CHRISTIAN ETHICS

The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has published a Code of Ethics for Pastors. Background on this document is found in a Press Release issued by NAE on June 13, 2012. Additional commentary about the document and the reason for it is found in a Washington Times story published June 25, 2012.

The way we see it, this code of ethics is a grievous embarrassment for God. We base this opinion on observations we have made on statements made by NAE representatives regarding the Code. The premise for the Code is found in the following quotes by NAE representatives:

FIRST QUOTE:  “The Bible is a long document.” (Washington Times)

COMMENTARY: The length of the Bible is given as the reason for pastors' ethical shortcomings. Essentially, the NAE is saying that the length of the Bible inhibits understanding of the Bible. Perhaps the NAE thinks that the Bible should have been shorter. It would be interesting to know what parts of the Bible the NAE would delete so that pastors would have time to read and understand it.

We do not argue with the fact that the Bible is long. We would add to that observation that it is also very deep and, in many places, difficult to understand. But why should that be a problem? Aren't most pastors trained in Bible study? And does that study not include principles that cover the moral/ethical issues pastors will encounter  and on which they might want to teach their congregations?

If the NAE is looking for excuses, we would accept that some some pastors may  not receive training in moral/ethical issues. Even if that is true, shouldn't we still expect pastors to be motivated enough to engage in ongoing Bible study that covers the entire Bible? Even if they didn't want to do it for their own benefit, it seems reasonable to expect that they would study so they can teach their churches. Or, if not for sermon material, how about studying and applying Biblical principles so that they more accurately represent God's and Jesus' character in their lives? That should be their highest priority.

The way we see it, if pastors are not trained and discipled to study and apply the deep stuff of the Bible so that they can accurately represent God's character to the world, they are not qualified to lead people in spiritual matters. And if they are not qualified, no intellectual document -- no matter how well crafted it may be -- will compensate for the spiritual shortcomings that cause trouble for pastors and their churches.

The way we see it, these problems all stem from failure to study and apply God's word. Since pastors are spiritual leaders for good or for ill, we can reasonably expect that people in the pews, not just pastors and boards, also need a code of ethics to guide them. But, we ask, do they need a code of ethics or do they need a better understanding and application of what the Bible says?

The NAE's answer to this question is to write a new document. The way we see it, the Code is a worldly solution that says, in effect, "All you need to know about ethics is in the three pages of our Code.

In fairness to the NAE's effort, we must clarify that we are not saying that there is no truth in those three pages; at least a dozen scriptures are in the document. But we are saying that it is misleading and dangerous to condense the Bible's teachings regarding how to live with one another down to three pages. God gave us six commandments and hundreds of verses on loving your neighbor as yourself. The way we see it, to simplify those scriptures subtracts from the depth and richness of God's word

MORE COMMENTARY: Another serious spiritual problem with this Code is that it adds to what God has already said about Godly conduct. Think about it. Why should some new discussion about ethics be necessary? What do you do with 2-Timothy 3:14-17 and 2-Peter 1:2-8? Hasn't God already revealed everything we need to know to stay in covenant relationship with him? Isn't God's written word enough for understanding right and wrong?

At the risk of appearing cynical, we must conclude that the NAE does not find God's written word adequate for teaching about right living. From that perspective, the NAE has found it necessary to reduce the Bible and add to it.

SECOND QUOTE: “The principles here are biblical, but they are also relevant to our time and culture. That type of specificity just isn’t in the Bible.” (Washington Times)

COMMENTARY: Framers of the Code suggest that the Bible is not fully relevant to contemporary times. This is an absurdly audacious and arrogant statement for an organization that claims that the Bible is the infallible word of God.  It is nothing short of hypocrisy to first profess (in its Statement of Faith) that the Bible is infallible, and then boldly say (in the Second Quote) that it is not relevant to contemporary culture?

In effect, these spiritual leaders are saying that they can do a better job of interpreting and applying Godly principles with their Code than God has done in the book that they claim to honor and trust. Hallelujah! Because of the Code, pastors will now know how to conduct their professional lives. It's a pity that someone didn't think of writing a code of ethics sooner. 

MORE COMMENTARY: The Code of Ethics includes several scripture references to justify the code statements. It is a curious observation that, with two exceptions, all of the scriptures are from the New Testament. Old Testament scriptures, specifically the first five books (i.e. The Law of Moses) are conspicuously missing. These are the scriptures of which Jesus said, "they bear witness to me," and of which it was said in 1John: 14 that the Word (i.e. God's word in the Law of Moses) was made flesh. And yet, no scriptures from The Law of Moses are used to justify the Code.

