Pastor As A Moral Theologian 

In her book Education, Ellen White wrote that what the world really wants and desperately needs are people “who in their inmost souls are true and honest”, people “whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole,” and people “who will stand for the right though the heavens fall”. Our society is looking for paragons of morality and Sondra Wheeler suggests that many view the pastor as that model. Most pastors do not enjoy being in the limelight, but whether a pastor desires it or not, their life is communicating a certain message: not just when preaching, but all of the time. Wheeler intuitively points out that our actions are constantly saying something: from what we wear, to what we put in our shopping cart, to how we drive, and to how we interact with our family. This reminds me of a poem I once heard about how each of us are writing a “gospel” by our actions and our words. People read our gospels every day, whether they are good or bad.

The pastor then should reflect on what type of gospel his or her life is communicating to others. Unfortunately, despite the pastoral profession necessitating a virtuous pattern, many pastors have exhibited moral failure which has caused a deep skepticism of the church in our nation today. In fact, Trull and Creech disagree slightly with Wheeler when they observe that ministers are perhaps not considered that model of morality anymore (though they should be) because of the immorality among clergy that is pervading our country. Regardless of what people’s perceptions are of clergy, the important factor is that the pastor should be and is called by God to be an example of faith in the community.

If that is the case, then how should a minister live their life? James Mclendon asks this question of the church, but Trull and Creech apply it to the minister: What would a Christian minister’s life look like if they were genuinely and fully considered a minister for Christ?. Trull and Creech mention many things, such as emotional health and the pastor’s family, but what probably was the most appropriate answer to their posed question was a minister’s relationship with God. Sermon preparation, Bible studies with people, and prayer meeting can sometimes replace an intimate walk with God, but the minister should make their personal relationship with Jesus a priority.

Order custom essay Pastor As A Moral Theologian  with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

Wheeler doesn’t seem to touch on the spiritual dimension here, but does take the reader to a famous passage in Paul’s writings, 1 Corinthians 13, “The Love Chapter”, and suggests several steps for a pastor to be considered a moral example. Just to mention a few, a minister should, first of all, be patient and kind in how they deal with people, even when they are tired and emotions are running high. They should also empower others to do the work of ministry and not be envious when others succeed. And because “love does not insist on its own way”, pastors should be open to submitting to the plans of others rather than thinking it is their way or the highway.

The pastor, however, is not just responsible to live morally himself but also helps to form a moral community, otherwise known as the church. As mentioned in the previous essay, virtue ethics recognizes that morality can be learned and is better “caught than taught”. Because of that, Aristotle placed an emphasis on mentorship (PP). Ethics doesn’t take place in a silo or doesn’t operate in isolation from others, but is best learnt in a community. In fact, Yoder would say that the church has the nature of a polis, or a “structured social body” (PP). Hauerwas agrees and visions the church to be a “countercultural community” which is formed by the teachings of Jesus (PP). And Wheeler writes that ethics should be something we do “in company with others”.

How does the pastor know, though, how to respond to certain moral situations in the church? And beyond responding to specific situations, how can help the minister guide the church to live uprightly in a very messed up world? Perhaps understanding “prima facie” duties can help answer this question. W.D. Ross felt that Kant’s distinction between perfect and imperfect duties didn’t account for the number of exceptions in ethics. Ross’ suggestion was to view every moral principle with the possibility of having an exception and as a starting point to look at the issue. Those are our prima facie duties which should be differentiated from our actual duty in a given situation. There are certain prima facie duties that must be considered first, such as doing no harm, beneficence, justice, and confidentiality (PP). But if those factors do not come into play when considering an ethical decision, the actual duty then is what remains. This process of giving an ethical situation special thought and examination to determine the actual duty is called moral intuitionism (PP).

However, prima facie and actual duties were not constructed necessarily with Jesus or the Scriptures in mind. This is why Wheeler submits that the church shouldn’t be just another organization or club that does a few good things in the world, but rather, the church’s mission is fundamentally established on the foundation of God’s Word and the life and ministry of Jesus. This gives the church a distinct and pressing call to “let [their] light shine before others”. Because the church has this special mission, Wheeler proposes four ethical resources to help both a pastor and a church live upright among a world that is upside-down. The four resources are Scripture, tradition, reason and experience. In regards to tradition, Wheeler talks a balanced approach because she recognizes that tradition has been used in a “normative” way rather than a “descriptive” way.

Tradition is simply looking at what has been done in the past from one’s current perspective to gain insight. Another resource or tool that could be used to help a pastor in his personal ethical life is to write and adopt a personal code of ethics. This code of ethics obviously doesn’t make someone morally upright, but it is like a roadmap that points out what areas to stay away from. Trull and Creech admit this code doesn’t come without its difficulties and it depends on who writes it and who keeps the pastor accountable, but it least can be a start on the right path

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Run a free check or have your essay done for you

Check my essay Hire Writer