Don’t Become A Fallen Pastor

My mentor phoned me. His voice broke telling of another pastor disqualified over sexual sin. We didn’t see it coming. Neither of us imagined this man would be blind to the destructiveness he warned others against.

How does a pastor fall? He carelessly slides in his daily walk, neglects vigilance against sin, presumes on God’s grace, fails to see his marriage as a gospel testimony, stops shepherding his flock, and loses sight of gospel hope.

It usually happens gradually. Long-practiced disciplines get ignored in the pace of ministry. He starts to skip devotion times, fails to die to sin, and overlooks spiritual renewal. He becomes prideful in knowledge and haughty over opportunities; he believes the hype about his greatness. His failure in disciplines and attitudes opens the way to roving eyes, giving into voyeurism, and loosening prudent boundaries like the Billy Graham rule. As Charles Spurgeon warned, “It will be in vain for me to stock my library, or organise societies, or project schemes, if I neglect the culture of myself.”

Rather than feeling numb to the multiplying falls, I’m prompted by each to give attention to my walk and to fight presumption.

Don’t Waste Grief

My mentor’s call grieved me 32 years ago. But at this stage, every disqualification seems to intensify my grief, exposing the weakness of my flesh and the danger of my calling: weakness because when a brother goes down, I’m forced to take another look in the mirror; danger because I’m viscerally reminded that the Adversary seeks someone to devour (1 Pet. 5:8–10).

When a brother goes down, I’m forced to take another look in the mirror.

In these moments, I ask myself questions: Rather than pointing a finger at my brother’s weakness, am I soberly reminded that I may be similarly tempted (Gal. 6:1)? Do I see my weaknesses and run to Christ (Eph. 5:3–13)? Do I hear the Spirit’s warning, spurring me to “pay careful attention” to myself (Acts 20:28)? Do I sense both external and internal spiritual dangers—Satan and the flesh (Eph. 6:12; Gal. 5:16–21)? Am I alert to the deceptions of pride telling me, “Oh, don’t worry, you’d never do that” (Prov. 16:18; Jer. 17:9)? Do I give devoted attention to loving my wife as Christ does the church (Eph. 5:25–29)? Do I maintain accountability with my wife, fellow elders, and pastor friends (James 5:16)? Do I think of the irreparable harm to the church when failing to be an example to the flock (1 Pet. 5:3)? Do I heed Richard Baxter’s urging: “Take heed to yourselves, lest your example contradict your doctrine, and lest you lay such stumbling-blocks before the blind, as may be the occasion of their ruin”? Do I live with the consciousness that I’ll give an account to the Great Shepherd (Heb. 13:17)?

When grief comes at the news of a fallen brother, don’t waste it. Look at your patterns and habits. Look at your walk. Look at your marriage. Look at your relationships. Look at your time alone. Be ruthless in dealing with anything the Spirit graciously exposes that might be a tipping point into moral failure. Be humbled by God’s grace that has protected and sustained you.

Live Intentionally as a Christian

Most spiritual issues we face boil down to neglecting the obvious. So intentionally live in Christ. He never deserts or forsakes us (Heb. 13:5). Three of Paul’s exhortations provide a healthy pattern to maintain.

1. Walk worthy of your calling in Christ.

Let your daily life show God’s grace. Be shaped by what Jesus has done through his death and resurrection to deliver you from sin’s penalty and power, to seal and indwell you by the Spirit, and to give you a new nature recreated in Christ in righteousness and holiness of the truth (Eph. 1:7–8, 13–14; 2:4–10; 4:24). Nineteenth-century pastor Thomas Murphy reminds us, “The real power of the pastor is in his earnest godliness.” Let your godliness be real.

2. Consciously live in God’s will every day.

After calling for Christians to be careful how they walk—“Not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil”—Paul bluntly writes, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:15–17).

Be ruthless in dealing with anything the Spirit graciously exposes that might be a tipping point into moral failure.

We admit that any man who breaks his marriage vow is a fool. So don’t be foolish. Instead, focus on living in God’s will, having a healthy walk in Christ (guarding the heart from debauchery and being filled with the Spirit); maintaining a joy-filled, grateful life of worship (especially practiced corporately); being teachable in reverence to Christ (submitting to one another); and enjoying a loving, passionate marriage (mirroring Christ and the church) (vv. 15–33). Martyn Lloyd-Jones explained that the preacher’s “most important task is to prepare himself, not his sermon.” Brothers, first things first!

3. Remember the hope of Christ’s call.

Hope points ahead to all Jesus has secured and promised by the gospel (1:18). We know Jesus saves us to live in him now. But he redeems us to be with him forever.

Practically, we must learn to feel heaven’s tug as we live with an eye to seeing Jesus face-to-face (1 John 3:2–3). We taste the experience of Jesus now but long for an infinite ocean of glory when we behold him. Looking ahead to future glory purifies us by guarding us from dumpster diving into the folly of sin. Why should we betray the gospel’s hope for eating out of a trash can?

Jesus Is Better

Don’t overcomplicate it. Yes, the flesh has wretched patterns, the Adversary seeks to devour, and the world flashes false glory. But Jesus is more. Let’s not be so foolish as to think the world, the flesh, and the Devil offer beauty, satisfaction, and joy. They can’t. Only Jesus does.

Don’t be the subject of that distressing phone call. Every day, live in Jesus. Walk worthy. Live in God’s will. Be hope-focused. Turn your grief over a fallen pastor into an intense devotion to Jesus, who keeps you and makes you stand in his presence with great joy (Jude 24).