The Perfect Pastor

Is there such a thing as a PERFECT PASTOR? 

I am sure most people said no. But the answer isn't that easy. In fact, THERE ARE PERFECT PASTORS. They can stand before God, completely cleansed by the blood of Jesus, spotless in his sight. 

But, from a human perspective, pastors are people, too! We are sinners saved by grace and we have lived a sinful life. There is no one, not one, who is without sin. 

January 28th was the start of the process of leading my present flock. I greatly respect our board and church leadership that they were very deliberate in finding a pastor. I also am blessed that God chose me. As I have spent all of about eight weeks as the leader of my new flock, I have learned a few things about myself that have surprised me. 

I am a confident person. That is not the surprising part. The surprising part is that I have so many doubts in my abilities as a pastor. I am not sure people understand the reverence, honor, and respect I have for the position we call PASTOR. Just the simple idea of BEING CHOSEN BY THE LORD to lead a flock can be overwhelming at times. And NO, this is NOT a lack of Faith in the Lord. My doubts come from pure knowledge of myself. 

I don't want to MESS UP. 

Every waking moment as a PASTOR, I pray continually that God guides every decision, every moment of sermon prep, every word I speak, every choice I make, that it would not be STEVE RHOADES that is acting, but it would be the power of the HOLY SPIRIT acting through me. 

So when I read Titus 1, like I did this morning, or I read the letters from Paul to Timothy, I read them with a humbleness realizing that I cannot meet the standards of PASTOR in my own strength and ability. 

"An elder must live a blameless life. H must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don't have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. A church leader is a manager of God's household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money. Rather enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; thenm he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong." (Titus 1:6-9, NLT)

I have known a lot of pastors in my life. THEY ALL take the message of Titus 1 serious. From a HUMAN POINT OF VIEW, none of them are PERFECT. They all have FLAWS. But, from GOD's POINT OF VIEW, they are BLAMELESS. Blameless means to stand unaccused. I can stand unaccused because JESUS took all my sins with him to the CROSS. I am certainly far from perfect and when JESUS died on Calvary, my sins were sins he died for, just like everyone else. AND now that I am his, I strive to represent him well and to lead his flock with all of the LORD's STRENGTH and none of my own. 

Even if you are NOT a PASTOR, you can live a BLAMELESS life. You can achieve this special level of PERFECTION because of JESUS. When you devote your life to JESUS and acknowledge what he did for you on the cross, you CAN NO LONGER BE ACCUSED, .......... YOU ARE BLAMELESS. 

PRAISE GOD, I don't have to worry about being a PERFECT PASTOR, because I follow a PERFECT SAVIOR in JESUS CHRIST THE LORD!