I came across an article that I found intriguing. It fits with the recent articles I’ve been writing about preachers. I’ll drop the link here and comment no further.
10 Things Pastors Hate to Admit Publicly
(I know that preacher and pastor are not interchangeable but read the article anyway).
A preacher counsels a married woman and finds himself in an illicit relationship with her. Word leaks and soon both the preacher and the woman and separated from their spouses, children are stunned and embarrassed and the church is crippled by the public sin.
In another town a preacher’s computer is taken for repair and vile pictures of children are found on the hard drive. he is reported to police, arrested and tried for crimes against children.
In another city police stop a driver who is swerving and driving erratically. He is arrested and charged with DUI. Officers recognize the man as the local preacher. His mugshot is prominent on the front page of the newspaper.
Congregations like to imagine their preachers as bastions of virtue who stand strong against Satan and his ways. Yet preachers really are like everybody else. We are weak, wretched, poor blind and naked (Revelation 3:17). Preachers possess the same passions and desires as the average man in the pew. The same things that tempt you, also tempt us. There are some differences in the actual temptation but sin still calls to us as loudly as to others. While we should be strong and employ the right tools to reject sin, we often fail.
Media reports verify preacher weaknesses. From greedy business deals gone bad to homosexuality and other immoralities, preacher sins are well known and well documented. And because preachers are so visible the consequences of their sin is multiplied. If a member in the local church is caught in an affair it may be shrugged off by a society numbed to sin. But if that same sin is committed by the preacher it will be fodder for every gossip and for the media. Words like “double standard” and “hypocrite” will fly. Nevertheless, the weaknesses of the preacher are similar to those of every other person.
Samson was a Judge of Israel for 20 years (Judges 16:31). He had a particular weakness for women and routinely chased after them. He violated God’s law by marrying Delilah, a Philistine woman. Her trickery led directly to his downfall and eventual death (Judges 16:4ff).
King David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22), lusted after Bathsheba, pursued her and committed adultery with her. He then killed her husband in an attempt to cover up his sin (2 Samuel 11:2ff). David was driven by the same passions and lusts as the lowest servant in the kingdom and even the same lusts we face today.
Peter, the Lord’s chosen apostle, behaved in a racist, hypocritical way when he separated himself from Gentiles when Jews arrived. He was rebuked for his sin by Paul (Galatians 2:11-14).
It is wholly unreasonable to think that preachers do not sin. We do. Sometimes the sins are well known, well publicized and carry deep consequences. In such cases, preachers should remove themselves from public view and allow for healing. But let us recognize that preachers stumble too.
The world will heap criticism on the “hypocrite preacher” but the church must support and encourage him. Where repentance is made forgiveness must follow. Not too long ago a preacher was charged with drug related offenses. A spokesman for the local congregation was quoted as declaring that the man no longer preached for them. In my opinion that was a shameful response. Yes, the preacher should step down or be removed but the public face of the congregation was one of condemnation not love, encouragement, healing or forgiveness.
Be supportive of your preachers. Never condone sin but recognize that preachers are frail and imperfect. The very best preacher out there is still a sinner in need of a savior (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8). Help your preacher. Love your preacher. Respect your preacher but also know he is more like you than you may think.
If you haven’t done so, please read my disclaimer.
Some days stink.
You oversleep. You get a cold shower because your teenagers took all the hot water. Then you break a shoelace. The car is out of gas. You are late for the meeting with the elders. Your Bible is suddenly missing. In the middle of the meeting your wife calls to tell you that she has a flat tire. We’ve all been there.
Then a member calls about a problem that is important to them. Now what? Sometimes the preacher is so frustrated with the other things in his day that he doesn’t give attention to his members. He’s short and maybe even a rude. The member gets off the phone feeling unimportant and a bother. Later those feeling turn to anger over the way they were treated.
Preacher’s don’t have bad days do they? Everything is right in the preacher’s life and there should be no reason why shouldn’t be happy and chipper!
We know better. Preachers have stinking, rotten days just like everyone. And, like everyone else, we don’t always cover it very well.
