False.  The bible is full, from beginning to end, of warnings and stories of the false.  False prophets, false teachers, false Christs, false apostles, false leaders, false doctrine, false teachings, false beliefs, false spirits, false believers.

In the Old Testament, God warns of false prophets, and not only that, but gives his people a test they can use to determine if a prophet is false.  False prophets are predicted many times.  In the New Testament, Jesus warns of the leaven of the Pharisees' teachings, their false humility, and pretty near curses them to their faces.  He warns of false prophets and false Christs to come, that they will come deceiving, and bringing amazing signs and wonders to lead many astray.  He warns of blind leaders of the blind.  He warns even of a false disciple in his own midst, one that will turn the very Son of God over to a death sentence.  The apostles warn of false prophets, false teachers, wolves in sheep's clothing.  Paul warns the elders at Ephesus that ravenous wolves will arise from their very own group of men.  John warns us to not believe every spirit, but to test the spirits.  Jesus commends a church in the book of Revelation for proving that self-proclaiming apostles are false.

Not only are there numerous warnings in the bible about those who are false, there are numerous mentions as to what these false people will do and how they will do it.  We are also told many times what to look for to determine if somebody is false.  These are dire warnings, given with the most extreme urgency and listing the most horrible consequences.  And to finish this, we are not only told about other people being false, we are given lists of sins that we can be tempted with that will take us down the same path.

If you ask me, this is a pretty amazing thing about the bible.  Think about it, and see if you don't agree.  If you question this, consider the following.

What other human group, organization or philosophy - no matter how good the cause may seem - takes such pains to warn others of false deceivers that will arise from within its own system?  Do political parties to this?  Do the Republicans and Democrats warn the public, saying, "hey, future candidates and office holders from our party will take illegal campaign contributions, have affairs with interns, be involved in scandals, take bribes and tell lies, and here are all the signs to tell if they are doing these things"?  Whaaa, heck, no!  Are you kidding?  How about groups that are opposed to, let's say, sexual harassment?  Are these groups going to inform the masses that there are false victims out there that will make up false stories to falsely incriminate somebody to further the cause based on false pretenses, and here are all the signs to look out for in case somebody does?  Again, are you kidding?  How about the police?  They warn all the time about what criminals do and what to watch out for, and they occasionally warn about what to look for when somebody is impersonating a police officer, but do they ever warn about rogue cops and bad apples and corruption from within the department and how to discern?  I can't remember this ever happening.

The bizarre thing is that when there is a big name within Christianity that is proven to be a scam artist, child molester or any other false professor of the faith caught in some huge scandal, or some seemingly innocent group turns out to act like some cult, people act like they're surprised.  People take it as reason to blaspheme God, to claim the bible and its teachings are false, to slander good Christians, to dismiss the whole of religion.  Why would the bible be false because of such things?  The bible predicted it, after all.  We've all been warned.  And it's not like all of Christianity is sweeping all of these things under the rug like other organizations often do.  True, there are cover ups and hiding facts and things like these (which is all part of the false), and there have been large scandals throughout history, but there are also numerous organizations and many more individuals that spend large amounts of time to investigate, uncover and expose the false teachers and such.  The bible even tells believers to expose these things.  Historians point out such things from the past and Christian publications document things happening right now.

Heeding the warnings and avoiding the pitfalls will go a long way to keep from being false.

A Question of Authority

Recently it was suggested to me rhetorically that I don't think we should submit to church leadership, based on a point I was trying to make about the church.  This raises a question.  What is the extent to which a church leader can exercise authority and I be expected to "submit"?

It comes down to a question of authority.  Really it does.  What authority do church leaders have?  Do they have the authority to tell me what I can eat and drink?  Do they have authority to dictate to me what movies I can and cannot watch, or even if I am allowed to watch movies at all?  Do they have the authority to dictate to me which translation(s) of the bible I may read?  Do they have the authority to tell me just how much I need to give, and how much I need to give to the church - their church?  And do they have the authority to demand to see my paycheck to make sure I'm giving the correct amount?  Do they have the authority to demand that I believe every jot and tittle of their church constitution, confessions, creeds and by-laws before I am allowed to attend?  Do they have the right to have control over the who, what, when, where, why and how of using my spiritual gifts in the edification of others?  Do they have the authority to tell me I cannot blog about theology?  Do they have the authority to determine whether blogging about theology is biblical in the first place?  Do they have the authority to tell me what kinds of cars I'm allowed to drive?  And, do they have the right to not be questioned about such things?

