the basic message #E23
1 Timothy 3:2-3
Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
The Apostle Paul gives some good guidelines for us to select our pastors. While all of the requirements seem reasonable, does anyone have a pastor who exhibits every single characteristic? I’m afraid that most of our pastors don’t fulfill all of the qualities listed above, but is that their fault? I believe that the character of our pastors today is shaped by our actions and beliefs. Example: An affluent congregation might not like the part about “not a lover of money”. They might want their pastor to be like them, and appreciate the “finer things in life”. The commitment to becoming a pastor today can be overwhelming for a person who is trying their very best to lead their congregation in the ways of the Lord.
Acts 20:26-28
Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood or all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
I preach a few times each year, and invariably someone comes up to me afterward and vigorously proclaims, “I really enjoyed your message”. While I am flattered by the compliment, my mind wants to ask, “Do you intend to live it?”. Every sermon I perform hits hard and cuts to the bone, so why would someone say, “I enjoyed it”? In reality, I should have a lynch mob waiting outside for me, but the answer is simple: No one sees themselves in the examples in the sermon. They smile and nod and think, “Yep, I hope old Jim over there is listening”. The sermon is always for someone else, it’s never for us. Truth, it seems, is always for the other guy.
John 8:31-32
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Does your pastor shape the congregation, or does the congregation shape the pastor? I recently heard a pastor make the following statement on the radio: “If I make you mad, that’s OK. I’m the pastor, and it’s my job to make you mad.” I had to chuckle, because he was right. If the pastor is the most popular guy in the neighborhood, he very likely isn’t doing his job properly. It’s a tough job that often goes under-appreciated, but it is a vital job. Call your pastor and set up a conference. Ask him to hold you accountable for your actions as a Christian. Ask him for his honest assessment of your spiritual walk, based on his observations of you. And most importantly, when he rebukes you in love, with scripture to back up his action, accept the rebuke, repent, and count him as your friend.