The Place of Ministerial Integrity in Pastoral Ministry

Chapter one

Introduction

1.1 Background to the study

Pastoral ministry has lot to do in contributing to the morality of Christian community and the world at large. It is of worth to know that ministers of the gospel are not ordinary people working in ordinary places. They are shoulder with the responsibility of raising men in the complete image of Christ. Pastoral letters are mainly address to pastors with specific instruction to the church, their lives of conduct and their ministry. This is to remind them of their divine calling and their duties in the body of Christ. Throughout the ages, there are several ministers whose lives and conduct defined pastoral ministry and those whose lives are nothing but a destruction to pastoral ministry. In spite these challenges, the fact still remain that there is integrity in pastoral ministry

In Nigeria today, there is an increasing need for integrity in the pulpit ministry and the church especially among pastors in Pentecostal churches in Rivers state, this is because we are facing an integrity crisis, not only in the conduct of the church in question, but also in the very character of the church.  Pastors in Nigeria are constantly facing integrity crisis2. Integrity crisis has reached a frightening level in the Nigerian church community particularly in the pulpit ministry. Respect for pastors and pastoral office seems to have drastically reduced. In the olden days, law enforcement agents would rarely bother to scrutinize any pastor driving on the Nigerian road. They were accorded honour, respected and regarded as ‘men of God.’ But today, such privilege has been abused by the few ones who fail to show integrity as demanded by their calling.

3The pastoral ministry is thrown into a state of confusion and distrust whenever pastors are exposed in immorality and diabolism. Secular media often exploit these sinful acts and the man in the street depicts such church leaders as interested only in money, women and power. The situation puts the church ministry in a serious dilemma and therefore calls for urgent attention in order to restore it to a position of honour and dignity. When pastors do not show integrity, they are indirectly sending conflicting messages to the followers and the society at large and this may further encourage higher level of immorality in the society. Many church members have discovered that their pastors have no clear standard of what integrity is. The responsibility of teaching church members the positive moral values and living a life of integrity is primarily that of the pastor (Titus 2:7-8).

The impact of a pastor’s integrity will help to add values to his teaching in the lives of the followers. Virtually all followers will expect their leaders to be above board when it comes to integrity among religious leaders3. They will expect these leaders to be models in practice of virtue. In the epistle of Paul to Titus, Paul reiterated the need for Titus and all church leaders by implication, to show integrity as they discharge their spiritual duties[4]. The instruction of Paul to Titus (Titus 2:7- 8) on this subject is very important and its relevance in the context of the prevailing corruption, lawlessness, dishonesty, deceit and immorality in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. There is an increasing need for integrity in the ministry. We are facing an integrity crisis, not only is the conduct of the church in question, but so is the very character of the church.

 A morality crisis exists in the ministry. An integrity crisis faces the servants of God. Immorality has reach a panepidemic stage in the evangelical community both in the pulpit and in the pew. Respect for the man of God has reached an all time low bnecause of lack of intergrity among pastors. The secular media exploits every failure. The man in the street pokes fun with jokes depicting ministers as interested only in women, money, power and prestige. The Church of God reels in heartbreak, confusion and distrust as once respected leaders are repeatedly exposed in sin and shame. It is to this the study centres on the Place Of Ministerial Integrity In Pastoral Ministry: A Study Of Some Selected Pentecostal Churches In Rivers State

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

 The misconception of Integrity by people is really a thing of concern especially in the pastoral ministry in Churches in Rivers state. Often times you would hear pastors saying “I am a man of integrity” or “I am a man of my word”, but their words often times contradict their deeds. This misconception of integrity makes many people think as if integrity is only by words and not by deeds. More so, over the years there have been many misconceptions regarding integrity in pastoral ministry such as “do as I say, but don’t do as I do”, that is how I chose to do my own ministry and the likes. Therefore, the problem of this research work is to clearly understand the meaning of the Place Of Ministerial Integrity In Pastoral Ministry: A Study Of Some Selected Pentecostal Churches In Rivers State.

1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

1 To examine the Pastor’s Integrity Performance on Mission in Pentecostal churches in Rivers state

2 To examine the impact of Integrity in pastoral Ministry on Evangelism in Pentecostal churches in Rivers state

3 To examine Pastor’s Integrity Performance on Servant Leadership in Pentecostal churches in Rivers state

4 To outline Hindrances to Integrity in pastoral Ministry in Pentecostal churches in Rivers state

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research is important because it will assist pastors and Christians in general in seeking and upholding integrity in their personal and professional lives. This is to instill in them a sense of caution regarding integrity in their daily lives, enabling them to distinguish clearly between those who misuse integrity in their pastoral vocation and those who live as Christians. Furthermore, this study will aid in clarifying what integrity, pastoral care, and ministry mean to pastors and the Christian community at large. Additionally, the study will open your eyes to some of the key terms used in the text. Throughout this study, terms like exhort, self-control, good, irreprehensible, bad, and similar ones will be covered..

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study focuses on the place of ministerial integrity in pastoral ministry, with Rivers state as the geographical scope. This study will look at the contribution the place of ministerial integrity in pastoral ministry as well as the issue militating against the the place of ministerial integrity in pastoral ministry.

1.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1.7.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1 What is the impact Pastor’s Integrity Performance on Mission in Pentecostal churches in Rivers state?

2 what is the impact of Integrity in pastoral Ministry on Evangelism in Pentecostal churches in Rivers state?

3 To what extent does Pastor’s Integrity Performance  impact on Servant Leadership in Pentecostal churches in Rivers state?

4 What are the Hindrances to Integrity in pastoral Ministry in Pentecostal churches in Rivers state?

1.7.2 Research instrument

Since integrity in pastoral ministry is a key thing to the Christian faith, this research work will base on library research using biblical tools for interpreting it.This study adopted secondary data sources. Secondary sources used in the documents such as newspapers, textbooks, journals, articles and other written records based on the stidy.

In this study, the researcher used analytical induction analysis of secondary data acquired in order to draw conclusions from it. The process of creating causal explanations for study phenomena is referred to as analytical induction analysis. It entails the practice of looking for commonalities that may indicate to common factors. The researcher also conducted a systematic reading of texts and other articles with the goal of obtaining explicit and implicit information on the content of the aforementioned publications (Hammsley, 2004).

1.7.3 Research Hypothesis

H01: There is no significant impact of Ministerial Integrity on Pastoral Ministry in Pentecostal churches in Rivers state