Titus 1:11 They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach--and that for the sake of dishonest gain.

Does your church equip you to do the work of ministry or do you attend a church, which has created a euphoric environment designed to stimulate, entertain, and assuage your carnal needs and desires?

I realize this is a difficult question and may not be easily answered but we must try since Jesus is the Lord of the church and he has articulated it’s vision, mission, and values. What many leaders have done is usurped Christ’s role and message in the church by developing their own vision and declaring it above and beyond the mission, vision, and values of Christ.

Being a Christian it is your duty to make sure Christ is being elevated to the highest place of authority, worship, & truth in your church. Whenever a Christian answers the question, “Why am I doing this in Christ's church?” there should be a simple response, “because this is what Jesus calls me to”.

Unfortunately, there are common practices of leaders today, which, cannot be found in the scriptures, and contradicts them as well. This passage is a warning to the body of Christ. There were men in the Apostle Paul’s day and even in our day that ruin families by teaching things they ought not to teach. I will attempt to identify one of those teachings.

1. The teaching that the pastor is elevated to a higher spiritual level than anyone else in a church therefore; as leader they are entitled to VIP treatment, cannot be questioned, and do not have to live by the same biblical standard as the body of Christ.

Proof:
I have heard pastors use the phrase, “I am the set man in this house, I am the angel of this house, I am the prophet/lord/or head of this house” A pastor in Maryland would have his members kneel down when he entered the sanctuary.

I have heard pastors curse in the pulpit. I have heard them use vulgar words, sexually inappropriate statements, and use the pulpit to humiliate people in the church. I have seen pastors bully the sheep of God by coercing them to give them money and not pay their electric bill.

Pastors are given preferential treatment and their needs are considered beyond the needs of anyone else in the body. This can be seen most clearly when a pastor is found to be in sin.

Effect:
This type of environment produces more of a military governmental structure, which is totally contrary to the ministry Christ modeled and taught his disciples. In a military structure, the pastor becomes lord and the people become servants. During the Last Supper, Jesus spoke against this type of relationship and modeled a very different leadership approach: he humbled himself, washed the feet of his disciples, and become their servant and friend as opposed to their LORD.

Does your pastor elevate himself over you? Run for your life…He or she is not modeling the righteousness of Christ. They are modeling a worldly self-centered religion, which corrupts the body of Christ. Husbands then begin to lord over their wives, ministry leaders lord over those serving in the minstry and the ushers even begin to power trip by making you wait just a moment longer than you really need to before being seated.
The body of Christ becomes corrupt because people now come to church in order to secure, power, significance, and position rather than humble service to Christ, one another, and the lost world.

Friends, any pastor who has nothing to hide has no problem being accountable to the fellowship but what many leaders do is erect a wall stating no one in the body has the authority to cross it. Is this the way the body of Christ functions? NO WAY!

Galatians 6:1 says that those who are spiritual are the best ones to address sin in the church. A limited designation of who serves in that capacity is arbitrary and capricious which is why when a leader is found to be compromised in their speech, conduct, love, faith and purity (1 Tim 4:12) most healthy churches bring it before the entire congregation or they bring in outside help realizing that friends are compromised in their ability to provide unbiased care and support. 1 Timothy 5:20 says if an elder sins they are to be rebuked publicly so the church must not create a special dispensation of grace to keep it hidden.

Friends if your pastor resists public rebuke then you are guilty of covering up their transgression. The message that is ultimately communicated is that you care more about preserving a false reputation than the righteousness of Christ. You will also lose your moral authority because if the pastor is given a free pass everyone else will want one. One can rationalize that every situation is different but you end up wrestling with the scriptures to your own destruction. The reason why a good parent does not let their 3-year-old child interpret parental instructions is because the child's tendency is to do what will make them happy but not what is good for them. Many people are busy trying to interpret the bible instead of obeying it.
Any church that hides the sin of their leader is guilty of covering up sin. Never forget this; anytime you bury sin, it is just a matter of time before greater sin springs up. Be not deceived God is not mocked what ever you sow you will reap? (Galatians 6:7) If you hide a manner to protect a corrupt leader you will cause great harm to the beautiful bride of Christ.

This is the Word and I am sticking to it…

Dr. Lonny