StudyGrowKnow

The Trouble with (Too Many of) Today’s Pastors…

February 4, 2011 at 7:59 PM Leave a comment

I was reading a column by Coach Dave Daubenmire just today (forwarded to my inbox from Ray Gano at Prophezine.com).  Coach Dave was discussing the fact that the pastor of the previous church he attended was spending time doing what he called “sissifying” the men of the church.  The pastor was teaching men how to constantly say “‘yes’ to their wives, ‘yes’ to their children, ‘yes’ to the God-hating schools, and ‘above all ‘yes’ to the pastor.”

This seems to be an insidious problem that has and continues affecting many churches today.  Men seem to have fallen for the need to get in touch with our feelings, as if we were designed to be like women and have gone far off track.  I’ve always understood that when God created men and women, He did so with the idea of both being complementary to the other.  In that sense alone, it is obvious that men and women would not think alike, nor would they react to situations the same way.

The larger problem here is that within society today, we have been experiencing a push toward femininity.  Coupled with this is the belief that it is really Gaia – the earth mother – that is deep within the earth and it is this “mother” who should be worshipped.  James Cameron’s Avatar movie wove that message throughout the movie, along with several other New Age philosophies.

Coach Dave refers to these types of pastors as blind guides and for good reason.  They in fact are blind to God’s purposes, content to allow their wives to speak for them and unwilling to do or say something that may cause avoidable problems at their church.

I believe much of this is driven by the fact that so many pastors receive the types of salaries they receive in today’s world.  It is not so much that they receive salaries as large as some do, but the perks they receive at times go beyond the pale.  Whether it is a new car, a newly remodeled part of their house, a trip to Israel, or something else altogether, you would think that many of these pastors actually believe that they deserve these gifts, though they are often overcome with emotion because of the generosity of their parishioners.

I think of Jesus and how He had no place to lay His head.  Compare that with many pastors of today and they are absolutely wealthy compared to the Son of Man!  I also firmly believe that some necessary church discipline is absent in too many churches today because of the fact that some of the people needing discipline are tithers.  Yes, that may sound crude and even repugnant to some, but the truth remains that if a church is on the small side, how can the pastor not be aware at least to some degree, who tithes and who does not?  Imagine disciplining that person if he ever did anything wrong.  It could play havoc with the church’s finances and that could affect the pastor’s salary.  No one likes to consider that, but the truth is that pastors are human and are not above worrying over things like money to meet the needs of the church and that includes their salaries.

I also wonder how many pastors who receive extravagant gifts from the membership claim those gifts on their taxes?  While a pastor’s salary is non-taxable, the extras must be reported.  To not report those gifts as income is cheating the government and not paying taxes to Caesar.

There are too many temptations for average pastors and their families these days.  It appears that too many pastors simply want their congregations to live in peace and harmony.  There is nothing wrong with that, but when things become compromised due to that mindset, then a red flag should be raised.

Referring to the pastors who are little more than blind guides, Coach Dave stated, “The “blind guides” demand loyalty and allegiance to their every command, shooing away the mal-content sheep, as “rebels”, or “troublemakers”, by the millions “the church” is bleeding ‘salt of the earth” Christians in a world where sugar has become the spice of choice.”

This is unfortunately very true of too many pastors today.  I’m sure we can all think of churches that are filled with people who either run the church, or churches that are run solely by the pastors.

Dave also said, “Most Christians are sheep, blindly following their “shepherd”, obediently paying their tithes, supporting their “pastor” no matter what bilge he is shoving down their throats, completely ill-equipped to defend the faith.”  This is true.

My wife and I used to attend a church where over time, it seemed as though the pastor’s sermons simply lost steam.  He was preaching from the Word, but there was nothing vibrant about his teaching.  I was not sure if that was because I had simply gotten used to his preaching, having come from a church before that one where the pastor simply got up on Sundays and pretty much gave a history lesson, or if the pastor had simply lost something.  Knowing what I know about that church and the people who lead it, I now realize that the pastor’s ineffectiveness as a preacher largely lies in the way he leads the people as pastor.

