Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness

Matthew 23 is the chapter that contains the 7 woes. Verses 23&24 say:

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

The tenth was something I heard about at MFC all the time.  Tithes were by far the most important thing at that church. You ask me why do I say that?  Because it was what they harped on every week.  They may miss doing an alter call, but God forbid they should miss doing tithes and offering. 

Faithfulness was talked about at MFC, more specifically faithfulness to the pastor. But the pastor did not show faithfulness.  He turned his back on people in a heartbeat if they did not give him total submission.

Justice was something that didn't happen there.  In fact, the lack of justice exposed to many people, how rotten the foundation of that church was becoming.

They give mercy much lip service at MFC, but the reality is they don't actually offer mercy unless it is for the pastor and his family.  

Our faithfulness should be to God first and foremost. But I would not say that the church or the pastor of a given church would be second on that list.  Your pastor is not a stand-in for God. You should not allow a man to stand in that place, because he will disappoint you.  

Justice and Mercy may seem like polar opposites, but they are not.  Both of these must be carried out in love.  And both can and should happen together.  Justice involves someone else who has been wronged.  It is to show that they are the victim and every effort should be made to correct the situation as best as it can be. Mercy is for the person who has wronged and is used to help restore that person.  This is not to say there are no consequences, for there are. But mercy gives them a path to follow that can help to prevent a recurrence of destructive behavior.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a great time. I love getting together with family. I love the turkey and stuffing. I love the children running around and laughing and playing. I love being able to catch up with loved ones. I love the family traditions.

I love my family. And I am very thankful for them.

Lord, thank you for this time of year.

Martyrs

There is one group of people that I was never able to reconcile with the "name it and claim it" message or the "prosperity gospel". Martyrs! Let's think about it a moment. If God wanted us all to live these comfy cozy lives driving all these nice cars, flying in private planes, and never having to deal with the issues of life on earth, then why did almost all of his own disciples get martyred? How come they didn't live "the Good Life" and let others come to them saying' "WOW, you are so rich. How did that happen?" Former pastor used to always quote from Malachi 3:6 "For I am the LORD, I change not..." Well, former pastor, history does not bear out this gospel of greed, but the American Dream does.

Can we really look at the martyrs through the ages and say that they were just misinformed. Can we really look at the martyrs and say if only they knew Isaiah 54:17. They could have quoted it like 20 times really fast and would have been spared. Can we really look at the lives that were affected by their obedience to God even to the point of death and say "How sad that they were misinformed. God wanted them to live like kings, not die like dogs."

How come areas where Christianity is persecuted the most seem to be areas where Christianity is exploding the most, and here in America where we have this wonderful "revelation" about how God wants us all to be filthy stinkin' rich, Christianity is in decline?

Maybe God's definition of prosper is a bit higher than we have made it out to be. Maybe God's definition of prosper isn't talking about money. Maybe God's definition of prosper includes your soul and your spirit. Maybe God wants us to live out rich (in family and friends) and fruitful (in our obedience to God) lives.

You Must Give to Get

Something that I heard frequently at my old church was the phrase "You must give to get." This was always in reference to giving money and it was in order to get money, health, and material things. I still get a knot in the pit of my stomach thinking about how much money I did give at that church. How could I have been so blinded?

God gave us freely a way of salvation. We did not have to do anything except receive it. There is no penance required for salvation or forgiveness. How much more would we have to pay for healing? How much more would we have to pay for our needs met? NOTHING! Christ paid for our salvation and our healing. In Matthew 6:25-34, God promised us that if he would take care of the grass and the birds then he will take care of us. 1 Corinthians 2:12 says "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us."

Going back to the quote in Matthew, Jesus said that the pagans run after things like clothing. God knows we need food, clothing, and shelter. But we are commanded to seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. This does not mean that we play church. This does not mean that we try our best to impress our pastor. This does not mean that we follow man. This does not mean that we must give tithes and offerings. *Please do not misconstrue that last sentence as me saying we should not give money to the local church. This means that what God leads you to do, you do it. This means that you should search the scriptures to learn about Him. Spend time talking to Him and worshiping Him.

