"Take heed to yourselves and to the entire flocklet, among which the holy spirit appointed you supervisors, to be shepherding the ecclesia of God, which He procures through the blood of His Own
Acts of the Apostles 20: 28, Concordant New Testament
It used to be, back in the day, that to enter the pastoral ministry was viewed as a noble endeavor in ones life. Indeed, a dear friend of mine once answered the call to serve from the pulpit of a small local church. His motive was to speak the gospel of Christ Jesus, and perhaps to shepherd his flock as well. I haven't spoken to him much about his early days in the ministry, but I can guarantee that he and his wife did not commute to and from church in a private jet funded by the contributions of his congregation. That would have been, wrong. Why do I even mention this? Well, not too long ago I came across a website that listed nine Christian big name pastors who had purchased for themselves private jets for their travels. The list includes such well known pastors of the faith as Kenneth Copeland, Jesse Duplantis, Joyce Meyer and Pat Robertson. Now, if anyone can tell me that purchasing these luxury aircraft from the church funds donated by their congregations is a good idea, please leave a comment. More and more, in recent years, some have seen the pastoral ministry not as service to the Lord, but as a revenue stream. One has to wonder, how is it that God sees the actions of these kings of the congregation. I want to be clear, not every pastor is so indebted to the almighty dollar, but the few that are give the Christian ministry a black eye. The apostle Paul wrote to young Timothy that "The root of all evils is the fondness for money" {Paul to Timothy 6:10}. I'm guessing that the kings of the congregation either forgot this teaching or willfully choose to ignore it. Whatever the case may be, I would say that their focus is not on the well being of the ecclesia of God, but on their own personal gain. The physician Luke writes in Acts that church leaders "Take heed to yourselves and to the entire flocklet, among which the holy spirit appointed you" {Acts of the Apostles 20:28}. If we understand anything about the Lord, we know that these men have been appointed unto leadership by the Father for the teaching and well being of His ecclesia family. I believe that a few of these men have failed in that regard.
Not many should become teachers, my brethren, being aware that we shall be getting greater judgement
James to the Twelve Tribes 3: 1, Concordant New Testament
When I speak of the kings of the congregation, I do so knowing that these men were trained up in their beliefs at some point. Indeed, it is in the halls of our seminaries and universities where the modern day Pharisees practice their trade. I joke with my former pastor friend of his time spent in Pharisee school prior to beginning his ministry. Although we might joke about this, we both know that it is a serious and real issue confronting the Christian faith. For what is taught in these seminary pastor factories is not the truth of the revelation of Christ Jesus spoken in the evangel of Paul, but a theology which continues to preach the idea that man has become separated from God through his sin. This is but one of the lies spoken by the kings of the congregation. Paul assures us in Romans that Jesus has died to sin "Once for all time" {Paul to the Romans 6:10}. That our old sin nature was indeed crucified with Christ that "The body of sin may be nullified" {Paul to the Romans 6:6}. I would say that either these kings of the congregations have forgotten the words of Paul spoken in Romans 6, or it simply doesn't fit the separation theology narrative of the church. Either way, what it does represent is the image of the hierarchy of the mainstream church. That some in church leadership are deserving of a certain celebrity status. My question is, how is this beneficial to the well being of the ecclesia of God? Are these hierarchal kings not walking that fine line between seeing themselves just as important as the Father in peoples lives? Is this not the very behavior which Jesus called out the Jewish Pharisees of His day for? To value their own image and reputations over the well being of the people {Matthews Account 23:5-7}? How is it that a luxury jet speaks to the revelation of our life in Christ Jesus {Johns Account 14:20}? One thing is for certain, I wouldn't make for a good pastor in the modern day church.
~Scott~
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