Seven Deadly Sins of a Pastor (Part One)
I am in the middle of one of the greatest and most challenging times of spiritual renewal ever in my life … both as a pastor and simply as a Christ-follower. Here are seven sins God has brought to my attention over the course of my five years as a church planter, pastor, and Christian.
1) Putting limits on God. To put it bluntly, my bar has been set way too low! I believe God wants to see churches grow, lives changed, and souls saved way more than we do. But somehow my little (or lack of) faith, does in fact limit God (Mark 6:5).
2) Depending on me, myself, & I (instead of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). This one has caused countless of us in ministry to not take time off, to not say ‘No’, and to not delegate. It has caused me to rush through prayer time so we can get busy with the work, to stay way too late at work, and to question my staff way too much. The pride and pressure of this sin are tremendous. Jesus’ disciples were guilty of this one, and Jesus told them this.
3) Comparisons.   Satan can get miles out of this one. He can make us doubt or make us proud … either one gets us off target. Our standard is not the church down the street or across the state.  Our focus must be on what God wants to do here and to bring ‘fresh manna‘ to Rock Bridge. Paul said it best here.
4) People pleasing. If you’ve ever made a decision based almost entirely on what ’someone else thought’ or how ’someone else might respond’, then you know what I mean. In churches, the goal can easily slip from doing what God wants and having a zeal for His glory to keeping people happy (check this one out.).  We are not in a popularity contest or a political race. We are in a battle. We are God’s army. Armies are not democracies. Our General is riding a White Horse. Our enemy is already defeated … we just have to march according to the orders already given.
5) Clever speech vs. the Spirit’s Power. How long have I searched for that clever phrase, that awesome story, that powerful point when I should have been seeking the power of God! God changes people not words. Paul again makes the point.
6) Prayerlessness. I just finished reading an incredible book called, The Power of Prayer by E.M. Bounds who ministered during the Civil War era. Here’s a quote: “Man is looking for better methods. God is looking for better men. Man is God’s method.” WOW! In this book he challenges preachers to spend more time praying than they do preparing messages. He highlights how God has moved in the Bible and in history in response to prayer.  I once read where most pastors spend around 7 minutes in prayer a day. I have been convicted that one of my main responsibilities is to pray and … up until last week, I was neglecting it. The first crisis in the first church dealt (in part) with the need for the church’s ministers to pray. (Acts 6:1-7)
7) Loss of the FIRST LOVE.  The shift is subtle. It does not happen overnight, but somewhere along the journey passion for Jesus deteroriates from neglect, busyness, and trying to survive one more week … and then one day you realize that your love for {fill-in-the blank} (in my case, the church) has surpassed your love for Jesus. Your prayers and quiet times are less and less focused on meeting God and more and more focused on getting your needs met. You never thought it could happen. You never thought you’d forget WHO got you in this in the first place and WHO you owe eternal & abundant life to … but it happened to me and it happened here.Â
{Part One of Two}