When did we become so MINISTER oriented and less MINISTRY minded??
I recently saw a message on Facebook and Twitter that said something along the lines of "Evangelists, Pastors, Preachers - You need a good headshot, plz contact...".
If the person who posted this statement happens to read this blog, please don't take offense.
This is about the broader culture, not your endeavors. I mean that.
When did our Apostolic culture decline to the point of celebrity, where ministers are judged by how they look, dress or sound, and not by the work the Spirit of God does through them? Why would a preacher NEED a headshot, or a nice picture to sell themselves?
Organizations pursue after preachers who have a "Name", to sign them up and hang their name from the doorpost, thereby increasing the popularity of the organization. Some conference organizers will only choose those with prestige attached to preach their conference. It's almost become a popularity contest driven by the end consumer... the congregation.
While I understand we all have our favorite preachers we like to hear, there is something wrong when we only go to a service because "Bro. So & so" is preaching, or conversely if "Bro. Such & such" is preaching, we won't attend. Just because we don't like him.
I've been guilty and even vocal of this, so I'm not ignoring my participation in such. But I have tried to obey Matthew 7, and remove the proverbial beam from my own eye before removing the small mote from my brothers.
And to clarify, I don't believe you have to listen to everyone who stands behind a pulpit. To say that would ignore the point I'm trying to make entirely. That point being, look at the ministry of the minister and obey 1 John 4:1. If what someone is preaching is out of the Word of God, either "liberal" or "conservative", ignore it. If it's based upon the Word, then submit to it, even if isn't comfortable.
But what is wrong with our culture as apostolics that we are so fixated on image? Most young men, from a young age, desire solely to be a preacher. Hopefully that youthful desire morphs into the purity of a longing to do a true work for God. But all too often I've seen it's simply an image that men want to attain. Preachers kids grow up with the expectation by themselves and others that they are going to be a preacher themselves. So they start crafting and perfecting their style, while never digging into the deep things the Spirit would offer. They may go to Bible College and even get a degree proving they know the profession, but where is the depth?
Again, to be fair, many... MANY.. preachers kids have grown up to be mighty men of God, with depth of spiritual understanding and powerful anointing. Please don't think I'm grouping everyone together.
I trust Matthew 7:20, and know that their fruits, like mine, will be shown; either good or bad. But we also have a responsibility as mature christians to judge the spirit of something and prove whether God is in it or not. All too often we simply accept a man as a "preacher", while we never are sensitive to the spirit he is of. Or we ignore an "unknown", while never examining the work God is doing through him.
We open our hearts and minds to the message people bring, and accept it without question. This seems honorable on the surface. We're taught to respect the ministry, and you don't question the man of God or his preaching. However, this mindset ignores a basic tenet of righteous and SPIRITUAL judgement. Such judgement cannot be made in the flesh, to do so would be wreckless, however we are instructed to judge.
To often we misuse Matthew 7 and refrain from judgement, because we don't want to be judged. We refuse to pluck a mote out of our brothers eye, because "it's not our place". Not so.. read the rest of the text. First clean yourself THEN remove the mote. We stop at the first half and never judge.
___________________________________________________________________
I'd continue, but I have to go...
1 comment:
UPdate brother!!! (:
Post a Comment