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When a pastor or christian leader fails
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Posted by: angelofthelord
One of the saddest things for a christian is the destruction caused when the
Pastor of a church
or Christian leader falls. Sadly, the destruction doesn't stop with the
lives
of the Pastor or Christian leader, their family, the person they sinned
with (in the case of adultery) and that person's family. Like all sin,
there is an incredible ripple effect and when a Pastor or Christian leader
falls, those
ripples are far reaching and affect the lives and faith of many, many
people. On
top of the damage done to the lives and faith of many people, there is
tremendous, in
some cases, irreparable damage done to the work of that particular church or
ministry the Pastor or Christian leader was overseeing for God.
I wish I could tell you this morning that a Pastor or Christian leader
falling is a rare and isolated event, but that is simply not the truth.
Satan is VERY BUSY and we know from the very lips of Jesus his goal is to
kill, steal, and destroy. If you think you are going to start a church or
ministry that is going to do the work of God and satan is not going to
bother you, you have obviously never read God's Word. Never forget, the
more you are doing for the Lord, the bigger a target you become. The more
you are doing for the Lord, the more satan will set his sights on taking you
out. The more you are doing for the Lord, the more prepared spiritually you
better be since the battle we fight is NOT of flesh and blood but it is a
spiritual one!
Think with me for a moment. If you were satan, would you spend your time
and energy trying to take down one person who is witnessing to people, or
would you spend your time and energy trying to take down the Pastor of a
church with 2,000 members? If you were satan would you spend your time and
energy going after a Believer who did little with his faith other than show
up for church on Sunday morning, or would you be plotting to take out a
Christian leader that was followed by millions of people. SATAN ALWAYS HAS
AND ALWAYS WILL TARGET PASTORS AND CHRISTIAN LEADERS. He
knows by taking down a Pastor or Christian leader he also wipes out many
people who follow them in the process. It is like bowling, hit the head pin
and
watch all the pins behind fall down.
This is why I tell people all the time to stay focused on THE man and never
A man. One of the major complaints of non-believers is that Christians are
hypocrites. Those who don't even know the great stories of the Bible, can
tell you in great detail the stories of Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, and the
preacher down the street who ran off with his secretary. It is one of the
most common objections of someone who has rejected Christ and the truth of
God's Word. They say that they would be a Christian, but those who are
Pastors and Christian leaders don't act like a Christian should act. I am
sure there were many in the first days of the church who said, "I would be a
Christian, but look at what Peter did. This man who claimed to be a follower
of Jesus denied him, not once, but THREE times!!"
They make a valid point. The fact is however, a Pastor or Christian leader
is nothing more than a sinner who is saved by grace. Even though they are
leaders, they are still frail, prone-to-sin creatures living in a sin-filled
environment. That in no way excuses their sin, but it is the reality of who
they are. By the way, a note for those non-believers that love to use this
excuse for rejecting Christ in their life. God is not going to be
interested that you rejected Jesus because of what someone else did. We are
each going to be held accountable for our free will choice to accept or
reject Christ in our hearts and lives.
A major part of the destruction when a Pastor or Christian leader falls is
the damage it does to the person in the pew or those who follow that
person's ministry. Let me warn you today. One of the quickest ways to fall
away from
your faith is to put too much emphasis on a man or woman of God. God uses
human instruments to plant the seeds of salvation. He uses human
instruments to disciple us and help us grow in our faith. He uses human
instruments to impact our spiritual lives. In a society that is prone to
idolize others, such as entertainers, athletes, and successful people, we
take that into our Christian lives as well. We place our Pastors and
Christian leaders on pedestals they don't belong on.
Let me stop for a moment and say something important. God does not share
His glory with ANYONE. I realize that in the drive to amass numbers, in the
drive to generate dollars, many Pastors and Christian leaders fall into the
trap of ALLOWING people to idolize or worship them. Some actually encourage
this.
God does not share His glory with ANYONE. It is the responsibility of those
Pastors and Christian leaders to always keep the focus on Christ, and never
allow the people to worship them, but remind them they are only to worship
Christ.
THE TRUE PASTOR AND CHRISTIAN LEADER COMES TO SERVE,
NOT BE SERVED!!!
