Today we live in an oddly neo-Donatist age where there is still a tendency to conceptualize ministry in terms of personal qualities and experiences, although these are now determined by the psychologized values of the therapeutic society rather than responses under persecution. And this neo-Donatism takes various forms: Women need to have pastoral roles because men, lacking the lived experience of womanhood, cannot adequately minister to their needs. Elderly pastors who grew up in a pre-social-media age cannot speak to young people because of the generation gap. And straight pastors who have never experienced homosexual temptation have less authority in counseling those Christians who do. Experience grants authority.

No, no, no. The minister preaches the word and administers the sacraments. These have an objective validity that does not depend upon the moral or experiential qualities of the man expounding the Bible, sprinkling the water, breaking the bread, and filling the cup. Yes, the minister’s character is important. Paul’s list of qualifications for eldership makes that clear, and when a minister is found to be wanting, he should be removed by due process. But the performance of public vulnerability is not a qualification for ministry.