I think back about how the message "Give to Get" was preached and now I can't help but to think about Simon the Sorcerer who tried to buy the ability to lay hands on people and they receive the Holy Spirit. In Acts 8:20-23 "Peter answered: 'May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.'" I was like Simon the sorcerer trying to buy things from God. I was like the pagan running after material things.

I will say it again God gave freely. We can not do anything to buy it. Instead of being taught this, we were taught that if we were going to give 50 dollars we should give 100. If we were going to give 100 we should give 200, and on and on and on. At that point it does not become worship, it is coercion. They used intimidation to obtain compliance. They just called it "the double". It has become increasingly clear to me these past few months that the sermons I was sitting under for years did not focus on seeking after the kingdom of God but rather seeking after material things. Paul said in Philippians 3:18-19 "For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things." My mind was on earthly things, but I was taught to have my mind on earthly things by my own pastor.

Prosperity preachers, like former pastor, are constantly wanting you to give them money. They say it is because they are "good ground" for you to give to. Because God has made them to prosper. Well, think about this: It is people like you and I who have made these men prosperous. And you may see them give gifts to other prosperity preachers, usually ones more well known then they are. But it is rare to see them give the money to people who actually need it. It is even more rare to see a prosperity preacher reject an offering just so that he can show that he is offering the gospel free of charge. Paul did just that in 1 Corinthians 9. Where is the "good ground" in giving to rich men who give money only to other rich men?

Friend of God

One Sunday, while at MFC, we were singing “Friend of God”. We had a “special guest” minister in the service. And the special guest minister got up on the stage and had them stop singing the song. This minister looked out over the audience with a very upset look on his face. And he told us that we should not sing songs like that. Because we are not friends of God. We are children of God.

I seem to remember this guy telling us things that we should not do almost every time that he came to our church. I never left a service that he preached feeling uplifted or that my walk with Christ was better for hearing what he had to say. He was always bashing on the Baptists and saying things that would make you question if this man understood what love was. This minister was supposedly a prophet, although, I can't tell you one single prophecy that he gave that came true. I can think of some that did not come true... but I digress. Former pastor loved to have this guy in there so he came frequently. This morning was the icing on the cake for me.

Forget the fact that I actually liked this song, there was something really wrong with his statement. I did not know how to back up my belief though. After I left there, I very quickly found this passage of Jesus talking to his disciples in the NIV. It really helped to confirm in me how much I needed to be away from that place.

John 15:14-17
14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

By the way, after that Sunday morning we never sang “Friend of God” in that church again. That song became taboo. The way that minister handled that song was not out of a spirit of love or correction. Instead it was like so many other times, a spirit of control. It was the little things like this that they tell you not to do. So you do not do it - for them. But after awhile they begin to make the demands larger and larger until you realize that you are just like a little puppet on a string. You have bought their lies. You have given up your right to think and discern things for yourself. Some would call it brainwashing. Others call it cult-like.

So I have been sitting back thinking lately about my relationship with my father. Yes, I am his child. That is an obvious observation. But are we friends? Can a father and son be friends also? Well, if a father is abusive or neglectful then I don't think that the child will want to be friends with their father. Or if the child goes off on some wild tare and seeks to destroy anything and everything the father has worked towards, then the father will have a hard time being friends with his son. But most people, I believe, in time, become friends with their parents, at least to some degree. So why could we not become friends with God? God is not abusive or neglectful and all he asks of us is to love other people. That is the only qualification Jesus gives us.

Does anyone have any other thoughts on this? Can your son or daughter become your friend?

Characteristics of a Controlling Church

My Former Church was a very controlling church. In fact, I would call it an abusive environment. For someone who is in a different type of abusive environment then anyone outside the situation would tell them to run for their life. Growing up at this church I did not really know that any other church was different. Staying in a situation like this will wear you down.

