In John Piper's Desiring God Episode 1539, a female listener in Houston asks if God's standard is too high for Pastors. John Piper answers no.
"My answer to the question is that it is not too high a standard to require that a pastor live a life free from sexual fornication and adultery and any ongoing use of pornography," Piper said.
The pastors should not be perceived as "just one of the guys" because they are in fact, the shepherd of the guys according to John Piper.
"They are the protectors and teachers with authority over the guys," Piper made clear. Piper proceeded to make an argument that exposes the pastors as people that failed to fulfill their obligation as pastors. "Maybe one of our problems is that we've just scared pastors witless about being what they ought to be."
Nonetheless, Piper also acknowledges that Jesus "raised the bar" from those in the Old Testament. Jesus called followers to "rise up above the Mosaic compromise with sin." This conviction exposes Christ's standards "higher than Moses's standards" and claims that "there's the truth that standards for elders and pastors are higher than for ordinary Christian church members."
Elders and pastors are public figures of the church who are in the position to teach, govern, and set an example "to the flock" and "to the world." This makes them obligated to follow ethical standards where "the pastor is to be above reproach."
John Piper further emphasized the weight of the pastor's position in the church with a passage from the bible, "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood" (Acts 20:28).
