What a Church Can Do Before a Pastor Falls

Christian, your pastor may someday fall. I certainly hope that’s never the case, and I hope he, like the great majority of his peers, remains qualified to the very end of his time in ministry. But even though it may be unlikely that his ministry collapses under the weight of scandal, immorality, or disqualification, it is not impossible. And because it is not impossible, both pastors and their churches are wise to take preventive action now. Actions like the ones I outline here may help prevent scandal, and should scandal come anyway, prevent poor responses to it.

Qualified Pastors

There is nothing a church can do that is more important or effective than this: ensure that your pastor is qualified. The Bible makes it clear that a pastor is not qualified for ministry primarily on the basis of aptitude, experience, or sense of calling. Rather, a pastor is qualified primarily by character. Three overlapping New Testament passages (1 Timothy 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9; 1 Peter 5:1–3) lay out a long list of character qualifications, and no man should be a pastor who does not meet them. He will do so imperfectly, of course, but he must show substantial evidence of each of the attributes. He must live in such a way that he is above reproach and an example who is worthy to be followed and imitated. He must exemplify what every Christian is called to be, and he simply must not be a pastor unless he does.

God knows that we are easily impressed by men of charisma, men of skill, men of great leadership capability. In any other organization those attributes might be the ones that qualify a man for a position. But in a church they must always be secondary to character. Alexander Strauch says it well: “A man may be a successful businessman, a capable public official, a brilliant office manager, or a top military leader but be a terrible church elder….” Why? Because leading a church is very different from leading any other kind of organization, and it depends more upon godly example than skilled leadership. Christlikeness is always the main priority.

So the first thing a church can do now, before any pastor falls into sin, is to ensure he is qualified according to God’s criteria.

A Plurality of Pastors

A second key measure is to always have a plurality of pastors. A plurality is two or more men, each qualified by his character, who share the responsibility of leading the church. A plurality is not meant to be one man surrounded by a group of yes men, nor one man surrounded by a group of naysayers or devil’s advocates. Instead, it is a group of men who have a shared calling to lead the church and thus share the responsibility of leading her. Their day-to-day and week-by-week tasks, areas of oversight, and levels of involvement may differ a great deal, but their calling and responsibility are the same—they are to lead the church. Their authority is also the same so that none of them has the power to override the others, thus making singular what is meant to be plural.

Plurality introduces obstacles, but many of these obstacles are good. Instead of one man always having his way, each must persuade others of any course of action. Instead of relying on a single perspective or interpretation of Scripture, a plurality of leaders has access to multiple. Instead of one man operating in the dark, several operate together in the light. No man proves his disqualification more than the one who believes he is worthy of leading a church by himself.

A church can act now to prevent scandal later by ensuring that the church is led by a plurality of qualified men. It may even be wise to include in its official documents a provision that if the church loses its plurality, it will come under the temporary oversight of a trusted and like-minded church that has one. Regardless, God means for his church to be led by multiple men who are qualified by their godly character.

Accountable Pastors

Another key measure is accountability, for a pastor needs accountability just as much as any non-pastor. There is nothing about the office that removes or even reduces his need for it. To be accountable is to have another individual or group who know what he has done and evaluate whether it was justified and wise according to Scripture. Further, it is to have them know who he is so they can evaluate whether he remains qualified for his position and begin to take measures to remove him if he is not.

In some church structures, pastors are accountable to an ecclesiastical body like a synod or classis, while in others they are accountable to the membership. My understanding, based on holding to elder-led congregationalism, is that elders/pastors (which I take to be synonymous) are accountable both to one another and to the local church, though in different ways, since pastors and members have different areas of oversight. The elders will hold one another accountable for remaining qualified according to the biblical criteria and for fulfilling the functions of their calling. They will hold themselves accountable as a body for the decisions they make and the ways they exercise leadership. But should a pastor or an entire plurality need to be removed from the position of eldership or even removed from the membership of the church due to sin for which they will not repent, this responsibility would fall to the congregation.

But whatever a church’s polity, the principle is that men must not serve in the office of elder without some kind of accountability. They must live with a purposeful transparency. Just as a man proves he is unsuited for ministry if he thinks he can serve alone, he proves he is unsuited if he thinks he can serve without accountability.

Cared-for Pastors

Pastors are shepherds who are called to care for the flock that has been entrusted to them. Yet even while pastors care for others, they also need to be cared for. They too are sheep, so they too need shepherds. A church that has a qualified plurality of elders who are under accountability already has the structure it needs to ensure its pastors are cared for.

Pastors need to be cared for in the sense that those who dedicate all of their time to the church ought to receive adequate compensation and fair benefits. But they also need to have their souls cared for, just like any other Christian. They need people who will ask about the state of their souls and carefully minister God’s Word to them. While there can be a place for ecclesiastical structures or biblical counselors, in most churches, the pastors will care for one another. Such care can easily fall by the wayside with all the concerns for the church’s members and all the busyness of the church’s programs, but pastors must not neglect one another. Instead, they must have a context in which they can express concerns, share fears, confess sins, and otherwise live with honesty and transparency.

Conclusions

There are undoubtedly many other ways that churches can take preventive action now. For example, abuse prevention policies can guard the vulnerable from being exploited and guard the innocent from false accusations. Sound financial policies can provide accountability and transparency when it comes to budgeting and spending. Sound employment and compensation policies can ensure no single pastor has sole authority over the others.

But few measures will be more important in guarding the church than a commitment to ensuring the pastors are qualified, to ensuring there is always a plurality of pastors/elders, and to ensuring that these men are both accountable and well cared for. May the Lord use measures like these to provide his church with faithful shepherds who will fulfill their calling.

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