The FIRST Qualification of a Pastor

Way too often we see men of God fail in the ministry.  Just this past week while my family was traveling on vacation, the church we planned to attend for mid-week service had their pastor sent to prison for a grievous act which had plagued him for several years.  When we returned home, I read of another pastor who had to be removed from his church because of immoral activity.  In each incident the families of these men surely suffered greatly, the churches they were pastoring had to face the consequences of these failures, and worst of all, the cause of Christ is smeared and the Holy Spirit grieved.  Now it is true that sometimes these failures are because of some specific personal sin, but, more often than not the failure is actually because these men have been disqualified for some time by the first listed qualification for being a pastor not being met.  This first qualification is often the least talked about qualification, but in God’s list and formula it is the first thing a pastor MUST have to serve.

Before I actually deal with this primary qualification let me start by saying that there is a difference between a burden and a calling into a ministry.  Over the years, I have seen dozens of missionary presentations and almost without fail I have gotten a burden for the lost of the location in the presentation, but clearly I cannot be personally called to go to every field.  I can, however, support those who go, either with prayer, finances, or both.  When Jesus gave the church’s missionary commission is Acts 1:8, He stated “BOTH” meaning that the local church was to support missions both locally and internationally at the same time.  Thus I can have a burden without an exact call for every place I see a need by the same principle.

But the one thing I, as a pastor, must have is an exact location with which to serve.  There are many places where there are needs, but only ONE PLACE that I can physically be called to minister myself.  But with so many needy places and so many places that I am burdened for, how can I know where that location is?  By the first pastoral qualification which often goes unnoticed and undiscussed.  1 Timothy 3:1 says, “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.”  There it is….the DESIRE of a bishop or pastor overseer.

My fear is that many men are in pulpits today not because they want to be there but for some other reason, such as a misplaced burden or simple necessity.  Now mind you, a burden and the needs can be great, but, they are not “desire” necessarily.  It is interesting to note that though there is only one English word in two forms in 1 Timothy 3:1, desire and desireth, they are actually two very different Greek words.  In the Strong’s Concordance the word desire (oregomai) used in 1 Timothy 3:1 means “to stretch one's self out in order to touch or to grasp something, to reach after or desire something.”  This is not a simple word describing duty or necessity but a word which clearly declares that it comes from the heart and a desire by one which will cause that person to reach out or strain to obtain.  Then we find desireth (epithymeō) which Strongs says it means the action “to serve because the heart is set upon.”  In my understanding this means that the office of a bishop (pastor) will come from the heart which leads to action to reach out for service in an exact location.

As a pastor, each man MUST have a desire to be in the ministry in general, but, I am convinced, that we must also have a desire to minster in a specific place as well.  If a pastor does not have a heart for a place and the people of that place, then, he MUST either beg God for that desire or for the sake of that location’s need move himself to where his heart longs for.  I am convinced that too many men stay in a location out of duty, necessity, or burden, yet they have no desire for that location and the ministry of that church suffers because of it.  The cause of Christ is too important for pastors to stay when they are no longer burdened and the people need a pastor who has a heart for them. 

Here are some possible signs that a pastor has lost his heart (desire) for a location:

1. When a pastor is angry at the people of “his” church all the time, he has probably lost his desire.  How can you be constantly angry with people you have a heart for?  It is true that there were times Jesus got angry, but, He never lost his burden for these people as He cried when He saw they had a need (Matthew 9:36).  A pastor will from time to time get upset at people in his place of service, just as they will be get angry at him from time to time, but that anger should not remain long term.
2. When a pastor struggles continually to get relevant needful messages for the church he pastors, he has either lost his understanding of this church’s needs, he has lost his heart for their needs, or both.  Either way, that pastor needs to seriously question his desire to “pastor” that church.
3. When a pastor isolates himself from the people because they annoy him, then he definitely has a serious issue with either his own spiritual needs or the desire to ministry to that church has been lost.  Either way, a serious look at the calling to a location is required.
4. When the desire to be somewhere else overshadows everything in the current location then there maybe a serious need to look at the desire to serve in that current location.  How can a man pastor a church if he is always thinking about being some place else?  He will constantly be comparing, unfairly I might add, and expecting things that are unrealistic in his current ministry because of that comparison.  Someone said it this way “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” but, that should never be the heart of the ministry in which we serve.

Let me simply say from my personal point of view, that God has called me to upstate New York and I know that call is real because I DESIRE to be here.  There are challenges and there are “down days” but I cannot see myself anywhere else, working with anyone else, and I have no “desire” to be anywhere else at this time.  There lays the first qualification of the pastor - THE DESIRE.