Will All of The REAL Pastors PLEASE Stand Up! PART ONE

Will All of The REAL Pastors

PLEASE Stand Up! Part One

1.And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2.Son of man, prophesy against the Shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the Shepherds; Woe be to the Shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the Shepherds feed the flocks? 3.Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. 4.The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. 5.And they were scattered, because there is no Shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. 6.My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. 7.Therefore, ye Shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; 8.As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no Shepherd, neither did my Shepherds search for my flock, but the Shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; 9.therefore, O ye Shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; 10.Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I am against the Shepherds ; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock ; neither shall the Shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.  11.For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 12.As a Shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 13.And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14.I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 15.I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. 16.I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.  17.And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. 18.Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? 19.And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. 20.Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. 21.Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; 22.therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. 23.And I will set up one Shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their Shepherd. 24.And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. 25.And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 26.And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27.And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. 28.And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. 29.And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. 30.Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God. 31.And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel34:1-31).

Somehow or other, modern leadership within The Church has either lost its memory or lost its mind. Gone are the days when ministry was built & centred on the loving service of God’s people, in answer to what’s commonly known as ‘the call of God’. In those days, people thought twice about claiming that they were called to the ministry & those already in places of service, went to much greater lengths to see those callings confirmed, than people are willing to go to today. Ministry meant sacrifice, discomfort, late nights & early mornings. It meant spending hours in study & prayer, when others were enjoying leisure activities & kicking back. Sometimes the called were labelled as being a bit weird or super-spiritual because of their preoccupation with the things of God, but this was a badge of pride for those whom The Lord’s hand was on. ‘And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron’(Hebrews5:4).

One of the Pastors of the fellowship I belonged to when I was first saved at 13 years of age, was a man by the name of T.U. Thomas. We loved Pastor Thomas & he loved us too. He even looked a lot like the Pentecostal preacher John Graham Lake. My Pastor had such a vision of Christ in the Scriptures & strove to impart that to us whenever he taught, telling us that The Bible was more important than any other Christian book, no matter how well written or informative some books were. He was also a man of deep consecration & prayer, who studied constantly. I remember him being particularly accurate with words of knowledge, as well as tongues & their interpretation & there were times during services when someone would give a word from The Lord & Pastor Thomas would correct it when necessary, having received the same word in his heart.

I often went to the ‘faith home’ that he & the other ministers lived in, to iron his shirts & wash the car, just so that I could be around him & speak to him & Pastor Thomas would always lovingly oblige. Most of the time his conversation would answer some of the questions that I had, without me having to ask & on one occasion he told me quite clearly that The Lord was calling me to ministry. I knew this & had known it for some time. I was now 17 years old.

The example of pastoral ministry that was lived out before me was a far cry from the one I later embraced, but as I look back almost 30 years I can see that it was more biblical than that of modern ministry today. Pastor T.U. always said that one’s life was ultimately more important than one’s ministry & he was so right. He has since gone to be with The Lord, but the things that he said to me have remained with me.

For the best part of a year, I prayed constantly that The Lord would show me clearly what He was calling me to do. I somehow sensed that I was called to be a Pastor but I couldn’t honestly say for sure. I started with what I knew I wasn’t called to do. I knew that I wasn’t called to be an Apostle. I also knew that I wasn’t called to be a Prophet. I settled with the fact that whatever my calling was, it was to be a servant of God first & foremost.

There’s something sensible about making a consecration to Christ because it moves you out of His way & allows Him to do what only He can do in your life (Philippians2:12-13). I prayed as much as possible & waited with all the patience I could muster & one evening The Lord spoke to my heart. One very simple sentence. Ezekiel 34 is your ministry.

I got up from prayer & took my Bible, opening it up & finding the book of Ezekiel. When I read chapter 34 I couldn’t stop myself from bursting into tears, partly in gratitude & partly because of the nature of the chapter. You see, not only does the chapter speak about the coming of the true Shepherd of Israel, it also reveals the state of modern ministry. I still read that chapter often & I look at the state of The Church & it still brings me to tears. The chapter also addresses believers, the sheep of His pasture & there are some stark words of warning there. I believe that now, more than ever before, we need real Pastors to Shepherd real sheep.

