How Not To Deal with a Pastor

A second instructive passage related to this is 1 Thessalonians 5:12. Here Paul says, "And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake." In other words, because of the job that pastors are called to do, and the office they are fulfilling, the congregation is to esteem them "very highly in love." To entertain (much less start!) a rumor about a pastor that would cast aspersion upon his character or conduct is a violation of the kind of respect that is owed. It also has the potential to undermine his credibility and hinder his ministry. In fact, the church member who is determined to obey 1 Thessalonians 5:12 will be unwilling to listen to such accusations.
Anyone at any time can start a rumor that has absolutely no basis in reality. Anyone can make an unfounded, unsubstantiated charge against an individual, particularly if that individual is in a leadership position. Spiritual leaders should not become suspect because of rumor or innuendo. Neither should a process of dismissal be instigated based on a single, unsubstantiated accusation. Paul wrote very unambiguously, "Do not receive an accusation against an elder, except from two or three witnesses" (1 Timothy 5:19). In other words, just one witness is not enough.
Is Paul building walls to protect pastors from ever being accused of serious sin? Not at all! Rather, he is establishing for us, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, proper guidelines and parameters in which we must walk if we are going to bring charges of serious sin against an elder or pastor.
Pastors are extremely susceptible to false accusations by virtue of the nature of their work. Think of counseling. Who can prevent a disgruntled person from charging a pastor with improper speech or conduct in a one-on-one situation? Even with people whom I trust implicitly, I try to be very careful and not give any occasion, as best I know the possibilities, where an accusation could be charged against me by someone who may want to do in the reputation of the church I serve or its ministry. It is simply prudent for pastors to avoid situations that make them easy prey for rumormongers.
John Calvin, in his Commentary on 1 Timothy 5:18, made a wonderful statement on this whole subject:

For none are more liable to slanders and calumnies than godly teachers. Not only does it arise from the difficulty of their office, that sometimes they either sink under it, or stagger, or halt, or blunder, in consequence of which wicked men seize many occasions for finding fault with them [in other words, the pressures of the ministry sometimes get weighed down so much that the temptations become more formidable and the defenses are weakened and sometimes these slip-ups and sins do come in light of that]; but there is this additional vexation, that, although they perform their duty correctly, so as not to commit any error whatever, they never escape a thousand censures. And this is the craftiness of Satan, to draw away the hearts of men from ministers, that instruction may gradually fall into contempt.

This is very insightful and to the point. In the Old Testament, when Absalom was allowed to return to Jerusalem while David was king, remember what Absalom did? As the people came to David to have their cases solved, and as David was busy and unable to hear all the cases, Abasalom, the Scripture says, "began to steal the hearts of the people away from David." Through innuendoes, doubts and question marks placed in the minds of the Israelites, he stole their hearts from David. This is exactly what can happen with ministers, and when it happens, it causes the instruction of the Word of God, which they are commissioned to give to the people, gradually to fall into contempt. Calvin continues:

Thus not only is wrong done to innocent persons, in having their reputation unjustly wounded, (which is exceedingly base in regard to those who hold so honourable a rank,) but the authority of the sacred doctrine of God is diminished.
And this is what Satan, as I have said, chiefly labours to accomplish;… Not only so, but as soon as any charge against the ministers of the word has gone abroad, it is believed as fully as if they were already convicted.…
We need not wonder, therefore, if they whose duty it is to reprove the faults of all, to oppose the wicked desires of all, and to restrain by their severity every person whom they see going astray, have many enemies. What, then, will be the consequence, if we shall listen indiscriminately to all the slanders that are spread abroad concerning them?

It is easy to make an accusation, spread a rumor, or begin speaking with innuendoes that undermine the credibility of the voice--the mouthpiece--that God has placed in the church to instruct from the Word of God, and we must guard against it. Paul had been falsely accused when he wrote this letter to Timothy. In Jerusalem he had been accused of desecrating the temple by taking a Gentile into the court beyond where the Gentiles were allowed to enter. Though he was not guilty, nevertheless the charge was made and he wound up being imprisoned and ultimately sent to Rome. The difficulties he faced there, along with the opportunities to preach the gospel, can all be traced back to false accusations.
When an unfounded accusation is made by an individual against the pastor, not only is this accusation not to be acted upon, it is not even to be received. Rather, 1 Timothy 5:19 ought to be cited and the accuser ought to be asked if he or she has another witness to substantiate the accusation. If not, we are not to receive it. The Scripture tells us not to even listen to or entertain an accusation that is unsubstantiated. If it cannot be substantiated, you and I must not participate in the sin of the accuser by listening to it.
The Puritans had a saying that the person who gossips has the devil on his tongue, and the person who listens to gossip has the devil in his ear. Paul here says, don't even listen to an accusation that comes from only one witness.
By Tom Ascol - To read the entire article