Many years ago, I walked into my pastoral office for the first time, organized my books on my shelves, and sat behind my desk and began thinking about my first duties as a pastor. That week, the tasks included a hospital visit for a newborn baby in our church, a sermon to write, and a couple of meetings.
I don’t remember if I was conscious of this thought that week, but what was most important for me that week (and every week since) was my spiritual character.
There are three detailed lists of responsibilities for elders and pastors in the New Testament (1 Tim. 3:1-8; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-3) and those lists are not identical. What is the same about those lists, though, is that they all emphasize the importance of the inner man of the elder. His ministry success is dependent on what he is far more than what he does. No matter how many members the church has, how big the budget is, how many missionaries the church supports, how many books he publishes and blogs and podcasts he produces, if he is not a godly man, he is not a success.
The one thing a pastor and elder must not forget is the development of spiritual character. He must be spiritual because his people will not only hear what he says, but they will follow what he does. So he is to be exemplary in his life and conduct (1 Pt. 5:3). He should follow Christ in a way that manifests Christ to his people (1 Cor. 11:1). As Christ explained the Father through His life (Jn. 1:18), so the pastor explains and exemplifies Christ to his people.
It has been suggested that every pastor should memorize and meditate on Luke 6:40 — “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.” What the pastor is in character will be reflected in the people he serves. One pastor who knew that well was John Newton, who had great influence on a great many people (even until today through his writings); one of the members he particularly influenced was the troubled writer William Cowper who wrote to him in one letter: “I knew you; knew you for the same shepherd who was sent to lead me out of the wilderness into the pasture where the Chief Shepherd feeds His flock, and felt my sentiments of affectionate friendship for you the same as ever.”
No pastor is called or expected to be perfect; he will not be perfect; he is incapable of being perfect. But he should live dependently and humbly on God’s grace, “so as to be an example of Christ’s power in [his] life and an encouragement to others.” [Mark Dever]
Every elder should feel this weight of living as a worthy example and all the requirements for elders but every elder (and every man), indwelt by the Holy Spirit, can (and is expected to) fulfill that calling and be worth imitating. If you are an elder (or even a leader in any role in any ministry in the church), this is your calling.
Jason Allen rightly asks,
“…do you recognize the intentionality necessary to cultivate and sustain godliness in ministry? No man coasts into Christlikeness, not even a man who serves Christ full-time in vocational ministry. Neither does anyone become a more faithful man of God by accident. No man grows in godliness who does not intend to. More than intentionality is needed, but unless a pastor deliberately pursues holiness, he will suffer the spiritual decline and the ministry-destroying effects caused by the gravity of worldliness.”
And the legitimate expectation for every church member should be, “My elders won’t be perfect, but I will see the nature of Christ in them and I will be able to emulate how they live.”
Words of Grace 