Resignation of a Pastor

I just heard of a pastor of a church resigning. He stood in the pulpit and gave a brief, pointed, and emotional statement to the church that he did not measure up to the Biblical standard of pastoral leadership. He resigned with apologies to the church, his family, and to God. He told some that he wanted and needed time to get his heart right with God again. After hearing about this, my immediate reaction was that it was all rather sudden and seemed overly reactive to a relatively personal problem. Yet further reflection is taking me down the road of admiration.

Some mentioned that while spending time in ministry within the church, the pastor found himself in a closer relationship than his profession and commitment to his family allowed. It made for several moments of emotional upheaval and his response was to put on the brakes and go in another direction. He felt the vehicle begin to accelerate down the path of which there is no return and rather than serve his own selfishness and human desires, he recognized the immense pain of the destination and suddenly without warning stopped. The other person did the same. In thinking about this, I wondered if some kind of private counseling and "rehabilitation" of his emotional state would have been in order, but I can now see how the abrupt resignation and decision to go the other way is the right one.

I recall being a youngster on a camp out in the mountains. I thought it would be funny to run on the rocks, demonstrating my amazing athletic prowess. I was probably about 6 years old I think. Anyway I began to run and jump laughing about how easy it was. Unfortunately I headed downhill, getting faster and faster until it became obvious I couldn't stop and was headed for the edge of the mountain. The fall over the edge would have been the end of a stellar athletic career not to mention a life. As I reached the point of total destruction a man stepped over and caught me, saving my life.

There are countless examples of people with potential who through a series of poor decisions ruined their lives and the lives of others. Dating back to Judas who betrayed Christ only to follow it up with suicide, to modern examples of excessive drug use or alcohol abuse or various addictions that destroy the body, man continues to find ways to self-destruct. While we tend to operate on a tight wire, there is a human tendency to want to fall to our own death. As we look upon the Grand Canyon, we wonder if we could fly over the canyon with our hands. Man's inherent desire to fulfill his sinful nature is sometimes but not always trumped by his instinctual self-preservation. These dichotomous inclinations are in constant battle. We fight the good, often giving way to the bad. The light of our life can be lost in a second of weakness to the dark, demonstrating our amazing ability to ruin and pervert that which we have been given.

Back to the pastor. He got close to the edge, looked down the canyon and wondered if he could fly. But in a lucid moment, a moment in eternal time, a moment of self-awareness and reflection, he turned and went the other way. He saved himself, his family, his life, and made the decision to do the right thing. The precipice of disaster, the poisonous soup with the enticing odor, the bacteria masking itself as candy, all these things and more were seen and resisted by both parties involved. Temptation often creeps in slowly, displaying itself rather innocuously, hiding itself in what at first appears normal. Yet a deeper look reveals the truth. Our actions are a manifestation of our heart and while their hearts may have had some weakness, in the end was strong, leading them to the right decision. A painful one, but one all involved agreed was correct.

It took courage, conviction, perception, and determination, but he did it. He won the battle, turned and went the other direction. His life is an example of how dangerously close we often are to a poor decision, but his story is one of optimism and an example for everyone.

God is there to help us make the right decision and it is our responsibility to seek him. As it says in Micah, God requires us to be kind, to be fair, and to be humble. These three things can help us as we walk on the tightrope of life.