We should be calling pastors out on these deadly sins

I probably don't need to tell you that pastors aren't perfect. Like anyone else, they're fundamentally flawed. Of course, they faith that Jesus loves them and has forgiven them. And hopefully God uses their faith as an example for hurting people in their community each week. But what about the pastors who are regularly committing the sins that they're warning everyone else to avoid?

Photo courtesy of Joseph Rose at Flickr.com

If a pastor is on the right track, he's following God's plan for his life. And, while he isn't perfect, he looks for opportunities to reject selfishness and become more like Jesus. But if he's on the wrong track, even in the little things, he has given selfishness a foothold which can shipwreck his faith (1 Tim. 1:19).



And for preachers, the stakes are even higher than they are for other people. The Bible even warns, "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness" (James 3:1). This is because those who teach have taken on a level of responsibility for the ones they're teaching.

So, if one of God's leaders is caught up in some sort of sin, then it's actually in his best interest for his actions to be brought to his attention. Typically these guys don't sin presumptuously, rather their sins are more often those of passivity. They're busy people, and it can be easy to forget some of the finer points of the faith. Here are just a few of them.

Common pastor sins

Prayerlessness. My spellchecker is telling me that prayerlessness is not actually a word. But it's a real thing. Prayer is the power that God has given us to call down the power of heaven on earth. And what's more is the Bible commands Jesus followers to pray in every situation (Matt. 26:41, Phil. 4:6, 1 Thess. 5:17). Yet pastors everywhere neglect regular prayer. Most of them will attribute this to extreme business. And if you meet a pastor that makes that excuse, you can tell him this - there's nothing on earth so important that it should cause us to neglect our conversation with God.

Family Neglect. Most pastors will readily admit that their job is not one you get to clock out of and leave at the office. When you're a pastor, you're one all the time. There is, however, a a danger associated with this level of job commitment. When things get busy and a pastor begins to neglect his wife and kids, he's in real trouble. It's a man's job to provide for his family, and to provide more than just money. There's even a verse, "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for the members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (1 Tim. 5:8). And it's good for pastors everywhere to be reminded that no ministry or church event is so important that their families should fall by the way side.

The R word. The Bible says that the church's overseers are to be above reproach (1 Tim. 3:2). That means that not only do they avoid sin, but they are so careful that they avoid even the appearance of sin. These words paint a picture of a man who is so careful that it would be difficult for anyone to make credible accusations about his conduct. But, in spite of this requirement, 70% of pastors today do not have any kind of internet accountability. Of course that doesn't mean that all those pastors are looking at porn. But in a day when we're experiencing an epidemic of internet porn addiction, you had better believe that this is one area where pastors have to be above reproach.


Poo mouth. The Bible tells Christians to keep any unclean talk from coming out of their mouths (Eph. 4:29). And it's not specifically referring to cussing. Words are not moral in and of themselves. It's all how you use words that makes them good or bad. If my vet calls my dog, Lady, a bitch, it doesn't have any moral implication into his life. But if a man uses the same term in reference to his wife, then he's got a pretty serious respect problem among other things. And it's often the non-cuss words that can be the most biting. It's when people get passive aggressive, or sarcastic that the real flesh tearing begins. Some of the most ungodly damage has been done by people who never cuss. And if a person is in the business of teaching people from the Bible, he had better be able to keep his mouth in check.

But what about you? What sins have you seen or heard of among God's acclaimed teachers? Please leave your answer in the comment section below.