How To Distinguish Between Good And Bad Pastors

Texts: Ezekiel 34:11-16 and John 10:11-16

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

How do you distinguish between a good pastor and a bad pastor?

In other words, what qualities and characteristics should a church look for in a good pastor and what things should be avoided?

In a 2017 article from the HuffPost, Kelly Battles, answers these questions by saying that good pastors are characterized by the following attributes and features:

• A good pastor has an open mind.
• A good pastor is more spiritual than traditionally religious.
• A good pastor writes sermons that are relatable, current, practical, and that help you walk out of church with the tools and motivation to lead a better life.
• A good pastor integrates a heavy dose of humor and the arts, as well as prayer and the Bible, into the lesson.
• A good pastor makes everyone they meet feel like family.
• A good pastor finally, has a healthy appreciation for pet participation, children squirming in the pews, and people in bike shorts and sports uniforms, all regular occurrences in the church life of her local church.[1]

Ms. Battles goes on to say that in selecting a good pastor that the most important thing is to identify the traits, characteristics, and experiences that best fit with the church’s plans, vision, and priorities.

Now, is Kelly Battles right? Has she described what makes a good pastor in our modern day and age? 

Unfortunately, she has not described what makes a good pastor in our modern day and age, but instead, she has described merely what many churches ‘want’ in a pastor in our modern day and age. And what churches ‘want’ in a pastor is often different than what churches actually ‘need.’ That is to say; what churches often want in a pastor is at odds with what the Lord calls pastors to be and do.

Dear friends, to identify a good pastor, we must not consult and survey the wishes and opinions of mankind. Yes, to distinguish between good and bad shepherds, we must not appeal to the feelings and wishes of mankind, but we must hear what the Lord says about this subject.

In our readings from Ezekiel and the Gospel of John, we hear about the differences between good shepherds and bad shepherds – good pastors and bad pastors. We can also look throughout the rest of the Bible as well, to hear about the criteria of what makes a good pastor.[2] And what we hear is that we can distinguish a good pastor from a bad pastor not by how much humor he has in a sermon or how much he makes a person feel like family, but upon the pastor’s doctrine and life. Yes, the criteria that the Bible lays forth in identifying the differences between a good shepherd and a bad shepherd is what the pastor teaches and how the pastor lives.

Now, regarding doctrine, a good pastor preaches and teaches the Bible to the flock, not his own opinions. In fact, the majority of the time of the pastor is to be preaching and teaching the Holy Scriptures to his flock. He is to be applying Law and Gospel. Law to confront the sins of his flock and Gospel to absolve those sins. From the pulpit, the bedside, behind the desk, and on the streets, the pastor is called to proclaim God’s Law unto repentance and God’s Gospel unto faith. The pastor is not captive to the desires and wants and rules of the congregation but is captive to the Word of God and the Word alone.

Bad shepherds, on the other hand, may well preach and teach with a friendly smile, but will consistently remove the sting of the Law that reveals sin and then condition the Gospel that reveals Jesus. Yes, they will tickle the ears of the congregation by downplaying the seriousness of God’s Law and will undercut the singlehanded sufficiency of the Gospel. By doing this, nobody will feel bad because sin will not be confronted by a stern Law and everyone will be able to have a place in accomplishing their own salvation because the Gospel will no longer be dependent upon Jesus alone, but upon the will-power of the parishioner. As a result, sin is allowed to run rampant in the church, Jesus is pushed off to the side, and a one-way ticket to hell is handed out.

