LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Assignment Title: Shift in ethical foundation for the pastoral ministry
Course: CHMN 699 - Internship
Student: Kristine Sage
Date: January 29, 2022
Professor: Dr. Joel Breidenbaugh
Shift in ethical foundation for the pastoral ministry
When a pastor neglects the guiding ethics and etiquettes of the pastoral ministry, it amounts to a
shift in its established paradigmatic ethical norms and values. Richard Gula points out,
We judge the effectiveness of ministers in terms of the congruence of their beliefs, personal life,
and performance with the Christian message. The moral character and virtues of ministers are revealed
in the moral responsibilities they assume and in how they act. How they exercise their professional role
as pastoral ministers depends a great deal on who they are. 11
Moral character and integrity12 are essential virtues for the pastorate. This much is apparent from
the list of qualifications for ministry handed down to Timothy (1 Tim 3). People in pastoral ministry
neglect this to their peril and to the detriment of the ministry. This is, in part, because "Christianity is a
behavioural religion; a Faith that is seriously concerned with the quality of living both in the context of
spiritual fellowship with God, as well as in our social or corporate relationships. ... The Gospel ministry
demands that anyone who will play any role in it must possess the Christ-like quality of life." 13
What generates moral character and integrity in a pastor is the active presence and operation of
the Holy Spirit in a life that is transformed and submits consistently to the Lordship of Christ. As R. C.
Roberts states, "Christian character is not just shaped by a theory of human nature, or even stories
about a paradigm individual, or promises of a kingdom to come; it is a responsiveness to a living word of
the living and present God." 14
The virtues of spirituality, moral character, cognitive maturity and integrity for the pastoral ministry
are no longer the guiding principles for many in ministry in twenty-first century Nigeria. Even some
established mainline denominations often gloss over these crucial virtues when engaging new pastors.
They instead, as respondents indicated, place a premium on having a godfather, one's ethno-tribal
background, the section of the country one comes from, and political sentiments (18.6%); and academic
attainment (8.5%). The effect of this shift can easily be seen in the lack of ethical behaviour on the part
of some pastors, which manifests itself in the following ways:
Self-centredness and materialism
Until recently, pastors in most mainline church denominations were never given meaningful salaries
or stipends. The thinking was that a pastor's reward would come in heaven, not in the here and now. So
pastors and their families were left to fend for themselves. Fortunately, today most mainline
denominations do give all pastors some kind of salary, allowance, or stipend.
While it was wrong for the denominations to ignore economic realities, those pastors did at least
rely on God to meet their needs. Today, however, many Nigerian pastors seem to have forgotten all
about the Christian principle of contentment (Mt 6:24-34; 1 Tim 6:5-10; 2 Tim 3:1-2) and have bought
into a materialistic ideology, to the detriment of the flock and to the discredit of the ministry. As a
result, their focus has often shifted from the basics of winning souls and working hard to build up the
faith of church members to a desire to derive material benefits from the ministry.
A majority of the respondents (56%) said that most contemporary Nigerian pastors assign a higher
priority to materialism than to pastoral care and function. One respondent said that this shift is
happening because there is "no fear of the Lord, no love for the Lord and for his people in the hearts of
most pastors".
Onwuka sees "'ministers' glorying, boasting, and defining ministerial success in terms of the quality
of clothes they wear, the type of cars they drive, the amount of salary they earn, and even in some cases
the type of television they have in their parlour."15 Some of these pastors are particular about the type
and model of the mobile phone and iPad/tablet they use.
The rise of materialism among some pastors has led to their being described as "Men of Gold"
rather than Men of God.16 They are the Gehazis of our day, who are not concerned about spiritual things
but about material things.17Zachariah Chinne describes them as "gospel merchants" who "possess
predatory skills akin only to carnivorous animals that lie in wait for their prey with [the] intent to pounce
on them at the slightest opportunity."18
Materialistic ministers resort to coercion, manipulation, threats and dictatorial behaviour to
squeeze more financial and material wealth from their congregations. By becoming self-seeking and
materialistic in their ministry, they put themselves in the position of being enemies of God (1 Sam 2:29-
30; Micah 3:9-12; Mal 1:6).
Emphasis on status
Pastoral ministry in this generation is no longer based upon the Scripture as its guide nor on Jesus
as its model. Instead, other human beings set the standard. This has resulted in a competitive spirit as
pastors seek to be like or to surpass some other pastor. Such a spirit eats away at ministry like a feasting
maggot. It leads, as a significant number of the respondents reported (32.2%), to pastors either
preaching a cheap gospel or watering down biblical preaching to pull and maintain a crowd. Others
(20.6%) said that pastors who focus on status normally deemphasize missions, evangelism and
discipleship because the focus of their preaching is prosperity and miracles - and they may not always be
honest and truthful in their preaching.
The research (47.4%) revealed that a good number of Nigerian pastors are characterized more by
pride than by humility and are driven by a thirst for status, authority, and popularity. They want to be
seen to be in charge; to be seen to be displaying power and performing the extraordinary in ministry.
The concept of anointing (erroneously understood) is taking centre stage in ministry instead of the
preaching of the true gospel. Some pastors attempt to bolster their status by projecting information
about their status and credentials on screens that are displayed before the church members to convince
them that the one who stands before them is "anointed" with power to perform wonders.
