For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. - Titus 1: 7-9 (ESV)

In Colossians, the Apostle Paul warns us about not being taken captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. It is amazing how prescient the Word of God is. How those words penned thousands of years ago are so relevant and true today for the church. One of the consequences of the Warren theology amidst the purpose driven church is that pop psychology, secular leadership principles, and the wisdom of this world is running through the Body of Christ like the leaven Jesus warned us about. This week's example of such comes from Charisma News, which published an article entitled, "Does Your Pastor Have These 7 Character Traits? Do You?" Eagerly I read it, hoping to find good solid, biblical values being offered. Unfortunately I was vastly disappointed. Here is the list from author Dan Reiland:

Great leaders have great faith

Great leaders create

Great leaders insist on healthy relationships that are productive

Great leaders practice fierce focus

Great leaders know when to push and when to back off

Great leaders are willing to tolerate "messy" if it means progress

Great leaders have settled their call

I should have been prepared for my disappointment when I saw that Reiland runs a website for "developing church leaders." The seven traits had brief summaries akin to the brevity of substance in today's sermons. There was plenty of human wisdom, including directly quoting psychologist/philosopher William James. There was plenty of Christianese, such as "kingdom fruit" and "settled call." Just enough of the name Jesus thrown around to make you feel like you are reading something that was of God. Except one little problem. Outside of having great faith, none of these traits are remotely biblical. Even within the explanation for great faith however the focus was on whether your faith inspires others. Overall very humanistic. Very secular. Very unbiblical.

Is this really a big deal preacher? Is it a bad idea for pastors to be creative, have focus, and develop healthy, productive relationships? Sure it can't hurt but that is not the point. This is not presented as some helpful ideas but rather necessary pastoral traits. The very real thing that is overlooked is that the Bible already provides such a list for us and it is found in the key verses today.

For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach.

The requirements for the calling begins with reminding those that would take this mantle that they are in fact a steward of God. They are an undershepherd to the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Why is this important? Because so many forget it today in the seeker friendly church landscape. New pastors are taught they are a CEO, not a shepherd. Visionary-obsessed pastor Andy Stanley is quoted as saying the word shepherd is no longer culturally relevant! As if what the Bible says changes based upon what generation or culture we find ourselves in. I assure you it does not. Pastors must be stewards first and as such, they must be above reproach. Not "creative"; - but rather above reproach. The word reproach means finding disgrace or discredit. The pastor must be above being disgraced or discredited. Just one glance across Christendom and we see how far we have fallen in this regard with pastors falling every day from one indiscretion or another. The amazing thing is the reflexive way we run to protect the fallen instead of the sheep. We should always pray for restoration of the fallen's life and walk but our primary concern should be with the sheep of God. Continuing on:

He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain

There are no philosophical items listed here. Nothing to parse out like "fierce focus" or "tolerating messy." No beloved. These are straightforward and easy to understand. I may not know any drunkard pastors or violent pastors but I certainly can think of some unbelievably arrogant and quick tempered ones. Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill church has yet to even apologize for bragging about the pile of dead bodies he is leaving behind the Mars Hill bus. I remember Benny Hinn wishing he had a "Holy Ghost machine gun" so he could kill those pastors who were criticizing him. I have heard unknown pastors tell sheep to leave their church simply for disagreeing - something they will answer for when they stand before Christ to give account for all the sheep entrusted to them. Likewise, I can certainly think of a plethora of pastors who are greedy for gain. The obvious ones are the likes of Mike Murdoch and Kenneth Copeland but there are also the second tier players. The ones who have values in the tens of millions of dollars while their congregants wallow in poverty. TD Jakes (18 million) and Creflo Dollar (27 million) come to mind. Are people entitled to the fruit of their labor? Absolutely. It just seems to pass a level of unseemliness when you reside in million dollar mansions while preaching to the poor. Then there is the third tier who preach punitive tithing to the poor. All fall within the greedy for gain category which should disqualify them as pastors. Continuing:

