The Perfect Pastor Series

On June 16, 1875, the Milwaukee Sentinel published this want ad for a new pastor:

Wanted—A rector for St. James' Church. He must possess all Christian graces and a few worldly ones; must have such tact and disposition as will enable him to side with all parties in the parish an all points, giving offense to none; should possess a will of his own, but agree with [everyone in the church]… Must be willing to preach first-class sermons and do first-class work on second-class compensation—salary should not be so much of an object as the desire to be a zealous laborer in the vineyard; should be able to convince all that they are miserable sinners without giving offense. Each sermon must be short, but complete in itself—full of old-fashioned theology in modern dress: deep but polished… should be young enough to be enthusiastic but possess judgment of one of ripe years and experience. Only he who possesses the above qualifications need apply. To such a one will be given steady employment for a term of years (Milwaukee Sentinel, June 16, 1875, Leadership, Vol. 2, no. 2; www.PreachingToday.com).

I had to laugh when I read that, because they’re asking for the impossible. They want a strong-willed man who agrees with everyone, a young man with years of experience, and a preacher who offers short but complete sermons and convinces everyone that they are sinners without offending them.

I wonder. What do you expect of your pastor? Well, if you’re looking for the perfect pastor, I invite you to turn with me to Exodus 28, Exodus 28, where God describes the perfect minister as reflected in his clothing. God says to Moses…

Exodus 28:1-5 “Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. They shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen (ESV).

God wants Moses to employ the best craftsmen to make beautiful and ornate clothing of the finest material for the high priest and his descendants. The gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarns reflect the same colors of the inner curtain of the tabernacle, which convey the glory and beauty of its Occupant, God Himself.

For the priest represents God before the people even as he represents the people before God, but no human being can do that adequately. So, if you’re looking for the perfect pastor, you have to look beyond any human being. You need to look to Jesus Christ Himself.

The writer of Hebrews says, “Jesus is our High Priest: Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man” (Hebrews 8:1-2).

Jesus is our High Priest, ministering in heaven itself, of which the tabernacle on earth is only a poor copy. So, if you’re looking for the perfect pastor…

LOOK TO JESUS, who reflects the glory and beauty of heaven itself.

Look to our beautiful Savior. Look to the Lord, who alone perfectly reflects the glory of God. Every other human being will disappoint you.

In his book Culture Care, Makoto Fujimura tells of a time when he and his wife were newlyweds. He writes:

As a newlywed couple, my wife and I began our journey with very little. After Judy and I got married in the summer of 1983 we moved to Connecticut for Judy to pursue her master’s degree in marriage counseling. I taught at a special education school and painted at home. We had a tight budget and often had to ration our food (lots of tuna cans!) just to get through the week.

One evening I was sitting alone, waiting for Judy to come home to our small apartment, worried about how we were going to afford the rent and pay for necessities over the weekend. Our refrigerator was empty, and I had no cash left.

Then Judy walked in, and she had brought home a bouquet of flowers. I got really upset. “How could you think of buying flowers if we can’t even eat!” I remember saying, frustrated.