Of all the ministries that serve The Church, the Pastor is the one who will have the most contact with the people. I’ve heard Pastors described in derogatory terms in times past, portrayed as a type of wet nurse or wiper of noses. However, this is not the picture that Scripture paints. The Pastor holds a responsibility that [in my opinion] is very noble indeed. However, a significant number of men who describe themselves as being in pastoral ministry, are not Shepherds; they’re rustlers. When The Lord stirred Ezekiel to prophesy against these men, He may very well have been speaking directly to those in current leadership, but His words echo very loudly today. ‘Woe be to the Shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the Shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock’ (vss.3-4). Jeremiah makes a similar proclamation when prophesying concerning the return of the remnant, saying, ‘Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord. And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. And I will set up Shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.’ (Jeremiah23:1-4).

Both here, in Jeremiah & in Ezekiel, The Lord makes it abundantly clear that He will raise up a true Shepherd. This Shepherd ought to be the model for all pastoral ministry because the care of the flock of God is paramount in its importance to Him. Throughout Scripture, God erupts with fierce anger towards those who abuse the sheep & yet time & time again we see those who either haven’t learned this lesson, or just don’t care. They don’t have a Pastor’s heart & I believe that this quality is the very first indicative thing that The Lord deposits in a man’s life when He calls him to feed the flock of God.

And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a Shepherd: and he began to teach them many things (Mark6:30-34).

And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no Shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest (Matthew9:35-38).

And Moses spake unto the Lord, saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no Shepherd (Numbers27:15-17).

The Lord always wants a man set over His congregation so that His people are not like sheep who have no Shepherd. However, in these days, the Pastor’s role has been redefined, as have other ministries within The Church & the Shepherd is no longer the servant of God’s people; he’s their ruler. This is not the model that Jesus gave to us. This is not the example He set. This is not pastoral ministry. If a man isn’t moved with compassion towards his flock, he’s not a Pastor.

The harvest is plenteous. The labourers are few. This is true because there are very few genuine Pastors in The Church. They’re outnumbered by those who eat the fat, clothe with the wool & kill the fed. They rule with force & with cruelty instead of serving with gentleness & kindness. The new breed of minister runs his church & drives his congregation, he doesn’t lead, ignoring the admonition of Scripture & the model given by Christ. 

30 years ago, when I foolishly embraced the Charismatic Movement, it was this new model of ministry that was on display. Little did I know that it was diametrically opposed to everything ministry was meant to be. The Church was big business & business was booming. Gone was the humble servant of God & man, with a handful of people he’d probably won to Christ himself & discipled personally. Now we had Pastors who were heads of corporations. Their church memberships were in the high hundreds & even into the thousands. They lived, breathed, ate & spoke faith. This was the key to their success.

Along with their positions came the relevant accoutrements. Property. Money. Cars. Jets. Property. Money. Did I mention the property & money? I think I did. You see, being a Pastor now meant a regular income, recognition & relative comfort, especially if you hammered your congregation with teaching on Tithes & Offerings. From this regular income, a salary is deduced as well as bonuses & several other benefits. There was also the added enhancement of paying no tax whatsoever, with charity status being awarded to most [if not all] churches & believe me, charity definitely began at home.

We were assured that this was all good though, God wanted to bless us all & as one preacher famously stated ‘when God wants to bless you, he makes your pastor rich first’.

Within the fellowship I had joined after leaving Pentecostalism, there were 6 Pastors overseeing a congregation of about 1000 people. The Church had been much larger but when the financial information came to light a lot of people walked out & rightly so. With fewer attendees, you’d think that belts would have been tightened. However, the smaller & poorer remaining members were squeezed for more money so that the leaders could maintain their lifestyles. They were not moved with compassion; they were filling their own bellies.

The first of many questions for me was a simple one; just where did The Church get its model for ministry? Did it come from the world or did it come from The Word? That’s a rhetorical question.

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell (Genesis4:1-2).

When Adam sinned against God, he was told unequivocally, ‘..Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field: in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return (Genesis3:17-19).

