Ministerial Ethics: Moral Formation for Church Leaders

289 Pages·2004·2.64 MB·English

by  Joe E. Trull, James E. Carter

Ministerial Ethics

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Ministerial Ethics

Moral Formation for Church Leaders

S e c o n d E d i t i o n

Joe E. Trull
and
James E. Carter

K

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© 2004 by Joe E. Trull and James E. Carter

Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com

Seventh printing, May 2009

Printed in the United States of America

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written
permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Trull, Joe E.
Ministerial ethics : moral formation for church leaders / Joe E. Trull and James E. Carter.—2nd ed.

p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 10: 0-8010-2755-1 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-8010-2755-0 (pbk.)
1. Clergy—Professional ethics. 2. Clergy—Conduct of life. I. Carter, James E., 1935– II. Title.
BV4011.5.T78 2004
241.641—dc22
2003055916

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of
Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified gnb are from the Good News Bible, Today’s English Version. Copyright ©
American Bible Society 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations identified kjv are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations identified nkjv are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982
by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified nrsv are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright
1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the
USA. Used by permission.

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To
all good ministers
who faithfully serve
Jesus Christ and his church
with integrity

Wide was his parish, houses far asunder,
But never did he fail, for rain or thunder,
In sickness, or in sin, or any state,
To visit to the farthest, small and great,
Going afoot, and in his hand a stave.
This fine example to his flock he gave,
That first he wrought and afterwards he taught;
Out of the gospel then that text he caught,
And this figure he added thereunto—
That, if gold rust, what shall poor iron do?
For if the priest be foul, in whom we trust,
What wonder if a layman yield to lust?

Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales

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7

Contents

Preface to the Second Edition 9

Preface to the First Edition 11

Introduction 13

1 The Minister’s Vocation: Career or Profession? 21
2 The Minister’s Moral Choices: Endowed or Acquired? 43
3 The Minister’s Personal Life: Incidental or Intentional? 65
4 The Minister’s Congregation: Friend or Foe? 89
5 The Minister’s Colleagues: Cooperation or Competition? 119
6 The Minister’s Community: Threat or Opportunity? 139
7 A Major Ethical Issue: Clergy Sexual Abuse 161
8 A Ministerial Code of Ethics: Help or Hindrance? 185

Appendix A: A Procedure for Responding to Charges
of Clergy Sexual Abuse 217

Appendix B: Early Denominational Codes 221

Appendix C: Contemporary Denominational Codes 229

Appendix D: Ministerial and Parachurch Groups Codes 241

Appendix E: Sample Codes of Ethics 259

Notes 265

Index 284

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9

Preface to the Second Edition

The first edition of this book appeared in 1993 under the title Ministerial Ethics:
Being a Good Minister in a Not-So-Good World. Due to a growing recognition of
ethical dilemmas faced by ministers, concern for professional ethics in ministry
has increased in all denominations. During the past decade, this interest has
moved beyond the religious institutions to the community at large.
In 2002, clergy sexual misconduct by Roman Catholic priests, coupled with
an apparent cover-up by church officials, shocked a nation and captured the
news. Lawsuits threatened to bankrupt several dioceses. Leaders in all religious
groups reassessed the need for ethics in ministry among their own clergy.
Parallel to this increasing awareness, religious schools and seminaries have
accepted greater responsibility to develop moral character in their students.
New studies in spiritual formation now appear in the curriculum of almost
every Christian school. A plethora of textbooks on the subject supports this
new interest in personal spiritual growth and ethical character development.
The need for an updated and expanded edition of our text is obvious. It is
our hope that this second edition will support this renewed awareness of the
importance of ministerial ethics. In addition, we believe churches as well as
educational institutions will benefit from understanding and addressing the
issues outlined in these pages.
To this end, we have added a new chapter (chap. 7) that focuses specifi-
cally on clergy sexual abuse. We hope this addition will help counteract the
disturbing incidences of ministers crossing into the “forbidden zone,” as well
as guide churches in prevention and response strategies.
Many reviews of the first edition expressed appreciation for the appendices,
which contained a number of ministerial codes of ethics, past and present.
We have strengthened this section by revising the list, as well as adding several
contemporary codes developed in the last few years.

