Why is it that the ministry of the church has to remind us how much they suffer?
Their pain and suffering are always greater than the suffering members have to deal with because of them.
Never before in church history has one man suffered so much (except maybe than Bob Thiel). Where is our empathy?
What more can we learn through hardship and setbacks beyond reliance on God and survival? In the midst of a trial, we can easily lament: Why is this happening to me? or I wish I wasn’t going through this! or What’s the point of this pain?
The trial could be related to health, finance, relationships, death of a loved one, marriage and children or persistent failure to overcome personal weaknesses. It could be due to matters involving our spiritual journey in fulfilling God’s will.
The apostle Paul related his horrific hardships to the Corinthian brethren while evangelizing in what is today Turkey. He told his story in such a way that this narrative has become a notable go-to scripture to understand why and how we must live through difficult trials. Note Paul’s story:
“We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us” (2 Corinthians 1:8-10, NLT). Through direct experience, Paul clearly relates how he learned to trust God for deliverance from mortal danger. His key point? God brought him through challenging trials again and again. Today, most of us have not even come close to facing such life and death situations. But we can certainly apply what Paul learned to the rocky road of life that we may be traveling on.
In this same chapter, Paul goes further to explain that life as a disciple of Jesus Christ isn’t just about mere survival. Our trials elevate us to a higher level of thinking and conduct. Our trial is not just about us. Trials give us an opportunity to learn how to reach out to others. God’s rescue is a big part of the story—but not the only part. In the narrative quoted here in 2 Corinthians, the more complete story is revealed by Paul:
“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us” (2 Corinthians 1:3-7, The Living Bible).
These passages first came to life in my Epistles of Paul class at Ambassador College. They made a vivid impression on me as a 20-year-old student. Over and over in my pastoral career these words repeatedly demonstrated where true leadership shines.
I have found that to be true leaders, we must step outside of ourselves and show ourselves exposed and humbled. A leader draws on his or her own pain as one sufferer among a common sea of sufferers. A leader uses his or her own experience to empathize with others. In my ministry over the years, my own personal tribulations helped me genuinely empathize with people in great pain.
Jesus Christ left us a sterling example of going through painful ordeals for the purpose of encouraging us: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).
I would be interested to know what 'personal trials, etc.' he has had to endure. Like figuring out when to jump from one church to another? How to divide up a church where he can stay in power while "serving" the people that decided to stay in his chosen group?
ReplyDeleteACOGs ministers have always been treated as royalty by their deceived membership. They live in a ivory tower. The real world and real suffering is foreign to them. They need to step down from their life of privilege and get a real job. Then Vic and friends will really know what they are talking about rather than just being armchair preachers.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Vic can be more empathetic toward those who lost their jobs because of their beliefs and were no longer able to tithe for a while as he also had tough decisions to make considering how to keep a job and that income continuing from those tithes!
ReplyDeleteApparently Vic hasn't understood the difference between empathetic and pathetic.
ReplyDeleteI remember at UCG's first FOT in Corpus Christi in 1995. I was on the elevator in the convention center when Burke McNair got on with a few of the top-dog "ministers". They were talking about how difficult things were, and Burk assured them that the FIRST thing they were going to do was to make sure all of the "ministers" would receive their paychecks and other benefits. That's one hardship that none of them had ever had to experience. I was shocked and I never told anyone but my wife what was said. I should have spoke up, but I was a coward back then. I realized a few days later that I should have said What about the widows and the needy who have been suffering for years making sure that you well-fed "ministers" lived a life of luxury while the rest of us had to go without...without enough food to eat, without enough money to pay our rent, without enough money for proper health care, without enough money for a decent car that wouldn't break down every three months or so, without decent clothes to wear, without a job because we would lose it for keeping the sabbath and holydays. Many of us went without for many years so that we could support YOUR WORK that never ended and you never had enough money from us while you whined about getting, getting, getting more of it. So, come on VIC, tell us what you endured and how in the hell can YOU be empathetic!?
ReplyDeleteOne hopes Victor Kubic means those words he writes.
ReplyDeleteWhilst his updates come across as heartfelt. I think even Kubic is only skimming the surface of the overwhelming spiritual troubles.
Our friend Dennis Diehl has given us a "backstage" view of what it it like to be a minister. It is a tough job for sure. Certainly one I would never take on, and realized this very early on as a young man, and avoided the idea of ever attending AC like the plague!
ReplyDeleteYou have to live in a glass house, and people judge you constantly, and frankly, call you only if things are really going bad!