The way we see it, this glaring omission is a big part of the problem. The Law has been effectively diminished, distorted and discounted to the degree that no one, not even pastors, study it seriously enough to understand it and apply it in their lives. If they did, they would not have ethical issues that cause trouble for them and others.
Since they do not affirm The Law (i.e. The Law of Moses -- not the law of the Pharisees), they lack the spiritual foundation they need to live Godly, ethical lives. They call themselves "Christian", but they totally ignore that Jesus came to fulfill The Law -- not to abolish it. Similarly, they ignore that Jesus is the living embodiment of the word that is represented in The Law.  For lack of evidence that the law is written on their hearts and minds, it is hard to believe that pastors who need a code of ethics are bona fide New Covenant believers.

God has provided everything needed for life and godliness. The problem for pastors regarding this truth is that what they are not studying the whole Bible. Their reading needs to include the books of The Law of Moses. After all Jesus himself said that they testify about him. 

If The Law of Moses was good enough for Jesus, it should be good enough for pastors. Failing to study and understand The Law of Moses, however, the NAE finds it necessary to contrive a Code that makes up for teaching that God either failed (in their view) to provide or inconveniently concealed in a Bible that is too long to comprehend. 

THIRD QUOTE: “There’s a need that we’re reminded of when we see pastors living unethical lives,” ... “We want to raise the level of accountability because apparently some pastors believe they’re a law unto themselves." (Washington Times)

COMMENTARY: It appears from this quote that the purpose of the Code is to increase accountability for pastors. This very telling statement, along with the bulk of the Code content, reveals that the NAE's orientation is much more horizontal than vertical. In other words, it is primarily about what goes on with pastors in church and in the community.  

More to the point, it totally ignores what is going on with God. How do we know that God is not really in the picture? In addition to the NAE's statements, we know it because the concept of being "ethical" is not a Biblical term. Ethics and accountability are worldly terms. The words God uses to describe appropriate behavior for his people are holiness and righteousness. The word he uses to describe how his people relate to him is covenant. The Law of Moses is where God goes to some lengths to tell his people how to be holy and how to remain in that covenant relationship. Furthermore, obedience to God's commandments as found in The Law of Moses is the standard of righteousness. So it makes sense to use God's terms and God's laws, not worldly words and worldly standards, to communicate how he wants his people to behave.  

MORE COMMENTARY: To be fair, we must acknowledge that the Code does give token,  cursory mention of the pastor's relationship with God. Nevertheless, consistent with the Third Quote,  the main focus of the Code is clearly on accountability in human relationships. This horizontal (we would say "worldly") orientation is further revealed in the NAE's press release that opens with this statement:

"Ethical success or failure can make or break a pastor's ministry. With a desire for pastors to make sound ethical decisions and to flourish, the National Association of Evangelicals developed the NAE Code of Ethics for Pastors designed to provide a consistent code of ethics that crosses denominational lines."

Putting this in a vertical context, there is no evidence that the NAE has any concern for the damage to God's reputation that results when pastors, or other Christians, do things that cause trouble in the community. This orientation was confirmed by Leif Anderson,  president of the NAE, in this quote from the Washington Times article:

" the pastoral code of ethics did not spring from any specific instance of misconduct. Even so,  there is a need for a uniform policy that ties all pastors to a single professional standard."

This statement confirms that the focus is on professional standards that are practiced in horizontal relationships. The NAE uses worldly, business terms to describe a spiritual issue.  It's all about policy and professionalism within the church -- not about God.

MORE COMMENTARY: The orientation of the Code is to pastors.  It appears  designed to protect the pastors and churches through education. It does nothing to identify and heal the sinful tendencies that incline all people to do things that cause trouble. It focuses on the mind and not on the heart, and presumes that a good intellectual understanding of a simple, three page code of ethics written by well-meaning people will help them navigate the temptations that have always existed for everyone -- not just religious leaders. 

The way we see it, the problem is not education, it is spiritual. And the root of the spiritual problem is a religious system that structurally places people in a position where they must trust a man or a woman -- something God warned them not to do.  Of course the laity has responsibility for the hiring process, but it is downhill from there because they have chosen to depend on a man or woman (i.e. pastor) for their spiritual growth. They do not take full responsibility for digging their own spiritual wells. They have effectively placed the pastor ahead of God. This is idolatry. It is predictable, therefore, that there will be trouble in church.