Furthermore, bad shepherds will slobber a bunch of manmade doctrines all over God’s Word, covering God’s Word with meaningless babble. Yes, bad shepherds will say a lot, but when closely examined, their chatter is empty. Their mouths are full of a bunch of empty sounds that have the appearance of knowledge but in reality contradict the Bible.[3]

Dear friends, doctrine is one of the things that distinguishes good and bad pastors. A good shepherd is faithful to the Word of God in season and out of season, telling the church what they ‘need’ to hear, not what they ‘want’ to hear. Bad shepherds, however, will tickle the ears of the congregation, telling them not what they ‘need’ to hear, but what they ‘want’ to hear.[4]  

Good and bad shepherds are also distinguished by their life. A good shepherd lives according to God’s Word and demonstrates his doctrine with good examples in his life. This is not a life of perfection, for no man is perfect, except Jesus alone. But instead, this is a life of upholding what is good, right, and true according to God’s Word. It is a life aspiring to want to do better and confessing sin when failure arises. A good pastor neither conceals sin nor celebrates it, but is quick to apologize to his flock and others when he errors and depends solely on Jesus for his identity, forgiveness, and life.

Bad shepherds, though, live contrary to God’s Word in their life when they conceal sin or celebrate sin. Bad shepherds also make many rules for their church that are not in the Bible and keep few of the rules themselves. To make things worse, bad shepherds run at the first sign of danger from wolves. Furthermore, they do not strengthen the weak, they do not heal the sick, and do not bind up the injured by the Word and Sacraments because they have not only forsaken the Word and Sacraments but are also too fat and lazy in their spiritual apathy – only serving their agendas and appetites.

Indeed, doctrine and life are that which help us distinguish between good and bad pastors. But why are the doctrine and life of pastors so important? Why this criterion? You see, it is quite simple.

If the church were a social club and Jesus was its group leader, then good and bad pastors would be judged upon their personalities, popularity, and relatability, not doctrine and life.

If the church were a business and Jesus was its CEO, then good and bad pastors would be judged upon business principles and financial ratios, not doctrine and life.

If the church were a social justice organization and Jesus was its social justice leader, then good and bad pastors would be judged upon their community campaigning abilities.

But the church is none of these things. And Jesus is none of these things as well. Instead, the church is often referred to in the Bible as a flock – a flock of sheep. And pastors are called to be shepherds of the flock. In fact, the word ‘pastor’ is from the Latin word that means, ‘shepherd.’

So, if the church is like a flock and pastors are like shepherds, what does this mean about Jesus? It means that Jesus is the chief Shepherd. Jesus is the good – the ultimate good – Shepherd. He is the good Shepherd that laid down His life for the sheep. Jesus is the chief Shepherd of our souls, by whose blood we are purchased and redeemed. And as our chief Shepherd, Jesus places pastors into churches to feed and preach the Gospel to ‘His’ sheep according to ‘His’ example and according to ‘His’ Word. Simply stated, good pastors are those who live by faith in Jesus and teach according to Jesus. Bad pastors disregard Jesus’ example and Jesus’ doctrine. That is why a pastor is judged upon doctrine and life. Is the pastor speaking the doctrines of Jesus? Is the pastor living by faith in Jesus? Or is the pastor peddling something else?

Dear Baptized Saints, if your pastor ever strays from the chief Shepherd or if your ears are ever tickled away to a bad pastor, beware! Whoever strays from the chief Shepherd – Jesus – does not have peace and safety but will have to contend with the wolves, that devour souls. 

You, though, are sheep. You hear and follow the shepherd’s voice. Together you and I know that we cannot help ourselves but depend on Jesus’ protection and help and His Word and Sacraments.  

So, dear Baptized Saints, when I step into this pulpit, wear this clergy alb, and place the stole around my neck, may I be faithful in doctrine and life to proclaim and give you Jesus’ Word. May I be faithful to proclaim to you Jesus and Him dying for your sins.

And when you have marital struggles, a new job, a failed pregnancy, a death of a spouse, and whatever this life brings, may you always have an open ear to hear about Jesus and Him dying for your sins.

No matter the circumstance, pastor and congregation must speak, hear, and trust in the message of Jesus dying for them. No matter the situation, the message of Jesus – His Word and Sacraments – must never be compromised because Jesus is the guardian of our souls, our rescuer in death, the hope of everlasting life, and our good and chief Shepherd, now and forevermore.