It can be hard when you leave an abusive church, because you have lost trust in the pastor of the church. While you were there, you had built up the pastor in your mind and could have even gotten to the point that thinking a word from the pastor is as good as a word from God. So that lost of trust can easily leak over into your trust in God. Detoxing can be incredibly painful and involve many tears. If you are not careful then you can turn away from God altogether because it may seem like it will hurt less. If a person needs time away from church then they should not feel any condemnation from it. For myself I wanted to see what some other churches were like and I have seen good and bad churches. But I wanted to see how other places portrayed Christ. I also dove into the gospels. I used to read almost exclusively KJV, so I tried another, easier to read version. Turns out if you didn't know, there are many wonderful versions of the Bible out there. The reason I went to the Gospels was to really just pour over who Jesus was and how he lived. He didn't live like my former pastor at all. And many of the things that Jesus taught ran counter to the teachings of MFC.

Jeff VanVonderen wrote a wonderful article at http://www.spiritualabuse.com/ that I would like to share an excerpt with you. This is from his article called “When You Are Ready To Try Again: Going Back to Church”

In hurtful churches you find the following seven characteristics:

1. Power-posturing. Those in leadership positions spend a lot of time and energy reminding others of their authority. Authority is used to boss and control members of God’s family.

2. Performance preoccupation. How people act is more important than what’s really going on in their lives. People aren’t what is loved and accepted. Behavior is the most important thing.

3. Unspoken rules. How relationships function is governed by rules that aren’t said out loud, but in many cases these unspoken rules have more weight than the out-loud rules or even Scripture. The most powerful and damaging of all the unspoken rules is the “can’t talk” rule. This rule keeps the truth quiet because the problem itself isn’t treated as the problem; talking about it is treated as the problem. People who notice problems and confront them are labeled divisive and disloyal. People shut up and call it unity.

4. Lack of balance. There are disproportionate focuses and values placed on certain areas of the Christian life. For instance, you must agree that certain gifts of the Spirit aren’t for today or you’re labeled “unstable” or “deceived.” In other churches, if you lack certain spiritual gifts or don’t exercise the gifts in ways accepted by the group, you are considered a second-class Christian.

5. Spiritual paranoia. There is a sense that people, resources, and relationships outside the system are unsafe.

6. Misplaced loyalty. A sense of loyalty is built toward programs, things, and people, rather than toward Jesus.

7. Secretiveness. Certain information is deemed suitable only for those within the church or only for certain people within the church.

These 7 characteristics do not look anything like what Jesus taught. So if your church looks like this description I encourage you to run for your life. A healthy "grace-full" church is going to show the opposite characteristics. Jeff's article goes on to describe what to look for in your next church.

Re-Focusing

I believe that right now is a time of reckoning for the church. I believe that we have been letting in too much of religion and not keeping our focus on our first love, Jesus Christ. There is only one thing that we should be focusing on, “How can I best follow Christ?” Is that by trying to obtain things? Is that by trying to become powerful? Is that by tearing down others?

Think about how many of the disciples were focusing on those 3 things. Judas Iscariot? In the first few centuries of Christianity when the Roman Empire was so large, think about the Christians that you know of that were focused on getting bigger and better things. I can only think about the martyrs. During the Middle Ages, think about those Christians that were focusing on getting more stuff. Wasn’t that the corrupt Catholic/Anglican system that levied taxes upon people and killed people for owning a Bible? Think about the Renaissance, name those great Christians that focused on expanding their kingdom. I know that Martin Luther, William Tyndale, and Walter Milne did not. Think about America’s historical past and think about the Christians that have sought to become rich and powerful. Those circuit riders were not living it up.

Now think about today, think about the Christians that are focusing on getting more power and more respect. Think about the Christians that are tearing each other down, saying “You are wrong because you are not at my church or in my denomination.” Or “Evil will happen to you because you have left the covering of this pastor.” Think about all of the prosperity preachers.

Does this sound like the Christianity that has flourished through the ages? I would say no. On the contrary, I would say that I see a lot more of the Pharisees and the Sadducees in these things than I see Christ. We are fortunate to not live in a country that imprisons Christians for proclaiming Jesus. But that does not mean that we can forget the blood that was shed. There is no higher revelation than the revelation of yours and my salvation by faith alone in Christ. Now that we have that revelation we should be resolute in seeing that others are offered that revelation. If you have been attending any kind of prosperity church for any amount of time, then I recommend that you go back and look at the martyrs through the ages and get your feet back on earth. Do not keep your head in the clouds; there is not enough oxygen up there to sustain human life.

