I am sitting in a restaurant right now working on material for our upcoming conference. Other people here are talking openly about local scandals concerning pastors abusing their wives and their own stories of finding pastors in compromising situations and locations. These are not national stories, just their own local incidences. Eventually one woman said, “It is scary that these are pastors. Supposed to be men of God and up there preaching. I don’t trust them any more. I don’t trust anybody.” A man then said, “Yeah, I used to go to church all the time but I have not been at all in the last 8 months.” He went on to talk about his string of very young girlfriends.

Brothers, this is our setting. Our behavior directly affects the way people see God. We must bear this in mind and live accordingly. And, interestingly, in spite of the secularists, people still do expect pastors to be particularly connected to God. People are looking to us to show them the character of God. That is humbling and scary, but it is also a great opportunity. Let us then cry out to God for grace that we might praise and not slander Him with our lives (Titus 2:8, 10).