2 Tim 4:3 & 4 For
the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to
suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers
to say what their itching ears want to hear. They
will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
If you are following this
series of blog posts, be reassured that there is a point to this, and I will
get to it – eventually. But as I have
taken a step into a deeper faith, or of obedience, I also feel compelled to
examine what I am called into following.
I also, want to examine the predicament that confronts us, or at least
me, in following our Lord.
In order to do so, I want to explore how we deceive ourselves. This is not simply an exercise of pointing
out the flaws of others, for I include myself, if not in fact take a lead from
my self-deception. And thus this post...
A while back I wrote about
a rather popular pastor who after rising to great fame and following, was exposed
for various hypocrisies. It matters not
who he was, for there is no shortage of likely candidates. It is a scenario that often is repeated.
I have seen it in action.
And while there is generally an abundance of blame and criticism leveled
at the offending minister, I think the blame lies squarely with those who have
created him, or her. In short, it is far
too common for us to worship the person behind the pulpit.
At one point I was
involved, marginally involved, with a church that had a very charismatic
preacher. He was entertaining, and he
was funny, and there were things that he said, that even today, hold value to
me. But what I noticed is that he always
seemed angry, and the people kind of liked that edge. And his theology was also questionable – understand
that I hold almost everyone’s theology suspect, this would include mine – but
his seemed even more so than others.
I remember talking to one of the congregation about this
dilemma. He was a man who was a gifted
speaker, but his teachings seemed off.
The answer was, “Yeah, I know what you are talking about, but he is so
entertaining.”
And therein lays the problem. While this man preached, he
made Christianity popular. The church
had grown considerably larger. At the
time that I walked away from the church, there were two services, and since
then there have been more services added.
Those who initially supported this man and his mission, the church
started out as a church plant, have long since left.
If this church follows that others that I, and you, have
witnessed, at some point in the distant or not too distant future, a scandal
will strike this church. Money and power
always seem to be the down fall. What is
sad, is that this man who is so revered now, will be despised. Those who have
pushed him to glory, will seek to absolve themselves of responsibility.
Our pastors, our leaders, have
to be examples of our faith. It is part
of the role they play in leading the church.
We, not as their followers, but as members of the church need to do our
part; and that is not sitting in a chair being entertained. We have a
responsibility.
At the minimum it is to ensure that our time, energy and
money go to a church that extends a message that is honest, and conforms to
scripture. At the very minimum. We cannot create superstar pastors without a
fan base. If you are part of a fan base,
you are part of the problem.
What I see as the problem, is that just like how we create
an idolized god, or an idolized self, we create idolized leaders. We seek out leaders that are powerful,
charismatic, and popular. Added to this,
is that many of us approach our faith as if we were consuming another product. Thus, we want our leaders, our teachers, to
perform for us. We want to be given our
answers, and in doing so we hand over a great deal of responsibility in our
lives.
If you get a sense of
where I am going, you are probably right.
I have one more discussion about the idolization that we do within our
faith. And in an odd way, as we celebrate
this season of Advent, it seems appropriate to consider how we limit God in our
lives.
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