In the days of George Whitefield, he faced
a unconverted ministry.
Many ministers in England at the time, in
the Church of England, were both unconverted and
profane men.
Many churches closed their doors to Whitefield because
of this, so he was forced to preach
in the open air.
Fields and metals became his pulpit.
The prophet Jeremiah preached against lying prophets in
his day.
In Jeremiah 23, and in verses 11 and
12, we read, For both prophet and priest
are profane.
Yea, in my house have I found their
wickedness, saith the Lord.
Wherefore their way shall be unto them slippery
ways.
In the darkness they shall be driven on,
and fall therein.
For I will bring evil upon them, even
the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.
Years ago I was being interviewed by a
Christian radio station, and the lady host shared
with me that she once had a job
where she had to contact pastors all over
the country and conduct a survey on how
they became a pastor.
She asked them a series of questions on
why they became interested in entering the ministry,
and she said she contacted over 1,000
pastors from all over the country.
The responses she received opened her eyes to
the ministry.
She said most men said they became pastors
for different reasons.
One man said he enjoyed public speaking, so
that's why he became a pastor.
Another man said he wanted to help people,
so that's why he became a pastor.
Another man said he had a talent for
entertaining people, that's why he chose to become
a pastor.
They all had different reasons for entering the
ministry based on their talents and preferences.
Then this lady radio host told me that
one man's response was different from all the
rest.
He was a black pastor who said he
entered the pastorate because God had called him
to be a preacher.
I believe most pastors fall into certain categories,
and today friends I'm gonna list 10 types
of pastors today that occupy our pulpits today.
Number one.
There are some pastors who are there to
please.
They are people pleasers, so they will preach
nice little messages.
They'll make you feel good and make you
happy, and they want to keep their rich
members happy, so they'll preach mainly soothing sermons.
Number two.
There are pastors who are there to impress.
They may have some academics or some professionals
in their congregation, and their aim is to
impress them with big words or theological terms
or doctrine, so they will try to come
across as intellectual.
So some are there to please, and some
are there to impress.
Then number three.
There are pastors who are there to keep
you informed and to occupy you, so they'll
have you take out your church bulletin, and
they'll do a fill-in-the-blank teaching
methodology where there's a sentence typed out that
is missing in your program, and you got
to fill it in.
Fill in a word that will be the
next word they won't say, and you'll fill
in the missing word, and this gets you
to participate in the message because their main
goal is to just keep you occupied.
Number four.
Then there is the pastor who is there
to entertain you.
He'll be amusing and engaging.
He'll tell you some jokes and funny stories.
They'll make you laugh.
He is there to be sure you enjoy
yourself and you have a good time, so
you'll be eager to come back again and
bring a friend because his church is fun.
Number five.
Then there is the pastor who is there
to bully you and intimidate you to tithe
and give more to the church.
I actually saw a prominent Southern Baptist pastor
of a megachurch take this position.
He frequently bullied his congregation, and on this
particular Sunday morning when I was sitting there,
he put a photo of Bernie Madoff, the
stock fraud investor, on his two giant TV
screens in the sanctuary.
Then he pounded the pulpit with his fists,
and his face got all red as he
screamed at his congregation that they were worse
than Bernie Madoff if they didn't tithe to
his church.
Well, that's when I got up and left
because a pastor is supposed to be a
shepherd who loves and leads his sheep, not
yells and threatens them.
Number six.
Then there is the blue jean pastor who
is there to be cool and relatable to
you by bringing the world into his church.
One pastor I knew had a weekly Bible
study for the men at a local cigar
shop so you could recline and lay back
and smoke your cigar and read the Bible,
and he would tell his congregation his favorite
TV show was Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
He wanted you to feel accepted at his
church by letting you know he was as
worldly as you were.
Number seven.
Then there are pastors who are there to
receive appreciation and acceptance from their congregation.
They have a thin skin and a big
ego, and they must be continuously acknowledged so
they will preach an encouraging word that will
make you thankful for them so you will
be sure to tell them how much you
enjoyed the message.
Number eight.
Then there is the pastor who is there
to grow his congregation.
He is on a mad building campaign, and
he wants to expand his campus so his
messages will be mainly focused on evangelism.
It'll be with an easy believe gospel so
people will join his church quickly and add
numerically to his church.
He likes to count nickels and noses, and
he bases his success in ministry on the
size of his church.
So he is all about church growth, not
because he cares about eternity, but because he
cares about his success as he traffics in
the souls of men.
Number nine.
Then there is the pastor who is there
for self-advancement within his denomination.
He wants to climb the ladder of success
within the ranks of his denomination, so he's
focused on church programs and community outreach so
his resume will look good so he can
jump to a bigger and more prominent church.
He will only stay at a church a
short time until a better opportunity comes his
way for his advancement, and then he will
jump for greener pastures.
And lastly, number ten, is the rare individual
who is the God-called pastor who cares
about your soul enough to preach messages that
you need to hear rather than messages you
want to hear.
He will preach the full counsel of God
and proclaim the great doctrines of the gospel,
which are ruin, redemption, regeneration, and repentance.
He will preach searching sermons on the dangers
of the damned in hell, and the blackness
of sin, and the badness of the human
heart.
He will preach a bloody cross and a
bloodstained Christ for forgiveness of sin.
He will be honest with your soul and
warn you of a future judgment that awaits
all mankind.
His sermons will be laced with eternity and
the love of a dying Christ.
I suggest, friend, you take an inventory of
what kind of pastor you have, and if
that man is the right man for the
care of your eternal soul.