Games church leaders play in church

I came to the realization that not everyone in the church leadership has the welfare of the members in mind.  I was naive to think that church leaders were spiritually mature people who are there to serve the Lord. 

What I have seen is that some (perhaps many?) leaders have got there due to a lot of different reasons, but serving the Lord is not one of them.

  

Some are there because they are talented or sharp people - professionals and people with charismatic personalities. A good accountant has a pretty good chance of being asked to be the treasurer. How closely they walk with God is never a consideration.    Some are there for the ego trip - 'look I'm an elder you should listen to me'. Some are there for power, to control the church and support one faction - usually either against or for the pastor. I'd like to reveal some of the worldly methods this last group uses. Remember the motivation of these people is not to serve God, but their egos.

The leader or pastor will split the church up into groups of supporters or non-supporters. It is usually quite clear who the ‘in’ group are and who are the rest. This division could be as simple as 'young vs. old' or 'conservative vs. progressive'. Certainly not what the bible teaches.  The way they split the church is by treating one group very differently from the others. Sometimes it is done deliberately and openly to show the others that they are not part of the 'in' group. 

The pastor of a church I used to attend would refuse to talk to half the congregation, other than the usual 'Hello how are you'. He would deliberately walk pass and ignore people. I often wonder why a pastor would behave like that, after all , isn't he suppose to shepherd the flock?  Then it dawned on me that he is giving them a clear hint to leave his church. What better strategy than to give the cold shoulder to someone you want leave the church! 

And if the person is a threat, this pastor would mention the person in his sermons (without names of course). This is to force the person to leave faster. I did some investigation and found out that those who left had one thing in common - they have all been mentioned in the sermons,,, frequently. In case you think people are overly sensitive, the things mentioned in the sermon are very specific, and the person who is mentioned will certainly know it's being directed at him.  This pastor has been doing this for over 15 years and he continues to use this because it has been very successful in getting rid of people who do not support him. May God have mercy on this pastor - he is supposed to shepherd the flock, instead he drives then away, He has turned the church into his private country club of approved members. 

You'll be surprised how many such cases there are. I spoke to a Christian who runs a bookshop, and he was also driven out of his church by the pastor because he questioned him about constantly quoting from psychology books instead of the bible.  A good friend of his was also driven out of his church when he asked why the pastor preached an entire series of sermons directly out of Spurgeon' sermons without acknowledging the original author (this pastor plagiarized Spurgeon entire sermon) and making it his own. A cheat.     

Another trick I've seen used is the spreading of gossip by the leadership. The smart ones will make sure that he is not seen as the spreader of gossip.  They are crafty enough to use words like 'Jane told me that John did this...' or 'Jo asked me to pray for her because Bill ...'.  Unethical?  When someone is not walking with the Lord, he will resort to the ways of the world to get what he wants - and pastors are certainly not immune.  Many treat their calling like a job, so they behave accordingly.   When your pastor was interviewed, did anyone ask him about his walk with God, or how the Lord has been dealing with him? A good question would be 'what did God teach your the last 12 months?' I can put money on it that the interviewers were more interested in how he grew his last church and how many  programs he started, and what techniques he managed to mobilize the church programme, and what offering he managed to raise (extract) from the congregation. You get what you asked for,

What does the church become when unspiritual people get into power?  A bunch of worldly wise people manipulating and bullying the flock for their own ends. A den of vipers!  That's why choose your leaders carefully, there is no turning back. With the current state the church is in today, the majority will vote in the most popular or sharp person into the leadership, certainly not the most spiritual.  

Who is responsible for the state the church is in? The leadership!  Leaders and pastors who do not feed the flock the Word of God. And who is responsible for the current state of our pastors?  The bible seminaries and the pulpits of the previous generation.  Leaders have lost the fear of God, they don't seek God, and resort to the world's way of dealing with issues - politics and manipulation.  What a terrible state the church is in. 

As one senior pastor advised me, 'if your pastor has not changed after 10 years, he is not going to change now, best to leave'.  May I encourage you to do this if you have a church leadership who do not obey the Lord.  Get out before the judgment of God falls, 

To those churches who have genuine shepherds, treasure them and be gentle with them. They are a rare breed.