Thinking back, I realize that the pastor of the church we used to attend considered himself and his family to be of the utmost concern.  After that, his closest allies; those who were deacons and/or elders came next.  The tragedy though is that many of these men had absolutely no biblical training whatsoever.  Too often when they opened their mouth to share an opinion, it was often nothing more than humanistic pabulum that was intended to sound intelligent, but after considering it, sounded anything but intelligent.

It is also interesting to see how the church discipline that was meted out was handled.  Looking back, it is easy to see that it was haphazard at best.  There was no biblical tracking.  It seemed as though discipline was issued based on what the pastor or elders came up with at the time and the obvious biblical mandates and standards were too often ignored.  I recall one woman mentioned that she had apparently done something wrong, at least as far as the pastor and the elders were concerned.  What she had done was simply try to advise someone in the church regarding an issue they were dealing with at the time.  Unbeknownst to her, apparently her advice did not square with what the pastor and elders wanted done.

Learning of this woman’s advice, one of the elders came to her and took her to task.  Not long after that, she was “called” into the pastor’s office to deal with the problem.  Her question “what’s my punishment?” was meant with “I’m not sure” by the pastor.  What?  How could the pastor not be sure and what was so heinous about the woman’s advice that it warranted discipline and that discipline was not even scripturally based (“I’m not sure”)?

What I’ve learned is that too often, pastors or elders will take advantage of someone who might make mistakes, but is compliant.  They do so because they know that the person will comply.  On the other hand, if they have to deal with someone who is very strong willed and may even know the Bible better, they have a more difficult time with that person.

In one church we used to attend, there was an individual who was extremely legalistic and very opinionated.  That was his history and he had managed to maintain that demeanor over the years, effectively chasing people out of the church if he opposed their opinions.  Instead of dealing with this individual, every once in a while he was “talked to” and given specific guidelines to follow.  This lasted for a time and then he was back at it not long afterwards, doing the same thing.  Why did the pastor and elders of that church allow this man to continue to do the type of damage he did?  Was he a tither?  Was he involved in so many things in the church that to “put him out of the church” even temporarily would have created a hardship for the pastor that would have been difficult to fill?

There are a number of reasons why pastors do what they do and say what they say.  I firmly believe that the number one reason has to do with their salaries, especially in this day and age of uncertainty, high unemployment, and a terrible economy.  What pastor wants to consider being out in the cold without a source of income to support his family.

I recall one pastor providing an example of how society had become so hard and thoughtless.  Most people are concerned only about themselves and no one likes to be told what to do.  The example he provided was when he and his family went to the lake.  They were enjoying the day when a group not far from them became very loud.  Along with the volume, they began using the F-bomb constantly, as well as other curse words that are oftentimes difficult on the ears.  The pastor then mentioned how his wife went over the group and asked them to curb their use of expletives because kids were present.  The response she got was that they would say and do anything they wanted to say and do!

While I realize the pastor had intended to prove his point about the state of society today, he also inadvertently pointed out that he had allowed his wife to do what he should have done.  He stood back, while his wife took it upon herself to ask the neighbors to curtail their off color language.  Why didn’t he go over and do that?  Why send or allow his wife to do what he should have been willing to do?

I really believe that if our Lord continues to tarry, we are going to see churches do a number of things.  Either they will grow because they have moved away from the solid bedrock of Christianity and biblically-based teaching, or they will shrink because they will continue or even strengthen their resolve to be biblically-accurate in word and deed.  For those who wind up shrinking, there will be a constant tension for the pastor because of the paycheck that he has been so used to receiving.  Fewer people mean fewer dollars.

I would frankly not at all be surprised to see more and more churches becoming like first century churches.  These churches met in homes, had no overhead, and lived to support one another in the cause of Christ.  This cannot happen when the overhead is great because the mortgage, which is high, needs to be paid every month, along with the pastor’s salary and expenses.

