Modern Day Shepherds

Years ago I sat in a financial committee meeting as they discussed how much to pay their preacher. The preachers was there as well, and his input was to suggest that they pay him what he could make in the secular world. I made no outward expressions, but inside I could not believe what I had just heard. That was many years ago, but the western church has more or less adopted that policy. And in so doing, we have made the church a business and the pastor a de facto CEO. And not being satisfied on that level, the church began its television and radio “ministries” which lined the pockets of carnal men and women until now there are “ministers” who live on a compound with several mansions for their families and travel on one of several personal jets.

That, my friends, is not Christianity and that does despite to the gospel and the Person of Jesus Christ. And the average church pays all kinds of staff members. It seems no one desires to serve without remuneration. The average pastor of a church of any size attends many weekly meetings, talks quite frequently on the phone, reads mail, counsels all kinds of people, eats lunch out with colleagues or church members who might pick up his tab, makes financial decisions, plays golf, and all sorts of activities, and basically watches over the franchise called a “church”.

He may or may not purchase his sermons on the internet, but he relies heavily on his gift for speaking and not his many, may hours of Bible time. The thing that he does least is pray. And rare is the pastor who fasts except maybe skipping lunch. The average pastor proudly proclaims that his family comes before the church and uses that false dichotomy to prove he is a sacrificial family man. But the elephant in the room is that the Scriptures define the role of an elder as the “ministry of the Word and of prayer”.

And in this day there are many pastors who are engaging in all sorts of clandestine sin. Is it any wonder why the average western believer is so anemic and is so corrupted by this fallen culture? And to think our Wonderful Lord lived such a sacrificial life whose earthly marks were one of moderation and a denial of what was always available to Him. And yet the average western “shepherd” demands a salary commensurate with his secular skills. The former pastor of the church where I taught Sunday School in retirement was called by the pulpit committee but would only come if they raised the salary, otherwise in his own words he would be making a “lateral move”. Absolutely disgusting.

And you have many ministers who major in Bible exegesis and expository preaching. They have studied the Greek and Hebrew ( like thousands before them) and they contend that knowing the Word and the doctrines it teaches is the sign of a mature believer. But I know personally some of these men, and they and their people are no more or less like Jesus than the church down the street. If knowing doctrine is the life food for a believer, shouldn't that congregation be demonstrably different than all these other churches? There is a world of difference between knowing and being.

The western church has been assimilated by the culture. It no longer gives off the unmistakable fragrance of Jesus, and it no longer seeks to deny self. I am not sure whether true New Testament Christianity is even practiced here anymore. We have become professional church operators by sacrificing being authentic disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. By our actions, we now present a caricature of Jesus and not the August Christ. Lord, revive Your work…