By Philip Caples, Louisiana College’s Caskey School of Divinity
The Lord changed my life twenty years ago when He called me to be a minister of the gospel.
I accepted the call into the ministry without knowing the duties and responsibilities of a pastor or the problems that a pastor can encounter through local church ministry.
Even though I did not know my duties, the Lord has been gracious to teach me, and He has been patient with me as I have tried to learn how to work with problems that arise in a local church.
Thanks to his leadership, each church ministry that I served has helped me to observe patterns that were associated with problem areas in church ministry.
An overarching problem that emerged in the churches I served involved who was in charge.
I investigated the validity of this problem in Louisiana with the help of the Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, and learned the primary reason for forced termination of Louisiana pastors and staff members was who is in charge. When I saw the extent of this problem, I began to search for the origin of this controversy and a possible solution.
The issue of who’s in charge seems to swirl around at least three possibilities: church traditions, dominant personalities, and finances.
First, church traditions are healthy in some instances, but they can become stagnant and unhealthy. An instance of an unhealthy tradition might be people in some churches following certain traditions that have been ingrained in them.
When someone attempts to change their traditions, they feel threatened by it and react negatively to it.
Second, churches are comprised of different personality types and the various personalities can once more provide a healthy environment. However, personality conflicts can become a battlefield that leads to a confrontation.
This problem can emerge between established leaders in the church and outside influences that threaten them in some manner.
Third, a lack of resources can cause churches to experience challenges that cause individuals within the church to feel the need to hold onto their control for the sake of the congregation.
In rare instances, money may be withheld until the assumed party who is causing the problem leaves the church.
While these possibilities can pose problems, the underlying issue may be something more serious. The issue to resolve may be lying below the surface – such as PRIDE.
If pride is the underlying problem that congregations are facing, a solution is needed to deal with the issue.
Of course, the obvious answer for Christians is HUMILITY. I would like to evaluate this potential problem and solution in light of Scripture before drawing some practical points of application for consideration.
Scripture reveals the danger of pride. Solomon shared, “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom.” (Proverbs 11:2 NASB).
Solomon helps us to understand that pride will swell in a person slowly, but as the poison of pride continues, it brings dishonor to the person possessing the pride.
However, in an honor and shame society like that of the ancient biblical world, bringing dishonor to a person would bring this same status on the family.
Therefore, an individual would want to avoid the pitfalls of pride. The encouragement to avoid pride can be seen in this Scripture passage, “but with the humble is wisdom.”
In other words, a person who is humble is on the path of wisdom, which is always the best choice.
Further examination of Scripture reveals, “Pride goes before destruction . . . – Proverbs 16:18 NASB.
Solomon connected destruction to the presence of pride because the idea of destruction is connected to experiencing shame, mistreatment, violence, and even a state of tranquility being absent.
Israel experienced destruction several times throughout Scripture after demonstrating prideful habits and actions.
Solomon also shared, “A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor” –Proverbs 29:23 NASB. The idea of bringing an individual low denotes a person experiencing a life of goodness, only to have it stripped right out of his fingers.
The goal of life in the ancient biblical world was to bring honor on an individual through a humble spirit, which Solomon revealed with his contrast that he presented in this scripture passage.
Looking in the New Testament for support on the danger of pride and the blessing of humility, James 4:6 stated, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (NASB).
This passage of Scripture is a reference back to Psalms 138:6, where David highlighted that it is the Lord who should be exalted, not the works of humanity.
As I sought to apply the power of humility to the issue of pride, I was reminded of the words of Jesus, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth” – Matthew. 5:5 NASB.
The word gentle can be translated humble or meek, which reminded me that Jesus addressed an audience of disciples with the profound statement that people who are humble will be blessed, and they will find favor on earth with God and humanity.
In light of the teaching of Jesus and other Scriptural proof presented, I would like to give three suggestions for us to consider concerning the issue of pride and humility as the solution.
First, humility requires us to put the needs of other people before our own.
If Christians will put the needs of others before themselves, they will begin to experience a different outlook on life and ministry.
Second, humility requires us to evaluate our own motives and agendas in light of other people.
If we demand to have our way all the time, we are demonstrating pride that the Lord will never bless.
Third, humility requires us to seek for direction for our lives in God’s Word, knowing that without Him we can do nothing.
As you read this article, remember that a believer wrote it who struggles with pride.
Daily I ask the Lord to kill my prideful thoughts and ways in the hope that I will demonstrate the love and action of Christ for His glory.
Maybe James gave us the best thoughts to consider as we take seriously the requirements of humility. He instructed Christians to submit to the leadership of the Lord while resisting the influence of the evil one. In submitting to the Lord, he encouraged Christians to humble themselves, knowing that the Lord will exalt us – see James 4:7-10 NASB.
As we reflect on these verses, perhaps we can agree that the Lord points toward a solution for pride being a humble heart that seeks to exalt Christ.
Therefore, let’s flee from pride and seek to incorporate humility in our lives.
Philip Caples is an instructor of pastoral ministry at Louisiana College’s Caskey School of Divinity.