Integrity Spring 1988

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Responding to the intense scrutiny presidential candidates have received lately, one contender complained, "We're running for President, not sainthood." Does such a distinction hold true for pastors?

On one hand, pastors are full-fledged members of the human race. They sin daily. On the other hand, pastors labor in a profession in which character is critical. They're called to lead and teach and model not some technical skill but a life. When pastors fall, they can wound many believers.

So how pure does a pastor need to be? LEADERSHIP posed the question to four key individuals. Two are pastors:

-Eugene Peterson, pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland.

-Charles Swindoll, pastor of First Evangelical Free Church in Fullerton, California.

The other two are denominational officials who daily deal with the care, certification, and discipline of ministers:

-G. Raymond Carlson, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, headquartered in Springfield, Missouri.

-Donald Njaa, executive secretary of the ministry, The Evangelical Covenant Church, headquartered in Chicago.

PART I: WHAT IS INTEGRITY?

Leadership: Is integrity visible? Can you recognize a leader who has it?

Donald Njaa: I think it is visible, but only after knowing somebody pretty well. You can't determine whether someone has integrity just by sitting down for lunch.

Chuck Swindoll: With a person of integrity, you feel something solid. That's the idea in the Hebrew root word-there's something solid, of substance. It isn't a veneer.

Raymond Carlson: I define integrity as being complete, being whole. Generally you can sense a person who walks with God through the discernment the Holy Spirit gives.

Swindoll: Yes, we can sense that. However, I have been ...

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