Shopping for a Godly Pastor

Shopping can be a good experience if you plan ahead and follow your plan. Recently, I went shopping at a Walmart. When I walked in, the first thing I saw was the Sale Table. I leisurely looked over the screwdrivers from Taiwan and the decorator hooks for bathroom towels before I moseyed on into the first aisle.

More sale items caught my attention. “Oh, good, the extension cord I need is on sale.” By the time I arrived at the end of the second aisle I thought to myself, “Hey, what did I come in here for!” My mind was clearly not focused on my original purpose — to buy an oil filter and an air filter for my car. Meanwhile, I had given in to buying a number of items I never intended to buy.

I don’t always have that kind of a shopping experience. Not too long ago I stopped at Office Max with a list of eight items to pick up, everything from green paper to a hole punch. I had a list and I used it. I immediately asked the store clerk where the items were. I was out of the store in 15 minutes and had bought only what I needed.

We should keep this lesson in mind when shopping for a godly minister. We need to plan ahead, prepare a shopping list, and stick to it. But where do we find such a shopping list! We could all sit down and write the things we like and dislike about ministers. If we want God’s opinion, however, we need to turn to His Word, the Bible. God provides a theologically balanced list for us in the two letters written to Timothy. In this article, we will focus on I Timothy 1:1-11.

“Remain at Ephesus that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine ...” (I Timothy 1:3)

The first item on our shopping list is to find a minister who is sound in doctrine. Paul tells Timothy at the outset that he is supposed to stop certain people from preaching “any different doctrine.” The clear understanding here is that not all preachers are going to be preaching the faith of our Mothers and Fathers. The title of Christian minister is not certification enough for a person to be called to a church’s pulpit. Paul says there is incorrect teaching going on; and it should be stopped.

Paul tells Timothy how to identify the false teachers. They are false teachers “If they preach a different doctrine . . .” (1:3) “[I]f anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . he is puffed up with conceit and knows nothing!” (6:3) In other words, if someone preaches against the doctrine already revealed in the Bible, that person should not be your preacher. In fact, he shouldn’t be anyone’s preacher until he changes his ways.

Let’s look at a few basic doctrines of the Christian faith to see the importance of having sound doctrine.

At the 1985 General Synod of the UCC, I was a delegate from Missouri. There were many happy surprises and some definite disappointments. One clear disappointment was the unsound doctrine occasionally being preached. For example, feminist theologian Elisabeth Fiorenza, in the only major theological address to the Synod, attacked the essential Christian doctrine of the atonement. She said, among other things, “Jesus’ Sophia-God does not need atonement or sacrifices.”

I am on the Board of Directors of the Biblical Witness Fellowship (BWF) in the UCC, an evangelical renewal group in that denomination. At the BWF display table, we researched the theology of Fiorenza. In one of her books, she wrote “The suffering and death of Jesus are not required to atone for the sins of the people in the face of an absolute God but the results of violence against the envoys of Sophia [her name for God].” This view is exactly the opposite of the one found in scripture. It attacks the central core of our Christian faith, the fact that Christ died for our sins. Many pastors in the UCC and other denominations would agree with Fiorenza rather than the Bible.

It appears, therefore, that Paul’s warning to Timothy applies to us today. Not every minister that comes your way will believe that Jesus had to die for our sins. How can you be sure what a pastoral candidate thinks about this? Simply ask the question.

During the days of Paul and Timothy, there was a group of people known as the Gnostics. They thought material things were evil; and it was because of matter that evil existed in the world. Paul warns Timothy against “myths and endless genealogies which promote speculations rather than the divine training that is in faith.” (1:4) This sounds like the Gnostics of Paul’s day and, most scholars agree, describes those who were preaching in Ephesus when Paul wrote to Timothy.

Since all matter was believed by the Gnostics to be evil, they came up with the theory of “emanations.” They said God put out an emanation. This emanation put out another one. The third emanation put out a fourth and so on until the last emanation created was the earth. It is like a pebble being dropped into a pond causing many circles to spread out from the center entry point of the pebble. The only circle the pebble actually touched and created was the first circle. That circle caused the next circle and so on. The last circle or emanation was completely removed from the pebble as the evil matter of earth was separated from God.

The Gnostics embellished each emanation with various stories, biographies and genealogies. Such philosophical imaginings Paul considered to be a waste of time. He called them “vain discussions.”

