PASTORS: ON FIRE OR FOR HIRE
I’ve attended several churches and I’ve heard several ministers preach. I’ve also read several commentaries written by clergy. There is one thing that I’ve noticed: Many clergy lack the boldness required for their profession.
Now, I can only speak of those in the Christian churches, since that’s where I’ve attended my entire life.
Our clergy are our leaders in the church. They teach us, they guide and encourage us and they should live according to their convictions of their faith and biblical beliefs.
Unfortunately, it has been my observation that some clergy have made their profession, just that, a profession, with people, not God, as their boss.
They have allowed themselves to be held accountable to people and not to God and what he has called them to teach. They are fearful of what people can and will do to them. Oh yeah, church people are the last people you want to cross. Notice I said church people, not Christian people.
They’ve forgotten that we are admonished not to fear what man can do to us. (Heb. 13:6)
For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (II Tim. 1: 7)
The uncertainty, the wavering and the straddling going on in some churches today is sickening.
It’s sad to see ministry treated like a popularity contest. News Flash! Sincere ministry is not a competition.
Why do so many clergy treat it like it is?
There are your congregations, where the more emotions you can pull out of another person, with music or any other entertainment, the better your church is. Forget about delivering the Word. Christianity is not about emotions, it’s a lifestyle.
Recently I visited a church, where, for the first time in a long time, the Word was straight forward. There were no additions, no subtractions and in boldness the minister spoke the truth.
I left there with a feeling of being taught the Word, live and uncut. I was even more impressed when the pastor told us that if we didn’t want to hear the truth from God’s word, then we could leave.
The honesty was refreshing. It was good to hear a person, who claimed to be a servant of God, actually tell it just as God intended it to be told.
I think I got chills. There is nothing like the truth. At the end, when all was said and done, there was no doubt in my mind that this minister believed Scripture and lived accordingly.
It amazes me when I listen to a sermon or hear a minister’s comments on a subject I still don’t know where they stand.
Those who read this column are never confused on my beliefs. Rain, shine, sleet or snow. Love me, like me or hate me. Readers come away either happy, convicted or very angry with me. But, in the end, they are clear on what I believe. It should be the same when you leave a church.
Clergy, I admonish you to stand boldly on the Word of God and stop being afraid you won’t have high attendance next Sunday because you did as God commanded you and told parishioners about their sinful lifestyles. The Lord said where two or three are gathered together in his name he will be in the midst. Trust me, high attendance does not always mean God is present. And if he’s not there, there’s no need for the other 100 people to be there either.
Scripture tell us that in the last days people will only want to hear what they want to hear. Good things, blessings, increase, increase, increase. Yeah, I’m speaking of the ever-so-popular prayer of Jabez. Yeah, he prayed for increase, but church members don’t seem to want to know what he did to get that increase. He obeyed God.
Stop teaching, blessings, blessings, blessings and start teaching obedience. Stop asking the Lord to increase your territory when you can hardly handle what you’ve got. We live in a give me, give me society. Stop begging and do what you’re suppose to do.
Scripture says if we delight ourselves in him, he will give us the desires of our hearts. (Psa. 37:4)
Stop teaching your parishioners to treat God like Santa Claus on high, who’s waiting to pour you out a bag of presents to keep you happy and content.
Parishioners, quit just taking it all in and not knowing whether it’s true or not. Stop just accepting things at face value because the person who said it was in a pulpit. Even so with me, don’t just take my word for it. Study to show yourself approve so that you can rightly divide the Word of truth. (II Tim. 2:15)
Stop the straddling in the pulpit. God spews out lukewarm Christians. People need the truth. They need guidance and they are watching you. They should be able to follow you as you follow Christ.
Preach the word, be ready in season, out of season; reprove (disapprove of a misdeed or fault outside God‘s will) , rebuke (criticize sharply) , exhort (urge by strong argument, advice or appeal) with all longsuffering (patience) and doctrine (back it up with the Word). For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Tim. 4:2-4)
Don’t be neutral to appeal to both sides. Either you’re for the truth or against it. For God or against him.
A double minded man or woman is unstable in all their ways. (James. 1:8)
If you’ve come to the fork in the road of your ministry and you can’t seem to pick the right path because you’re focusing on what people want and not God, you might need to question who called you to preach the Word to God’s people: God or You?