On the Other Hand. . .

On Monday I wrote about a Pastor standing firm in His Biblical conviction. On the other hand, there is a Pastor in Tennessee who has been charged with stealing prescription drugs from the homes of those in his congregation while they were away. The news story says many of his “flock” are leery of talking with the police because he “is our Pastor and we love him.” (Yahoo News) Well, the last part of that has to be a good thing.

There is another “theft” going on in Churches all over the Country. Men (and women) who stand in the pulpit on Sunday morning and wax “inspirational,” or offer pop psychology, or polite moralizing, rather than the life-changing Word of God are stealing an opportunity from their congregation to hear Truth which the Spirit of God within them can use to transform their minds.

The Body gathered is a place where God’s Word, clearly and accurately proclaimed, is used by God’s Spirit to continually, in part, conform each Believer to the image (or nature) of Jesus Christ. When that opportunity is missed – because Believers are often unskilled in discerning God’s Truth on their own – they are robbed of a vital Spiritual experience.

Thievery, as pointed out in the first paragraph, will get you some time in jail. The latter kind of larceny brings the discipline of God into the life of both the robber and the robbed. Any real Pastor knows that!