The Gnostics had real difficulty with the doctrine of the deity of Jesus. How could God occupy something as evil as a human body as He is said to have done in Jesus of Nazareth? Their response was that Jesus was not really God. He was a distant emanation from God. Clearly, such a viewpoint is a direct contradiction of a scriptural truth — that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Gnostics could not accept the idea of the “incarnation.”

Directly related to this is the Gnostic problem with the truth that Jesus was raised bodily from the dead on the first Easter. We know that Jesus appeared before His disciples in a tangible body after His resurrection. He promised those disciples they would experience the same resurrection. This was absolutely abhorrent to the Gnostics. For them, it was best after death, to be released from the evil casing of a material body. So influential Gnostic teachers caused some in the early church to deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Some even denied that He really died, but claimed that He only seemed to die.

This same kind of thinking is evident in many mainline denominational pastors today. At a recent retreat, one pastor told me he had reservations about the idea that Jesus performed miracles or was raised from the dead. On another occasion, a UCC minister talked about the “symbolic value” of the resurrection, but confessed that it wasn’t important whether or not it actually happened!

We don’t have too many problems today with endless genealogies; but there are still many myths and speculations being preached in the Christian Church. As Paul says, “certain persons ... have wandered away into vain discussions, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions.” (1:6-7)

These are issues of central importance to the Church of Jesus Christ and to each local congregation seeking a pastor. We are not dealing here with things that only ministers and professional theologians talk about. These are issues that reach to the very center of our faith.

We need to talk about these things to find out what people really believe. What a pastor believes will have a direct impact on the congregation he preaches to week after week after week. If we hear untruths long enough and often enough, we may come to the point of giving up the faith we have been told to guard and to faithfully pass on to each generation.

What kind of shopping list do you have when you move to a new city and are looking for a church? What criteria should be used by a group of people in search of a new pastor for their pulpit? First of all, says Saint Paul, look for sound doctrine. Ask a pastor questions like these:

3. Do you believe that Jesus Christ’s death was a necessary sacrifice for our sins!

4. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is God and that, while walking the earth, he was fully human and fully divine!

(Editor’s Note: If you are confronted with a pastor who believes in and teaches unsound doctrine, place the burden of proof on him. Don’t give in to arguing or trying to explain to him what the church has believed for almost 2,000 years. The one with unsound doctrine is the one who has swerved from the truth. Simply respond with, “You have not yet convinced me that this new way of thinking is sound and true. Perhaps you would want to try and explain it to me again.” In the end, be sure to stand firmly on the truth of the Word of God.

If the pastor you call is going to spend the next few years sharing his or her theological and ethical ideas with your congregation, then you had better know what that person believes BEFORE you say, “Will you be our pastor?”

A list of suggested questions compiled by The Renewal Fellowship from various sources to assist Search Committees in interviewing prospective pastors is in Appendix A. Make this list of Suggested Questions a part of your Pastoral Shopping List.

A certain church found itself suddenly without a pastor, and a search committee was formed to find a replacement. In due course, the committee received a letter from a clergyman applying for the position. The letter read:

Every job has its share of stresses and crises — ministry included. One gift God gives pastors is a special calling. This call helps them overcome the day-to-day pressures of the ministry.

What do we mean when we talk about a call? A call is a strong — some would say inescapable — sense of God’s purpose for one’s life, confirmed by both natural and supernatural data. It is a strong sense of God’s will for you, which is confirmed by both facts and feelings.

Isaiah was called while worshiping God in the temple. He saw a vision of God seated upon a throne, with the six winged seraphim flying around, saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” At the end, God asked, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for me?” And Isaiah said, “Here am I, send me.”

Jeremiah was called when he was just a youth. Since he was a prophet of doom, he attracted few friends. Even so, Jeremiah 1:17 says, “the memory of his divine call...made Jeremiah fearless in the service of the Lord.

In I Timothy 1:12-20, Paul describes his own divine call to ministry, and then speaks of Timothy’s call. This passage can help us understand the impact of God’s call on the life of today’s pastors.

“Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor, and a violent man, I was shown mercy.” ...And now, instead of hating and hurting, Paul says he is filled with the “faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” God’s call completely changed Paul’s life.

Ministers you interview should be able to describe how they have been changed by God’s call to the ministry.

“But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience.”

God directed Paul to a certain type of ministry — to reach out to Gentiles, the outcasts who were thought to be too unholy for God to touch, who were as sinful as Paul had been before his “call.” To them, Paul told his story.