but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

Now the key verses deal with some traits the pastor ought to have. Nothing about knowing when to push and when to back off. Nothing about making sure their call is settled. No beloved. Once again, straightforward, unambiguous and to the point. Pastors are supposed to be hospitable. Quite frankly in the age of mega pastors who view themselves as CEO, they have become far too distant from the sheep they are supposed to be tending to. Instead such assignments are delegated downward to an assistant pastor or even worse an untrained ministry worker. I have seen pastors be approached by wailing congregants in need of just a few minutes of their time and they were met with - call the office and make an appointment. I know people who had dying family members and could not get an appointment to see the shepherd. Any inhospitable shepherd who has no time for his sheep is not fit for the pulpit. I didn't say it - God does. They are also supposed to be a lover of good. I invite you to visit ilovemarshill.com and read the horrifying stories of abuse people suffered at the hands of Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill Church. When you follow the CEO model, you convince yourself that sacrificing a few sheep for the greater good is somehow acceptable. I assure you it is not to Christ. The last four things listed here all seem related to the management of the personal life of the pastor. He needs to be self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. To be holy means to be set apart for the work God has called you to. It goes back to being a steward of God. We see pastors fall every day it seems from one indiscretion or another. Sexual impropriety with congregants. Adultery. Embezzlement. Stealing from the sheep. How does this happen? Because the new pastors are too busy making sure they have fierce focus instead of making sure they have fierce self discipline. They are too busy settling their call instead of settling their uprightness. Beloved, these things are not optional. I have heard the argument that it is too demanding. It should be! You are called to shepherd the sheep of God and you are running around making sure you are creative enough? While all the while knowing you have no discipline when it comes to women outside your marriage? Dear Lord forgive us. We continue with the key verses:

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

So we come to where the rubber meets the road. How does the man of God shepherd the sheep? What is his primary responsibility? Is it learning to tolerate "messy" for the sake of progress? Is it cementing your call through fierce focus? Is it learned at the latest leadership summits and fancy conferences? No beloved. It begins with and ends with His Word. The pastor must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught. Taught by whom? Taught by his college of divinity? Taught by the Purpose Driven Church? Taught by the leadership from his denomination? No, no, and no. Taught by Jesus Christ.

They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. - Matthew 23: 6-12 (ESV)

We have one instructor - the Christ. Sorry Rick Warren. We are not supposed to water down, sugar up, or make culturally relevant the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel does not need to made seeker friendly. It needs to be held firm to. It needs to be preached. Why does it need to be held to firmly? So that the pastor can shepherd the sheep as instructed by the Great Shepherd. So he in turn can provide clear instruction from God in sound doctrine. Why? Because that is what the sheep need! They do not need seven steps to a better sheep. They do not need a 30 minute pep talk about how great they are. They do not need a quick and dirty lesson on how much God loves them. They need sound doctrine. Here is the kicker though, for those of you who fancy yourself pastors, when you do not provide the sheep with sound doctrine - you actually starve the sheep. Here is a prophecy against such shepherds, taken from the Word of God:

The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. - Ezekiel 34: 1-6 (ESV)

CEO pastor listen well to the Word of the Lord! The weak you have not strengthened while you fixated yourself on fierce focus. The sick you have not healed while you made sure of your calling. The injured you have not bound up while you were learning when to push and when to back off. The strayed you have not brought back while you insisted on healthy and productive relationships. The lost you have not sought while you tolerated "messy" on the altar of progress. You have ruled with harshness and force instead of discipline and hospitality. You have all of the leadership principles figured out but you do not feed the sheep. You have your salary and benefits but you do not feed the sheep. You have you cars and mansions but you do not feed the sheep. You have your cable show and radio ministry but you do not feed the sheep. You have the top ten bestseller about how the sheep you do not feed are destined to reign. You have taken the Word of God and His sheep and made merchandise of them. Woe to you for you will answer for every sheep entrusted to you.

I can comfortably say this because of the final responsibility listed in the key verses spelling out the traits a pastor needs to possess. We are called to not only hold firm to the Word for the instruction of sound doctrine but we are also called to openly rebuke those who contradict it. Pastor, you are not on a team with other pastors. You are on the team of Jesus Christ. Those who do not preach the unspoiled Gospel are not your friends because they are enemies of the cross. If you see the Gospel being maligned, molested or misused - speak out against it! That is what you are called to do! The only unity is with Christ and His Gospel. There is still time beloved but it is running short. Find a man of God who is brings the full Gospel to you for instruction in sound doctrine. One who cares about you as a shepherd. One who is hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. One who is not arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain. One who understands that he is a steward of God first, foremost, and always. Find that man and be fed. I do not care if the church is a run down shack on the edge of town. I do not care if it has no nursery or children's ministry. I do not care how bad the parking is. Find that man and be fed because Christ is coming soon and we need to be ready. Our unsaved family members need us to be ready and we have to stop playing silly church games.

Pastor, forget the pop psychology and latest church growth fads. Forget the leadership summits and church planting conferences. You have not been called to be creative, develop productive relationships or practice fierce focus. You have been called to shepherd the sheep of Almighty God and they are starving to death amidst the feeding of the goats that is the purpose driven model. Work on the things God outlined for you in Titus. Move away from the secular philosophies that rule the day and get back to holding firmly to the Word you have been taught by Christ Jesus. Only it has to words of everlasting life. Only it has the power of God unto the salvation of men. There is still time man of God. Come back to the Sheep. Come back to the Word of the Lord.

Reverend Anthony Wade - July 8, 2014