Jesus Christ on Religious Leaders
In the twenty-third chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, we read that Jesus Christ made absolutely no attempt to spare the feelings of the religious leaders of his day in terms of what he had to say about them. In fact, he was quite blunt in his assessment of them. Of course, he knew that he wouldn't hurt anyone's feelings anyway! He knew that instead of eliciting sorrow or remorse, that his comments would engender anger and bitterness in them. "How dare this common, uneducated upstart challenge us?"
This is of particular interest when we consider just how prickly some of our modern Christian ministers/pastors are about any criticism of them or their ministries. Some of these folks absolutely flip when anyone dares to challenge one of God's servants (meaning them). Like the scribes/Pharisees/Sadducees before them, they believe that their critics are deserving of the severest censure/scorn and/or the Lake of Fire!
When I think about some of the pastors that I've known during my lifetime, Christ's criticisms of the religious leaders of his day are more meaningful to me. Christ said that they didn't practice what they preached. He said that they loved the honor and respect that were shown to them more than the joy of serving others. Christ called them hypocrites and said that they were an impediment to people entering God's Kingdom. He went on to say that they loved to win a convert and then often proceeded to make them even more reprehensible than they were themselves! Christ questioned their judgment and enjoined them to focus on the things that were really important (justice, mercy, faithfulness). In short, he wanted them to be less concerned about appearances and more concerned with the reality of their own greed and self-interest. Any of that sound familiar?
by Lonnie Hendrix
23 comments:
Yes, it does sound familiar. True spiritual guides are few and far between. Somewhere along the way most aspiring guides get caught up in and derailed by authority, self-importance, riches, and personal theories and interpretations. Others experience moral failures.
Why people aspire to be such leaders is beyond me. The moment one declares oneself, he or she is under intense scrutiny, in the fishbowl, under a magnifying glass.
Best course is to lead by example, quietly doing the best you know how, seeking wisdom along the way, and realizing that when you give advice, you are responsible for what that advice brings into the lives of others.
BB
Very familiar. Thank you Lonnie Hendrix for writing this post.
Absolutely true Lonnie. This also applies between concerned and confused pastors as they tried to question and resist the defective and impractical or unnecessary edicts from on high in the administration of the churches.
I learned rather quickly that my personal solution to such a dilemma was "Ask and you shall not have or do. Do not ask and all things are possible"
I do realize I did enjoy the ability to mention to my peer pastors that their view was mistaken or stupid and they might wish to rethink this or that without consequences for the most part. When in doubt, it's better to ignore stupidity than comply with it although that's not what we tend to do in churches, or under those we think can hurt us for being ourselves. It's where "I'm sitting on the outside, but standing up on the inside" comes from. That might work for a time to keep the peace but going along to get along ultimately hurts us big time. Going along to get along is one of my HUGE life regrets in ministry. I did it way too long until I didn't. It's a function of growing up and experience I imagine until one no longer does that.
I have told it before so don't jump me, but it is classic. When my brother in law was ordained a Deacon by a new pastor who followed Dave Pack, Dave took Ron aside at a basketball game (Dave got sent to Buffalo to suck their brains out instead of Rochester's) and told him "If I had thought you were to be a Deacon, I would have ordained you!" You have to understand our family, including my dad who was an Elder dragged all over the state of NY by Dave. Ron simply looked at Dave and said "Well Dave, (Ron knew he wanted to be called "Mr. Pack") If I didn't think you had shit for brains I'd care what you thought..."
The silence was pretty cool. lol Dave went to Ron's new pastor to complain and got blown off there too.
Personally, as a pastor, I also knew and my congregation knew that if they could not abide by something in some real or practical sense, they could tell me and it was no big deal. I have recounted all my experiences along these lines over the years so won't again but I know and they knew this to be so.
I do recognize that there was a culture in WCG of ministerial "authority" and speak up to their fake power had consequences most were not willing to endure (dis-memberment, Lake of Fire, No church jobs for you, etc) but time and experience makes on more bold and less caring about what others think of them or their views as the experience of having cared too much build up. It takes awhile in any church to realize your views, experiences and perspectives are just as valid as anyone else's and being that classic "little yellow pencil" is injurious to one's mental, emotional, physical health and well being.
Now go ahead, f_______ bash me for these perspectives and experiences. lol :) (Not you Lonnie)
Dennis, Thanks for sharing your experiences and perspective, and I hope that no one bashes you for doing so. In the past, I too have gone along to get along - not anymore. I also agree with your assessment of the harmful effects of being a "little yellow pencil." I believe that we are built/designed/equipped (however one chooses to phrase it) to search, learn and grow. The notion that there is a neat little package of beliefs (TRUTH) to be received from the hands of any person is (I believe) contrary to Scripture and our very nature.
Best Dave story ever!
Can someone more theological than me , help me with this question?...
How much tithe money did Jesus demand of the people during his ministry?
