We knew a pastor who was kicked out of a church we attended and then went back to being a missionary. He called himself a pastor, yet he was a very impatient, angry, and wrathful man. He told us one time when he stopped by our home in Germany the most useless men in the world were from India, yet he just spent two or three months in India; glad handing, back slapping, and smiling with the Believers of India. I was shocked when he said this. How could he minister to the Indian people and in the next breath revile them? Now on the other hand we also knew his son; a gentle and caring man who was sincere, loving, and kind. I think he would have made a better pastor than his father, but he was not called to be a pastor. He invested his energy and talents into raising his family and in the church he was in supporting roles and did a great job.
If you are a pastor you are the lead-slave servant to all; from the least in your congregation to the noblest or best. Getting a pay check from a denomination is a sure fire way of staying obedient to a denomination and less obedient to the Spirit of God. Gee, I wonder if that is why the early church leaders did their own work to support themselves and were led by the Holy Spirit, Hummmm. Lester Rolloff and Oliver B. Green (two old-time fiery Baptist preachers) called this taking the denominational dope. Once you start taking the money you are hooked and cannot stop. A pastor should also spend quality time before the Lord, seeking God’s face, to know what is up for that day, that week, that year. If you are spending more time in front of a computer screen than before the Lord, something is wrong. Rarely do you hear “thus saith the Lord” anymore. And why? Because pastors and other ministers are not spending time with the Lord. It is a heck of a lot easier to rip off a sermon by Spurgeon from the internet. If you like to read sermons on a computer let me invite you to prayerfully read Jonathan Edwards, “Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God,” I dare you. A pastor should be a lonely guy. It is lonely at the top. He is not to have a bunch of sniveling yes men around him. When ever we surround ourselves with a bunch of yes men and people that always agrees with us that is a sure sign of spiritual immaturity. When you change your opinion of something after you learn someone in authority over you disagrees, take heed you are exhibiting great qualities of being a yes man. It is supposed to be lonely at the top; this is God’s plan to get His man alone to teach him His words and ways. Other folks should have better things to do with their time than to cow-tow to a pastor’s every whim. A real pastor or man of God will not have a bunch of yes men around, but men full of integrity, honor, and honesty respectfully telling the pastor the truth. It is not about our ego or having an entourage scrambling in our wake. When we were in Kenya Pastor Joseph Mutua and other pastors were training young men to be future pastors, oh they were stepping and fetching, but their attitudes were so different. The pastors there in Kenya, dare I even say it, were extremely humble taking their responsibility seriously to disciple those young men. Shamefully American culture has trumped the church. Just travel overseas and you will see this in action. The pulpit is not a place for joking around, it is serious, life and death hang in the balance. If you want to hear some jokes go buy a joke book. If you want to be entertained go to a movie; oops some churches now show movies instead of preaching the word of God. If you want entertainment take your wife out to dinner. Unfortunately here in America, in most churches, it is not about discipling anybody it is about stroking some fat head’s ego so they will feel big and important. I guess they have their reward.
If you are a pastor you are the lead-slave servant to all; from the least in your congregation to the noblest or best. Getting a pay check from a denomination is a sure fire way of staying obedient to a denomination and less obedient to the Spirit of God. Gee, I wonder if that is why the early church leaders did their own work to support themselves and were led by the Holy Spirit, Hummmm. Lester Rolloff and Oliver B. Green (two old-time fiery Baptist preachers) called this taking the denominational dope. Once you start taking the money you are hooked and cannot stop. A pastor should also spend quality time before the Lord, seeking God’s face, to know what is up for that day, that week, that year. If you are spending more time in front of a computer screen than before the Lord, something is wrong. Rarely do you hear “thus saith the Lord” anymore. And why? Because pastors and other ministers are not spending time with the Lord. It is a heck of a lot easier to rip off a sermon by Spurgeon from the internet. If you like to read sermons on a computer let me invite you to prayerfully read Jonathan Edwards, “Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God,” I dare you. A pastor should be a lonely guy. It is lonely at the top. He is not to have a bunch of sniveling yes men around him. When ever we surround ourselves with a bunch of yes men and people that always agrees with us that is a sure sign of spiritual immaturity. When you change your opinion of something after you learn someone in authority over you disagrees, take heed you are exhibiting great qualities of being a yes man. It is supposed to be lonely at the top; this is God’s plan to get His man alone to teach him His words and ways. Other folks should have better things to do with their time than to cow-tow to a pastor’s every whim. A real pastor or man of God will not have a bunch of yes men around, but men full of integrity, honor, and honesty respectfully telling the pastor the truth. It is not about our ego or having an entourage scrambling in our wake. When we were in Kenya Pastor Joseph Mutua and other pastors were training young men to be future pastors, oh they were stepping and fetching, but their attitudes were so different. The pastors there in Kenya, dare I even say it, were extremely humble taking their responsibility seriously to disciple those young men. Shamefully American culture has trumped the church. Just travel overseas and you will see this in action. The pulpit is not a place for joking around, it is serious, life and death hang in the balance. If you want to hear some jokes go buy a joke book. If you want to be entertained go to a movie; oops some churches now show movies instead of preaching the word of God. If you want entertainment take your wife out to dinner. Unfortunately here in America, in most churches, it is not about discipling anybody it is about stroking some fat head’s ego so they will feel big and important. I guess they have their reward.
To those God fearing, humble pastors who day in and day out pour out their lives for their families and congregations – thank you for your example of Christ-likeness. May God bless you with all wisdom and may you allow God to strengthen you the more in the inward parts. And to you other pastors, grow up. It is not about you, shape up before it is too late. And, remember the best is yet to come. Written by Karen Stahl
4 comments:
Even the hardest of hearts can be melted by the Spirit of God. You sound like your faith has been stripped away to practically nothing because you are so critical and dependent of others. Repent and turn toward the only true God who can provide you with the happiness you seek. Seek Him with all your heart, and with all your soul.
Dear Anonymous,
Thank you very much for your insightful comment. No need to repent of our words, now other things probably. I am not seeking happiness which is situation dependent (are you?), but joy which is our strength and comes to us as we allow God to strengthen us in the inward parts. And as we allow Him to open up our heart and show us what we are really made of. Have you had this revelation? I find it shallow to write words to an anonymous person. I guess we all live in different levels of truthfulness. David Stahl sends
Yes we do live at different levels of truthfulness
Dear Anonymous,
Greetings again and thank you for your comments. I guess there is something inside of you that draws you back to our writings. It is sad you have to operate under the darkness of being anonymous. Maybe I should have used the word honesty or integerity instead of truthfulness. Thanks again for you comment. David Stahl sends
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