In the name of Jesus Christ: Amen.

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[1] Kelly Battles, “What Makes a Good Pastor in 2017?,” HuffPost, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/what-makes-a-good-pastor-in-2017_us_597b70fee4b06b305561d02b (accessed April 12, 2018).

[2] Take special note of the Pastoral Epistles that outline the criteria of Pastors.  

[3] See 1 Timothy 6:20.

[4] See 2 Timothy 4:1-5.

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Can These Bones Live?

Text: Ezekiel 37:1-14

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

Ezekiel saw something startling.  He saw human bones; skulls and ribs and jaws. They were not in some small grave or a pile but spread throughout a valley.  It probably looked like a holocaust - destruction on a mass scale.  Instead of hiding Ezekiel’s eyes, though, the Lord led him around the valley and through the bones to show him just how many there were.  And as Ezekiel stood there in the valley of dry and bleached bones, the Lord asked him “Can these bones live?”  Indeed, can these dry bones live? 

Now just to clarify, these bones in this vision were God’s people, the house of Israel, the Kingdom of Judah to be precise.  These were the people that came forth out of Egypt with Moses.  They were the people who were in the wilderness for 40 years.  They were the people who had settled in the promise land; however, in this vision, they were dead – all of them.  Long dead – reduced to dry white bones because of their sin and rebellion.

This vision of dead bones depicting the dead-ness of Judah should not come to a surprise to the people of Judah.  The Lord had warned the people of Judah that this very thing would happen.  In fact, God already made good on another warning more than one hundred years earlier when He sent Sargon, King of the Assyrians to destroy the northern kingdom of Israel because of their idolatry and rebellion.

Then only little Judah was left, the last of God’s people.  But they did not learn from what happened to the other kingdom.  God spared Judah, but that did stop the people of Judah from the same path of disobedience and idolatry. 

You see, Judah too chased after other gods.  They set up idols.  They flirted with other kingdoms for security and protection instead of trusting in God.  In a word, Judah had sold out.  They had abandoned God. 

So God let them have what they wanted.  You see, God has a way of letting humanity chase after their own dishonorable passions.  Yes, often as a way of Judgment, God will give mankind up to mankind’s own debased mind.  If people do not want anything to do with Him, He will let them go their own way as a way of Judgement, even if it is the way to destruction. 

And so, we know from history that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and destroyed everything – the temple burned and destruction was unleashed.  Those who survived were marched off to Babylon.  And there they sat.

As a result of the destruction, wrath, suffering, and being displaced the people began to self-exam themselves.  This is how it usually goes with pain and discomfort – people are shaken and sobered up from a spiritual stupor when bad things happen.  In other words, the people knew why Jerusalem was not outside their windows.  It was because of their sin and unrepentance.  And like a dry bone, they ached for what once was.  That is why they cried out “our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.”  And they were.

But God does not remember His anger forever; His mercy is everlasting.  To His hurting and crushed children, God sent His prophet Ezekiel, no longer with a message of repentance and wrath, but now with a promise of grace and forgiveness. 

Dear friends, do you realize that this is how God works?  God tears us down that He might heal us; He strikes us down so that He will bind us, and He kills to bring life. That said, God does not merely kill for the sake of killing, His killing is not separate from His bringing to life. God kills ‘so that’ he may bring to life; He strikes down ‘so that’ he can bind up.  He reduces us to the fine powders of repentance so that He may raise us up in faith! 

The same is true for Judah in our Old Testament reading.  The Lord would once again bring His children into their own land.  His glory would return to the temple.  They would again be His people because He would sprinkle them with clean water and wash them of their sins and put His Spirit within them.  “You shall be my people, and I will be your God,” said the Lord.

To drive home the truth of what He promised and to dismiss any doubts that the Lord of heaven and earth can do the impossible, God showed Ezekiel the valley full of bones.  He asked him, “Can these bones live?” 

