I was surprise to find out recently that Barnabas Piper was a professing Christian. I had been led to believe that he wrote a book which was a list of grievances against the church. Even worse I was led to believe this by a pastor, quoting a list of these grievances. Apparently Piper’s intention was to give the church a firm talking-to in order that it might make some positive changes. But this was certainly not how the pastor used it. The selected indicting quotes were in similar to a personal list which I received from him in person. And so, books, words, and events can be made to mean different things for different people. Which is the point.

If you are a pastor collecting a list of grievances against the people you supposedly serve, you are in the wrong business. You belong in the break room of the backbiting business world, huddled around the coffee maker badmouthing Joe from Accounting, because, well just because. Is it really a surprise that people badmouth their leaders or that they do evil things to each other? If the sheep were not clueless they wouldn’t need a shepherd. Your job is to minister to them not to accumulate lists of people you think you are better than. Is it any wonder your kids are too good for Christians, when you have taught them that you are?

I am reminded of the Father Brown stories of G. K. Chesterton. Chesterton was, after his youth, always a great fan of the Catholic church and believed it’s Orthodoxy was the best explanation for man and this world. But, after having discussions with a great many priests he realized that they were in a unique position to understand the human heart, even the criminal human heart. Through countless hours of hearing confessions, priests had heard it all, and were in a great position to solve crimes. Father Brown, the priest, made the perfect detective. He is a priest who turns his experience with the negative side of humanity into a tool to serve humanity. This should be the job of all pastors.

I am a bit like a pastor’s kid myself. My mother was always involved in Women’s ministry and basically started a Christian school. She was the headmaster of the school for 13 years, almost every Christian in the community knows who she is. If you think you have seen the worst in people, try reforming their perfect little children when they don’t necessarily want to be reformed. And so, I have seen and heard about countless situations, of amazing evil. But I also got to see the active wisdom and prayer as she dealt with these situations. For hers was not a class in compiling grievances or self inflicted victim status. It was a workshop for how to serve people, how to minister to their needs and make them better in the process. The countless hours of seeking wisdom from those who have been there, and praying for those who are there now, were very instructive. Of course there are people who would not change and all you can do is laugh. I hear one of them is now a profit in Gateway, but that’s another story. Of course there are people who are inconsolable, who still glare at you in church. And all you can do is heap burning coals of love on their heads. This is the business and this is how you pass on the business. Funny the Muslims and the Hindus and whoever, don’t seem to have a hard time passing on their religions to their kids but the pastors of this nation, of this town, do. Carpenters, policemen, military men, even politicians all pass on their trades. It makes sense you have an inside track on how things work and the language of the trade. Why not pastors? Perhaps more of them should have been trained in those Christian schools. Instead of trying them out for a week, only to find another imperfect bunch of Christians to add to your list.

If you have been given more money than other people in the church, your job is to help others who have need. That’s your part of the body, you are the hand that reaches in the pocket and takes out the wallet. God chose to distribute the money unevenly so those two groups could fellowship, and both be blessed. If God blessed you with the ability to minister to people, that’s your body part. You are to share that wisdom with people who are less wise. You are not to use it to repress people, or create a fan club or a rabble which you can body surf. They are not there for your pleasure. If things are really that bad, it’s probably your fault. How can the teacher blame the people he is responsible for, if they are ignorant? Teach them.

And what of the self-consciousness the church forces on the pastor’s kids? If your basis for measuring your progress or success is found by putting your finger in the air is it any wonder your kids do the same. If you are constantly evaluating what people think or say about you, why wouldn’t your kids? And these things go the other way, if you teach your kids to rely on peer pressure instead of the Word of God, how are you going to teach the church? Evaluating your sermon based on how many people say it was good is like evaluating your life based on Facebook likes. If you are not secure in Jesus, you won’t pass security on to your kids. You might have everyone else fooled but your kids will know the truth. If people hold you to a high standard, meet it, don’t become a victim. If their standard is not based on God’s standard, blow it off.

And really, consider the cost before you go into ministry. If you like to study in an office, go be a theologian. If you are really lazy and just want a fancy title, work for the government. Jesus the perfect man, deserving of no evil, came to give everything to this world. And on the night he was experiencing the worst anguish of any man, he was abandoned by even his closest friends. Then the leadership of the very people he had come to serve killed him. It was either their sin or his life, and they chose what sinful man always chooses. Is it any surprise when the people in the church do this to their pastor? The best we can do is follow in Jesus’ footsteps, that’s what we signed up for. That’s what it means to take up your cross and follow him. If you find joy in doing that, then by all means be a pastor. Otherwise, for the Church’s sake and the sake of your children, don’t do it.