WOLVES IN SHEEP COUNTRY
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A Christian friend related her experience at a church she recently visited while on vacation, and asked for my input (I will use the words “church and “churches” here in the most generic sense). The “church” at issue apparently fits somewhere within the so-called “Word of Faith” movement, a movement that among other things, emphasizes belief in extra-biblical revelation.
My friend was troubled by the pastor’s message, during which he “reminded” the congregation that they were subject daily to demonic attack, and that his church was the only true safe haven for them; that demons were unable to enter “anointed” churches such as his, but they were “waiting on the parking lot” to oppress people as soon as they were out from under his ministry.
My friend went on to say, “It seemed that this pastor was wanting people to believe they could only feel safe if they were within his church’s walls and under his guidance,” and that “throughout his message, he inserted himself over and over again as though he was their hope rather than Christ being their actual hope.”
The above scenario is becoming more and more common,, and isn’t confined to cult-type and “fringe” churches and ministries. More than a few good, biblically solid New Testament churches have been and are being hijacked by “certain men crept in unawares” who either are or are behaving like wolves in sheep’s clothing; using their positions to spiritually manipulate and make merchandise of the flock of God.
“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”—Jude 1:4
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.”—Acts 20:29
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”—2 Pet. 2:1-3).
More than a few good Christian people in otherwise biblically sound New Testament churches are under the ministry of predator pastors. These “pastors” are primarily identifiable by three things. The first is an obsession with micromanaging aspects of the lives of their congregants that are biblically, and quite frankly, none of their business. A second common denominator is the marginalization of any and all who threaten the dominion they want to establish and maintain over a church. Thirdly, such men demonstrate a penchant, (1) for wresting the Scriptures to reinforce their wrong positions and (2) consistently, in some way or other, calling attention to themselves in their sermons (See 2 Pet. 3:16 and2 Cor. 4:5).
“But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” —Matt. 20:25-28
The predator pastor problem is probably more common now than ever due to the practical disregard churches now demonstrate relative to the pastoral qualifications that are found in principle throughout the Bible, and that are specifically outlined in the pastoral epistles. (See 1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:7-9).
Here’s something to think about: The kingdom of God is succinctly defined as “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom 14:17). Every local church is intended to be an earthly expression of the kingdom of God, and should therefore be a place where an atmosphere of holiness, harmony and happiness prevails. Pastors who are submitted to the authority of Scripture and to the leadership of the Holy Spirit will endeavor to cultivate this reality and atmosphere in the churches they pastor.
Predator pastors produce pretty much the opposite of an atmosphere of holiness, harmony and happiness. Subtly and gradually (sometimes perhaps even unconsciously), they cultivate an atmosphere of fear, suspicion and tension, where people become spiritually co-dependent on them. They inoculate congregations with a spirit of exclusivity and hyper-criticism, sectarianism and bigotry; something Jesus condemned in the ministry.
“And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us. And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”—Luke 9:49-56
Predatory pastors consider people suspect, if not candidates for ostracism, who fail to dot every “I” and cross every “T” according to their preferences. They become increasingly narcissistic, egotistical, possessive, territorial, and dictatorial. They portray themselves as sticklers for truth while they suppress truth that conflicts with their agenda. They over-emphasize truth as it pertains to pastoral authority and minimize it relative to such things as the priesthood of the. believer and liberty of conscience. They are long on lording it over the sheep of the Lord’s pasture, but short on loving them.
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” —Matt. 22;36-40
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” —John 13:34
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” —Matt. 23:23
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” —Micah 6:8
Otherwise good Christians can, over time, become like the proverbial frog, carelessly remaining in water gradually brought to a boil that boils it to death. Predator pastors subject people to a self-serving, steady diet of indoctrination, pulpit intimidation and bullying interspersed with just enough of a semblance of love and compassion as is necessary to keep them off balance and under their mesmerizing ministries.
People under the “ministry” of predator pastors can eventually be made to forget that it is Jesus Christ and not their pastor, who is their Lord and Master and sole authority relative to what they believe and how they behave. And this, wherever it is allowed to happen, whether intentionally or ignorantly, is hazardous to the spiritual health of individual Christians and churches.
Individual believers and entire churches can, in time, lose their sense of spiritual discernment if they allow unprincipled, unscrupulous pastors or even well-meaning but wrong pastors to lead them captive and astray. They become like “children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph. 4:14).
Individuals and churches that allow themselves to be seduced into fearing their pastors more than they fear God are in trouble: “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the Lord” (Prov. 29:25, 26).
