Not the Perfect Pastor

Another church announced yesterday that it was removing its pastor. This megachurch in South Carolina has 17 campuses, with more than 30,000 attending on Sundays. The pastor admitted to an overindulgence in alcohol, relying on that instead of leaning more heavily on God.

Those of us who serve as pastors understand the problem, without excusing the sin. This is a very stressful job. We take seriously that souls can be won or lost for eternity. We can't 'loosen up' and start to think otherwise.

Much is expected of clergy. I Timothy, chapter 3 makes it plain that church leaders must be held to a higher standard. Rightly or wrongly, some of those standards are set by those not in the church. If outsiders are going to consider Christianity, they've got to see that it WORKS, at least for somebody.

I make some bad decisions. Sometimes I don't lead well. Sometimes my sermons are too simplistic, at other times just incomprehensible. God has provided a way for even pastors to put it behind them and go on with a clean slate. It's called forgiveness. We can dare to ask God for it, then we must accept it.

"If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:9