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10
Preface to the Second Edition

Preparing the second edition has reminded us of the book’s limitations,
namely, the brevity with which we address many significant subjects. Some
of the chapters could easily be the subject of an entire book. Nevertheless, we
believe a general overview of the entire scope of ministerial ethics in the form
of an introductory text is justified.
Finally, we wish to express gratitude to Baker Book House for their willing-
ness to publish this revised and expanded second edition and to acquisitions
editor Robert N. Hosack, whose patience and second-mile efforts made this
new edition a reality.

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11

Preface to the First Edition

After half a century of relative silence on the subject, the last decade has wit-
nessed a renewed interest in ministerial ethics. One reason for this attention is
our rapidly changing culture; clergy ethics are more complex in today’s society.
Another factor is the seeming increase in moral failures in the ministry.
Rightly or wrongly, churches formerly assumed that Christian ministers
were persons of integrity who could be counted on to be ethical. No longer
is this presumption possible. As a result, theological seminaries and church-
related colleges are reexamining their responsibilities for spiritual formation
and rethinking their curricula. The teaching of ministerial ethics to ministerial
students is a new priority in many schools.
The purpose of this book is twofold. First, this study intends to teach Chris-
tian ministry students the unique moral role of the minister and the ethical
responsibilities of that vocation. A second purpose is more practical: to provide
new and established ministers with a clear statement of the ethical obligations
contemporary clergy should assume in their personal and professional lives.
This work is the joint effort of two people who have been friends since
seminary days and who feel uniquely bonded by their Christian faith, their
love of ministry, and their like-mindedness. We have spent most of our adult
lives as pastors, an aggregate of more than fifty-five years of ministry in rural,
small-town, suburban, university, and downtown churches. The two of us now
serve by guiding and training other ministers in the vocation.
Although the seminary teacher authored the more foundational chapters
of the book (1, 2, 6, 7) and the denominational worker the more practical
ones (3, 4, 5), the entire work is the product of both of our minds, as we have
labored together throughout the project.
We have also worked very hard at inclusiveness. Aware of our own white-male-
Baptist-pastor perspective, we have intentionally tried to address all ministers:
male and female, pastors and associate ministers, generalists and specialists,

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12
Preface to the First Edition

various ethnic groups and Christian traditions. Although our theological ap-
proach is based in the evangelical tradition, we hope clergypersons of every
persuasion will find in this book encouragement and assistance for their own
ministry.
Like all good ethical choices, this book is the result of the broad influence
of many people. Numerous colleagues, friends, and ministers have made sig-
nificant contributions. Each topic brings to mind many “good ministers” we
have known throughout the years. We wish to thank each of them.
In particular, Joe E. Trull is grateful to New Orleans Baptist Theological
Seminary for sabbatical leave in 1991–92 to complete this book, to Union
Theological Seminary in Virginia for inviting him to be a research fellow on
their campus during that time, to the T. B. Maston Foundation for providing
a grant to assist in this project, and to the late T. B. Maston himself, beloved
mentor and teacher whose life and lessons are often reflected in this work.
James E. Carter is particularly grateful to the churches he has served as pastor
through the years, to the executive board of the Louisiana Baptist Convention
for its encouragement to write, to the Southern Baptist churches and ministers
in Louisiana with whom it is his privilege to work, and to T. B. Maston, who
though not his primary professor was also a major influence in the formation
of his ethical thinking.
Both of us wish to give special recognition to the laypersons, teachers, and
ministers who read our manuscript and gave invaluable advice along the way:
John Alley, Larry Baker, Wayne Barnes, Cheryl Burns, Cynthia Greenleaf,
Robert Parham, Allen Reasons, and Nell Summerlin.
For that unique support and counsel that only a spouse can give, our per-
sonal gratitude to Audra and Carole.