Cain took after his father in that he tilled the ground & out of this cursed environment he brought an offering to God. Cain took his model from the world & wanted God to bless it, but God would not & did not. Cain’s actions were those of a belief system that constructs its own doctrine, its own traditions, its own rules & its own worship. The Lord does not have any respect for this; ‘..but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect..’. If you take your model from the world, God will not recognise you and He will not recognise your works. God testified of Abel’s gifts, not Cain’s (Hebrews11:4).

But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah (Jude10-11). 

The way of Cain, which is always proliferated by those who are ‘tillers of the soil’ & not those who are ‘keepers of sheep’, reveals exactly what false Shepherds are doing n & to The Church. Beware the way of Cain & those who are in it.

His brother Abel differed, in that he followed the sacrificial model God had instituted after our foreparents sinned. Abel was a keeper of sheep. He was a Pastor who pleased God with what he brought to Him. It’s impossible to be a Shepherd without giving your life & time to & for the sheep. Abel & the gifts he presented to God, ‘the firstlings of the flock & the fat thereof’, are a model of God’s will & God’s way. This is why God had respect to him & to his works. Abel didn’t go the way of his natural father, Adam. Abel went the way of his heavenly Father, God. Cain went the way of the world. Abel went the way of The Word. Modern ministry, for the most part, has gone after the way of Cain.

During the 1990s, I remember being part of a conference about how churches ought to be set up. There were classes on administration, charity set-up et cetera. The videos we watched, sermons we listened to & books we read all told us that there was no real biblical pattern. We were all enthralled by stories of men who had started Bible studies in their lounges with a handful of people or family, they had seen these meetings grow to the point where a facility had to be rented & then eventually a building was either built or purchased. This was standard operating procedure for Pentecostals & Charismatics.

What we weren’t told about, were the ministerial discussions held behind closed doors, the shady [legal but unethical] deals done under tables or any of the agreements reached in backrooms. You see, although the meetings we all attended were called ‘Church Planting & Missions’ conferences, the truth is that they were that in name only. After the way of Cain, churches were being built after a business model just like the world. The Pastor was no longer a servant of the flock, he was now a CEO. As the head of a corporation, he would live, dress, earn & speak as one.

This was the offering that was sold to The Church & one which The Church gave itself to wholeheartedly. However, a vital part of proceedings was overlooked entirely; God’s approval. It’s one thing to offer something to The Church, but quite another thing entirely to offer something to The Lord. The popular messages of ‘faith’ & ‘prosperity’ were sufficient to attract the attention of the sheep, but sheep aren’t the smartest animals on the planet. What counts is whether God has respect for & gives recognition to us & to our offering & the only way that happens is when we do His will in a way that He prescribes. Abel, the first Pastor, learned this & was faithful with it. Cain was not & murdered his brother.

Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous (1John3:12).

What Cain did was all about him but what Abel did was all about God. As I stated earlier, those who are genuinely called will happily forego whatever temporal pleasures & benefits they have to in order to answer & obey God. But those chosen to be Shepherds of His flock have to have a heart for God’s people, a heart that only The Lord can give to them. Those who have gone after the way of Cain have no heart for the sheep whatsoever. Their agenda is selfish; it’s all about them.

In Ezekiel’s prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel, The Lord’s concern was that his sheep were fed, recovered, healed, restored & protected. They were to be cared for lovingly despite their tendencies for straying & entering difficulty. Instead, these men were taking advantage of the flock of God, feeding themselves, clothing themselves & enriching themselves. This happens when the false Shepherd sees the flock as his & not God’s. This man doesn’t see himself as a servant; in his mind he’s a master.

As such, everything he says & does is a means to an end that has nothing to do with the needs of the sheep & all to do with maintaining his position & his possessions. The people in his congregation pay his salary & that of his wife, even though she probably does little or nothing. They pay for their house. They pay for his car & that of his wife, even though she does little or nothing. They pay all of their bills, provide them with benefits & bless them with gifts for birthdays & Christmas. How nice. Yet this man doesn’t care for the flock. all he wants is their attendance. He wants their tithes & offerings. He wants their custom.

End Of Part One

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