If a person with authority administers his authority in a Godly way, it becomes a protection and safety net for those under it. However, it is clear today that a lot of people don't know how to use their authority with responsibility and LOVE...Please note, I emphasized the word LOVE!
If you have been taught to fear, you can be taught to be bold, courageous and confident. We allow fear to become a monster in our thinking, but it is one that will quickly back down when confronted. Fear is like the school bully. It pushes everyone around until someone finally challenges it.
Fear is one of Satan's traits. And, most of us know, one of Satan's favorite places to hide out is in the church.
The fear of rejection by the pastor is a powerful motive in a church where the office of the elder is almost raised to the level of the pope. Popish demeanor reveals pride in the heart. Pride is also one of Satan's traits.
No elder in a church has been called to chart the timetable of growth in grace. It is not the place of the elders to demand. Sheep cannot be whipped and driven into conformity with pastoral wishes. When believers are taught to actually hate another believer simply because he dared to challenge the pastor, you do not belong to a Christian church...You belong to a cult!
The devotees who remain in churches like this are literally afraid to speak to someone who leaves their local church. They may have been close friends for ten years, but it makes no difference if the people are on the pastor's "No, no" list. Let us never take that horrible attitude and cut off fellow believers.
If you have a pastor who has driven families out of your congregation only because they dared to disagree with him...You belong to a cult! Churches that are basically a cult run by paranoid pastors will begin to be known for what they really are and they will split.
We need to keep in mind that God's commands are loving. God's people, in their hearts, know the difference between loving discipline and a paranoid use of personal power. "Lording over the flock causes church splits." - Pastor Walter J. Chantry
If you choose to stay in that church, you will have to shut up and obey the "duly authorized eldership" and totally dry up spiritually. You will be sinning against Christ by allowing your pastor to be Lord of your conscience...and believe me, that is a grave sin!
The next time some key families leave a church, don't be too quick to believe that the "duly authorized" pastor and his devotees were right and the people who left were all "rebels against authority." It just may be that the pastor was a power mad paranoid that he began to think of himself as the infallible voice of God. It is possible that the power structure of the church can be wrong!
I do not know of a single church split that was caused by a "bunch of rebels." Granted, some paranoid preachers may have made that claim, but anyone who took the time to find out both sides saw where the trouble lay.
It is high time you realize who you are and act accordingly! You are a child of God! It is the duty of a true child of God to get out from under any ministry like that. If you choose to stay under such a ministry out of either fear or false sense of loyalty, then you have no one to blame but yourself.
Blessings,
Dalinda
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