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It is painfully clear to me that pastors are sinful men too (except when they are sinful women in rebellion against the divine order)! Most pastors learn how to be a pastor sitting under and watching other pastors as their primary example. Watching another pastor is not a bad thing if he is following Christ’s example as did my father in the ministry, the late Rev. Percy N. Manuel, Sr. Christ is the “great” and “Chief Shepherd” of God’s flock (Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 5:4, NKJV). He is our example in everything including shepherding people as sheep since He is preeminently qualified, proven and our Head (Psalm 23; John 10:1-18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Colossians 1:9-18).
Too, He is our Judge which should cause the rebel pause since the local church is not your private flock to do with and teach as you please, but His (2 Corinthians 5:9-11). Truly, our Lord Jesus has only delegated this great responsibility of shepherding to us to be carried out under His tutelage and oversight. As foretold, however, from the first century until now, corrupt men as “savage wolves” have come among and led God’s sheep astray (Acts 20:28-31, NKJV). They do whatever it takes to gather a following including corrupt God’s Word to gain success and prove they are men of renown. Their ambitious sons in the ministry copy their manner and adopt their perverse doctrines.
The Western and especially American economic system with its attendant philosophies that for example, esteem the entrepreneurial spirit manifested in self-starting, self-made men, thoroughly saturates every segment of society along with the churches and enables such men as pastors contrary to the instruction of Scripture (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Galatians 6:14; Philippians 2:3-8, 3:1-19). In this cultural context, men rise up to found churches in any old hole in the wall with the aspiration not to see souls added to the Kingdom as a first priority, but to build a church of great numbers, wealth, buildings and stature in the community, among denominations, other pastors and churches who will envy and seek to emulate their self-made success.
Very sad are those men that after many years have not realized their aspiration, but hold on in maintenance mode with a few sheep to retain the status of being a church pastor. God calling us to be shepherds is not to satisfy the cravings of the sinful flesh, but to physically represent Him in the service of His flock (Matthew 20:20-28). In this 2013 blog repost I write urging every pastor seeking a reward from Christ for your service, to repent if guilty from purposeful ministry out of the motives and deeds of the sinful flesh. Instead, serve as men led, controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit with the Lord our Shepherd as your role model and the pure Word of God as it is written as the final authority for your life and teaching.
Originally Posted July 7, 2013
Besides having served the Lord as a shepherd under Him just over sixteen years, I have been an observer of men in the office from my childhood. The ungodly attitudes and behavior that I have seen come from so many of these men over the years has been very grievous and in some cases, personally injurious. I know it is virtually impossible that leaders on our best days won’t offend or injure somebody given the high level of sensitivity many religious folk have. However, I am not talking about the stuff of over sensitivity, but the very real harm I have seen and experienced that was deliberately carried out by men who are supposed to be born again, love Christ and are completely sold out to serving Him by serving His flock (John 21:15-17).
On the occasion of the end of my second year since I last formally shepherded a local church, the Lord would use me to help especially a younger pastor by way of some important admonitions and words of encouragement. Let me begin by warning all pastors: the worldly conventional wisdom to only pay heed to models of success is not from the Lord, but the world and ultimately Satan who sets snares for us in accord with the ego needs of the flesh born of selfish ambition for achievement, accolades, power, standing and money (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 22:24). What? The world is crumbling around us, churches are dying ‘“And do you seek great things for yourself,’” the Lord asks, (Jeremiah 45, NKJV)?
We come to salvation mostly from among those that are not wise or noble (1 Corinthians 1:26). Does God all of the sudden change after we are saved to require of us credentials gained from the best institutions and how to information from the men who model the success we crave to do His will? No, but God has chosen us of the “foolish,” “weak” and “base things of the world” to bring glory to Himself in the wisdom, power and humility of Christ that is displayed through us (1 Corinthians 1:27-31, NKJV). Repent, brother pastor, if you are in it for your own flesh driven priorities and glory. The wisdom you need to please the Lord begins in Him and His Word (Proverbs 2) and will also come from Him through men other than success models (Romans 12:16).
Clearly, as the Lord has been leading me to write, the most favorable times of the supposed “church age” have passed. Respected observers including Voice Of The Martyrs have been tracking the intensifying hostility and hatred toward as well as persecution of Christians around the globe. In the mix, God is carrying out His millennia ago announced judgment in His house, sifting out faithful from professed Christians among ancient cultures in their lands; separating them from familiar religious structures that are being destroyed. In America, churches are not only dying, but the legal fracture between church and state has become a widening chasm in only a generation as anti-Christians from all persuasions reject the national primacy of Christianity as biblical or manmade religion in every form.