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13

Introduction

Ours is an age of ethical uncertainty. In Walker Percy’s novel The Thanatos
Syndrome, a minister faces an ethical dilemma. Percy capsules his moral confu-
sion and ours in one line: “This is not the Age of Enlightenment, but the Age
of Not Knowing What To Do.”1 One writer calls this quote an apt aphorism
for our age and adds:

Politicians, scientists, physicians, business leaders, everyday citizens, and our
clergy increasingly find themselves in situations where they really do not know
what to do. As a result, ethics has become a boom industry, and moral failure
a regular front-page phenomenon. Conventional wisdom seems glaringly in-
adequate in the face of our environmental, technological, political, economic,
and social situations.2

Ministerial ethics can no longer be assumed, if ever they were. In a city not
far from where one of us lives, the pastor of one of the fastest growing churches
in the South was arrested for drug smuggling. He confessed to flying cocaine
from Colombia for $50,000. The minister, whose church had led the state
in the number of baptisms for several years, was sentenced to three years in
prison and fined $10,000.
A regional magazine in a metropolitan area in the Southwest featured a
cover story titled “Thy Neighbors’ Wives,” which chronicled the sexual af-
fairs of a megachurch’s pastor. The article claimed that the charismatic leader
was obsessed with wealth, power, and status. “One beautiful woman was not
enough,” said a deacon, referring to the minister’s wife. “He was set up as an
ideal man. He was adored and he ate it up.”3
The saddest chapter in these two tragic stories was the final one. Neither
fallen minister seemed remorseful when exposed, nor did he appear repentant
when sanctioned. After a brief absence, they both established new independent
congregations in the same cities where they had previously pastored.

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14
Introduction

Moral failures in the ministry are all too common today. Chaucer asked,
“If gold rust, what shall poor iron do?” Obviously, it too rusts, perhaps more
rapidly. “For if the priest be foul, in whom we trust,” continued the author of
The Canterbury Tales, “what wonder if a layman yield to lust?”
The present crisis in ministerial ethics is both a reflection of our times and
an influence on our society. Ethical failure in the pulpit affects the pew. At the
same time, clergy morals seem to mirror the general decline in morality among
the laity. Our day is fraught with political cover-ups, insider trading on the
stock exchange, corporate scandals, and media manipulation. Numbed by it
all, people are seldom shocked when they hear of an immoral minister.
Several years ago the academic dean of a seminary asked one of us to de-
velop a course in ministerial ethics. Although this ethics professor was a fresh-
man faculty member, he did understand the subject after twenty-five years in
pastoral ministry. The congregations served by this new teacher were varied:
a rural mission church in Oklahoma, a small-town church in north Texas,
a fast-growing congregation in a suburb of Dallas, and a downtown church
in the international city of El Paso. (The coauthor of this text served similar
congregations in Louisiana and Texas for over thirty years before becoming
the director of the Church Minister Relations Division of the Louisiana Bap-
tist Convention.) From our own experiences, both of us knew that ministers
needed help in personal and professional ethics.
The dean of the seminary had concerns beyond the need he saw for students
to study pastoral ethics. Moral scandals involving televangelists and prominent
religious leaders had recently made the pages of USA Today, Time, and Newsweek.
These embarrassing stories had created an atmosphere of distrust toward all
ministers. Even more alarming to the dean was that almost every week another
Shakespearean moral tragedy came to his attention, as the curtain rose to reveal
a new tale of a fallen minister and a forced termination.
A study of the dismissals of Southern Baptist pastors by Norris Smith, a
specialist in the area of forced terminations, revealed that “immorality” was
a leading cause of dismissals, second only to a “lack or abuse of communica-
tion.” The survey defined “immorality” as “sexual misconduct, substantive
lying, and the misuse or embezzlement of church funds.” Smith pointed to
a lack of accountability and of clear professional guidelines among pastors as
contributors to their ethical failure.4
These events, as critical as they were, did not in and of themselves fully
justify a new course in the seminary curriculum. Three significant facts verified
the crucial need to teach professional ethics to today’s clergy.
The first actually became the basic rationale for the ministerial ethics course
and for this book: The Christian minister occupies a unique role among all voca-
tions. This is true in relation not only to other occupations but also among the
traditional service professions. No vocation is as ethically demanding as the

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