Ask most churchgoers what disqualifies a pastor, and you’ll get two answers: adultery and stealing. Cross one of those lines, and everyone agrees — they’re out. Cross almost anything else, and we’re either ignoring it, excusing it as them being prophetic and just telling the truth, or shifting to conversations about how nobody is perfect.
But Paul didn’t write a two-item list for Timothy. Look at the seven verses that unpack the expectations for a pastor in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. Here’s the list:
“Above reproach.” Not “mostly fine.” Not “better than the last guy.” Above reproach.
“Temperate. Self-controlled.” Not swinging from crisis to crisis, emotion to emotion, decision to decision. Someone who has actually mastered themelf.
“Not given to drunkenness.” We nod at this one. But how often do we expect a pastor to be a teetotaler, when that’s not the requirement from Scripture. Isn’t it interesting how we invent requirements then ignore clear expectations in the text.
“Not violent but gentle.” Not a bully. Not someone who dominates every room, wins every argument, crushes every dissenter. Gentle.
“Not quarrelsome.” Some pastors love a fight. They thrive on conflict, keep score, never let anything go. Paul says: disqualified. Check their social media, read their books, listen to their podcast interviews. Some leaders seem to wear their violation of this principle as a badge of honor.
“Not a lover of money.” Not “doesn’t embezzle.” Not a lover of it. A pastor whose heart isn’t tethered to the salary, book deals, or platform.
“Manages their own family well.” Look at their house before you look at their resume. Of course, we need to be really gracious here, but we can’t just ignore what’s plain in the text, especially when we like to demand things that aren’t in the pastoral requirements.
“Not a recent convert.” Spiritual maturity takes time. Skip that, and you risk installing someone who gets puffed up and falls the way the devil fell — through pride, not adultery.
“A good reputation with outsiders.” Not just with the church and the elder board. Not just with people who already like them. With the neighbors, the coworkers, the people who have no reason to flatter him.
Here’s the punch line. None of these require a scandal. A pastor can check the boxes on “no affair, no theft” and still be disqualified ten times over — quarrelsome, money-hungry, harsh with their family, arrogant, unable to control appetites, feared rather than respected.
Zoom out to the rest of the New Testament and you’ll find plenty more.
I had my AI assistant pull a survey for me, a list of 38 characteristics in total, including setting an example for the flock, not serving out of compulsion or love of money, and being disciplined and balanced. Notice, too, how many lists circle back to Paul’s category for Timothy: a good reputation with outsiders.
That’s not counting what the church has called the seven deadly sins — pride, envy, wrath, gluttony, lust, sloth, and greed. Should a pastor who woefully indulges these still be considered “qualified”?
Why aren’t there regular pushes and resoultions at the Southern Baptist Convention to disfellowship churches where the pastors are demonstrably guilty of gluttony or sloth. We might laugh at that, but why? Don’t we take the Bible seriously?
For the record, I’m neither perfect nor a pastor. I write this as a very imperfect layperson. God has used plenty of imperfect people, for sure. Hebrews 11 is filled with folks who wouldn’t qualify for local church leaderhsip. But if we’re going to take seriously what qualifies someone for ministry, we need a more holistic biblical witness than the two-item list we’ve settled for.
I vividly remember my mentor’s reaction after a well-known pastor’s latest ugly public comment about other Christian leaders went viral. The man had a reputation for disrespecting other Christians, belittling them, and making unfounded claims. When people he attacked reached out to clarify how he’d misrepresented them, he typically ignored or sidelined them. Public apologies or corrections weren’t part of the equation.
“It’s sad — he’s so clearly disqualified from public ministry,” my friend said. I think he’s right. We need to expect more.
We’ve settled for a list of two things, far short of what God intended for church leadership, and we’ve paid for it. We’ve platformed people with terrible reputations — not just among other Christians, but among those outside the faith who can’t believe Christians celebrate leaders so clearly out of step with the way of Jesus.
If you have a pastor who’s genuinely trying to exemplify these biblical virtues, be grateful. I get to be part of a church like that. My pastor doesn’t seem to have an ego. Seriously. He’s one of the most servant-minded people I know — volunteering well beyond his expected role, serving as a chaplain for the local fire and police department, stepping up in community leadership, quietly helping people in ways that never make it into sermon illustrations.
So give thanks for the many leaders who shepherd the sheep well — eagerly serving not for fame or money but out of love for God and people. And for those who’ve built a platform on vitriol, known for abrasive and abusive words and methods — let’s follow Jesus instead. His ways are better. Thank God for the leaders who follow him well and help the rest of us do the same.