In other words, can God’s people be given new life where sin, death, and hopelessness reigned?  Can their spiritual dryness be quenched with the water of life?  And the great answer is, YES!

And at God’s command, Ezekiel spoke to the bones: “Hear the Word of the Lord.”  And those dead bones came to life, the Spirit of God was breathed into them, and they became a living army, brought back from the dead according to God’s Word and promise.

And just like the dead bones being raised to life, God fulfills His promises to Judah by giving them life and bringing them out of the valley of Babylonian oppression to life in Jerusalem. 

Now, dear friends, we must not just commit ourselves to the Old Testament reading as a matter of doing a mere history lesson, but we must also confess along with ancient Judah that we too have our idols and false gods, those things we look to for our worth and value, instead of God. We all have stuff and concerns that are more important than God’s Word and God’s will for us.  We fail to learn from past mistakes and fall into the same sin time after time, even sinning against conscience doing what we know we ought not to do.

And all of that sin sucks the life right out of our bones, leaving nothing but a pile of sin parched souls in the pit of hell’s gut pile.

But our Lord doesn’t leave us there in the hellish exile of sin and death without hope.  “Can these bones live?”  Yes, they can!  You see, on Easter evening long ago, when the disciples were in the upper room, Jesus breathed on the disciples while saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Jesus breathing and bestowing His Spirit upon His servants is no different than that valley of bones.  Indeed, the breath of God was breathed into the disciples with sin dry bones, that they might speak that same Spirit of life and forgiveness to others with sin dry bones. 

What this means is that the prophesied word upon the valley of dry bones was not meant only for the people of Judah exiled to Babylon.  It is also intended for you.  In Jesus’ death, our Lord paid the penalty for our idolatry, our mistrust, our sin and rebellion against God.  And that forgiveness He imparts to you and bestows upon you in His Word, spoken at His command through His servant the pastor.

And so, when the breath of the Lord breathes forgiveness, life, and salvation into our aching bones through His Word in the absolution, the life of Jesus Christ is made ours.  Our sins are forgiven as sure and certain as God’s promises are true.

Dear friends, we need that Word of God’s life and forgiveness as much as Judah did in Babylon.  Because even now, like then, as God’s people we sin and rebel against the God.  We need God’s Word – we need His forgiveness spoken over us and into our ears and souls so that we might be forgiven and have life.   

Yes, we need forgiveness and life… and today we actually have it.  You dear members of Zion Lutheran are in Christ alone, having been sprinkled with clean water in Holy Baptism, having the Spirit of life spoken into you through the absolution.  And as God’ forgiven children, you wait for the final and complete fulfillment of what Ezekiel viewed in the valley.  The final resurrection to eternal life of all those slain who have died to trust in Christ. 

That is the greatest part that is yet to come.  Make no mistake about it, the Lord has already fulfilled His promise and so He will bring His promise to completion by His Word calling into graves and resurrecting departed saints who died in Jesus.  And you will be among those who rise because even your bones will live.  So says the Lord Jesus.

In the name of Jesus: Amen. 

This sermon is borrowed in part from Rev. Joshua Reimche.

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What Is A Pastor?

Text: Ezekiel 2:1-5

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

God is giving Ezekiel a task, setting him apart; He is calling Ezekiel to go to Israel and proclaim the Word.  Basically stated, the Lord established Ezekiel as a prophet. 

Now, with that stated, we need to understand what a prophet is.  I think a common misunderstanding in our day and age is that a prophet is one who solely “tells the future.”  While we certainly see that happening in the Old Testament, a much better description of a prophet is simply one who is sent to proclaim a message, a message on behalf of God. 

Yes, God is consistently in the business of calling people to proclaim His Word, His message.  Moses was called to bring a message to Egypt.  Jonah was called to proclaim a message to Nineveh.  Isaiah was called too and so forth, you get the picture.

