Christian ministers experience temptations specifically related to their calling. Not just the seven deadlies like lust (a pretty woman in need of counseling) or sloth (starting the workday at the crack of 10), but what we might call occupational temptations. These include:

When a minister starts working with an existing church, he steps into that congregation’s history. They have their own ways of doing things, their own successes and failures, their own corporate culture. The minister who on his first Sunday thinks, “Christianity begins here today,” does so at his peril.

A congregation will sometimes lead their new minister into this temptation. They may talk big about how they want him to make changes, to act as a new broom sweeping clean, to help them get their act together. Sometimes they mean it or think they do; sometimes they don’t. A wise minister will acknowledge the good things that happened before he got there and will avoid thinking of himself as the new sheriff.

How do you recognize a good Christian? An unwary minister might identify people who support the church program as saints and people who don’t as dodgy believers at best. Sometimes he will be right. Church attendance and volunteering for church programs can serve as useful markers of a person’s connection with God through Christ. But not always.

A preacher doesn’t always know what his church members do between Sundays. Some may spend so much time feeding the hungry and clothing the naked that they don’t make it to all the church meetings. Some may become so engaged with the world (in the good sense) that they appear less than fully engaged with the church. A wise minister will acknowledge the good his congregants do outside the church building and outside the church’s program.

Politicians receive praise or blame for whatever happens on their watch—even the weather. So do ministers. This situation creates a problem only when the minister believes it, like the rooster who thinks his crowing made the sun come up, or a deranged weatherman who thinks he created a storm front.

Sometimes a church grows or declines, and the minister has a lot to do with it. Other times, things change for good or ill because of forces beyond the minister’s control. When the news is good, a wise minister will not think he made all the good things happen by himself. When the news is bad, he will engage in self-evaluation but will not beat himself up for situations he didn’t create.

Christians come in all degrees of commitment, of godliness, of spirituality—ministers included. Just because someone stands up front and does the preaching does not mean he has moved farther along the straight and narrow path than anyone else. If he has, he will show proper humility about it. If he hasn’t, he will recognize godliness when he sees it in the members of the church. Above all, he will avoid this last temptation.

Although every Christian minister reports to God in the ultimate sense, he also reports to certain people. However the church organizes itself, whatever power it allows its minister, at the end of the month he must convince someone else that he has done what he should. A minister who feels a higher calling that allows him to bypass the “lay” leadership of the church may have developed an exalted view of himself (see the previous temptation), and he may need to get the suitcases down from the attic.

Not one of the hundreds of ministers I have associated with should think I intend to portray him here. Sadly, I have to look no farther than my own heart to find these temptations alive and well. But if the glove fits, wiggle your fingers. And church members and leaders, please do what you can to keep your favorite minister out of the ditch. |L

OTHER COLUMNS:
November 15, 2009 - Bringing Christ to French Guiana
November 1, 2009 - Walking the edge
October 18, 2009 - Watch what you say
October 4, 2009 - Proposing a new proverb
September 20, 2009 - Fear and trembling
September 6, 2009 - Elwyn
August 23, 2009 - Where did the Bible go?
August 9, 2009 - The public school: a local mission field
July 26, 2009 - Astonishing the judges
July 12, 2009 - Letting the past go
June 28, 2009 - Line up
June 14, 2009 - The path to spiritual growth
May 31, 2009 - A tribute to one of my heroes
May 17, 2009 - Silent soldier
April 19, 2009 - Operation Resensitization
March 8, 2009 - Conversation over shoes
February 22, 2009 - By their plurals you shall know them
February 8, 2009 - What is missing from your retirement plans?
January 25, 2009 - Turn the page
December 28, 2008 - Abba, Father
December 14, 2008 - Elementary truths
November 30, 2008 - The illusion
October 19, 2008 - Acting like a toddler
October 5, 2008 - Don’t miss this
September 21, 2008 - Foolish schemes
September 7, 2008 - God’s hand is everywhere
August 24, 2008 - The dance
August 10, 2008 - Strange land
July 27, 2008 - God’s amazing grace
July 13, 2008 - A best seller
June 29, 2008 - My grandfather’s clock and worship
June 1, 2008 - Reclaiming the name
May 4, 2008 - God is not our fairy godmother
April 6, 2008 - Success: what is it and who can measure up?
March 9, 2008 - Need to know
February 10, 2008 - The top three myths of singleness
January 13, 2008 - By invitation only
December 5, 2007 - Yes, Abbie, there is a Jesus
November 18, 2007 - 10 Ways to be a good Christmas customer
October 21, 2007 - The dividing line
September 23, 2007 - What do you fear?
September 9, 2007 - A life well lived
August 26, 2007 - To murmur, or not to murmur
July 29, 2007 - The cross and the Christian
July 15, 2007 - Turning the other cheek: still a valuable biblical principle
July 1, 2007 - Why the tie?
June 3, 2007 - The death of a son
May 6, 2007 - A prayer for the dying
April 8, 2007 - The omnipresent God
March 11, 2007 - Do the Amish have superheroes?
February 11, 2007 - What’s your black history?
January 14, 2007 - The split branch
December 31, 2006 - The house of regret
December 10, 2006 - The redemption of the innkeeper
November 26, 2006 - Too many choices
November 12, 2006 - Break the bashing habit: Learning to love the unsaved like Christ does: November 12, 2006
October 15, 2006 - Be ‘salt and light’ this Christmas!: October 15, 2006
September 17, 2006 - Who is a legalist?: September 17, 2006 Issue 38
July 23, 2006 - God speaks through our brokenness: July 23, 2006 Issue 38
June 25, 2006 - 'What I am looking for in my church leaders'