The LEADERSHIP – Part 4 (Continuation from Part 3) (Open Letter pages 90-95).
Beloved Lord, You gave me a pastor whom I loved more than my own father in flesh and whom I still love even though he “discarded me” and ceased to be my pastor several years ago. My love for him had not been dependent upon his performance.
I learnt from him many things. He was a knowledgeable man, an eloquent preacher, a leader in several areas of ministry in addition to his congregation, devoted to his work and beliefs. He was teaching us Pentecostal doctrines, pounding incessantly at gross heresies, warning incessantly against the dangers of humanistic secularism, the rottenness of the world, and of the second coming of the Lord.
I admired him in many things – a true leader, courageous and uncompromising on any basic tenets of faith, well known by many people. Then You began to show me his true heart – and his “throne” in my eyes began to crumble. PRIDE!
Lord Christ Jesus, PRIDE IS RAVAGING YOUR CHURCH!!! It is especially ravaging and destroying the leadership! Pride is paralysing Your Body and especially the leadership! Pride is like unto spiritual AIDS!
The seas of Christianity are strewn with countless shipwrecks on the cliffs of pride. Why is it so, Lord? Because knowledge, position, and power contain this inherent venom of pride and corruption! This is my belief. It is no wonder, Lord, that the moment a young man completes and leaves his seminary, he is already “inoculated” with this venom!
Do we not all know how our dentist freezes our gums before drilling or pulling a tooth? Well, this is the same thing – but in spirit and soul. This venom keeps “freezing” our heart which begins to harden, to grow numb and to be immersed into darkness. When the heart is sufficiently hardened and dark, another weapon is used by our Enemy – deception, lies. This deception, produces more pride – and a vicious circle is born!
Now, if we allow the devil to feed this circle, to turn this wicked merry-go-round for a few years, hypocrites are grown! Self-righteous and arrogant Christians are grown! New efficient Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes are grown! A New Testament “Sanhedrin” is grown and established in churches and denominations and sects and communities and house groups – everywhere, wherever these “inoculated” leaders begin to ride this vicious merry-go-round.
Most “Sanhedrins” are composed of religious leaders who are usually well educated in Your Word – they know the Bible! Many have doctor’s degrees in theology, they have a zeal, a mind and a devotion to work, to build, and to enlarge their work. Many of them are efficient and the fruits of their labors do follow them.
Those of them that are charismatic, that develop an “attractive ministry”, do attract a very large following. And they are all staunch defenders of their projects and works and of their own denominations and their purity. They are very zealous guardians of their traditions and of their FORM of religion. They will allow nobody to question their religion nor to touch or upset its FORM! And You, Lord, are the first One whom they unconsciously guard against! Why? Because You are so “dangerously” effective in upsetting our comfortable religious nests, in breaking our religious dreams, myths, forms, doctrines, traditions and shells, and in exposing what we so desperately try to hide – our own spiritual misery!
Lord, should You now come back in flesh as a man, You would be crucified again! By Your own Church!!! The Christian “Sanhedrins” would again accuse You of being a blasphemer and a dangerous element in today’s Christianity, and would incite their people to cry again: “Away with him, away with him”! They would put You to an open shame again. Some of these “leaders” are doing it already – they are putting You to an open shame by the things they publicly speak, write and do in Your Name! And who knows the things they speak and do privately?
What shall I say now? I repeat the very first quote: “Great men (leaders) are not always wise; neither do the aged (honourable) understand judgement”!
In what are these great men and leaders unwise? Many seem to commence right, they seem to continue right for a while … and then, they seem to begin straying from the road and sinking down into a deep mire … until they stop. And that is that!
Young leaders do not understand judgement because their understanding should come with age. But neither do the aged understand judgement. Why, Lord?
Because they FEAR to let the judgement prove them and their work, to purify them and their work – as gold is purified through fire! FEARS! Fear of losing their image, their reputation, their cherished ministry, their congregations, their friends and connections, their positions, their salaries, their dreams and goals, the fruits of their labors. PRIDE and FEARS.
Let me now come back to my first pastor who was also my last one. The pride, jealousy and fears in his heart have effectively bogged him down and prevented him from bringing forth much fruit unto You! What a waste of talent, efforts and labors, toiling all night and catching … well, spiritually, very, very little. Is this not sad, Lord? Is this not a typical example of many pastors who may be brilliant, zealous, sincere, devoted and willing, yet, most of their biblical knowledge is but mental?
Hence, most of their religion is but an intellectual exercise mixed in with some prayers, sprinkled here and there with tongues and prophecies or other gifts of Your Spirit, and framed in music. But when it comes to Your Word, it is an intellectual exercise, a FORM of religion … a pulpit-and-pew religion where one man speaks and speaks and speaks … and the rest listen and listen and listen or pretend to listen for ever and ever, amen. The man behind the pulpit always tries to present an attractive one-of-a-kind message, and the congregation always hopes for it. But what do You say, Lord?
This is what You are saying: “How is it then, brethren? When ye come together, EVERY ONE OF YOU HAS a psalm (worship), has a doctrine (teaching), has a tongue (gift), has a revelation (light), has an interpretation (wisdom). Let all things be done unto edifying.” (1Cor.14:26).
This Word of Yours is exactly what has NEVER been done and NEVER shall be done in organized religion! And how about Your Word in Hebrews 5:12? For even when it comes to Sunday school or Sabbath school or any other religious school, the same pulpit-and-pew system applies. The pastor preaches, the pastor teaches, the pastor speaks … and the rest listen. Yet, he never knows whether his preaching, teaching and speaking was understood or not, received or not, whether it produced any fruit or not.
But the pastor is expected to preach, teach and speak (among other things), he is also “paid for it”, he is expected to do all that regularly, whether You give him a word or whether You do not. Right? And the pastors are doing exactly that, many even to the best of their ability … whether You reveal anything to them or not.
(To be continued next week in part 5)
brother Hanola
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