Pastor Whitey

not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; - 1 Timothy 3v3

For most of my saved life, almost 35 years now, I have been convinced that part of being a good pastor was being a tough guy. Most of the pastors I have known have been tough guys. If you are going to lead, you need to be tough, after all. The tough guy image was perpetuated and promoted in my circles. Seeing a pastor angry in the pulpit was a mark of his fire for the Lord.

In my circles we tended to fight at the drop of a hat. We fight over anything and everything. As a matter of fact we like phrases and titles involving fighting and militancy.

That is all well and good. We need to earnestly contend for the faith and we need to fight the good fight of faith. That is all true.

But let’s return to the character of a pastor. What is required of him? As we look at 1 Timothy 3v3 some words stick out. (I find it interesting that they are interspersed with words about covetousness, but I may deal with that later). The words that jump out today are ‘not violent…gentle…not quarrelsome…’ I like the way the KJV translators used the word, ‘not a brawler’ because it draws to mind a particular image that always causes me to stop and reflect.

When I think of a brawler one image comes to mind. Mickey Rooney played a character named ‘Whitey’ in the film ‘Boys’ Town.’ Whitey was a brawler. Inside and outside Boys’ Town he walked about looking for a fight and would lash out, with or without provocation. Everyone had to walk on eggshells around him.

Sadly, I have known far too many ‘Pastor Whiteys’ in my life. Much like the character in the film they seem to be looking for a fight. Everyone is afraid to cross them or stand up to them. Deep down, just like Whitey, they really are decent chaps, but that is not the image they portray.

Why are we caught in that trap? As pastors (and indeed all believers) we should desire to me seen as gentle folks. Gentleness is a not a mark of weakness, it appears instead to be a mark of godliness.

Not violent? Gentle? Not a brawler? How do we measure up to these standards?