A wholesome fear of God is indicative of and indispensable to churches and individuals that are wise and submissive to God and His Word. But inordinate, servile fear of a pastor leads inevitably to, and is indicative of, people and churches that become witless, sycophantic and spiritually stupid; sometimes kept in such bondage for decades.
Pastors who practice the kind of predatory behavior described here may be wolves in sheep’s clothing who are intentionally, deliberately and calculatingly making merchandise of the churches they pastor for the sake of monetary gain and/or to gratify their egos (1 Tim. 3:3; Titus 1:11). They are men who lack a “fear of God before their eyes” that would prevent them from “not sparing the flock” (Rom. 3:18; Acts 20:20).
Sometimes predatory and otherwise spiritually toxic pastors are men who may not be, but behave like, wolves in sheep’s clothing because of their ignorance of, or careless indifference to, what the Scriptures teach concerning the pastoral office. These are novices whose ignorance, willful or otherwise, disqualifies them from serving as spiritual overseers of any flock of God (1 Tim. 3:1-6; 1 Pet. 5:1-3).
To be clear, there are men who have been called to the ministry who have “run well” for a while, but then have become predatory to one degree or another in their ministries because they have let themselves be “lifted up by pride” or in some other way have given “place to the devil,” and allowed themselves to be ensnared in “the snare of the fowler” (1 Tim. 3:6; Gal. 5:7; Eph. 4:27; Ps. 124:7); men who have experienced that which the apostle Paul greatly feared, and did all that he could to avoid; men like John Mark, who have unfitted themselves for service, but who can be made fit again (Acts 15:36-41; Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11).
The apostle Peter wrote in 2 Pet. 3:11: “Ye know what manner of men we were among you.” Churches need to know what manner of men they have among them as pastors. The Bible says that “he that is spiritual judgeth all things,” and, “If we would judge ourselves we should not be judged (1 Cor. 2:15; 11:31). Churches must exercise judgment and be honest in determining whether of not they are allowing men to serve as pastors who have either never been in the way, or have lost their way, in terms of being a true Shepherd.
It is biblical and reasonable that pastors not be excluded from the “judgment” that “must begin at the house of God” (1 Pet. 4:17). Probably such judgment should start with them (See Rev. 2, 3). Pastors should fear even the appearance of anything of a predatory nature slipping into their ministries. And, they should humbly welcome any biblically-based judgment or reproof of themselves (Rom. 11:13; 1 Cor. 4:3).
Sometimes sentiment for, or fear of confrontation with, predator pastors is prioritized over the welfare of an entire church family. Such sentiment and fear is wrong and seriously misplaced. It prolongs ministerial abuse in a church that has been hurt, is being hurt and will continue to be hurt by pastors, who instead of being removed are rewarded.
Christians shouldn’t assume that predatory pastors are only found in cultish, religious fringe groups. Neither should church members labor under any delusion that they are obligated to submit to a twisted, unbiblical concept of pastoral authority fabricated by a misinterpretation of scriptures such as Psalm 105:15: “Touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm” (This was addressed specifically to the heathen populations, warning them against any mistreatment of Israel).
Of course Christians are warned against doing anyone any harm, and should “esteem” their pastors “very highly in love for their work’s sake” (1 Cor. 6:3; 1 Thes. 5:13). But pastors are not exempt from the demands of Scripture or immune from church discipline.
Ultimately, it is the responsibility of every local church body—and particularly of God-fearing men, the “elders,” the male leadership, in these church bodies—to see to it that their churches are not subjected to the abuse and danger produced by a predatory ministry. Not to assume this responsibility makes people “partakers in other men’s sins” (1 Tim. 5:22); sins for which they will one day be held accountable (1 Tim. 5:22; Eph. 5:23).
The apostle Peter wrote of the need to “stir up pure minds by way of remembrance” (1 Pet. 3:1). These are days when pure minds need to be stirred up by way of remembrance of more than a few things. One being that pastors are meant to meet qualifications enumerated in Scripture, and be living examples of what constitutes biblical Christianity (1 Tim. 4:12). They should be men who exemplify the dispositions and attitudes enumerated in the Beatitudes, whose lives manifest the fruit of the Spirit, and who are obviously “giving all diligence” to “add to their faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity” (Matt. 5:13-16; Gal. 5:22, 23; 2 Pet. 1:5-7).
Pastors of churches are called by the highest Power in the universe to do the greatest, most significant and eternally consequential work in the world in the power of the Holy Spirit and motivated by love. It is no wonder that Satan would want to hurt and hinder churches—his greatest opposition on earth—by positioning predatory pastors over as many of them as possible. Churches with predatory pastors ought to consider their ways (Heb.1:5) and change their ways while they can.
The Good news is that Jesus has promised: “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).
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