FOURTH QUOTE:  "Some evangelical leaders noted in the survey that ethical expectations are implicit in doctrinal statements and other organizational commitments that they sign, but the documents include issues outside ethics and don't expound thoroughly on issues of ethics." (NAE Press Release)

COMMENTARY: We are not sure what kinds of documents this quote references. It seems clear, however, that many or all pastors are required by churches to commit to certain moral standards (i.e. ethics).  Given our earlier observation that the NAE's perspective regarding the Code is horizontal, such a practice is predictable. Thus, it is not surprising that worldly terms like ethics and accountability are used to describe the need for the Code instead of Biblical terms like covenant and sin.

The way we see it, the covenant terms that God presented to Israel are adequate to define behavior in all relationships. They are, after all, the same terms that apply in the New Covenant to which Christians claim to adhere and are faithful to reference in their communion sacrament.  With this truth in mind, it is reasonable to expect that the principle of "let your yes be yes and your no be no would be fully operable in anyone who claims to be a Christian. 

Furthermore, if the law is fully written on someones heart, as is true for genuine New Covenant believers, there should be no need for any additional documents to ensure that moral standards are observed. If God was satisfied with his law being written on the hearts and minds of his people instead of on tablets of stone, his followers should not find it necessary to supplement God's laws with a Code written on paper.

MORE COMMENTARY: If there was ever a place where the Biblical standard of "love your neighbor as yourself" should be applied, that place is church. That would be true, of course, unless church is more about worldly business than obedience to God's commandments. Since the Code uses worldly concepts to justify its existence and provide direction to pastors, we are forced to conclude that it about business. It has religious form but lacks spiritual power.

CONCLUDING COMMENTS

The only good thing we can say about the NAE's Code of Ethics is that it recognizes that pastors cause trouble for themselves and their churches. Regrettably, the horizontal language of the Code and NAE statements regarding the Code show no evidence of concern for the fact that pastors also cause trouble for God. This is not surprising given the NAE's statement on the opening page of its website:

"Denominations, churches and para-church organizations are at the heart of the NAE. We work to make these organizations strong and effective and to enrich their ministry."

The way we see it, working to make an organization strong is the wrong motivation. We see the effects of this wrong motivation in the content of the Code where it appears that the subtext of the NAE's mission is to serve pastors -- not God. Statements introducing the Code and the Code itself clearly show that the reputation of pastors, not God, were mainly in view for Code authors. The NAE  does also say that it is "working together for the gospel of Jesus Christ," but those are only religious words if their actions do not show that they put God first.


A cynical perspective on the Code is that is is a strategy for helping pastors maintain their positions in church and community. We do not deny that pastors need help. They have the same temptations as everyone else. We cannot agree, however, that a three-page document with a few scriptures blended in with religious language about integrity, trustworthiness, purity, accountability and fairness will have any power to change lives.


But the inability of a document to change pastors is not our main complaint about the Code. The main point for us is that it does not deal with the fact that pastors (and others who represent themselves as believers in God and followers of Jesus) dishonor and profane God when their behaviors do not line up with God's laws. There is no recognition whatsoever that pastors break the Third Commandment when they do things that are called unethical.


No doubt this neglect stems from a simple-minded view that the Third Commandment is about swear words that include God and Jesus and other types of profanity. If they understood that the Third Commandment was really talking about misrepresenting God's character (i.e. his name), they might have done something different when observing bad behavior in pastors. They did not, so the Code is what they came up with.


Nice try NAE, but you missed it. Your words look good, they are appropriately religious, and no doubt you will receive much praise from religious people for your efforts, but you missed God altogether.


The good news in this story is that God is a redeeming God. The NAE tried to do something good for God, a kind of Golden Calf effort that will sooner or later be revealed for what it is. But, sooner or later, God will make something good, lasting, and redemptive come out of it.


Redemption of our weak, fleshly efforts is what God is all about. He must do that because his glory, the reputation of his name (i.e. his character), is at stake. He will not allow his people to permanently profane his character in the sight of the world. He will allow people to engage in empty religiosity for a while, but sooner or later he will intervene and bring judgment on those who profane his name. And then he will do something redemptive that redirects the attention of the watching world from empty religious traditions and sinful behavior to himself. He will do this to reveal his true character to a world that needs to know him for who he really is.


All who call themselves Jews or Christians are a part of this process. Some understand the process, but most do not understand it. Those who do not understand what God is doing are busy with religious activity. Those who do understand have no time for religious traditions or worldly business. They are busy studying all scriptures, applying what they are learning and teaching others. And they do it all obscurely, without drawing attention to themselves. Too bad that behavior does not describe the NAE.