Politics played inside churches

Many of today's churches are riddled with human politics. Here are just some I've come across:

• The pastor lobbying for votes just before his re-election. Much like our national politicians kissing babies.  Every visit to the elderly appears in Facebook or the church magazine
• The pastor surrounding himself with his bodyguards - 'yes' men who will blindly support their pastor regardless of what he does
• Pastors fighting with one another for specific roles or those roles which are more public  
• Spiritual men are pushed aside in favour of those who are agreeable to the pastor or existing elders. (I use the term 'elders' loosely to mean those who hold the title of elders in the church - whether they are genuinely qualified to be elders or not is another matter)
• The selection of people to take up offices in the church is based on whether they are supportive of the pastor and elders, not based on biblical qualifications (see Timothy or Titus)
• People who are not in favour are not given any significant tasks in the church institution, despite their obvious gifts
• Positioning of people into church boards or elderships based on voting preferences. These people are placed there to vote for specific persons. Some are put there to fill up a position so that no one can take the job even though everyone knows that person is not suitable
• Multiple factions within an eldership who differ and fight with each other based on personal ego instead of bible principles
• Rumours leaked by the leadership about members of the church to discredit them. This person will not say it himself, but will use words like 'Mrs A told me that Joe said this...'. These people spread poison in the minds of others. I know of a pastor who has made this into a fine art, he is never the one who started the rumour, its always someone else who told him. Yet he repeats the rumour with no hesitation.
• Church members not allowed to preach because they might make the pastor look bad. If they're not as good in preaching, you'll see them on the pulpit more often. But if they're any good, it's a threat and you won't find him on the pulpit too often.
• External preachers not invited back again because their sermons were better than the pastor's
• Song leaders or musicians fighting for prominence in the choir
• Song leaders not letting talented singers take the lead vocal role because that person is better than the song leader
• Activities organized by members not getting support from the pastor because he doesn't get the credit or he belongs to a different faction in the church
• Members being pushed out of the church due to them not supporting the ruling faction or pastor. A favourite method is for the pastor to use the sermon to put down or ridicule people in the church. Most members won't know that the sermon is directed at someone except the intended target. Another method is to give them the cold shoulder, ignoring them totally Sunday after Sunday. Another one is to leak rumours about people in the church to turn people against each other.

If the church governance is based on democratic principles i.e. voting, then politics in the church becomes worse. Popularity is all that matters as it will receive the most votes.  

My view is that most church members don't know their bible well, and they cannot discern the spiritual mature Christian from the charismatic personality. They will vote for someone who is popular - how good he can speak, how 'nice' he seems, his poise,  his secular job role (he's a bank manager, so he must make a good church treasurer), etc.  The bible qualities mentioned in Timothy and Titus are unknown to most pew warmers. So after a few years, you end up with 'popular' people running the church instead of spiritual men. And these have a tendency to stay as long as people can tolerate them.

These elders are elders in name, holding on to positions they have no right to hold on to, but refusing to relinquish the role to better men due to pride and ego.

I know of a church where the pastor started a recruitment drive just before the church elections to ensure he and his supported candidates get enough votes.  Supporters are made into members indiscriminately, just like rigging the voting system that you hear about in some third world countries. Is there any difference between these people and the world?   Yes, these people are worse because they know what is right to do.

These are not Christ centred churches; they've become institutions or private clubs. The reason why this is happening is that these are human institutions run by worldly people wearing a Christian badge.

If you find yourself in one, do yourself and your family a favour, get out and find a real church where God is honoured and you can grow in your faith. You owe it to yourself and to your family. You'll never learn anything from these people because they have nothing to teach, you can't get water from dry wells.