Why is it that I'm always the most suspicious of someone who has Reverend in front of his (or her) name?
It's ironic that I tend to be especially wary of pastors since I was raised in a great church and I've known plenty of great people who were pastors. I guess some of it comes down to the fact that evangelicals, in general, don't look too kindly on mainline denominations. Or it could be my own issues with authority figures. Mainly though, I think it's because we've all seen our fair share of false prophets and heretics. They can be eloquent and persuasive. They may sound really spiritual but at the end of the day they end up being exposed for being fakes.
I guess that's why hearing a pastor preach doesn't mean much to me without having some context for his preaching. If I don't know anything about the person, I tend to not listen to what they have to say. Some people have the gift of being able to take things at face value. I'm not one of those people. When my wife and I first started going to our present church, it took me nearly a year to stop double-filtering everything the pastor said. He's moved on to another church now, but he is without a doubt one of the most godly men I've ever met.
Sometimes it can be really difficult to see that a minister is legitimate and sometimes it's really easy. I was at a Rotary Club meeting the other day and I overheard a guy introducing himself to someone else. He said he was a Minister with the American Baptist denomination and that he'd served in churches in both Hollywood, CA and Manhattan, NY. You can probably guess what I was thinking. On the outside, I was calm and tried to act like I wasn't listening in but on the inside I was screaming, "LIBERAL HERETIC!".
For all I know, the minister might be a great and godly man. It's just that I don't trust ministers until I've had a chance to evaluate them. This is part of what I look for:
In all honesty there's probably even more than what I listed. I guess I'm a hard guy to please.
People who claim to be religious, especially ministers, often hide behind a veneer of spirituality that camouflages something else that isn't genuine. I suppose many people do, but they aren't standing up in front of the church trying to tell me how I should live my life. I guess the standard seems a little higher for ministers. Maybe that's not how it should be, but that's how it is, at least for me.
Ultimately, the most important test I have for a minister is this: Do they preach the gospel?
Without that, there isn't much point in looking at anything else.
So, um, Jim ... does that mean I need to change the name of my blog? ;)
Posted by: Rev. Mike at May 2, 2004 05:58 PM1. Why is it relevant if the kids who are no longer kids follow Christ? Once they're adults, they're under their own authority, not his. It's when they're under his that it matters.
2. We do have a direct line to heaven.
3. Whether he has a sense of humor about himself is a personality issue. I can't understand evaluating someone for something like that. Some timid people are more inclined to be embarassed than to laugh at themselves. That makes a worse pastor?
4. What's wrong with a cheap watch? I keep breaking mine, so it's poor stewardship of God's money to buy anything but the cheapest.
My biggest test is whether they preach the scripture. If all they do is topical sermons, I'm not very excited. If they pick different passages that are unrelated but still preach through a passage each week, that's better. If they take a chunk of scripture and work through it week by week, that's what I like to see. Of course, they do have to preach the scripture itself and not their own imported views. All the usual caveats have to appear here. It just seems a little odd to me that someone could consider their ministry a preaching ministry without actually preaching the scripture comprehensively and in detail.
Posted by: Jeremy Pierce at May 2, 2004 08:31 PMJeremy:
First of all I'll admit that my little tests are subjective and it's not necessarily the way I would encourage others to evaluate a minister. As far as the things I mentioned:
- It does matter to me what a Pastor's kids are like, even if they're grown. It's true that sometimes perfect parents raise kids that decide to fall away from the faith, but it's also true that our children see what is really important to us. They follow what we teach them even if it isn't what we necessarily meant to teach them. I think a person's children (even if they're adults) give me some insight into the nature of the persons character.
- As far as having a direct line to heaven, I guess what I'm referring to here is a spirit of humility. I've found that truly wise people are willing to admit when they don't have the perfect answer to something or when they just plain don't know. There are many mysteries of the faith that aren't necessarily spelled out for us at this present time (through a mirror dimly) and we need to be able to admit this as part of being intellectually and spiritually honest.
- Having a sense of humor about yourself is also referring to a sense of humility. I'm not saying you need to be a comedian - just willing to not take yourself so seriously all the time.
- As far as the watch issue, perhaps if you didn't buy such cheap watches you wouldn't be breaking them all the time! Accessories help to give some insight into a person's personality. If the guy is wearing a $2500 rolex, that tells me something. If he's so cheap that he'll buy substandard stuff just to save a few bucks in the short-term, that tells me something too.
- As far as preaching the gospel. I don't mean that literally all they preach about is the first four books of the new testament. What I mean is that they are true to the word of God, regardless of whether they tend to preach topically or by going straight from the scripture. In fact, using relevant modern examples is great. (Isn't that what Jesus did?)
So, no Rev Mike, I wouldn't change the name of your blog! (but I do wish you'd post to it more often!)
-JDM