Unbreakable

A couple of weeks ago I was watching a older M. Night Shyamalan movie, called Unbreakable. The premise of the movie is about a man who discovers that he cannot be hurt. And in the discovery of his new found powers, he becomes more embolden and begins to take on greater and greater risks. The risks are small and controlled at first. He first risks by bench pressing a ridiculous amount of weight, risking injury to himself. But then he goes on to test his powers by injecting himself into a dangerous and lethal situation to rescue a family from a brutal crime. At this point of the movie he knows that he is unbreakable and therefore no amount of risk is too great. The idea of unbreakable might be a good premise for a movie, but it isn't a good working philosophy for a pastor. This post finishes up a series of posts that I have been writing in response to the Ted Haggard situation. In my first post, I indicated that there were three common profiles shared by pastors who leave the ministry due to a moral failure. They are:

First, they each had abandoned time with Jesus, they let the busyness of ministry chase them away from the feet of Christ. Second, they had no significant accountability in their life. There was no one with whom they knew and knew them and that meddled in their private world, heart and life. Third, they all thought that "it" would never happen to them.

In this post I want to reflect on the third common pitfall, believing that "it" would never happen to them. How do pastors come to that point believing that it won't happen to them? Why do we think that we are spiritual Supermen? Today's obedience doesn't guarantee tomorrows. Each and everyday we need to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit and abide closely with Christ. Too often as pastors, we believe our own press. People look up to us, they praise us for our preaching and they seek our advice and counsel. Living in light of the Gospel keeps me humble. Remembering that who I am and how God sees me is based entirely on Christ. It is by walking in humility and brokenness and leading with a limp that God has called me to as a pastor. A couple of years ago, I saw a gifted pastor in our denomination be exposed to the whole community. Nobody would have believed that this man would be soliciting sex with minors over the internet. In fact, nobody would have known it, if it weren't for the fact that the "minor" he thought he was talking to was actually an agent with the state police. He was leading an undercover life, and it took an undercover sting operation to bring his life into the light. I watched as our presbytery dealt with the discipline and saw how this secret life had destroyed his ministry, church, and family. I was only a ruling elder at the time, but I remember praying to God that I would never forget how damaging and deceptive sin is. It was like an episode of "Scared Straight" for me that day.

Pastors don't wake up one day and look in the mirror and say to themselves, "Hey I think I'll commit adultery today". Rather it is the cumulative effect of small choices everyday that lead a person down that road. What am I choosing today? Am I meeting at the feet of my savior? Am I living in the light, transparent to other men who I invite to speak into my life, and do I live with the humility and brokenness of spirit that recognizes my need for His power and grace everyday.

Pray that I be a man who faithfully finishes the race.