There was a time in my own life when I thought how misguided all the martyrs though history were, because God wanted them to be “over comers”. They could have had their best life then. It is through the difficult parts of life that we can prove we are a true follower of Jesus Christ. It was through the difficult times that Job proved he would follow God no matter what. Does God want you blessed? Yes, but not for you. Look at your neighbor that has been facing the hard reality of life in a fallen world. If we want to truly follow Christ, then we should give what God has blessed us with to those that really NEED it.

People of this world are hurting and dying without Christ. God doesn’t want you to kick back on easy street with your church friends, never venturing out to meet the people that God wants you to impact. Your church should not be an internal place. Jesus gave of his time, his knowledge, and his life to those who needed help. Jesus went to those that the Pharisees felt too important to go to, the hurting and the needy.

Who am I and Why Do I Hate K-Mart?

Over at Set Free there was a recent post about this topic and it is incredibly well written, I would recommend reading it before continuing with this post.

I have been thinking along this line for a couple weeks now. When I left MFC (my former church) I immediately quit dressing up for church. I always hated dressing up anyways. That just isn't who I am. But I did it because that was required at my church. As I stated in my first post I have started over in my beliefs in Christ. I am taking nothing that I have learned in the past couple decades about God from here forward. I learned before MFC that God loved me enough to send Jesus, his son, to die for me. So I am building from that foundation. For a bit of back ground MFC is a Word of Faith church, read that as a prosperity church... also, read that as a charismatic church.

I have begun to notice that I seem to have a whole lot more questions than answers. Which makes me think, "have I ever really paid any attention to what I believe or why I believe those things?" And I don't think I have. For years, I bought the company line - hook, line, and sinker. Someone recently told me about how years ago Former Pastor told the congregation to not shop at K-Mart because the clothes were not good enough. I guess everyone should only shop at Jos. A. Banks or Harold's or Saks. I don't remember this "sermon" as it happened while I was still a child, but that explains why I felt like I was doing something wrong when I bought my Christmas tree from there a couple years ago. Subconsciously, I believed that K-Mart was taboo. On a side note: To all of the K-Mart exec's reading this blog, I am sorry for that, and I have come to realize that I can change things I have a K-Mart not too far away. I will give you guys a second chance. Now I feel bad for thinking about how terrible it was for Sears to have been bought out by you.

This one example has helped me to see just how deeply my entire life was impacted by MFC, not just my religious beliefs. So maybe while some people can just sort the good from the bad, I am left standing here considering myself fortunate that I am not just walking away from God altogether. And believe me when I say the thought has crossed my mind several times. I feel great empathy for those who like me grew up in a church that was abusive like mine and choose to walk away from God. I believe Jesus put things pretty plain about his view of this in Matthew 18:2-6.
2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

More Questions

Here are some more questions that I had written around April about MFC. I hope to be able to discuss these questions somewhat individually in the near future. There are a couple of questions that I had that should have been huge red flags to anyone but a lot of these questions have just kind of built a case by sheer volume. My goal in this is that maybe, just maybe, one day, I can work through all of the torment that I have been through. And who knows maybe this will be a help to someone else. I also plan on putting some links to some very helpful articles and blogs that I have found. On to the questions:

Why have we always done things to "honor" former pastor? And most of the time these things are just so extremely extravagant.

Lately I have looked at former pastor's stuff and asked, "Is that necessary?" Is it right for the pastor of a church to live multiple times better of a lifestyle than 95% of his church? His living is made by their giving after all.

Not really a question more of an observation: The auction... Now that really grieved my spirit. Did they really need to hire a professional auctioneer to run an auction IN PLACE OF a Sunday morning service? Especially since they announced that it would not take place during the service or in the main sanctuary? For my personal thought on this see Matt. 21:12-13.

