"Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock." —1st Peter 5:3
Sadly,
some of America's Christian leaders are no better than the heathen, having
the mentality that church workers are supposed to be mindless slaves to
authority; but that is NOT taught in the Word of God. Sadly, some
Christian leaders exploit their workers, as do heathen bosses. I've
seen much abuse by Christian leaders throughout my life, and a sinful
arrogance that distorted their sense of better judgment.
Men are truly 1% chivalry, 1% intellect, 1% muscle, and 97% ego. Don't allow anyone, whether it be your boss at work or your ministry leader, to cause you to forfeit time spent with your family. If you have to choose between serving your ministry or spending time with your pregnant wife at home... go home! You need to decide how much time you're going to spend in your ministry, and then stick to that, because your ministry leader may drive you into the ground at the expense of your family. All I'm saying is don't become a statistic. Make sure you get eight hours of sleep per night. Six hours of rest may be fine for a pastor, who spends most of his day sitting in an air-conditioned office; but a working man who labors and sweats needs eight hours of sleep each night. The same is true for you ladies.
Learn to say the word, "NO!" Laying up treasures in Heaven doesn't mean neglecting your family in the process. 1st Timothy 5:8 says, "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." A husband and father needs to provide for the emotional needs of his family. This means spending quality time with your family on a regular basis. Your family can't find anyone to replace you; but your ministry leader can, and if he can't... TOUGH!
I'll give you an example of an idiot who I used to have for a ministry leader. Years ago, I told my ministry leader that I couldn't drive the church bus anymore on Sunday nights, because I was required to be up at 5 a.m. in the morning and wouldn't get back from the bus center until 1 a.m. if I did drive. Do you know what that sorry rascal did? He preached a sermon that night to all the riders on the church bus against me (without mentioning my name), saying that someone had refused to drive the bus, and that I didn't care if 72 people (the safe capacity of the bus) went to Hell. After all the years I had driven that bus for the Lord, he attacked me, saying that I didn't care if people went to Hell. Now, I drove the bus for the Lord, not for anyone else; but it still hurt my feelings that anyone would accuse me of not caring about lost souls simply because I was placing safety, my health, and my family as a higher priority than the demands of my ministry. Your family, safety and health must come first!
I once had a different ministry leader get angry at me, because I told him the bus was dangerous to drive. I saw brake fluid leaking out of the right rear tire. I knew enough about mechanics to know that the brake caliper was blown. My ministry leader was yelling at me, demanding that I drive the bus as is. I said, "NO!" When the mechanic arrived with the tow-truck, the ministry leader asked him if the bus was safe to drive, because he didn't believe me. The mechanic told him that I had likely saved everyone's life on the bus.
My only point here is that some people are idiots, or maybe just an idiot for a moment, and just because your ministry leader is allegedly "appointed" by God doesn't mean he's always right. Some Christians are foolishly taught that every leader is of God, and they base this on Romans 13. However, Romans 13:1-7 specifically speaks of good authority, not higher powers that want you to do something unsafe or accept tyranny.
Furthermore, there are no Scriptures that command anyone to obey a ministry leader. Many children have been sexually molested in the Catholic Church, because of Godless nuns who taught them that the priests were to be obeyed as if they were God. The children are taught that they are pleasing God by submitting to the sexual advances of the pedophile homosexual priest. Mormons use the exact same brainwashing propaganda to sexually abuse children. Mormonism is an organization within an organization, just like Freemasonry. The outer false religious organization is a front for the inner Luciferian sex-cult.
Acts 5:29 clearly states, "We ought to obey God rather than men." The
Word of God is not only the authority of the New Testament Church, but
moreover the Final Authority of every born-again Christian believer. When a
church administration departs from the holy Scriptures, and men become the
authority of the organization, then it has become a demonic cult run by men.
Learn To Be Bold
No husband, father, or son should ever cancel a planned family activity because of their job or ministry. I regret to this day that I once cancelled a fishing trip with my dad, because my employer rescheduled my days off at the last minute to accommodate some training at work. My dad was sad, which made me sad, and I promised myself after that mistake that I'd never let my family down again. All the hordes of Hell couldn't keep me from going fishing again. Don't allow your employer or ministry leader to control your life. I worked with a woman who cried because the manager wouldn't even let her have a day off to get married. Do you know what “boss” is spelled backwards... double SOB!
I love what one of my coworkers once did. This guy was about 60-years old, and much bolder than I was at the time. He walked into the bosses office and said, "I won't be in Tuesday." The woman supervisor said, "You don't just walk in here and tell me when you're going to be off." I was standing right there. He said to her, "Maybe you didn't understand me. I'm not coming in Tuesday. If you don't like it, don't pay me, fire me, I don't care. I'm not coming in Tuesday." Ah yes, those fond memories. Well, he DIDN'T come in that Tuesday just like he said he wouldn't, and nothing bad happened to him (and he wouldn't have cared if they had fired him). Never live in fear of men, lest you be ensnared (Proverb 29:25)!
