The Holy Man Myth

I wanted to chat a bit about the so-called “Holy Man” of Christian ministry. Here’s the notion: that the calling from God into ministry is reserved, and only ought to be recognized, for the holiest Christians. That is, a pastor-minister-elder ought to, first of all, be a “Holy Man.”

I have heard this notion frequently throughout the years but never had to seriously confront it until I became a full-time pastor several years back. It came home to me when my sister, God Bless her, joked: “Now we have a Holy Man in the family!” Sigh. Nope, still not true. Anyway …

The concept of the Christian pastor as a holy man has many sources and is more of an expectation in certain cultural realms than others. The Roman church has contributed to the notion by making the call to full-time ministry a “Holy Order.” That is, that the life a priest is to be – by design and intent – different, special, and focused. Roman priests are to be unmarried, celibate, and disengaged (in differing degrees) from the normal way of life – and let’s not forget that a Roman priest is granted the power to perform the miracle of Transubstantiation. That’s pretty heady stuff! The Orthodox church, while allowing married priests, have a similar distinction between the sacred and secular in their full-time workers. Things get messier (of course) with the Protestants. Mainline Protestants give recognition to the special calling to full-time service but recognize little that is special about the person. Protestants look for calling, character, and competence.

Many of the cultural backgrounds that insist on the “Holy Man” model of ministry come from the east where Buddhist monks and priests live lives of great disengagement from the affairs of the world and are even reputed to have supernatural abilities.

But in the west and in Protestantism, the nature of ministry is more broadly understood. First, the nature of God’s “calling.” For us, God first calls us to reconciliation and allegiance to himself and his kingdom. This is why Protestants say that one must accept Jesus as Savior and Lord (Rom. 10:9). God calls all men to himself (1Tm 2:4) – we are all subject to this first calling.

The second calling is to ministry and service. Not only are we saved by grace, through faith, but we have been saved for the purpose of good works (Eph 2:8-10). All believers are use our talents, gifts, and treasures to practically love God and our neighbor (Matt 22:36-40). Those are our “vocations.” The word vocation means “calling.”

Only after these two callings are active and healthy, are we then to be sensitive to the possibility of another, focused calling to be in ministry full-time as employment. Even that is not precise: all believers are to minister “full-time,” whatever their job might be. And while there is no barrier to the first two callings, this third calling may have several legitimate barriers: lack of agreement by your spouse, lack of clear understanding of well-interpreted scripture, lack of provision, lack of recognition by the local community of believers, and several others. All people are called by God; all Christians are called to serve. Not all Christians are called to “full-time ministry” as a job.

Let’s look at the word, “holy.” It originally meant that something was special, set apart for a particular purpose. You have ‘holy’ dishes that you bring out only when guests come by. You have another piece of porcelain in your bathroom that has a very specific, special, and set-apart function. Even your toilet is ‘holy,’ in that sense of the word. Of course, “holy” usually refers to something set apart of special and admirable character. Though, to be fair, I have a lot of respect for a well-functioning toilet. In modern usage, “holy” means special, set apart, admirable, and elevated – quantitatively different from the others around it. There is Greatness, Spiritualness, beauty, and (especially) disengagement from the assumed normal things of life. Basically, we put Holy Things on a pedestal and venerate them.

But nowhere – in Protestantism, at least – is there any expectation that a full-time minister is more “holy” than the people he may serve. One, because our theology tells us we are all desperately needy sinners. Scripture gives some qualifications for Elders-Overseers that are both character and experience based. Extrovert is not in the list, by the way. Either is sinlessness. In fact, I am most impacted by those pastors who cling to the gospel precisely because of the grave sin in their past. If it weren’t for Jesus – we know we’d go to Hell! In that sense (Matt 9:10-13), a good pastor is one who recognizes their utter lack of holiness.

When someone suggests that I, as a pastor, is just a much better person than the rest – part of me dies inside. First, because the person saying it clearly doesn’t understand the gospel of salvation through Jesus.

Second, Protestant pastors are encouraged to live Jesus-People lives fully engaged in the world in which they live. That’s holiness at work! What demands more spiritual discipline? Engage in a retreat of silence for a few hours, or spend a few hours in a mini-van with junior high kids going to the park? No, being disengaged or disinterested in the life of the world is not being more holy. Why? Because that’s where people actually live. Should we be ‘disengaged’ from the world? Maybe, because Jesus said there was a distinction between being “in” the world and being “of” the world. That gets at what real worldly disengagement is about. Yes, your pastor has to pay bills, mortgage or rent, make their breakfast, do their laundry, raise kids, love their spouse, deal with traffic, use technology wisely, and so forth. In those ways, they aren’t that special (holy) at all.

So, pastors really do mean It when they say then aren’t any different – in the so-called “holiness” arena – than the rest of their flock. So, why respect your pastor? Fair question.

Protestants vary (surprise!) in the level of respect they give to those who have been called and recognized in full-time service. Most give honor by minor deference and titles, some completely ignore that anything is special about the pastor, and others positively work to keep their ministers humble, powerless, and poor (these tend to buy into the Holy Man model).

The legitimate reasons for pastoral respect are varied and nuanced. Usually, there is a much higher level of training, understanding, and appreciation for the Bible and theology. There is a higher commitment to live by “faith” in economic and other practical provisions. There is a more focused lens to see the world through a godly worldview. And lastly, there was a huge movement in their soul to leave other potential occupations aside and devote their lives as professional ministers. Which really is kind of special. But, again, it is not because the minister is more “holy” than others.

So, let’s reject this notion that your pastor is “holy.” Let’s do what the Bible says. Let’s give our pastors love and respect as they follow Christ and help us to do the same. OK?