A Pastor's Heart or the Heart of a Piper?

I’m a Christian and a Conservative. I separate the two because, well….it used to be a given that a Christian was a Conservative – that is, before the likes of the “Reverend” Jesse Jackson and others like him. Now there are people everywhere who profess Christianity but preach liberal doctrine. After all, it’s the “tolerant way”.

Today I am disgusted and irritated by the remarks of Pat Robertson, whom I had little respect for to begin with, but now I’m embarrassed to be placed in the same Christian/Conservative category as he. With all the garbage the democrats hurl at us that isn’t true, it takes a real idiot to come out with a bloodthirsty comment like Robertson made regarding Hugo Chavez. It absolutely amazes me that “celebrities” on either side still don’t realize the potential they have to wreak havoc.

I was raised in a very conservative family with sort of a “hell fire and brimstone” upbringing. Of course that didn’t stop some of the congregation from acting like heathens. There were things I expected some of the congregation members to say and do and then there were the things I expected from the pastor. Expectations of a pastor are much different than that of the congregation. For instance, a congregation member could get away with yelling at their neighbor, going to the town meeting and acting like a fool, going off on the football coach for not giving their son enough play time at the game, etc., but the pastor couldn’t get away with that stuff. A pastor is expected to act in a manner that is befitting a pastor. Maybe it’s easy for me to believe this way because I grew up with a very gentle, loving pastor.

The problem is, I don’t believe the characteristics I’m writing about come naturally unless the person is blessed with a pastor’s heart. It’s my opinion that a person who does not have a pastor’s heart should not be in a position of leadership within the church.

I’m not implying that pastors are perfect or should act perfect. I know they are humans with the same temptations, struggles, trials, etc., the rest of us have. But I also understand the nature of a “calling”. We all have a purpose in our life (NOT to be confused with “The Purpose Driven Life” philosophy – I’ll rant on that another day). I believe that while one person’s purpose may be to lead and direct others in their Christian walk, another person’s purpose may be to be a nurse, or a veterinarian or a secretary or a shoe salesman or a stay-at-home mom. What ever our purpose and whether we ever “find” our purpose is all relative to the “heart” that God gives us.

For instance, I know that I do not have the heart of a pastor. I do not have the patience, the sensitivity or the compassion necessary to be a pastor. I’m not without these things and I consider myself a pretty compassionate person, however, it takes someone with a wealth of all three of those things to make a good pastor. I also know that I do not have the heart of a nurse. I do, however, feel a connection to my work in the healthcare field and while I do not deal directly in the “health” part, I do contribute to the “care” portion as I give direction to the staff working for me as they take care of our patients.

Just because you can get people to follow you -
doesn't mean you are called to be a leader.
Remember the Pied Piper?

It took me a while to figure out what it was about Pat Robertson and some of the others who make my skin crawl. It has occurred to me that Robertson, Jackson and many others do not exhibit the heart of a pastor. It’s one thing to read an article in the newspaper or hear some Dixie Chick mouthing off or even reading some crack-pot conservative mom’s blog. It’s another thing entirely for a man who claims to be a “man of God”…a Reverend….a Pastor….to make the comments that Pat Robertson made on Monday night. It’s embarrassing and I, for one, think Conservative Christians everywhere should call on Robertson to make an apology. He has been irresponsible with his celebrity status and has given liberals everywhere a reason to call Republican standards into question. I would encourage his viewers to turn the 700 Club off until he makes this right.

The last time I paused at the 700 Club while flipping through the channels (admittedly a very long time ago), the only thing I remember is seeing Robertson literally pounding his fist on a desk, saying something about "repentance". Well, Mr. Robertson, it’s about time you practice what you preach.