Every pastor should be able to describe the special tasks God has gifted him or her to do. Ask your candidates how God has directed them in their ministries. What are their special gifts? Where is God leading them? If they cannot tell you where they themselves are headed, how will they be able to lead others?

Paul says to Timothy, “This charge I commit to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophetic utterances which pointed to you, that inspired by them you may wage the good warfare.” Paul is reminding a discouraged Timothy of the prophecies made by the elders at his ordination.

The sense of “call” gives a pastor confidence that the good work God has begun in him or her will surely be completed under power provided by God.

When you sit down to interview ministerial candidates, ask them about their call. How did they decide to go into the ministry? How has the call changed their life? What gifts confirm that decision? Ask to hear about experiences where they felt God was directing their life. Listen to the responses and see if it sounds to you like a call from God.

With a strong call from God, Paul was able to carry the Gospel to Asia and Europe. With a strong call from God, Timothy was able to remain faithful to Paul, even when others fell away. With a strong call from God, a new pastor will be able to lead a church to great works for God.

Several years ago, Del Schrag, one of our Conference Ministers in Chicago, came with a concern to a meeting of clergy. At that time, he had several ministers who were being voted out of their churches by their congregations. It was a very painful experience for both the ministers and the congregations, and he wanted to talk about why this was happening and what we should do about it.

Each month, some 116 Southern Baptist pastors leave their congregations under painful circumstances. This figure is up 54 percent since 1981. The reasons for the sad good-byes are many, according to Christian Century. Leading the list is bad communications between pastor and people, which caused 13.4% of the breakups. The rest were caused by all sorts of problems ranging from authoritarian leadership style to power struggles to personality conflicts. But, get this: 12.9% of the time, the breakups are caused by immorality and 12.4% of the breakups happen because of performance dissatisfaction. Martin Marty, the writer of the article, says, “If that happens in the green tree that constitutes the Southern Baptist Convention, how are things in the ordinary brush of denominations?” (Christian Century, February 1-8, 1989)

In my thirteen years of ordained ministry, I have seen five of my acquaintances voted out of their churches, and many others leave their churches just before they were forced out. What’s going on? Years ago, one seldom if ever heard of a minister being voted out of his church. Why the change?

• Lay people are becoming more involved with ministry in the church, and taking more initiative.

• People often come to the church looking for the church to fulfill their needs rather than with the desire to serve the church. People with this attitude are often critical.

• It used to be thought that you shouldn’t question the minister — just follow his directions. Nowadays people realize that ministers aren’t perfect, and are beginning to question their leadership.

• Nowadays more ministers are compromising their lifestyles. Though this is not the case with most, there are some who figure they have the freedom to indulge in any eccentricity-- without sensitivity to how it will reflect on the Church of Jesus Christ.

Some don’t practice hospitality and become overprotective of their privacy, while others aren’t wise in their use of language and alcohol. A few become caught up in a worldly lust for money and material possessions. Others become quarrelsome and hostile toward their parishioners. Some have tremendous family difficulties because they have been either too lenient in discipline or too busy at the church, and still others seem to be without concern for their reputation in the community.

Just what are the qualities you look for in the way a minister lives his personal life? Some would say that what goes on outside of church isn’t important. That’s not what 1 Timothy 3: 1-7 says. In this scripture, Paul, writing to Timothy, makes an elaborate list of qualities to look for in a spiritual leader, implying, of course, that the way a minister lives his personal life IS very important.

When Paul gives Timothy advice about how to lead the church at Ephesus, he talks about the people who are set aside as Elders. The Greek word used to describe the elder is episcopos, which means “overseer.” You might recognize that it sounds like Episcopalian, which is exactly right. The Episcopalians named their church after the episcopos — the overseer of the church. Another word used for Elder is presbuteroi — after which the Presbyterians named their church. Both words are used interchangeably to describe the person who has spiritual leadership and authority within the church.

First of all, Paul says that an Elder must be above reproach. This means without disgrace, without discredit or blame. Literally, it means “not to be laid hold of,” or to say it even better, “a person against whom it is impossible to bring any charge of wrongdoing which could stand impartial examination.”

The minister is to be the husband of one wife. This brings up many issues. Is Paul talking against polygamy? Is he prohibiting a divorcee from becoming a minister? Is he saying that a minister must be a man? These all are issues to deal with through Bible study, but most commentators agree that Paul is referring to fidelity in the marriage relationship. A minister should be faithful to his spouse.