We normally only see those God has called to be Pastors and raised up to
lead ministries when they are "on," when they are doing what God has called
them to do. Because of that, we almost tend to forget they are human. These
men and women walk in the same frail clay bodies as everyone else and are
prone
to the same weaknesses that every person is. Since we rarely see these
Pastors or Christian leaders other than the times they are doing the Lord's
work, we lose sight that those moments are only a part of their life. They
have lives outside of their work for the Lord. THEY ARE ONLY AS CLOSE TO
GOD AS THEIR OWN PERSONAL DAILY WALK WITH THE LORD.
Because they are in the spotlight, when they fail, when they sin, it is made
known to the public. Our first reaction is, "how can that be possible?"
Nobody is immune to sin my friend. No matter who you are, your life flows
from your personal relationship with Christ. A Pastor and Christian leader
is only as close to God as his or her daily walk. Like anyone, if they
neglect their daily time with the Lord, they get farther away from God and
become an easy target for satan. Most Pastors and Christian leaders fall
when things are going great. They lose their humility, they quit working as
hard as they used to, they have more idle time, and they don't stay as close
to the Lord as they used to.
It is only possible to minister to others from your own personal walk with
Christ. As you neglect that daily time with the Lord, you start to be
disconnected. You may have some spiritual gasoline left in your tank, but
eventually you will use that up. Those Pastors and Christian leaders who
fall, fall because they have neglected to invest time with God one on one.
Even more than most, a Pastor and Christian leader cannot afford to neglect
their daily time with Christ.
The key point I want you to understand today is that you must keep focused
on THE man, and not A man. Christ was the only one who did it perfect. My
personal philosophy is to take the spiritual wisdom from other men and women
of God, but never idolize them, never expect them to be more than the man or
woman of flesh and blood they are, but realize that God has touched them in
a special way and given them something that can benefit my spiritual life.
I have always called it my spiritual filter.
Today's word is an important
reminder to never get so focused on a man or woman of flesh and blood that
you let it get in the way of your own personal walk with Christ. God has
placed men and women of God in our lives to help teach us, show us the
truths of His Word. However, no matter how close to the Lord they may be,
the only one we should ever try to pattern our lives after is Jesus Christ
because He is the only one who lived this life without sin. He is our
example and the one each one of us should strive to be like.
Let us pray today for those Pastors and Christian leaders who have
fallen from grace. Let me encourage you today, God is not done using your
life. There are always consequences for our sins, and things will never be
the way they used to be, but that does not mean God can't use you. Look at
Peter. The key is, Peter humbled himself before the Lord and allowed God to
restore him to fellowship and service. I pray today that for those fallen
Pastors and Christian leaders, they will follow the example of Peter.
Also let us pray today for those who are reading this who have had
their faith shaken by a Pastor or Christian leader who fell. It is normal
and OK to be upset, but never forget that your faith is in Jesus, not that
Pastor or Christian leader. Of course you have every right to expect them
to live up to the standards God has set for those who lead His church.
However,
when a Pastor or Christian leader falls, don't allow the enemy to destroy
your faith just because of the failings of another person. Again, your
faith is NOT in that Pastor or Christian leader but in JESUS CHRIST!
Please take time today to pray for those God has placed in spiritual
leadership over you, your Pastor and those Christian leaders you follow.
Pray a hedge
of protection around them since we know satan wants to destroy their lives
and
work. Pray for them, but never lose sight that they are mere mortals, men
and
women of flesh and blood like you. Remember, no man could die for your
sins. It was THE
man who loved you so much, that He willingly bled and died so that you might
have
everlasting life.
Never let your eyes focus so much on A man, that you lose sight of THE man.
Keep your eyes focused on JESUS!
Posted by: MamaCat
Forgive me, but I have been reading your posts and have been wondering. Are you a preacher or Bible teacher or something? Do you write these posts yourself? Are you a writer? Are these things that the LORD gives you? Would you mind sharing some of yourself here. I am interested and would like to know more.
Posted by: angelofthelord
All the messages I post are inspired by the Holy Father. My father was a preacher and he made it a daily requirement for all his children to write a daily thought before going to school. I always liked doing that.