pride in the pulpit

A long-time Christian who has been visiting my church gave me a compliment today, something that actually makes me quite sad.

He said out of all the ministers he’s known—and he’s known quite a few—I’m the only one who has ever admitted I'm not perfect.

While I should be grateful for the compliment, my over-riding reaction is how pathetic that makes those of us in the ministry look. If the other preachers who the man has sat under have presented themselves as somehow better than everybody else, shame on them.

Regular readers of this blog know how passionate I am on this topic. Ministers are not—I repeat, are not—any better than the people in the pews. Take it from me, we sin just like everybody else. There’s not a perfect one among us. Not. A. Single. One.

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”1

The “all,” of course, includes me. And it also includes your pastor, whether he admits it or not.

That said, of course we should have high expectations of our spiritual leaders, and of course we should expect them to be among the most spiritually mature in the congregation, but they are not perfect. Nor should they present themselves as such.

In fact, I strongly believe that being honest and transparent is an effective communication strategy. In my experience, admitting I’m not some kind of spiritual superhero connects with many people, perhaps even most people.

Besides, I’m not some kind of superhero. I’m just a regular guy who happens to be a pastor.

Can I be blunt, at the risk of upsetting a lot of ministers out there? If your pastor makes a practice of condemning sins in your life without ever admitting a crack in his own armor due to pride, well, I’d start praying about finding another church.

You need to find a servant-leader, someone who models Christ-like humility. After washing His disciples’ feet, Jesus said this:

"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”2

Does this describe me all of the time? Absolutely not. Not even close. Remember, I’m not perfect. Nobody is. But pastors—above all, pastors—should be diligently striving for this kind of humility and a servant’s heart.

It’s one thing if a minister doesn’t see the logic or need to be transparent from the pulpit—we’re all entitled to our own opinion—but if he thinks and behaves as if he’s better than everyone else, well, that doesn’t sound very humble to me.

Have I been a little hard on pastors? Probably.

But now you know where I stand, don’t you? Please, please, please don’t think of your minister as being superior to you in any way.

Why? Because he’s not.

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

1  Romans 3:23 

2  John 13:13-17