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Warm Hello's and thank you for letting me join. I found this group in search. I am asking the Lord to ( fill in some missing wholes ) in my understanding of authority & leadership in the body. This will be a topic that I have approached many leaders about, watching their eyes gloss over, and tap-dance through the talking points.
Let me start with a simple example, which I experienced at 19 years of age, and about 1 year in the Lord.
I am gathering for a bible study in the home of a middle-aged married couple. The leader/teacher is their cousin, recently moved into town. He is a man in his late 50s. He is also very "high-testosterone", and compared to me, very knowledgeable in the word.
I had known this couple for many years, and was now attending an Assemblies of God church regularly with them. I had received the Gift of the Holy Spirit about 6 months prior, which was one of the things openly valued in this AOG church. I had watched this older couple seeking the Baptism during church services.
A few minutes before everyone comes to sit down for the bible study, I am alone with the sister, and I ask her the question.... How are you feeling about the Baptism in the Spirit? Her answer made me guess she did not want to talk about it, and we quickly changed to a different topic.
Little did I know she is furious with me for asking this question, and before the teaching starts she angrily points to me and says "Brother D doesn't think I have the Baptism in the Spirit!" My jaw drops. Immediately the leader points his finger at me and calls me satan. I am now totally lost for words. GET OUT!! He yells. I try to speak, but he will not allow me to say one word. GET OUT SATAN....... NOW!!!! He forces me to leave, not allowing me to say one word. I am excommunicated from the little bible group, being branded "the worker of satan". By God's grace, I am able to recognize bruised pride, religious flesh and high-testosterone, and I 'm not devastated by the incident.
As a believer becomes familiar with the word, abuse by the world and those who hate Christ becomes a recognized theme. But God's people are all too often not prepared for how to handle abuse when it comes from those we look up to, and trust. We are drawn to Christ by His great Love for us in the face of our total sinfulness, and we carry this innocent expectation with us as we bond with those who have walked with Him longer than ourselves. And because we are not prepared, we can be blind-sided. We can be seriously offended. We can be devastated. Satan, who tirelessly seeks to corrupt our perception of God's true heart, wins one more victory.
Over the years, I have seen various instances in various organizations where those office'd to serve "God" to the saints, serve "evil" instead. Hiding behind: "the doctrine", "the anointing", "the spiritual foot washing", etc.. etc... etc. any spiritual-looking fig leaf they can find to cover their nakedness.
I have heard all of the pat "good-ol-boys-club" answers from ministries, who are mostly interested in covering their behinds. Babylon operates this way. When a manager in a corporation abuses an employee, the company will circle-the-wagon-train to protect the manager. Their logic is: The ministry is more important than one or two stumbled believers. Let the believer fall, we will protect the ministry. What they are really thinking is... when its my turn, they will circle-the-wagon-train for me.
So here is my search. I am look for thorough teaching material for the believer on standing and growing in God, in the face of ministerial abuse. Your thoughts, suggestions very much appreciated, Thanks Duane
Not sure what you are looking for exactly, but the best way to stand and grow in Christ is by getting to know Him better--or, should I say, in truth. Perhaps you are turned-off by the use of the word "doctrine" but it truly is not a "dirty" word as some suppose. Christian doctrine can simply be the teachings about Christ.
One way to know Christ better is to experience His suffering. This may be practiced in your life by self-denial. Not everything we eat, read, hear, do, think, or say, is best for us. We need to learn self-denial in this age of instant-gratification. We may feel that giving up something that is not best for us is like plucking out an eye. But "It is better to enter into heaven without an eye than to enter into hell with your whole body." After all, what is the body?
Another way to know Christ better is to walk in His steps. Will to do His will and not your own, then pray for power to obey. Today we ignore God's will and follow feelings. We think we are led by the spirit when in reality we are led by our own desires. We would understand this if we only studied to know God's will. God's will is that we love each other. We cannot love our neighbor when we lie, steal, hate, covet, dishonor, or lust. Yes, this does come from the Ten Commandments. Sound old fashion? Some would say so. But the NT does support their adherence for us today. "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Galatians 5:14, Romans 13:9.
We pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Does God give the Holy Spirit so that we may continue in our sins? Or, does He give it to those who are determined to free themselves of slavery to sin so that they may be the servant of Righteousness? The answer is obvious. Yet, here are a few scriptures. "And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him." Acts 5:32. "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied." 1 Peter 1:2
Is this how you see it? Were you looking for something else? I think as you begin to practice these principals in your life you will come to appreciate what Christ has done for you in a greater way. And, in this way you will also grow up in Him. We cannot know God unless we also keep His commandments. "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." 1 John 2:4.
Quite simply, obedience to all of God's commandments should be the fruit of evidence that we have been baptised with the Holy Spirit. Speaking in tongues is coveted highly but how many covet to glorify God by doing His will? "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16. Is there any other way to glorify God than to show the world that we highly prize His righteousness above our own lives? Let us suffer loss, then, rather than deny or Lord or disgrace His name.
This is how I see it. Though many may disagree with me I think that scripture supports my position.
Colossians 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
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No abuse coming out of these churches surprise me, even the Assembly of God. We've all been programmed the same way, we are programmed to think that an older person in church should know how to act. That they should be nice to us. That they should know all the right answers. That we have to listen to them. It is the consequence of having about 3 or 4 generations now coming out of some churches that have really fallen away now. Who is there to tell people the truth? Who's there to tell them you don't have to look to others? And the number one question is who would like to beat people down so they wouldn't possibily learn the real truth? That would be the devil, of course. So he has worked in all of our lives to abuse all of us while in the church system. To try and tear us down and totally destroy before anyone of us would even have the possibility to discover the real truth. His aim is not have any one know the truth. What other better way than to work through people to hurt and abuse and make them bitter against the church and God?
To find the real truth is a lonely pathway. If you're looking to others to find it, you might find 1 in a 1,000 that may help you, while you endure what the other 999 will do to you. I think I'd sooner not search by using people!!! But I am grateful to the few that have helped along the way.
I came to know the real truth when I was 26 years old. I struggled with the fact that I knew there were people around me as much as 100 years old that didn't know what I knew. Age has nothing to do with it. How long a person has been around doesn't have anything to do with knowing the real truth. I knew a bunch of older people that totally rejected what I was saying as a much younger person and I still feel sorry for them today. Some wisdom doesn't come through age. It didn't with Jobs friends, his youngest friend was his greatest friend in the end.
The greatest help that I have in giving someone to find the truth is just use your common sense. The bible says that a grapevine can't bear figs. A good tree can't bear bad fruit. Simple commone sense is the greatest tool we have because the bible says that things will be so bad that it would even decieve the elect of God.
Live your life everyday with what God brings into it, seek for more truth, seek to know what is really going on. Really it is very simple, Satan has set up a false church system (how ingenious on his part, but unfortunately for him it failed) and he would still like to keep those coming out of the churches decieved by any means he can including errors in the homechurching circles.
I think in the end it will be as the bible says, those who have their lamps filled will be the ones that go in when the bridegroom comes. Make sure your lamp is filled and be watching, that hour is soon to come.
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