Pastors are to blame! Seriously!

"A pastor can do no better than follow the example of the Good Shepherd, Jesus."

Blame? For what? How about the miserable state of Christian congregations? How about the demise of the family? How about the deterioration of the United States of America? Allow me to explain. Let's start in the Old Testament.

Great responsibility and privilege rested with God's Old Testament priests. Theirs was the responsibility of teaching God's Word to the people so they could know Him, love Him and obey Him. Theirs was also the responsibility of reproving the people when they strayed. However, they failed in all their responsibilities. To them God said,

"My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children." Hosea 4:6

Their failure resulted in severe consequences for them, their children and the people for whom they were responsible.

Now let's turn to the New Testament and consider the office of pastor.

"Therefore take heed to yourselves and to ALL THE FLOCK among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." Acts 20:28

This is the charge God gives to every pastor - shepherd ALL of His flock. As it was with the priests, so it is with pastors - they are to take care of God's people, to teach them to know, love and obey the God Who sacrificed His Son for their salvation from sin. Yet, very few professing Christians have more than a thimble full of knowledge about God, so it makes it impossible for them to love Him as they should, which in turn makes it impossible for them to obey Him as they should. It would be nice if pastors could deliver one sermon a week, teach a Bible class or two, administer complex programs, etc. and all would be well. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

"I am the Good Shepherd; and I know My sheep and am known by My own." John 10:14

A pastor can do no better than follow the example of the Good Shepherd, Jesus. To do so, as this passage reveals, it requires having and maintaining an extremely intimate relationship with each of his sheep. It requires knowing them and them knowing him. It means knowing them so well that he can be sure they are personally pursuing discipleship, that husbands and wives are growing together in Christ through Word and prayer, that fathers are daily ministering God's Word to their children, etc. This intimacy can't be accomplished from the pulpit to the pew.

Because shepherds fail to oversee their sheep individually and within the family, once again we find people perishing from a lack of knowledge. Biblical illiteracy is running rampant. Few professing Christians today have even a kindergarten knowledge of God's Word after decades of being church members. As a result, the best they can do is lean on their own understanding (Proverbs 16:25, Proverbs 3:5-6), make catastrophic decisions, experience family division and be baren when it comes to good works. But the problem is far more complex.

The United States is a mess. Its character is in a state of rapid decline, its culture is hedonistic, its morals are carnal, its families are chaotic, abortion continues (over 60 million babies murdered since 1973) and its government is no longer "by and for the people," but the people exist "by and for" it. How is this a result of pastoral malfeasance?

"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled by men." Matthew 5:13

Jesus called His disciples and the believers after them to be the salt of the earth. Why the salt of the earth? Because, just as salt hinders deterioration in food, believers can hinder the rot of evil from spreading beyond what it already is. However, when salt lost its preserving power in Jesus' day it would be thrown on the road where people would trample on it. Similarly, Christians are to be the salt of America; they have the power to hinder the evil rot from spreading. When believers lose their preserving power, they are trampled by the heathen and corruption multiplies. In my seventy plus years I have seen the rot overtaking/trampling many Christian values that one time prevailed in the culture. Now the grossest of sins are running rampant, portrayed graphically in entertainment and being tolerated. But how is this the fault of pastors? Obviously, the existence of evil and heathens is not their fault. However, the weakness of the salt, the professing Christians is. As the ignorance of the professing Christians in a congregation goes unattended by their pastors, they are only able to create spiritual plans based on errant thinking, self-gratification and self-determination, just as it happened in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:6). Therefore, they are unable to stand against evil and the perishing it causes.

Is there a solution to this pastoral problem? Notice how Paul began His message to the Ephesian elders (pastors). "Take heed to yourselves..." Pastors need to be sure that while they are helping others run the race, that they themselves don't become disqualified (I Corinthians 9:27). There is great privilege, responsibility and accountability in being a pastor. We are accountable to the Good Shepherd for our shepherding. Generally, if a person attends church regularly and drops a few coins in the collection plate, they are viewed as being "OK" and left alone. Pastoral knowledge of each of his sheep must far exceed this standard. This can be done by sitting down with each of his sheep, establishing a plan of discipleship, and teaching fathers how to fulfill their God given responsibility of growing their children in the Lord. Since retiring I've often thought a pastor should lock (figuratively) the congregation's fathers in the church, explain to them their responsibility of spiritual leadership in the family and not let them out until they are committed to teaching, praying, etc. with their children.

"Oh, but pastors are so busy and churches are so big they can't possibly know their sheep individually." Yes, I know. I pastored a church of 900 members and it took four years to visit them all. But, you don't really think the Lord accepts that excuse or any excuse for that matter, for the perishing of His sheep who were bought with His blood, do you?

Around 1730 America was deteriorating in a similar fashion as today. Then, a few men like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield began to preach the truth about the pitiful state of churches and the "Great Awakening" was birthed. Included in their message was that pastors can be the solution and not just the cause of the "unsalty" problem.

Evangelism was a major emphasis of each of my congregational ministries, and God used me and those with me to bring salvation to more than I can remember. However, that is where my personal shepherding ended. Following the traditional understanding of pastoring, rather than overseeing their walk, I depended on Sunday morning and other "group" instances to grow the sheep. I now think how wonderful it would have been to have another pastor to be a faith partner with me with whom we could hold each other accountable for our personal walk, our oversight of our families and our oversight of each of the sheep in our flock. I now think how wonderful it would have been to have taught mature men to assist me in the task, in the order of a lay minister and si milarly women in the order of a deaconess.

If you are a pastor, I plead with you to evaluate yourself and confirm if you are following the example of the Good Shepherd or if you are failing to nurture/oversee each of your sheep as you are commanded to do. If you are one of the sheep in a flock, I plead with you to evaluate your spiritual state, immerse yourself in God's Word, grow in knowledge and love of your merciful God, and be His powerful, obedient disciple.

(Note: I am writing a study entitled "God's Plan/My Plan" that could be a shepherding resource for pastors and a resource for people whose pastor doesn't provide shepherding oversight.)