Is it any wonder that Jesus did not have a steady income when He became “pastor” to the Jewish world?  Is it any wonder that Paul provided support for himself on many occasions by being a tentmaker?  There is something there that needs serious consideration, especially in today’s world.  Yes, Paul believed that people should support him and that the worker is worth his wages, however, he was not afraid to work to support himself either.

Years ago, one of my favorite books was written by Phillip Keller called, Predators in the Pulpit.  In it, he called attention to the variety of wolves who fill the pulpits and who ultimately only appear to feed the sheep, however, are usually far more interested in ensuring that their own needs are met first.  This was tragic then when he wrote it and it is even more tragic now, decades later.

Coach Dave ends his commentary with the words, “Christianity has become the bailiwick of women. Women run the church, or at the very least, men who act like women. Feminine qualities rule the day. A hard-hitting, straight talking man scares the bejesus out of the pastors. At a time when the church needs the spirit of Braveheart, our pastors preach ‘Mother Theresa’.”

There are very few churches that this is not true of and that can only be classified as sad.  When Jesus returns, He will not be arriving as a Lamb to the slaughter.  He did that already.  When He returns, He will be King, Lord of Lords, and for the one-thousand years following His return, He will rule with a rod of iron (cf. Revelation 2:27; 19:15).  Why?  Because there will be plenty of people who will try to take advantage of His rule.  They will want to test him the way too many wives test their husbands today to find that chink in the armor.  Unfortunately for them, there will be no chink in the armor and they will find themselves on the receiving end of His swift retributive judgment.

I’m not saying men need to be hard-hearted or heartless.  What I am saying is that the Bible needs to be our guide, not our emotions.  If the Bible – God’s Word – guides our heart and life, then we will not be in the “I’m not sure” position when it comes to meting out discipline.  We will also not find ourselves in the position of caving into the emotions of the moment.

I have found that too many people – and too many women in particular – do not like a strong man.  I’m not talking about a domineering man, or one who simply likes to lord it over others.  I’m talking about a man who knows what he believes, why he believes it, and has no intention of setting his beliefs aside for fear of possibly upsetting someone.

In this day and age, it takes a very strong man to have the courage to stand by God’s Word and not give into the absolute stupidity that life throws at him on a near-daily basis.  Whether people like it or no, the reality is that it is far more important for me to be a strong man (again, not a domineering one), than a man who caves to the emotional entrapment that is squeezing the life out of too many churches and too many homes in this day and age.

Shortly after Adam and Eve fell by sinning, God pronounced judgment.  He indicated in Genesis 3 that Eve would likely spend the rest of her days squaring off against her husband by continually trying to regain the leadership that she had for the briefest of moments in the Garden of Eden.  That leadership – that Adam willingly abdicated – is what brought the human family down.  That was Satan’s goal.  He did not approach Adam because he wanted to inverse the natural order that God had created.  If he could do that, then he would be able to take out two birds with one stone.  He not only brought Adam to his knees by elevating Eve, but he also brought sin into the world through the Eve’s leadership.

Eve had not been created to be leader.  She had been created to be helper.  She forsook her God-given responsibilities and sought more than she should have had, just as Satan had done before her.

Too many men in the pulpit do this as well.  They partner up with their wives, making them co-pastor.  This type of leadership is not what God intended women to have and it is precisely this position that they have been clamoring to obtain because they were not created to have it.

Consider the feminizing of men today and how that extends to many men in the pulpit. Maybe Coach Dave is right.  Maybe we should take our eyes off of the government for a while and do what we can to correct the problems in the churches first.  Seems like a good idea.

Entry filed under: 9/11, alienology, Atheism and religion, Demonic, dispensationalism, Eastern Mysticism, emergent church, Gun Control, Islam, israel, Judaism, Life in America, new age movement, Posttribulational Rapture, Pretribulational Rapture, rapture, Religious - Christian - End Times, Religious - Christian - Prophecy, Religious - Christian - Theology, salvation, Satanism, second coming, Sharia Law, temple mount, ufology. Tags: blind guides, feminizing of men in society, predators in the pulpit.