Do you have a fake Pastor?

I know I may be walking on thin ice on this one but what the hell. I had a conversation last night over dinner with a family we use to go to church with. He is a Pastor and I like him and I think he is honest. However we talked about the bad Pastors and so I feel I should say how I feel about this matter. Don’t get me wrong. I am no saint and have no desire to become a Pastor however I do believe you should not play with God. Here are three things that might help you tell if your Pastor is suspect!

Beware when your pastor ...
1. Is overly concerned about remuneration and his own life style instead of his preaching.
Is your Pastor more concerned about feeding themselves instead of feeding their sheep? I know the church is to give the pastor a livable wage or salary, and they are to even give him "double honor" if he ministers well, and the pastor is to live of the gospel. But when the balance becomes too great towards "feathering his own nest" instead of tending to his charge, then the pastor is not what he is supposed to be.

Beware when your pastor ...
2. Drives away people instead of gathering them.
What is a bad sign is when the pastor delights or accepts driving people away when there is no need to do so. For example, the pastor is sarcastic or bitter or sharp with his words when he could have said the same thing in a different way and not offend. The offense must always be between the individual and God, not the pastor and the individual. The pastor shows them God's word and they may get offended or repent and follow God's will.

Beware when your pastor's ...
3. Leadership style is marked with cruelty and force.
"Force" here means excessive force. "Cruelty" means to break apart, to break down ones spirit. The idea is that the bad pastor is somebody who gets his will done no matter what. He is very forceful, and reserves all right for himself. Seldom is he ever wrong (in his own eyes), and even when he is wrong, he will ignore it and wants all others to ignore his errors, adhering absolute loyalty to his "always right" way.