By DAVID EPPS
Pastor

Much has been made about the absence of fathers in American homes. Some studies seem to indicate that children who do not have fathers at home are more likely to experience low self-esteem, demonstrate antisocial behavior, exhibit subnormal performance, and have gender identity issues.

The absence of fathers in the home is one of the most serious problems facing society today. Interestingly, the organized church is having similar problems with the absence or unreliability of their spiritual fathers.

Studies show that, for the most part, people in church are little different from non-churched people. Divorce rates among Christians now actually exceed those of people without faith. The highest divorce rates in the country are now among Christians who attend Baptist or independent churches, while the lowest divorce rates are found among Christians of the Catholic and Lutheran traditions.

The Apostle Paul, in speaking to the novice Timothy, referred to himself as a spiritual "father," while the patriarch Abraham is also identified as a "father." Many believers insist that Jesus taught to "call no man father," even though those same believers would not take the words of Jesus literally when he taught that lustful eyes should be "plucked out" and offending body parts "cut off." In fact, the Early Church thought it most proper to refer to their spiritual leaders as "father," since it was, in fact, a true reflection of the relationship intended between pastor and people.

Today, however, things have changed. In most congregations, the spiritual leader is little more than a hired professional brought in to be at the beck and call of the prevailing power structure. In one denomination, pastors are fired or forced to resign at an alarming rate, almost on a daily basis. The average stay of pastors in churches is somewhere around 18 months. Many churches resemble severely dysfunctional families where the children are in charge. But, in their defense, modern churches are accustomed to having wandering pastors.

In the ancient church, with the exception of apostles and during times of severe persecution, it was expected that the pastor of the church would spend his entire life among the people of one church, one community. The pastor was seen as the prime example of a faithful spiritual father who would never leave his family and was viewed as an icon of Christ who would "never forsake" his spiritual children.

The ministry of pastor was not positional but relational. He wielded great influence among the church and community because he was, in fact, such a profound example of dependability, faithfulness, and compassion. The pastor was not a hired hand, or a CEO he was the father of the faithful and was a beloved and revered figure.

Most contemporary believers know very little of such a man in their church life. While some pastors spend decades, or even their entire lives, serving the same church, most wander from place to place seeking a "better call" or a "greater opportunity."

Picture a man who, in his youth, is wed to a young woman and meets her needs consistently and lovingly. Then imagine that, a year or two later, the young man leaves his wife's bed for that of another, more attractive, woman. Imagine that this scene is repeated every few years throughout the young man's life until, at the end, he has been with 10 or 12 women, all of whom expected him to be faithful to each one.

Imagine that this man was not even seduced or sought out by the various women, but actively threw himself at each one, bringing with him evidence of why they should choose to allow him into their homes.

The women who have been misused in this manner by this man will now develop defense systems against future men in their lives in order to minimize the emotional pain and sense of abandonment.

Now imagine that this, rather than the example of the faithful father of the ancient church, is the reality of the American pastor who jumps from church to church in search of a better salary, a larger membership, greater status, and better opportunity. Is it any wonder that the spiritual house is in such a mess?

As I see it, churches have no scriptural authority to hire, fire, subjugate, and abuse pastors any more than children have the right to select, dismiss, rule over, and disrespect their fathers. On the other hand, again, as I see it, pastors have no scriptural right to jump from church to church any more than a husband has the right to jump from bed to bed, regardless of how attractive the opportunity might seem.

The result of the attitudes of modern churches and pastors, in this matter of spiritual fatherhood, has been devastating on the stability, continuity, and behavior of Christian communities.

In real life, one cannot undo the past, cannot usually right past wrongs, cannot "unscramble eggs." What has been done has been done, but the future is still a blank sheet with the promise of change.

Can the modern church return to the ancient pattern of a lifelong commitment between congregation and pastor? Can there be a return of spiritual fathers to the spiritual house?

If not, then the modern church will, I fear, continue to spin in ever-continuing dysfunctional circles with its members becoming evermore isolated and its place in society becoming increasingly irrelevant.

[David Epps is rector of Christ the King Church in Peachtree City. He may be contacted at FatherDavidEpps@aol.com or at www.ChristTheKingCEC.com.]

Back to Opinion Home Page | Back to the top of the page