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

me, me, me

I looked the part—you know, all holy and godly—as I stood in front of the congregation with the other deacons, but inside I was full of all kinds of ugly and sinful thoughts. If only the people knew.

I had written my first communion meditation on my own, a pretty good one if I do say so myself. But the @#$#$&!!! elders had asked another man to do it. And the other guy, well, pretty much of a loser in my book.

And so there I stood in front of the stage as he walked up to the lectern behind me to deliver what would surely be a mediocre effort.

Was I ever in for a surprise.

He used the same passage I was going to use and made the same observations I was going to make. It was as if he was reading word-for-word from the written meditation I had prepared.

I got the Lord’s message loud and clear: “You’ve got an attitude problem, son, and I don’t use people who are puffed up with pride.”

Remembering that moment still makes me cringe. Even though no one knew what I was going through I felt as if they did. I was completely humiliated and humbled like never before, and the Lord made it happen in front of 300+ people.

I could feel my face blushing in shame so I stared at the floor, waiting, ever so long, for the moment to end. The urge to cry was strong, but I fought it off. Not going to do it. Not in front of all of these people.

God taught me a lesson that day, a lesson I will never forget.

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”1

That day I became very familiar with “disgrace.”

I’d like to spare you the same fate, so I’m advocating a Scriptural heart check today. I urge you to read each verse or passage and then answer—honestly—each of the six questions.

1.      “(Love) is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered.”2

 “Am I self-seeking?”

2.      “If you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such ‘wisdom does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”3

 “Am I selfishly ambitious?”

3.       “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."4

 “Am I humbly serving other people?”

4.      “Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?’”5

            “Am I denying myself?”

5.       “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”6

 “Am I seeking the good of others vs. myself?”

6.      “Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself.”7

 “Am I trying to please myself or others?”

So how did you make out? Yeah, I know, it’s not much fun, is it?

But hey, better to be humbled now vs. later, right? Why not deal with any pride issues now, in the privacy of your home? If you don’t, God may choose to humble you more publicly.

Trust me, you don’t want that.

1  Proverbs 11:2

2  1 Corinthians 13:5

3  James 3:14-16

4  Matthew 20:26-28

5  Luke 9:23-25

6  1 Corinthians 10:24

7  Romans 15:1-3