Necessary Church Body Actions Show Pastors are Depending on the Wrong Things

An article on foxnews.com today caught my attention. It is titled, "Churches, other groups do more background checks". They are doing these checks with good reason. A number of pastors and church workers have a criminal history. This becomes especially egregious when the history includes sex abuse. A situation involving sexual indiscretions arose recently in a local denomination. This is the third scandal like this that has arisen in the last ten years. I find this situation to be a sad reflection on where the hearts of church leaders are. I wish that I could give congregations a clear signal that would help them to determine if the man they are evaluating has a heart set upon God. There are however some things that I think congregations can look at that could help them to have a better idea about the heart of the man God has placed before them.

• Try to determine without asking outright if the person being considered would do the work of ministry whether they are paid or not. In other words is this a calling on their life that they cannot escape.
• Look at the persons conversations. Are they naturally drawn to talk about their Lord Jesus. Is there a natural ease to their conversations about God.
• Do these conversations come from their heart or their head? Are they heartfelt or are they cerebral?
• Do you see evidence of discipleship reflected in his family? Is he leading his family toward God.

There are also some things that churches depend on that could give them a false sense of security. I would recommend John Pipers book, "Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry". It will help churches to look for men who are living in dependence on God. But since pastors have often stopped depending on God then it is no surprise when the churches stop as well. When the church has moved from depending on prayer and the direction of the Holy Spirit to depending on professional pastoral placement agencies there is something wrong. Pastors are under shepherds. They are tasked with helping to point the people to God. To help them to grow in relationship with Jesus. Seminary training can only go so far in helping a man to accomplish this. Pastoral placement agencies can only look to external evidences. Ultimately it is a pastor's heart and their dependence or lack thereof upon the God that will make or break them (Psalm 127:1). Churches need to look for men who cannot do what they do without God (Psalm 20:7). Men that need him desperately. Men that don't trust in the flesh.

This is the single biggest reason that background checks are necessary. Pastors are not living in dependence upon God. They trust too much in their own ability. The flesh is weak and unfit for the task. We desperately need the Lord's help. If the church is to regain her vitality and strength (which can only come from God) then her under shepherds need to be needy. If we cannot show people that we need the Lord then how can the people ever learn how important it is to need Him. In a success oriented society like ours, the servant leader must learn that true success is when Christ increases and we decrease. If this were the focus of the hearts of pastors then background checks would become unnecessary because He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6).