Though the passage contains the phrases “no drunkard” and “not addicted to wine,” temperate can also be translated as “watchfur or “vigilant.” Paul is saying that there are certain things with which a minister should be very careful about becoming involved. These would probably include the use of alcoholic beverages, bad language and other habit-forming practices. We live in an age where there are many reformed alcoholics in the church. Though it is not required, I really respect a minister who is a teetotaler. Moderation, in any case, is the key.

The RSV translates the word as “sensible.” Some of you have been called “prudes” — usually when you haven’t gone along with the crowd. This is what is meant here: a person who can stand on his own feet when he doesn’t agree.

This has to do with the way a minister dresses and conducts himself. His manner should bring respect to the office of the ministry, without distancing himself from the people. This is somewhat a matter of cultural awareness. A minister should conduct himself in a way that brings respect and dignity to the church and to Jesus Christ.

The word literally means “loving strangers.” Christians traveling in the First Century avoided the public inns with the pagan atmosphere and food that had already been offered to idols. Instead, they would seek out a Christian home at which to stop for the night. A valuable by-product was that believers from widely scattered areas would get to know each other, thus cementing lines of fellowship.

Even in our modern age of hotels and motels, there are times when it is important for the minister to be hospitable. For example, when a transient stops by needing food; or the missionary visitor comes in for the weekend. Now, this doesn’t mean that parishioners should feel that they can drop in on a minister at any time and have an hour of conversation. But it does mean that people should feel comfortable and welcome in the minister’s home.

In my wife’s Bible, it says that a minister must “not be pugnacious or contentious, but gentle.” The RSV says, “not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome.” A minister shouldn’t resort to violence inside or outside the church, should avoid quarrels, and deal with conflict in a gentle spirit.

This does not mean the minister should be like milk toast. He must stand up for what he believes. He should deal with conflict. But, he should find ways to openly and gently handle conflicts effectively.

In materialistic America, can a minister escape this vice? Thankfully, in recent years, churches have begun to pay their ministers better so that ministers do not have to think so much about money and getting by.

The way a minister manages his own household says a lot about how he is going to manage the church. There should be a semblance of order and respect in a minister’s family.

A minister should not be “a recent convert” to the faith. Christians should have a time of spiritual growth and maturing before becoming leaders in the church.

Assuming that the minister lives in a respectable community, and that a community has certain standards by which it judges people, the minister should meet the scrutiny of outsiders and not bring shame upon the church.

When that great German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was about to be taken away and executed, he wondered on paper what kind of people the church was going to need most when the last bomb had exploded and the last person had been killed. He said this: “What the church will need, what our century will need, are not people of genius, not brilliant tacticians or strategists, but simple, straightforward, honest men and women.” (Louis Smedes’ sermons, The Journey to Integrity. Preaching Today, Tape #61)

The qualifications Paul lays out should be used as a guide in helping the church to shop for a minister. However, all ministers will fall short, and persons should not be disqualified on the basis of a few weaknesses in personality. Look for a minister who is simple, straightforward and honest in his lifestyle, but don’t expect perfection.

A British soldier was one night caught creeping stealthily back to his quarters from the nearby woods. He was taken before his commanding officer and charged with holding communications with the enemy. The man pleaded that he had gone into the woods to pray by himself. That was his only defense.

“Have you been in the habit of spending hours in private prayer?” the officer growled. “Yes, Sir!” “Then down on your knees and pray now,” he roared. “You never needed it so much.” Expecting immediate death, the soldier knelt and poured out his soul in prayer, that for eloquence could have been inspired only by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“You may go,” said the officer simply when he had finished. “I believe your story. If you hadn’t been often at drill, you couldn’t have done so well at review.”

The Greek language has seven words for prayer, and Paul uses four of them when he tells Timothy that a godly minister is devoted to prayer: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men.” (I Timothy 2:1)

We could translate this sentence in a different way so that it would read: “First of all, then, I urge that prayers, prayers, prayers, and prayers be made for all men.”

Though all four of the Greek words Paul uses mean prayer, they each refer to a slightly different type of prayer.

DEESIS means request or petition. It carries with it the understanding that we really do need God. In the ministry, it is a temptation to think we can do things on our own, that we can get along without God’s help. When you interview your ministerial candidates, see if you get the sense that they will be humbly relying on God’s help.

PROSEUCHE refers to general prayers to God. When we talk about general prayers, there is a lot of ground to cover: family, friends, Church, world. Look for a pastor who is mindful of the many important things needing prayer.