An article I once read about Pastor Depression and the other issues they face...
https://www.soulshepherding.org/pastors-under-stress/
This is Vic Kubik
ReplyDelete12.52 PM, with the financial cut backs, I have had to endure having champagne and caviar every second day rather than daily. Do you have any idea what a trial that has been? Truly we must enter the kingdom through much tribulation.
President Kubik's "personal trials" have included being born in a European refugee camp after World War II.
ReplyDeleteAnd, perhaps, dealing with the COGWA split 10 years ago.
Interesting that he wrote three articles for the current Beyond Today magazine. Has COVID-19 made it that difficult for the UCG staff to write articles?
"it is a tough job for sure"
ReplyDeleteTonto, I disagree. Many Christians are persecuted at their workplace to the point that their co workers cannot see them as human. People trying to mentally crush them is not uncommon either.
Dennis and other ministers are clueless about the real world. So many times when I talked to ministers I felt I was talking to a teenager. They have it comparatively easy, are spoilt and don't even realize it.
I don't really know Kubik but it is obvious that clowns like Flurry and Pack consider themselves as elite prophets that are worthy of whatever pay they deem appropriate, personal jets or whims they desire.
ReplyDeleteha...your cartoon sound good on the surface, but...
ReplyDeleteif you don't use scripture to define love, you can't use it to understand scripture....
man's definition of love is some touchy feely warm feeling about something to justify their position on a matter.....the perfect way to pervert the scriptures.
yes
ReplyDeleteOf course, like the Kubiks, all the commentators here have spent multiple weeks annually in working in extraordinarily poor countries in Africa like Malawi, serving people and raising funds for grain, providing critical water supply through specialized wells, and arranging for shelter and medical help. And also working in eastern European countries to arrange for relief and supplies over the years, as well as Latin America and other needy areas. Yes, I'm sure they pulled down big bucks for all of that, not to mention the matchless comfort of sleeping under luxurious mosquito netting at night to reduce the threat of malaria.
ReplyDeleteDear 8:19. As a UCG member, you must think we are all too stupid to know that Kubik has hardly ever done any manual labor in helping people in Africa or even eastern Europe. He comes up with ideas and has people do all of his dirty work. This is what he did while a WCG minister and still does it today. The peons do the work and he takes the credit. The appalling conflict of interest between his "charity" and his office as head of UCG needs to be separated or remove him from office. He can't do both.
ReplyDeleteI was one of those people Kubik kicked out of WCG because I wasn't going with the program. He did this to me and others while he sat there preserving his job. No2 is right when he talks about Kubik kicking people out while planning in the background to start a new church. Kubik has always been about the money, prestige and accolades he so desperately seeks.
ReplyDeleteAnon said: "Tonto, I disagree. Many Christians are persecuted at their workplace to the point that their co workers cannot see them as human. People trying to mentally crush them is not uncommon either.
ReplyDeleteDennis and other ministers are clueless about the real world."
Being a minister was near 25 years ago. And concerning what you think I know or don't know about the world, you are full of shit. :)
Excuse me while I laugh out loud at Kubik suffering! This ass kicked me out of the church because I did not agree with Tkach’s ever changing stories. I then lost my job because I worked for a man in the church. Getting disfellowshipped led him to terminate me because he was afraid of the church and what they might do. Later I found out Kubik bragged about telling ministers who wanted to leave WCG they should wait till because he had enough funding to keep their living standards in tact. Kubik is a disgusting hypocrite and a liar. I will never respect this guy.
ReplyDeleteDennis
ReplyDeleteYou have only been on one side of the fence, so how would you know? Your invalidation is typical minister behavior. Us little people have to present facts and reason, as did Christ, but the big people ministers only have to speak as oracle's and invalidate the little peoples point of view.
Once a minister, always a minister.
Dennis
ReplyDeletePeople assume too much on the personal level!
Recently at the fair, I assumed the lady with the chrystal balls and the accent was talking about my Summer, when she talked about Beer, hard work, study and taxes, then I realized she envisioned my previous life as a magistrate in ancient Sumer!
CNN brought tidings on earthquakes in the Carolinas.
I guess that too is too broad a sweep, to keep informed on the doings of the "Priests of Marduk."
nck
@7:26PM, your comment makes no sense. Did Dennis come out of his mother's womb as a minister? He didn't even grow up in the family of a WCG minister. He may have traits you don't like, and some of those traits may have been encouraged by his time as a minister, but your comment suggests that with more than enough issues of your own you really don't need to be attacking Dennis. Physician, heal thyself!
ReplyDelete