Learn to be bold with your employer. Know your rights. Honestly, companies nowadays have become ruthless because of corporate greed and covetousness, and they have ZERO loyalty to their employees. Sadly, this is true of some ministry leaders as well. They couldn't care less about your family. Your family and your health are FAR more important than your job or the ministry in which your serve. You can always find another job or ministry. Learn to say, "NO!" Remember, it will be your family at your death bed, not your employer. Hopefully your pastor will be there.
I have heard ministry leaders teach, "use your ministry to build your people, not your people to build your ministry"; but that was just their cover for violating their very words, because they used people to build their ministry, sucking every ounce of life out of them. It is sinful.
In fairness to America's pastors, much of the abuse which takes place in churches today are by members within the church, much of which the pastor is likely unaware. I would recommend to anyone who has an abusive ministry leader to go talk with your pastor.
I knew a bus captain who would grab a handful of pennies in his fist, so when he hit the ceiling while preaching, the pennies would go flying. This is the same nutcase I mentioned earlier, who preached an entire sermon against me for refusing to drive the church bus at night. He was an abusive punk. If this reminds you of your ministry leader, find another ministry or better yet, start your own. People aren't guinea pigs.
I knew a man who was driving the Sunday morning church bus. He was angry at someone and aggressively drove the bus in a harsh and rough manner. Some of the ladies on the church bus were crying because of his temper tantrum which was affecting his driving.
I saw another bus driver drove around the guard rails at a railroad crossing,
while the lights were flashing and the gates were lowered, because he didn't
see a train and didn't want to wait. Thankfully nothing happened, but
he could have killed every passenger on that church bus. If you work
in a bus ministry, or any ministry, and you see abuses... please tell the pastor.
If the pastor doesn't deal with the abuse, then you find another church to
attend where the pastor walks with God and cares.
The Inspired Word of God Versus The Authority Of Men
I don't believe we should seek recognition or promotion in return for our service for the Lord; but it's usually quite obvious when someone is abusing their power or position, and we should not tolerate such ill treatment. There are thousands of churches in America, and we are not obligated to attend any of them. The only type of church we ought to attend, support, and help is a Bible-believing, soulwinning, Christ-honoring, sin-hating, people-loving church that doesn't abuse it's people. Some of our churches today have the atmosphere of a prisoncamp, where the pastor is an overlord, and his associates thugs, who operate like the secret-police. This is NOT Biblical Christianity.
The pastor is only to be a servant, for it was Jesus who said in Matthew 23:11, "He that is greatest among you shall be your servant." Your ministry leader is supposed to serve you; not you him. There is a lot of selfishness in today's churches, where ministry leaders hound their congregations for all the money they can. If your pastor is a soulwinning pastor, and leads the church through various church ministries to go soulwinning, then I'd be patient with him when he asks for money.
However, there is something very wrong with a pastor who is so ambitious to grow his church, that he foolishly resorts to unreasonably pressuring his people to cash in their children's college funds, or to leave their home to the church instead of rightfully to their own children (Proverb 13:22, "A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children..."). If you have children, you should leave your home to them, not to your church. The Bible never says that a good man leaveth an inheritance to his church. No, the Bible says a good man leaves an inheritance to his children and grandchildren. Common sense is not very common nowadays.
I did not write this article to attack anyone, nor do I have any certain ministry in mind; I wrote this article to encourage anyone who may be involved in an abusive ministry to BE BOLD against abuses. If someone is abusive or insulting toward you, don't be intimidated just because he's the leader. You be assertive and tell him, "Respectfully, you're wrong." "Respectfully, I think you need to learn how to treat people better." I always add the word "respectfully" when dealing with authority, but that's just my preference.
I've learned the hard way over the years that people will walk all over you if you let them. Now I'm not discouraging living for others. If I'm the pastor, then I want people to take advantage of me, because that's why I'm there. I'm not talking about that.
I'm talking about abuse here. I'm talking about the jerk who wants you to forget about your family because he needs a bus driver. I'm talking about the ministry leader who asks you twice to do something, when you just got done telling him that you're sick and don't feel well. I'm talking about pastors who want you to sell out your children's college funds, because they want your money at all costs.
Now I'm not asking you to quit your church, because there are NO perfect churches, pastors, nor ministry leaders. What I am suggesting is that you not be intimidated or afraid to STAND UP against the abuses. Don't be afraid to ask questions, but be kind and ethical in the matter. Religious organizations are notorious for suppressing complaints from the laity, and for "looking the other way," especially if the complaints are legitimate. If you think your pastor is being unfair, you have a right to go speak with him.
The pastor is God's man, but he is not God. I've seen many women become infatuated with their pastor, placing him over their own husband. This is evil in the sight of God. Your husband rules over you, not any minister. If you are loyal to your pastor over your husband, then you are not right with God.
A woman recently wrote to me and said that no one knows her pastor's salary except the deacons. She has every right to kindly insist on knowing the pastor's salary, since she is a tithing member of the church. 1st Peter 5:3 cautions pastors and ministry leaders against being controlling... "Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock." True men of God LEAD the flock by example, with the Word of God being the FINAL AUTHORITY in the church, and not men. God gave us a brain to think, and there is truly a fine line between faith and foolishness.