Moses had a few of those bad days. The Israelites gripped about everything. In Genesis 16:1ff they complained about food. Numbers 14:1ff has the nation whining about the bad report from the land of Canaan. In chapter 17 they complained about Moses’ leadership.
It is amazing Moses did as well as he did. But he did have a breakdown once. In Numbers 11 the people were complaining about their troubles. Apparently they wanted everything handed to them on a silver platter. Moses could take it no more.
Moses said to the LORD, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers? Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”
Clearly, Moses had a bad day.
Notice how God dealt with the disgruntled deliverer. Beginning in verse 16 the Lord gave Moses help. He appointed 70 elders to assist Moses with his duties. God saw that Moses was struggling.
Sometimes your preacher has a bad day. You will never know, nor should you, all of the trials he is facing. But understand that he is very human and some days just doesn’t feel like being Mr. Strength. Remember that he is well aware of his weaknesses but probably doesn’t want everyone to know it. Love him anyway. Be kind to him and encourage him. He needs it. When he is strong, he is able to help you. We are all in this together.
If you haven’t done so, please read my disclaimer.
Where are you Lord? Are you listening? Do you hear me? Lord? Are you real?
Where are you Lord? Are you listening? Do you hear me? Lord? Are you real?
Those words could come from your preacher. The Bible teaches that faith is the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1) but sometimes we forget to “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). When we stand beside a small casket and watch a mom and dad weep uncontrollably we struggle as we grope for God.
When a fine Christian lady, one who works so hard and seems to be the rock of the congregation is taken by some horrible disease, we have no words to explain.
When false teaching runs amok in the community and in the church and we watch as false teachers prosper we are tempted to ask why. We wonder if our long and hard stand for truth is really worth it.
Paul trusted God even in the middle of trails (2 Timothy 4:6) but for us, it can be so hard. The problem comes because everyone expects us to be strong when they are weak. Preachers should always plenty of faith to share, right?
No. Preachers doubt too.
Recall that the disciples were rebuked for their lack of faith (Matthew 8:26; Matthew 16:8). Peter found himself in the middle of a great miracle but even then his faith lacked (Matthew 14:31). Even Abraham, the father of the faithful, struggled. He lied about his wife not once but twice (Genesis 12:10-20; Genesis 20:1-18). He failed to trust God’s protection.
It is often in the midst of doubt that strength grows. Consider Thomas who would not believe in the resurrected Lord until he saw the nail scars. Clearly he was a skeptic, even faithless. But when he saw the wounds in Jesus’ hands and in his side, Thomas declared, “My Lord and my God! (John 20:24-29).
We preachers are not that much different. We are not always strong. In fact we are probably more like Thomas than any of us care to admit. But out of that struggle comes strength. Give us room to grow. Understand our weakness and encourage us. I know I need it sometimes and I bet your preacher does too.
If you haven’t done so, please read my disclaimer.
Preachers are a dime a dozen. Good preachers are rare. Perfect preachers do not exist. Yet churches often expect their preachers to live and function at an unreasonable level. I have been at the Eastern Shore Church of Christ for 13 years this month. During that time I have enjoyed nothing but support and encouragement from every person here. I honestly have no complaints or discomforts. The people here care for me and my family far beyond anything I deserve.
But some of my preaching colleagues are not so blessed. Hardly a week goes by when a brother is hurt by some excessive expectation. It is for these brothers that I write a series I call “The Preacher Unmasked.” Truthfully, many preachers would prefer I not write this. They are comfortable behind the facade of strength, endurance and purity. But when we fail to meet those expectations, and we will, trouble is close.
I do not offer this as any kind of expert. I am not. I struggle with the same issues. I just hope to help.
My goal is to stimulate thinking among brethren as to how they can encourage their preachers. Men are leaving the pulpit for secular work and that is a shame. If a congregation loses a man to secular work they should explore their own culpability, if any, and make corrections.
This series, which will appear over the course of the week, may prove inflammatory to some people. But let me be clear about three things.
Please read on. I hope it helps.