If they demand certain of these things, and their demands are beyond the authority given to them by scripture, may I act contrary to them?  Is there a higher authority over my life in these areas than church leaders?

No matter how absurd any one of these questions may seem - or all of them together - they are real questions that a great many people have to deal with on a daily basis.  Sometimes discernment on these issues may take a great deal of time.  Sometimes people notice over time that "submitting" to these things as put forth by church leadership results in bruises, aches and pains in life.  Then they start to question.  They may actually search matters out for themselves and come to the conclusion that they have been led astray all along.  Did Jesus or the disciples submit to all the teachings of the religious leaders of their day?  No?  Then why expect it from the rest of us?

Pastors: Leaders or Managers?

My friend John Armstrong raises a very good question about the role and duty of pastor in his recent blog post Are Our Pastors Leaders or Managers?  He cites a Barna survey where only 8% of pastors see themselves as having the gift of leadership.  He sees a need for a radical change in how we view leadership in terms of leaders and laity.  I tend to agree with him.

He cites Ephesians 4, where leaders are given to the church not to manage it nor to do the ministry themselves, but to equip the saints to do the work of ministry.  Ephesians 4:11-13:

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

I'm convinced that this is a two-way problem.  How people in the pews view leadership is just as important as how the leaders do.  Of course, when people expect pastors to be managers and pastors see themselves as managers, then they will likely act like managers.  I hope this can be worked on from both ends.

What, Me - a Pastor - Worry?

In a recent blog post, Alan Knox at The Assembling of the Church notes some worries that other pastors have written about.  He discusses these worries and describes why these aren't worries for him (he's a pastor).  It has to do with how his church is structured.  Here are some highlights:

• I don’t worry about getting fired...because I was never hired.
• I also don’t worry about what I’m going to “preach” each week.
• I don’t worry about getting someone to “fill in” for me when I’m sick or when I’m out of town.
• I don’t worry about money and budget issues.
• I don’t have to worry about recruiting people to fill ministry program slots.
• I don’t have to worry about how much money people give.

These are some interesting concepts.  With this list, there's a lot not to worry about.  His post is fairly short, so give it a read.

Elder Rule and Control vs. Example

One time I was talking with a church elder about certain matters, and he described to me his function within his church.  He told me about the measures he took in "overseeing" all the activities there.  He and the other elders interjected themselves in the lives of other people when they saw something they didn't think was right.  They took painstaking steps to keep a tight watch on all that was being taught there, and he had a herculean task in protecting all the church people in deciding what literature and ideas they were exposed to, and what avenues were appropriate for the people discussing God's word.  It was like a large censorship committee.

I think this man may have been trying to impress me somewhat with just how time consuming and grave a matter it was in being an elder.  But as his descriptions of his duties unfolded, I was struck with just how much it sounded like he and his peers were trying to control the church.  His job wasn't so much about shepherding the sheep and endeavoring to bring God's people to maturity in Christ.  It was about preventive damage control.  It was more about making sure the electric fence had enough zap in it so that no sheep would escape and stray than it was about feeding and watering and leading.  My suggestion that elders that had such a grip on their church were practicing overlording rather than leading by example didn't sit well with this man.

I knew he learned all his leadership ideas from well practiced systems that other men had widely taught.  It was clear to me that people who thought for themselves and tried to make a difference with their own faith might have a problem under these men's watchful eyes.  But where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.  Too bad men like this are so suspicious of other Christians that they feel the need to control them.

Overlording: Usurping God Himself

In reply to the mother of the sons of Zebedee, who wanted her precious two to have political power in Jesus' kingdom, Jesus gives a lesson for all his followers:

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. Matthew 20:25-28

Sin is often described as rebellion against God, or to think that one's self is God in place of God. The self gets to determine what's right and wrong. One major problem with sin is that in order to be God, one necessarily must lord it over God's creatures. God is sovereign over his creation, and man asserts his sovereignty over God's creation in sin. A logical result of this is to lord it over other people. This is why Jesus points out how the Gentiles' systems of government include overlording.

In the ancient world, kings asserted themselves as deity and were worshipped as deity. Today it's the same, with variations on forms of government. But lording it over others is not part of Jesus' plan. His solution, as he exemplified it himself here on earth as a man, is to serve instead of to rule over. This applies to both politics and religion.

Israel's cry to God for a king like the other nations meant they wanted to worship man and to have man in control. They wanted to usurp God. Saul was the sad result. Today, we want the rule of man over man with our systems of government, both in church and state. And it isn't Christian. Jesus said so.
*28 - originally posted 01-28-10