The Man of God -- some non-Baptist answers :-)

There is a thread in the Baptist-Only area
regarding the "man of God," his definition, his job,
the extent of his authority, and Scriptures often
used by authoritarian pastors in order to keep
congregants under their thumbs.

I have had the sad but humorous experience of
dealing with such pastors -- in my case, some-
times little Hitlers who thought themselves to be
omniscient. :-D

One such pastor came to me in order to advise me
regarding an area of my life, and he had it so wrong
that when I tried to tell him what was really going on,
he would not listen, instead telling me, "I can read
you like a book." He was so far off-base that I had
a hard time after that just keeping a straight face in
order to save his.

When my son-in-law mentioned to a similar pastor
that he was seeking the will of our God in prayer
about a situation, that pastor told him he did not
need to pray; he could tell my son-in-law what
the will of our God is.

Same pastor, different young person: she men-
tioned that she was going to go to Bible college.
He told her that he would not support her going.
by that answer, she told him she was
not asking him to support her schooling; she was
just letting him know that she was going. His
response: "You don't need Bible school; I know
everything and can teach you."

To me, a man of God is not a preacher or a pastor;
a man or woman of God is one who seeks to do
His will. Too many pastors haven't a clue on this
concept and wish only to be, as mentioned in the
other thread, little kings.

The question was asked: how do you get rid of
such a pastor, when he has told the whole congre-
gation that he is not to be questioned. Well, like
us, you can get up and leave. Where we use to
attend two pastors like this in a row were success-
ful in dropping the congregation from @230 on
Sunday mornings down to @ 20 - all in 5 years
total. Now, they were powerful!

Thank our God for the real pastors, who have no
desire to be little dictators, who are interested only
in obeying our God and teaching Truth.

 

I really appreciate all of Pastor Larry's answers on
this subject (over on "The Man of God" in the
Baptist-only area). A pastor who takes the role of
dictator is a man who is nervous and unsure of his
place, who uses fear tactics in order to insure his
place, a man who desires lordship.

From what Pastor Larry says, it is likely that he has
the attitude of, "I am here to serve the Lord and this
flock, but if I have to do it by compromise, I won't
do it. I am not reliant upon an audience or a con-
gregation; push me too far, and I will get a different
'job.'"

Too bad we don't have more pastors like this and
some others on the board I could easily name, and
none of the little dictators.