In verse 2, Paul reminds us to pray for those in authority, “for kings and all who are in high positions.” If we cannot show respect for authorities which we can see, how can we show respect for God, whom we cannot see? One of the best ways to show respect for our authorities is to pray for them. This certainly includes our ministers.

ENTEUXIS refers to conversational prayer — deep, heartfelt intercessions and petitions. Every church needs a pastor who is intimately acquainted with God through prayer. Ask about the pastor’s prayer life.

EUCHARISTA means thanksgiving. All prayers should include thanksgiving and praise. You may know that the Roman Catholics call Communion “the Holy Eucharist.” This means “the Holy Thanksgiving.” At each Mass, there is thanksgiving for what Christ has done through His sacrifice on the cross.

There are many examples in church history of pastors who knew how to pray. One is David Brainerd, a missionary to the American Indians. A biographer wrote of Brainerd, “In the depths of those forests, alone, unable to speak the language of the Indians, he spent whole days literally in prayer.

Brainerd was praying for many things, one of which was 1) an interpreter. He also prayed that 2) the power of the Holy Spirit might come so unmistakably upon him that the Indians would know he was a messenger from God. What was the result of his prayers? Once he preached, and the interpreter was so intoxicated that he could hardly stand up. Yet many were converted through that sermon. It was through the power of prayer that this was accomplished.

John Wesley spent at least two hours each day in prayer. Samuel Rutherford got up at three o’clock each morning to pray. Dr. Alexander Maclaren, one of the great preachers of the Nineteenth Century, spent the hour from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. every day in prayer, and to this hour he attributed the effectiveness of his preaching. Martin Luther, it is said, “set apart his three best hours for prayer.”

A famous Christian has said, “The only footprints on the sands of time that will really last are the ones made after knee prints.” Make sure the minister you call will carry on the tradition of prayer so that there always will be lots of knee prints preceding footprints as the church moves forward.

Mark Friz is pastor of St. Paul Evangelical Church in Creve Coeur, St. Louis, Missouri. Mark maintains that a pastor should have sound doctrine, a calling from God, a Godly lifestyle, and a healthy prayer life. This is the last in his four-part series for RenewaLife.

Reprinted with permission from RenewaLife, the newsletter of The Renewal Fellowship.

Pastor Referral Network

(This is not an exhaustive list. You will want to add additional questions. Nor is it necessary to ask all of these questions. In fact, the wording of some of these questions may be irrelevant for your tradition and style of ministry. Simply ignore those questions. Let the Holy Spirit be your guide. It is a good idea to assign certain questions to specific Pulpit Committee members before the interview actually takes place. Be prayerful. Be relaxed. Be sincere. And trust God to give you understanding and direction.)

8. Do you have any children? any living at home? What are their ages? Tell us about them.

2. Do you accept the declarations of the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed? Do you have any reservations about any of the statements of these two creeds? If so, tell us about them.

3. Do you accept the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the Word of God? To what extent should they be considered the “ultimate rule of faith and practice”?

10. Do you believe that Jesus has atoned for our sins? Was this atonement absolutely necessary?

3. Do you like to use scripture choruses in worship services? If so, in what kind of setting or format? If not, why not?

6. How do you feel about lay participation in the leadership of worship? Give us some examples to illustrate your answer.

7. What is your style of preaching? How is it related to biblical passages? How do you prepare a sermon?

2. What have been some of the problems or frustrations in your ministry experience?

6. To what extent should church officers or other lay people share in member visitation?

7. What are your Confirmation/Church Membership preferences and practices? length of study? instructor? subject matter or curriculum?

11. Without knowing our present capabilities, are there one or two ideas that you would hope to try here after your arrival and some proper planning? If so, what are they? If not, why not?

12. What is your personal understanding and stand on homosexuality? abortion? inclusive language?

13. What do you think about people living together before marriage? How would you respond to a couple who is living together when they come to ask you to marry them in the church?

14. Will you refuse the rites or sacraments of the church to some people? If so, under what circumstances?

15. How would you define your relationship to the congregation? governing board?

16. How would you define your relationship to the judicatories and leadership of your denomination?

17. How would you go about bringing change in our congregation’s ministry or way of conducting its work?

1. Have we spelled out the salary, housing and benefits package adequately? Do you have any questions or suggestions about them?

2. What do you think of the idea of an annual walk-through of the parsonage by the Property Committee to assess its condition?

3. How can we help you know more about our community, schools, shopping, doctors, etc.?

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