As we think about this in two-thousand-fourteen, does God still speak through prophets?  Yes he does, however, not in the way that we would probably think.

As we look to the New Testament we see that the scriptures speak of churches, that is (to say), groups of Christians who call and ordain pastors for the local church.  Furthermore, we see in the scriptures the duties of the Pastor laid forth.  As a result, churches call and ordain pastors to serve in the local church; this has happened for the past two-thousand years.  Thus we can say that the office or role of the pastor is a divinely instituted office prescribed by scripture.  The office is laid forth for the church to have and for men to fulfill. It is laid forth for the Lord’s Word to go forth.   

But what makes a pastor a pastor?  Very simply, a pastor does not become a pastor because of some intrinsic worth or core power.  In other words, pastors do not have special DNA or special divine powers.  Pastors are no closer to God than laity and are sinners like any member of the congregation, if not more.  So what then makes a pastor?  What makes a pastor a pastor is a calling on behalf of the local church.  Churches, as the bride of Christ, call. 

You my friends, as believers, make up the church.  The church is not a building but the gathering of believers around the Word and Sacraments of God.  You therefore, as the Church of God, located in various places have the responsibility and power to call a person to the office of pastor.  Thus, a pastor is only a pastor when they have been called by a local church to be a shepherd.  Therefore my friends, there is no such thing as self-appointed pastors. 

When I was starting seminary, someone asked me why I was going to seminary and I replied to them saying, “I was called.”  Responding they said, “You are not called for you haven’t been called by a church.”   This offended me greatly, but do you know what?  They were right!  Just as God called the people directly in the Old Testament to be a messenger of the Word, God works through His church, to call pastors to proclaim the Word to the flock & beyond. 

So, now that we understand that prophets of the Old and Pastors today need to be ‘called,’ what are they called to?

In my humble opinion, the expectations of a pastor are some of the most misunderstood things in the church today.  Just what does a pastor do and what is he called to?  I came across a very funny job description for the ideal pastor.  Here is what it says,

The ideal pastor preaches exactly twenty minutes with an hour's content.  He condemns sin, but never offends anyone.  He works from 8 am to midnight, and also serves as the church janitor. He makes $40 a week, wears good clothes, and donates $30 a week to the church.  He is 29 years old and has 40 years of experience.  He is a strong leader, yet also follows everyone's advice.  He can effectively relate to all teenagers and spends all of his time with the elderly.  He is tall and short, thin and heavyset, and has one brown eye and one blue eye.  He makes 15 house calls a day, regularly visits the hospital, and is always in his office.

Now, we can all get a good chuckle out of the previous job description.  I am sure many of you can relate to similar expectations in your own field of work.  However, in all seriousness though, what is the pastor called to?  If we could summarize the office of pastor into a simple idea, theme and job description, what would it look like?  What was the primary thrust of the prophet of the Old Testament?  Simply put, the pastor is to be the shepherd of the sheep.  He shepherds, protects and feeds them not by his own strength or wisdom but feeds the sheep and directs the sheep by the Word.  A pastor’s main job is to be a servant of the Words of God, God’s Word as printed in the Bible. 

An older pastor once sent out an email to a bunch of young seminarians. (Note: seminarians are those that are in training for ministry). David Petersen said to them,

You are a servant of the Word.  Follow Jesus.  The Way of the Cross is a lonely, narrow path but it leads to heaven.  Be more afraid of God than you are of the people.  It is not the one who signs the check who provides daily bread.  Do the right thing.  Tell the Truth.  Suffer the consequences.  That is what a servant of Christ does.  

