Everyone faces temptation (I Cor. 10:13).  Even Jesus (Matt. 4:1-11).  Here are a few germane to the role of a pastor.

1. Familiarity—loss of awe at holy and amazing things.
2. Identity amnesia—forgetting you are a person and have a life apart from the ministry vocation.
3. Missional confusion—losing sight of being an ambassadorial representative of Christ at all times.
4. Mediocrity.
5. Self-righteousness.
6. Fear of man.
7. Formalism—when public ministry overwhelms private devotion (no s).
8. Self-promotion.
9. Family neglect.
10. Numbing—TV, food, escapism, banal entertainment
11. Politicizing—politics aims at preserving positions; pastoral ministry isn’t concerned with position.
12. Bitterness—against obstructors.
13. Envy—looking over the fence at some other ministry.
14. Self-rule.
15. Loss of zeal.

I certainly find myself (unfortunately) relating to some of these.  Given my fallen, fleshly state I understand my vulnerability to all of them be it not for God’s daily grace of protection and provision in my life.

How about you?  Any of these a real and present danger in your life?  Any others that may not be on this list?

Credit Where Credit is Due:

• I copied this list from Pastor Sam Crabtree of Bethlehem Baptist Church.
• The material isn’t original with him, though.  It’s notes he took from a talk given by Paul Tripp.