The Shameful Shepherd (Part 1)

The Shameful Shepherd
I have been thinking about this topic for some time now. I have prayed about it, thought about it and investigated my own heart and life to see if I am in error. I have put it off "till a more convenient season." Now the time has come to publish it. It is with a sober and serious heart that I attempt to portray my thoughts, warnings, and detest of the shameful shepherds who use their office and influence to ensnare the people of God whom they are appointed and called to defend, protect, and care for.

Some have the understanding that the Pastor is untouchable. He cannot be corrected. He cannot be "touched". Nowhere in scripture does the Lord say that the pastor is beyond the accountability of the people. I have often heard the phrase "touch not God's anointed" used in reference to the Pastor. I have heard the overtaxed phrase "Man of GOD" used out of context and stretched beyond application. The pastor is not in the place of God. He is not excluded from being held in check by the elders of the church. If the Pastor does something unethical, unscriptural, UnChristlike, or even illegal he should be corrected and dealt with scripturally. If he has done something of a criminal nature, he should be turned over to the police without any further questioning. There should not be any question to it. Turn him over to the law. Let the police investigate. Let the police prosecute. The church should assist and comply with the investigation. The church should immediately begin to look to minister to those who were violated or affected by the wrongdoings of the Pastor.

The unethical dealings of the pastor should also be dealt with. The Pastor should also be accountable for his actions regarding his ethical behavior in the church, home, and community. If he is unethical openly in the church, one can only imagine what his reputation is to those without.

Far too often we perceive that the Pastor is super human. I heard a preacher once say that a popular Pastor of a large Baptist Church in a northern Midwest state had died and became the fourth person in the Trinity. Sadly, many cannot differentiate this pathetic joke from their actual "reverence" of the person who is called "Pastor". He shouldn't be worshiped, neither should he be disrespected. The Pastor should carry some bit of "awe", revered even. He is a man whose life should represent the resilience of the power of God. No, he is not super human. He is not the hired hand. He is a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is an under- shepherd.

On the flip side, he IS a minister. That is what he is called to do. Somehow we have reversed rolls. The pastor places himself above being a servant and establishes himself as a lord. No longer does he seek to minister unto his congregation, now the congregation ministers to him.

I see several faults in our "Independent Fundamental Baptist" circles. I will limit myself to discussing five of these faults.


Pastors who PRY -

For whatever reason, some pastors think it is their responsibility to pry into other people's life. They Police the lives and homes of people who go to their church. I have met pastors who hand out questionnaires for their members to fill out regularly. By this they over step their boundaries of leadership from MINISTERING to Meddling. They fail to realize the importance of SOUL Liberty. The position of the Pastor is not to be ignored...nor is it to be idolized. Far too often people try to pattern themselves after the Pastor. They do this because the pastor likes to pry into people's life. When the need arises, and people approach the pastor for help or counsel, they are not asking the pastor to intrude. They are asking to intervene. I have learned that people rarely want opinions or even principles. They want the magic wand to make everything all better. The TRUE pastor will give them Principles without prying into areas of their life that doesn't need tampering.

I have heard it said by a youth pastor, "let me go into your kids room and let me throw out anything that is bad." WHY would it be the pastor's responsibility? I have heard of a church where the Pastor inspects the cars on a monthly basis to make sure it is up to his "standard". I have seen where husbands are called in to the pastor's office and told to make sure his family is in dress code before coming to church. Pastors who pry into the lives of their "congregants" give pastors a bad name.

A certain mission board asks their missionary candidates personal questions about their intimacy including which positions are done in the Marriage Bed. The Bible says those things are not to be spoken of. They are private. Besides that, the Marriage bed is undefiled. things like this are done by "pastors who pry". Instead of conforming people to THEIR image, why not urge them to be conformed to CHRIST? Things done out of drudgery are not done unto GOD but as unto man.