Eroding Of The Man Of God

Those of us who aspire to leadership in the church, particularly pastors and evangelists, must be diligent in safeguarding our identification as men of God who speak with the authority of the Bible. As I have examined the lives of the men and women who have been the most instrumental in impacting my life for God, I have noticed a common trait...they seemed to be almost passionless about everything in their world with the exception of their family and their faith. It was as though nothing else mattered to them, and in reality nothing else does matter....everything but family and faith is temporary, not eternal. 

Sadly, we are living in a strange time. Preachers and evangelists are leading their ministries by measurements of success rather than landmarks of faithfulness.....how unlike Jeremiah who was unsuccessful in the shallow terms of the way we of the modern church measure success, but he  was faithful; and faithfulness  is far more important to God because when Jesus comes, the scriptural question is poignant, "Will he find faith?"

Since Christ will be looking primarily for faith when he comes, I suggest it would be a good thing for us to do likewise. Is there a touch of the supernatural about your church or the ministry of your pastor, or with all honesty, is it all slick programming with high-tech videos and a stand-up comedian for a pastor whose personal goal for his congregation is "to make them laugh, make them cry, make them feel religious."

There is another kind of deception that is evidenced during presidential election cycles. It is satanically seductive indeed to anchor oneself to one candidate so firmly or in opposition to another candidate so firmly that a pastor erodes his position as a man of God. I notice with chagrine as some pastors have frequent comments on social media in which they aggressively support a particular candidate and/or aggressively attack another. We must remember that at the very best these are flawed people; and,  as a result, could have such political or moral failure as to bring reproach upon a pastor's integrity if he aligns himself too much with that flawed 

politician. 

It is my view that it is perfectly proper, after fervent prayer, to voice only once or twice his support for a candidate; however, after that,  a man of God should support biblical and  moral positions but leave the names of candidates out of public pronouncements on social media, the press or the pulpit. For example, it is sufficient for me to say that I will never vote for a candidate that openly in his campaign for office endorses abortion. As a Christian, I will never vote for a candidate who approves that vile act. However, it is, in my opinion, inappropriate for a man of God to use his position to support or attack by name candidates who are for or against abortion. Why do I feel so?  1 Peter 2:13 says we are "to obey every ordinance of man." The Tax Code strictly forbids leaders of non-profit ministries from endorsing or attacking particular candidates. Someone may argue the IRS almost never enforces this requirement. Please note the Bible does not say "Obey every ordinance of man UNLESS  YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH VIOLATING IT." For the man of God, his faithfulness to Scripture demands that he avoid the appearance of becoming a political pundit and more a powerful preacher. 

If I die before Jesus comes, I want it said and said often, my sole commitment to a human endorsement was never to a candidate but always to Christ.