Now as far as counseling goes... When my wife and I went for premarital counseling it consisted of one question, "Why do you want to get married?" and one other requirement "Read this book". Others I have known who have gone for counseling about problems were told simply "get over it." Those unfortunate enough to be sick were told it was because of "secret sin". WHAT? Where is the counsel in that? Seemed like former pastor just wanted to get us in and out as quickly as possible.

People whom I have known and trusted for years as upstanding men with good moral character just disappeared without a word. Just cast aside like yesterday's paper. If they were leaving on good terms the pastor would have made a big fanfare for them, but instead these people are just disappearing.

We were in a building program, having recently moved into our new building, and shortly afterward letters went out to everyone to verify what they had paid in the pledge program. Former pastor told us these letters were not sent out begging for more but to verify what was paid because they had lost track. LOST TRACK! former pastor's family was in charge of that money. Where is that money?

I did not bring anyone to church with me for years, because I never knew what embarrassing thing would happen. For instance someone I know brought a guest to church with him. He was greeted at the front door not with a welcome but a comment about how his clothes were not appropriate. He never returned. Why have I been going to a church where I don't feel comfortable bringing someone?

Former pastor publicly chastised the youth recently on how to "correctly" "dance in the spirit". Those kids were still reeling from other recent events in the church. How could he ridicule them like that? They just wanted to worship God, but he had to kick them in their side while they were down.

These questions I had just helped to reveal a pattern that this church was not a healthy environment and I can tell you for sure that I had not been fed very much there for quite some time.

Questions I Had About my Former Church

I had a lot of things that I disagreed with about MFC (my former church). And while there is no perfect church, I began to think that these problems were common to all churches. Eventually things came to a climax and it was necessary for me to leave. At that time, around April, I decided to jot down questions I had asked about the church. Here are some of those questions:

Where are we helping the community, the region, the nation, the world?

Where is the accountability? Shouldn't ALL Christians have people they are held accountable too, especially if they are in full-time ministry?

Where in the Bible does it demand how I dress?

Former pastor demanded that people call him Pastor Doe (a pseudonym), even people that didn't go to the church. Where did God ever "require" that? What is so offensive about anything else? You know, Brother, Mister, etc.

Pulling an invisible lever made me feel stupid, and I refuse to scramble for a Pay Day candy bar.

Why are things so cliquish?

Why can we not continue a relationship with someone who has left our church to attend another? Are we not ALL the children of God? Are we not all ONE body?

Former pastor has recently been talking down about seeker friendly churches. Why? What is wrong about a church doing everything that they can to present the good news of Jesus Christ to everyone?

Do we really need a “tithe” sermon EVERY time before the tithes and offering are taken up?

Why is it more honorable to be the usher that opens a door for former pastor than to go help minister at a nursing home or prison?

Why are there no Bible studies? Could it be that they might lead to accountability? Could it be that former pastor can't completely control them?

Why does it seem that the stuff around former pastor's son seemed like a cover up? Is former pastor wanting to bring him back?

Why the nepotism? I understand it for a small church, but a church as big as MFC could have had much more qualified people working in these areas.

What on earth do they mean by "the Anointing"? I know Jesus was anointed (See Luke 4:16-21). For the sake of argument I will assume that former pastor is anointed, how does that seem to automatically be transferred to all of former pastor's family? If they are really anointed, why can't they be anointed elsewhere involved in other ministries?

More to come...

Why...

After having spent nearly 22 years in a controlling and abusive church I began to think that I was going crazy. Turns out I might not have been. But I did realize that it was high time to leave. So my family and I did. Now that we have left what do we do? I don't know, I didn't plan that far. Well okay, let's see what I can do to get my sanity back, or my now shaky walk with God.

So that is basically what happened in April of this year. I decided to get a new Bible and "start over" with my walk with Christ. I was a young child when I started going to MFC (My Former Church) and all I knew then was God loved me enough to send his Son to die in my place. Okay, so I guess starting over means, right back at John 3:16. I fairly quickly found that Jesus didn't look like the representation I saw from my former pastor. I also found that I actually enjoy reading my Bible unlike just a few weeks before. So this is going to be my journey of re-gaining myself and a long lost walk with Christ (even though I went to church all the time and did and said the right things).