It is the Preaching Office.  Don't forget that.  Your relationship to the congregation is the same as the prophets to Israel.  Work on teaching and converting your own people-- which includes scores of folks not on the books.  Preach the Gospel to them -- from the pulpit, the podium, the bedside, and behind the desk.  They come looking for marital advice?  Tell them about Jesus dying for them.  They come looking for sympathy and a listening ear?  Tell them about Jesus dying for them.  They have a new baby, lost their jobs, are afraid of retirement?  Tell them about Jesus dying for them.  No matter what the circumstances, what the situation, you preach Christ crucified.  Never compromise the simple Truth that has saved you.

Believe your own preaching.  Jesus died also for you.  He called you to this Ministry.  He knows what he is doing.  As good or as bad as it gets, it will not last forever.  He is coming back to claim His own.

Indeed, the main job of a pastor is to proclaim the Word of God to his flock.  He is to proclaim the Word, not his opinion.  The pulpit is tied to the Word of God and the pastor is called to preach the Word.  The pastor only has authority when he is preaching the Word of God and not the opinion of man.  Furthermore the pastor has no jurisdiction apart from the Word. 

There is a temptation in the church these days to excuse the spoken Word in exchange for deeds.  The cry is, “We don’t want creeds/words, but deeds.”  My friends, while it is important for us to serve our neighbor, we can never forsake the Word of God.  As human beings we are prone to wander and prone to leave the God that we love.  Therefore, we need to hear daily and especially in the midst of the church, God’s Word.  We need the Word to stand from the outside—in, speaking to us about our human condition of sin and also God’s solution, the forgiveness of sins found and purchased in Christ for us.  We need someone to give us a report from the Word, we need the authoritative Word to stand outside of us and above us to tell us how things actually are. 

That’s right, we don’t need good advice, good techniques and good ideas to make us better parents, better spouses and better friends, for if a pastor’s message centers solely on telling parishioners to: yield more, pray more, care about unbelievers more, read the Bible more, get involved in the church more, love their spouse and kids more…, parishioners will develop the following narrative, ‘I wonder how I am doing in my life, my yielding, my memorization work, my prayers, my zeal, my sermon application and my witnessing?’ Even though these are good virtues, the narrative is turned inward to self and the Gospel is assumed.  Therefore, Christ’s church needs to be pointed outward to Christ. 

Indeed, we need a word outside of us.  We need God’s Word of Law announced to us to reveal sin, show us where we have been deceived and indicate to us where we have injured our neighbors.  We also need God’s Word of Forgiveness declared to us so that we might hear that we are forgiven, that we are declared righteous for Christ’s sake, that the guilt has been removed, that there is no condemnation for us in Christ, etc… 

The reason why the church calls pastors to proclaim the Word is that the message of the Cross is the power of God.  In Genesis chapter 1 we read and see that God is speaking the World into existence out of nothing.  God speaks, “Let there be….” And there was.  Out of nothing God makes something and He does so by simply speaking, His Word.  Through God’s Word He makes all things out of nothing.  There is power in the Word of God!  The same word that created the world is the same Word that creates and grants faith to you and me. (Rom. 10:17)  The same Word that created the world is the same Word that creates and sustains the church. 

Pastors are called to proclaim the Word because in the Word of God everything hinges.  Therefore, my friends hear this Word today, this Word that is for you:

• “Be of good cheer, my son. Your sins are forgiven.”
• “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
• “Fear not, little flock. It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
• “Come to Me, all you who are heavy laden. Take My yoke upon you, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
• “And He, when He comes, will neither break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoldering wick.”
• “When You return, remember me.” “I tell you, this day you shall be with Me in paradise.”
• “It is finished!”
• “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us . . .”
• “. . . He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree . . .”
• “God made Him to be sin who Himself knew no sin . . .”
• “. . . for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
• “For by grace you are saved, through faith, and that [faith in Jesus is] not of yourselves, but it is a gift of God, lest any man should boast.”
• “And to the man who does not work but trusts the One who justifies the wicked, his faith is counted as if it were righteousness.”
• “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith, apart from works of the law.”
• “. . . knowing a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.”
• “But now a righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, . . . the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.
• “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
• “There is now, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.