Raphael O. Olori has studied this quest for power in the Nigerian version of the prosperity gospel,
which he attributes to the ideology of dominion and domination; power and authority to possess and
exercise one's authority over sickness, poverty, demons and bad luck; and the quest to remain in power
for the benefit of personal veneration and dominance over one's church members. He reports that
pastors will look outside the church for some source of additional power to enable them to sustain their
ministry gymnastics.19
But power and authority in pastoral ministry do not and cannot originate from satanic sources.
They come only from Christ and flow only through a humble heart that kneels daily at the foot of the
cross. Even the great Apostle Paul acknowledged that Christ was the source of his power and success in
ministry, saying, "I can do all things through him who strengthens" (Phil 4:13). True ministers should
seek to "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might" (Eph 6:10).
The true model for pastors should be the one the Apostle John sketched for us when he described
the simple lifestyle and humble attitude of John the Baptist, who said of himself, "'I am not the Christ'"
(John 1:20) and was content to describe himself as "the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make
straight the way of the Lord'" (Jn 1:23). He testified that he was not worthy to untie the strap of Christ's
sandal (Jn 1:27 NIV). This paradigm of humility is fast being replaced by the glorification of self.
Pandering to the congregation
Because of the prevalence of distorted pastoral ministry, many Christians can scarcely untangle
good from bad biblical doctrine or differentiate between false and true Christian spirituality. Anything
that is thrown at them is accepted as good. There is a general ignorance of what Scripture teaches, and
little desire to seek such knowledge. To compound this problem, a growing number of worshippers are
becoming spiritual dissidents, demanding that their pastors give them what appeals to them or they will
leave the church. This is the same scenario that was envisaged by Paul: "For the time will come when
[church members] will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will
gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will
turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths" (2 Tim 4:3-4 NIV). Peterson describes this
as a conspiracy to eliminate what is most important in the ministry.
Pastors who are not firmly rooted in the Scriptures can easily yield to such demands, forgetting the
ministerial imperative, "But you [minister of God], keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do
the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry" (2 Tim 3:5 NIV). Personal conviction,
boldness and firmness are necessary if one is to be able to remain faithful and steadfast in doing what is
right when many are giving in to popular demands. But dereliction of duty and abandoning your primary
obligation, responsibility and accountability to God in favour of the demands of an erring flock is very
risky. King Saul was not exonerated from divine judgement because of the context that informed his
wrong action (1 Sam 13:5-14; 15:19-27).
Lack of respect for seniority
African cultures have a long tradition of respect for one's elders, but this value is now being eroded.
We are now seeing examples of blatant disrespect of the elderly and senior colleagues by junior pastors,
who are expected to be models to the flock. This disrespect extends even to those under whom such
pastors serve as subordinates. But ministerial respect for seniority is not only cultural but Scriptural. For
example, there was first a Moses before there was a Joshua; there was an Elijah before there was an
Elisha; and there was a Paul before there were Timothy and Titus. None of these accounts of the
relationships between these leaders indicates any disregard or disrespect for superiors.
This paradigm shift results in younger pastors refusing to accept any correction or guidance from
senior pastors, even when the correction offered is biblical. The arrogance of the younger pastors means
that they want to do pastoring on their own terms rather than on God's terms. Their godless, immature
and insensitive spiritual attitude often causes them to become arrogant and boastful.
The ethical failings outlined above leave the flock confused, misguided, disenfranchised and
spiritually malnourished. Instead of being inspired by the lives of their pastors as examples of right
conduct,20 they are discouraged by their negative attitudes and ungodly character. Some respond by
adopting the same twisted and rebellious attitudes modelled by their pastors, others (as 20.3%
indicated) move on to find another church, where they may again fall prey to predatory prophets.
Shift in professionalism
Every profession requires that those who practise it manifest professional competence and
maintain professional ethics, that is, "the moral character and the sum of obligations that pertain to the
practice of a profession."21 A true professional "is committed to standards of integrity and performance
that cannot be altered to suit people's tastes or what they are willing to pay for."22
Just as a medical doctor is a specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of physical ailments, so the
pastor as a spiritual specialist and expert must be "a spiritual physician, [who] knows how to diagnose
[people's] cases and to rightly apply the medication of the Word of God to their spiritual needs."23
Church members look to the pastor for help, direction and guidance. "They count on him as one who
has medicine for their sickness, knowledge for their ignorance, light for their darkness, wisdom for their
foolishness, guidance for their confusion, counselling for their mistakes and misbehaviours, comfort for
their sorrows, balm for their wounds, sight for their blindness, and direction for their journey."24
With such high trust and confidence reposed in the pastor and the pastoral ministry, those who lay
claim to the pastoral function cannot afford to fail God's people in any way. Gula notes, "The proper
exercise of their ministry requires expert knowledge and skill and good moral character to serve the
religious needs of the people."25
However, many so-called pastors in contemporary Nigeria display glaring incompetence in the
pastorate. Some lack administrative skills and the capacity to give leadership. Many know nothing of
church history and the reasons for the established traditions for ministry in the denominations within
which they serve as pastors. They are incompetent in the execution of the liturgical traditions and in the
administration of the various sacraments. Worst, they are incompetent in the way they handle the
biblical text in the pulpit.
When professional expertise is downplayed and egocentric, untrained, arrogant and careless
people find their way into the pastorate, there is little hope that pastors will develop the needed
professional expertise.
