Influencers and Attributes

As an understanding of the ethical behavior of people in ministry, I will point out five

individuals who have impacted my life in how they have implemented a high level of ethical

leadership throughout their godly personal lifestyles as they serve the church, as well as their

moral discipleship to the community. It is essential to notice that while it is crucial for people in

the ministry to consistently demonstrate a high level of integrity throughout their Christian lives,

I will also point out that those who serve part-time in the church, as well as those who are

involved in a full-time basis, are highly responsible, first to God and finally to the community to

conduct and live a righteous lifestyle.

1. Pastor Edwin Rivera

As I introduce Pastor Edwin Rivera, I must inform you that I have known this pastor for

many years. Throughout his ministry, I have noticed how he has developed a well-organized

personal Christian life. I met him at a church when we were both invited to preach a three-day

lecture on Christian living. I would lecture the first and third, while he would preach on the two

days. For Edwin, it was an excellent opportunity to share his ministry; while he was exhausted

after finishing very late that Saturday night, he returned the next day to be there. His demeanor

was something to admire because some of the things he said the day before resonated with him

being present at the end of the program. It was not difficult for Edwin to do what he did, as I was

told by other ministers at the event that he was known as a righteous person, someone who had

rendered himself to the service of God.

Edwin is now a full-time pastor in Indiana at a church that has learned to love God partly

because of a devoted pastor who continuously teaches them the importance of serving God daily.

He demonstrates high integrity to the church and those he serves in his Goshen, Indiana,
community. I have visited that church on multiple occasions and witnessed that pastor Rivera’s

model is to be admired; he is a well-rounded minister, especially as a church pastor.

It is essential to point out how important it is to see something that so many other

ministers failed to do, and that is how much care he demonstrates when dealing with his family;

he shows love for every member of his family as much as he can demand quality of service as

well as responsibility towards God. I also witnessed the congregants being alert to how much

respect and obedience with submission to God’s Word they showed at the service. One may say

that it is normal, but not always. Most congregants may show more obedience to God and not the

pastors. I could see that this congregation showed both, which will lead me to believe that while

the pastor delivered a highly ethical Christian life, it was demonstrated by the church members'

aptitude as a condition of submission to a good Christian life; this is because of an excellent

honorable Christian pastor. The church continues to grow as it develops leaders under its ethical

leadership conduct for the glory of God.

2. Pastor Byron Salguero

Another minister that I would like to introduce is pastor Byron Salguero as a minister; he

wants to be well-informed; because of his ethical commitment to the ministry, he is an individual

who has developed into an exemplary Christian and a good community leader. He is well-known

among his peers because of his ethical leadership at the pastor’s church and within the pastor’s

association. We both worked together on the Grand Rapids Pastors Association board. It did not

take long for me or any other pastor to notice that pastor Byron was a committed member who

came in with a high level of personal integrity and an ethical demeanor toward all the issues we

dealt with at the meetings.

 When you talk with him, you know you will know that you are talking with a pastor; his

conversations about the church are always inclusive to a group of people he loves, like a family.

As he always assumed them to be, all because he took to heart because that is what the Bible

teaches about the church. The Church is the body of Christ, for which all Christians are

partakers. Pastor Salguero is very active in the community together with his wife; they opened

their ministry to work with the community outside the congregation, where he is helping people

with various needs. Again, I guessed that most people could do that. Still, as a minister, I think

that when a pastor willingly opens the doors of their ministry to work with the community, he

must be careful as the nonbeliever expects a high level of integrity and ethical life. The people

expect more; if the minister is away, they may find themselves in the cold without cover. Pastor

Salguero has no problems with that; he can carry a heavy load as he has prepared himself for if

something arises.

3. Rev. Aramis Acosta

Here is a minister that I hold dear to my heart, all because he was my pastor. I spent many

hours listening to his teachings and studying his personal life. It may sound awkward, but the

Hispanic church has a culture in which pastors and church members like to exchange phone

numbers and visit each other all the time.

Pastor Acosta was instrumental in the development of my spiritual life. He was a man

who demonstrated a high level of spirituality, something that one can only appreciate once one

learns how he came to know the Lord. He had cancer when he accepted Jesus as his savior, but

without wasting any time, he began to tell others about Jesus and how he was healed from cancer

while still in the hospital.

 It is being said that he spent only three months in the cancer ward after being cleared of

cancer. Once he reconnected with family and friends, beginning his journey as a new believer did

not take long. Once he started his ministry, everyone in his circle of friends and family preached

about God's Grace. People who listened to him preach wanted to accept Jesus as their Lord

because his teachings were not based on skepticism but on faith and personal experience. I

admired my pastor because he was a pastor all the time. Everywhere he went, he was known as a

local pastor, a man of God. Many people came to know God because of his exemplary life while

he was the pastor of the Pentecostal Church in Portchester, N.Y.

4. Rev. Israel Laureano

This pastor also marked my Christian life, not only because of his solid and fundamental

sermons but also because of the person that he was. For many years, he struggled with a

respiratory illness that ended his life. But not before he became president of an organization with

over fifty churches. This organization needed more leadership. Within four years, Rev. Laureano

was able to reorganize it to the point where it is today: a solid and thriving organization that

continues to develop leaders into leadership roles for the glory of God.

5. Rev. Jesus Salinas

Pastor Salinas continues to inspire me for a few reasons. As I think about many leaders I

know in the ministry, he keeps coming to my mind, not that he is better or worse than anybody,

but instead because I noticed that after twenty years of knowing him, he has managed to keep up

with his same character and devotion about his ministry and Christian life as a whole. There is

nothing negative that I can think of him. He continues to live and work at the same place, and his

church continues to make his life difficult as he faces pressure from people’s demands, yet he

does not complain. As his district bishop, I always called him to offer him a helping hand with
any support he may need, but he never asked or requested any help. He said, “God will help me

to continue as He fills my life with spiritual help and wisdom.

Conclusion:

As we read about these ministers who inspired me through my struggles in the ministry,

one can understand that in the effort to disseminate areas of importance in one's ministry, when it

comes to an ethical way of life in the personal lives of ministers or spiritual leaders; we can see

that all filled ample proportions of ethical behaviors of the Christians ministry. Therefore, to

those who still live, my pastor and the organization president already with the Lord, thank you

for helping me shape my ministry and my Christian life.

Angel M. Ortiz
Christian Social Ethics
Professor: Dr. Royce Evans