At last someone stood up to Dave & gave his 'two-cents worth'(comeuppance for tuppence)
Don't go there Tonto.
Jesus demanded that the emperor be given and God be given their share.
It could well be that the early church regarded common a good thing too at the time and within the circumstances.
If mocking cog idiots its best to mock behavior than the Bible. Since theoretically cog is still far purer than Christianity so called.
Nck
You are the captain of your own spirituality. No man has "any" spiritual authority over your life. It is actually quite simple, make good moral decisions and be nice to others. You don't need anyone else to tell you that. Be your own spiritual guide.
Byker Bob, Good comments - yours usually are. A true spiritual guide is motivated by trying to help others and is not interested in august titles or being right (whatever that means). Like Gary, I believe most of the folks who comment here are interested in sharing their experiences, perspectives and conclusions to help others who have traveled the Armstrong path. It is an acknowledgement of the real hurts/abuse which they experienced as a consequence of that affiliation, and it's our attempt to affirm for them that there is life on the other side of God's "one, true church."
Tonto, I don't recall Christ demanding any money from anyone - maybe I missed it too! He did say that we should render to Caesar and God that which belonged to them. However, even though the original question concerned taxes, I've always thought he was talking about much more than money on that occasion. And, in the story about the widow's mite, I believe Christ pretty much negated the notion of a flat percentage paid by all as being regarded by God as the standard.
Jesus didn't have the authority to demand tithes, he wasn't a Levite. But he did tithe, because he was Jew and the temple was still standing. Jews today don't tithe because there are no Levites to tithe to, but they urge their followers to giver(voluntary) to a good causer to "heal the world."
But, nck, the early Jewish Christians were forced into that communal living situation by their immediate environment for survival. They had been kicked out of Temple, lost their jobs, some were imprisoned, and most were shunned by their families, all on top of the horrible things the pre-Nicean Romans were doing.
2,000 years later, a singular persecutor imposes pseudo common on the membership of his cult, with “common” exclusively benefitting himself to the exclusion of the needy brethren in his church.
BB
Nope nck. You haven’t a leg to stand on there.
I agree BB.
Nck
I live in a tourist destination that has been a frequent site of COG feasting. This year, I have not seen a list of Feast Sites for all of the harlot splinters. I went to LCG's website to see if they may becoming to town - I wanted to know if I might run into my old church pals in the liquor store. It appears LCG is not publicly posting a list of their sites. I suppose this is because the number of sites has dwindled. I saw the list of PCG sites and was surprised at the small number. As the number of feast sites and the number in attendance was a huge source of HWA bragging and COG pride, I'm curious about current stats. Do you have the clout to get rouge attendees to report back to this blog their own count of the number attending the feast site they are at? The COGs often report total number attending worldwide but never report the number at local sites. I suspect that is so they can inflate the overall number while no one at individual sites can pinpoint that their local number was exaggerated. I would like to see proof, in numbers, that Armstrongism is going extinct.
LCG feast sites:
https://fot2019.lcg.org/
YOU JUST HAVE TO LOOK IN THE RIGHT PLACE.
4:21
I do not know what your particular definition of armstrongism is.
I do know that these days scores tens of thousands of Christians flock to Jerusalem for the feast of tabernacles.
Christians celebrating the FOT.
By my definition Armstrongism is growing and growing as never before.
Just as "prophecy" is mainstream for the televangelist today.
Nck
Common was never taught by the apostles in the NT. Common was practiced in Acts by new Christians high on their recent conversion, but property rights were still respected when Ananias and Sapphire were confronted for lying to God.
Christ did mention tithing when confronting the Pharisees. He endorsed it rather than condemned it. But the country under Roman occupation might have made tithing impractical, ie, the Romans would have stolen the money. Under Roman occupation, the Romans knew what every household owned.
4:21am, What city are you in? Maybe I can let you know if LCG or any other cog will be there.
The Journal used to provide a comprehensive annual digest of all the ACOG and independent sites. However, the publisher had to retire due to health issues, and nobody else has taken up the mantle.
I suspect that the figurative drops of mercury have become sub-microscopic by this point in time. To paraphrase a great saying from the retirement fiduciaries, The ACOGs “have run out of message before they ran out of time”. They’re approaching total invisibility at this point.
BB
Thanks for the link to the list of LCG feast sites. I counted 11 US sites and 4 Canadian sites. At the top of each page for these sites the word microsite was written under the name of the site. That's very few sites and unprecedented honesty in acknowledging they woul all be microsites. The end is near!
10:11 Christ may have endorsed tithing, but neither God, Christ, the prophets and apostles ever mentioned or endorsed tithing on money.
Regarding Christ and tithing, he endorsed it for those under the Mt. Sinai covenant, we are not under that covenant and we are regarded as a Royal Priesthood. Priests never paid tithes, Priests receive tithes.
Kevin
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