{"id":32111,"date":"2022-09-10T15:56:46","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:56:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/why-character-matters-for-pastors\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:56:46","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:56:46","slug":"why-character-matters-for-pastors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/why-character-matters-for-pastors\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Character Matters for Pastors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Joel Rainey<\/em><\/p>\n

Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.\u201d (1 Timothy 4:16)<\/p>\n

One of the things I was blessed with throughout 27 years of vocational ministry is older pastors who continually reminded me of what\u2019s most important.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than anything else,\u201d they said, \u201cguard your character. Nothing matters more.\u201d I believed them then, but now I understand how serious they really were.<\/p>\n

Of course, Scripture leave no doubt these men were right. Both 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 reveal that the qualifications for the pastoral office are overwhelmingly tied to character.<\/p>\n

But as I prepare to look toward my fourth decade in vocational ministry, God has given me many experiences to prove the truth of those admonitions.<\/p>\n

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Though there are multiple reasons why character is important, one reason stands above them all. It\u2019s a reason I see reflected in my own experiences as a pastor.<\/p>\n

Character matters to your spouse<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One Saturday afternoon while my wife was away I received a phone call at home.<\/p>\n

The male voice on the other end asked for my wife. When I told him she wasn\u2019t home, he responded with a wry chuckle and said, \u201cWell, she\u2019s on her way to spend some time with me,\u201d just before he abruptly hung up.<\/p>\n

As it turned out, his attempt at anonymity failed, and I discovered he was a man whose daughter\u2019s wedding I\u2019d politely declined to officiate because her fianc\u00e9 wasn’t a follower of Jesus.<\/p>\n

Apparently, he felt revenge was best served with a side order of spousal jealousy and rumors of an affair. Being the husband of one wife had always been important to me, as I knew the Bible\u2019s requirements for a pastor to have a healthy, God-honoring marriage, and that his wife is to be equally honorable.<\/p>\n

I was appalled and angry at how my wife\u2019s character had been put into question that day, but I simultaneously took great comfort in the fact that her character would far outlast any frivolous accusations.<\/p>\n

Character matters to your staff<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It was a cold November day when I found myself sitting across from a staff member, allowing him time to take in the hard news I\u2019d just delivered.<\/p>\n

After months of seeking a more cooperative relationship with him, it had become apparent neither he nor the department he was responsible for were headed in the same direction as the church as a whole. His position, as a result, was eliminated, and his department reconfigured in a way that more greatly benefited the church and blessed the community.<\/p>\n

A few weeks later, this man told others in the church he\u2019d been \u201cfired\u201d and treated unfairly, and I found myself in a meeting with multiple people who were wondering if I\u2019d acted too aggressively.<\/p>\n

That meeting was neither fun nor easy. But I remember thinking to myself no one could survive a meeting like that unless their actions were judged against a larger life pattern marked by Paul\u2019s instruction to be sober-minded, self-controlled, and respectable.<\/p>\n

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See also  What Sparks Evangelical Generosity? Discipleship<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Character matters in your relationships<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The town I live in, and in which our primary campus is located, is one of the most LGBT-friendly places in the eastern time zone. The area has a long history that has always welcomed gay couples.<\/p>\n

Rainbow flags are ubiquitous, and every summer a pride parade dominates the city\u2019s schedule and ends with a large picnic at a public park just across the street from my subdivision.<\/p>\n

Having spent many years planting churches to reach unbelievers with the gospel, I\u2019ve had to learn through experience how to relate to people who are not like me and don\u2019t believe or live as I do.<\/p>\n

But one of my greatest challenges here has been to clearly communicate love to a group of folks whose beliefs and actions run counter to a 2,000-year old sexual ethic in Scripture that simply can\u2019t be ignored.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s my relationships with my LGBT friends that taught me more than anything else how important it is for a pastor to be hospitable.<\/p>\n

Character matters because trials will come<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There are multiple reasons every character trait listed in the pastoral epistles matter. But there\u2019s only one reason all of them are important\u2014because character will<\/em> be tested.<\/p>\n

This is why Paul leads off in 1 Timothy 3 by saying a pastor should be above reproach. It\u2019s because if you stay in this work long enough, someone is going to call you a liar, a thief, a bigot, a hothead, impulsive, or something even worse.<\/p>\n

In those moments, your character\u2014exemplified over a long period\u2014is the only thing<\/em> that will matter. Being above reproach doesn\u2019t mean you won\u2019t be accused, attacked, or pigeonholed.<\/p>\n

It means when those charges come, they won\u2019t be able to stick.<\/p>\n

When your leadership is questioned based on your character, it won\u2019t matter how large your church is or what you\u2019ve accomplished up to that point if your character isn\u2019t intact. Make sure you\u2019re above reproach.<\/p>\n

Twenty-seven years ago, I was the young guy listening to the old men telling me how important character is. Most of those men are now with Jesus, and I find myself amazed at just how right they were.<\/p>\n

Times of testing are coming, and there\u2019s only one way to prepare yourself. Guard your character. Nothing matters more.<\/p>\n

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Joel Rainey<\/h2>\n

@joelrainey<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Joel is the lead pastor of Covenant Church in Shepherdstown, W. Va. He\u2019s husband to Amy, father of three, serves on the adjunct faculty of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary,\u00a0is the author of four books, and blogs at Themelios.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n