While the handwriting is on the wall for the prophetically foretold hate-filled, anti-Christian sentiment of these latter days to flash over into severe persecution in America as it has and does marching across the planet (Matthew 24:9), many pastors continue to pursue their ambitious church expansion plans in what can only be described as empire building. As the Lord led, I warned in the introduction to the August 16, 2015 blog repost, “Finding God’s Lost Book,” under the category, Call To Repent, such plans driven by the male ego need for leaving a legacy are doomed to come crashing down in God’s judgment! I gave this warning with the following 2012 Commentary I wrote for The Strong Man Of God Monthly Newsletter also in mind that serves as my blog post today.
Originally Published December 2012
It is all the rage today. From corporate chieftains to entertainers, city planners and pimps empire building has migrated from its once exclusive domain among megalomaniac military conquerors and despotic rulers to the common man. Not to be outdone are many pastors and Ministry leaders across America that live for nothing but how to enlarge their name recognition, power, influence and affluence through empires of expanse, brick and mortar. I confess that I am no stranger to such notions and write this as the Spirit leads to myself as much as to fellow servants of God as a warning from the Lord not to go there. For those that have already, our Lord calls you to repent!
As the Lord led me to write in the December 2011 Commentary, The Ambition Of Men, ambition is in man from God as part of our natural make up in being made in the divine image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27; 5:1-2).1 God is nobly ambitious! Therefore, in and of itself ambition is not evil. Empire building grows out of the God ordained ambition in men to rule, accomplish, build and expand in doing so. As sinners, the corruption of our hearts due to sin influences our motives and causes us not to be concerned about how we empire build (even criminally) or who we hurt in the process. This is evil. In sin, the selfish ambition of men to empire build is of pride and personal glory.
Sinful men of visionary leadership and selfish ambition have historically built great empires. To this day, the world empires of ancient Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece led by Alexander the Great and Rome remain classic studies in empire building. These empires all have in common that they rose and fell in time; their ruins litter the grounds they once stood on. Indeed, God Almighty promises a similar and cataclysmic fate for all the kingdoms of this world with their proudly built structures and monuments to human achievement near the glorious appearing of His King, Jesus Christ (Isaiah 2:10-22, 13:6-13; Daniel 2:24-45; Revelation 6:12-17, 11:15-18)!
The foregoing all being true, it completely amazes me that beginning with the Catholic Church centuries ago and among churches, denominations and ministries of every sort to this hour, ambitious men in the cause of "doing great things for God" labor diligently to build religious empires. These empires are complete with territorial expansion goals and all of the outward splendor and glory of structures men can create in an effort to leave a lasting legacy of their proud achievements. Did these men not get God’s memo from His Word? Every lofty construction of men and mountain is to be brought down close to Christ's return (Revelation 16:17-20, 17:1-6, 15-18:24)!
Many pastors and Ministry leaders reason, of course, that we do not know precisely when the Lord will return. So, buildings of function must be built to serve the needs of the Body of Christ until that Day. True. But this is not what is happening today in many cases as extravagant budgets and fundraising efforts are put into constructing buildings reminiscent of the acclaimed opulence of Vatican holdings to enlarge what are called "campuses." This would not be so bad if it really were all for God’s glory. In truth, many churches especially are expanding their empires to gratify the egos of pastors that see themselves as singularly able to draw and keep crowds. This is pride and arrogance at work.
What a stark contrast to our Lord Jesus! Though He owned and was surrounded by glorious splendor beyond the finite human mind to imagine and possessed a foretold destiny of greatness superior to any other (Isaiah 9:6-7), He allowed Himself to be born in a smelly animal stable to serve the purposes of God (Luke 2:4-7). In so serving, He wore the common clothes of His people and had no residence of His own (Luke 9:57-58). He washed the feet of and allowed Himself to be crucified for sinners. He died having built no buildings or monuments to Himself. However, He rose from the dead and ascended to God in glory leaving behind a legacy of affected disciples.
Those first disciples were and we nearly two millennia later are to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and His Kingdom; making new disciples that form the only thing He vowed to build: His Church (Matthew 16:15-18)! Besides our immortal glory at the resurrection and crowns of reward, the disciples we make in obedience to Christ's commission (Matthew 28:18-20) are the only enduring legacy of our earth sojourn for we shall behold them forever (2 Corinthians 1:12-14; Philippians 2:14-16, 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20)! Thus, with His attitude and promise of reward, we labor to enlarge Christ’s eternal Empire in the hearts of men (Philippians 2:3-11). The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 This Commentary was posted March 11, 2018 under the category, The Cause. I also address the issue of ambition discussed in that Commentary as well in my book,
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