What causes a pastor to be ineffective?

Charles Bridges wrestled with this question almost 200 years ago in his classic The Christian Ministry: With an Inquiry Into the Causes of Its Inefficiency.[1] In his discovery he specified ten character flaws which hinder ministerial effectiveness, and his insights are as true today as they were in 1830.

7.   Spiritual pride

It has been observed that spiritual pride is the sin of young ministers. Paul warned Timothy against appointing an immature believer as an overseer: “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil” (1 Tim. 3:6).

Pride is sure to lead to destruction (Prov. 16:18), but its presence is often subtle and hard to discern. One indication is the desire to be popular rather than useful. When we are more concerned about what people think of us than how we can best help them, or when we are envious of those with superior gifts and greater visibility, be sure that pride is at work.

Christian leaders should especially be wary of allowing others’ compliments to nurture pride in their hearts. The Puritan John Flavel gave wise counsel in this regard:

They are not our best friends, that stir the pride in our hearts by the flattery of their lips. The graces of God in others (I confess) are thankfully to be owned, and under discouragements and temptations to be wisely and modestly spoken of; but the strongest Christians do scarcely show their own weakness in any one thing more than they do in hearing their own praises. Christian! thou knowest thou carriest gunpowder about thee – Desire those that carry fire, to keep at a distance from thee. It is a dangerous crisis, when a proud heart meets with flattering lips. Faithful, seasonable, and discreet reproofs are much more safe to us, and advantageous to the mortification of sin in our souls.[2]

When we feel vanity rising up, we should take to heart the words of Henry Martyn, who confessed, “Men frequently admire me, and I am pleased; but I abhor the pleasure that I feel!”[3]

8.   Lacking a genuine personal relationship with God

Nothing could be more tragic than for a herald of Christ’s saving message to have never trusted in it himself. Yet it can happen.

Richard Baxter warned,

Verily, it is the common danger and calamity of the Church, to have unregenerate and unexperienced Pastors, and to have so many men become preachers, before they are Christians . . . and so to worship an unknown God, and to preach an unknown Christ, an unknown Spirit, an unknown state of holiness and communion with God, and a glory that is unknown, and likely to be unknown forever. He is like to be but a heartless preacher, that hath not the Christ and grace that he preacheth in his heart.[4]

This is the danger of professionalism, to think that because we can describe the forgiveness of sins, we have therefore experienced it; to assume that because we can articulate the gospel, we have therefore appropriated it. It is much easier, however, to preach against others’ sins than to mortify even one of our own by the cross of Christ.

It is not without reason, then, that Paul told Timothy to “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching” (1 Tim. 4:16, emphasis added).

9.   A family not following Jesus

More than a few men have been disqualified from ministry by the poor example of their families. I have known ministers whose wives were known for their unruly tempers and uncontrolled tongues, or whose children had a reputation for drunkenness and immorality.

If a pastor’s top priority is his personal relationship with Christ, his second and third priorities should be the spiritual welfare of his wife and children. Oftentimes, however, pastors are driven to be successful in ministry; consequently they neglect their families.

To be so focused on his job that he neglects his home is really every man’s temptation. Unfortunately, it is easy for ministers to justify this neglect by calling it “sacrifice” for the Lord’s work.

To guard against neglecting our families, we should ruthlessly safeguard and invest in praying for and with them, nourishing them with God’s Word, and cultivating healthy, Christ-centered relationships with them.

Whether or not he remains in ministry, a pastor with an unspiritual wife and unruly children is not likely to have much impact for the Lord. After all, “If someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?” (1 Tim. 3:5). Therefore, take care, not only of yourself, but also of your family.

10. Lacking faith in God

The famous motto of William Carey was “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” A final reason so many pastors see little fruit in their labor is that they expected nothing. “You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2).

Lack of faith has two different faces: self-sufficiency and slothfulness. When we are self-sufficient, we work harder but pray less, resting on our own gifts, resources, talents, and labor. We expect little help from God.

The other extreme is slothfulness, which is presumptuous indolence and disregard for the work God has called us to. The proper balance is laboring faithfully to fulfill God’s command, while expecting Him to do abundantly more than we can ask or think.

Faith in God’s promises will empower us for obedience during obstacles, encourage us through discouragement, and build confidence that God will use our weak efforts and the foolishness of what we preach to save the called (1 Cor. 1:18-21).

Faith will free us from reinventing the wheel of ministry and keep us faithful to appropriate God’s means for building His church. “Does not the promise of God warrant us to make the greatest attempts with the fullest assurance of ultimate success?”[5]

Finally, recognizing that all “success” in ministry is really the result of God’s work, faith will also nurture humility.

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building (1 Cor. 3:5-9).

 

Brian G. Hedges

 

End Notes

 

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