job of walking the talk, or who seem to be ignorant of God's Word.

Two days later, I was sitting at Entebbe airport and struck up a conversation with a guy from Pennsylvania (he was there to adopt a five year old boy) who observed that, "there seems to be broad awareness of God in this country (Uganda) but there is great ignorance about who God really is." It had been his first trip to the country, but his observation wasn't lost on me. I've heard others say that, "Africa's Christian faith is a mile wide, but only an inch deep."

So this past weekend, I am reading in the book of Malachi. And chapter two of that book really speaks to the same issue. But I was struck by the irony of how it could have been describing priests in the Old Testament, pastors in present-day Africa ... or pastors in America or other western countries. There was little difference! And more sobering was what God had to say about the subject (through His prophet, Malachi). Let's take a look at that.

Malachi 2:1-9 says, "And now this admonition is for you, O priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name," says the Lord Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. ... Because of you I will rebuke your descendants ... And you will know that I have sent you this admonition so that my covenant with Levi may continue," says the Lord Almighty.

My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin. For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction - because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty.

But you have turned fro the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi," says the Lord Almighty. So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law."

So here's the thing we can take from this. Priests were chosen from the tribe of Levi. At the time only Levites could be priests. But today's pastors (in any country) are modern-day equivalents of Old Testament Levites. I believe the character and nature of God as reflected in the Old Testament are still valid today --- since we know that God never changes. So it would seem that God feels the same about today's Christian pastors who don't walk the talk.

Today's Christian pastors are to honor the same type of covenant that God made with the Levites. They can't be afraid to confront sin and other worldly behavior out of fear that they'll tick off the parishioners who will leave ... and take their tithes with them.

But I suspect that is exactly the problem we have now. There are pastors all over the world who are sinners themselves (of course). But instead of being a model for their parishioners - courageously repenting from and confronting sin - they quietly confess their own sins to God (maybe) and largely leave the sins of their congregation alone.

Note in Malachi 2:5, where God says of Levi, "... this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name." Do today's pastors really stand in awe of God's name?

Note in Malachi 2:6, where God says of Levi, "True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He ... turned many from sin." Could this be said of today's Christian pastors? How many have today's pastors turned from sin?

If ever there were a call for today's Christian pastors to stand up, stand out and courageously preach truth, confront sin, rebuke the rebellious and disobedient and stand in awe of God's name --- it is easily found throughout Scripture. We don't need a conference to talk about it. We just need to do it.

Fried Pastors

In my ministry work, I often receive referrals from churches and related organizations to assist individuals who are lovingly described as “fried pastors.” They are pastors, ministering on the front lines – who somehow get to the “crispy critter” stage and need help. One church refers to them as “fallen pastors.” Often they have fallen, into sin, into some other failure. At times, it seems that the frying of these pastors would disqualify them and move them out of ministry. Often it does. They go sell insurance or work in call centers. Satan wins.

The statistics are staggering. Pastors leave the ministry in massive numbers every month. Seminaries crank them out. Ministry chews them up and spits them out. Satan wins. Working with guys like this, I’ve become a student of this so-called fallen state of pastors. I want to understand what’s really true here. Does Satan have to win, every time? Isn’t the divine calling from God to ministry irrevocable? (Yes, it is.) So what should we make of “fried pastors” and their ministry failures?

I recently read a book that provided a glimpse of what one of those pastors described as a revelation from God Himself. Look at what he had to say.

Because I’d been operating in my own strength for months, I was physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted. My spiritual eyesight had grown dim and my hearing dull. Pride had sprung up in my heart like a choking weed. Instead of obeying God’s voice, I reasoned with human logic and based my decisions on my own wisdom. … I wasn’t waiting on the Lord with a pure heart. This was the root of my failure. I was tired, overworked and backslidden in my heart.

Ministry had become an idol. Working for God had taken the place of loving God. I hid my condition from those who prayed for me and carried on in my own strength. …. I was still getting up every morning at five o’clock and praying with other church leaders, and I was still reading my Bible every day, but I was doing these things out of obligation and habit, and not from a willing heart flowing from my relationship with Jesus.

If you are a servant of the Lord, let me encourage you to please, please, humbly watch that you don’t slip into the same error I did. The Lord God jealously desires us for himself. He is the lover of our souls. If we ever put anything before our relationship with Jesus – even our work for Jesus – then we will be ensnared. If you are burned out, stop! Rest! Your lamp needs a constant filling of the Lord’s oil or your light will be snuffed out. Remember that, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it … Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you, he rises to show compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are those who wait for him.” – Isaiah 30:15, 18

So there you have it. As I read these words I realize that this pastor has hit the nail on the head. I wonder what it would take for all of the other “fried pastors” to see themselves in his story. My prayer is that they will.