Ministers & Pastors – Part 1

Good day and thank you for tuning in to my latest column.

But, before I begin, it’s that time for some funny stories courtesy of https://godslittleacre.net/funnies/.

Kids Say the Funniest Things

A mother took her three-year-old daughter to church for the first time. The church lights were lowered, and then the choir came down the aisle, carrying lighted candles. All was quiet until the little one started to sing in a loud voice, “Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you….”

 One day a space shuttle crashed to the ground in the yard of a preschool. When he finally struggled out of the wreckage, the astronaut shouted, “I’m free! I’m free!!!” At this point, one of the little children standing there shouted back, “Big deal, I’m four!”

A Sunday School teacher asked her class, “Does anyone here know what we mean by sins of omission?” A small girl replied: “Aren’t those the sins we should have committed, but didn’t?”

Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old brother Joel were sitting together in church. Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had enough. “You’re not supposed to talk out loud in church.” “Why? Who’s going to stop me?” Joel asked. Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, “See those two men standing by the door? They’re hushers.”

On the first day of school, the kindergarten teacher said, “If anyone has to go to the bathroom, hold up two fingers.” A little voice from the back of the room asked, “How will that help?”

And, A three-year-old boy went with his dad to see a litter of kittens. On returning home, he breathlessly informed his mother, “There were two boy kittens and two girl kittens.” “How did you know?” his mother asked. “Daddy picked them up and looked underneath,” he replied. “I think it’s printed on the bottom.”

Fellow reader, do you remember the show, “kid’s say the darndest things and people are funny” by the late Art Linkletter. Here is a couple of facts and laughs from the Los Angeles Times– https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-may-26-la-me-art-linkletter-20100527-story.html

To many baby boomers and their parents who watched his daytime television show “House Party,” Linkletter would always be the perfect straight man who could ask a grade-schooler a simple question like “What does your mommy do?” and elicit this response: “She does a little housework, then sits around all day reading the Racing Form.”

That popular segment from the television show that aired from 1952 to 1970 led to his 1957 bestselling book “Kids Say the Darndest Things” and several sequels.

The idea to showcase children’s unrehearsed comments came to him during a conversation with his oldest child, Jack, after the boy’s first day in kindergarten.

Informed by Jack that he would never go back to school, his father asked why. Jack responded: “Because I can’t read, I can’t write and they won’t let me talk.”

The segment debuted in 1945 on the CBS radio version of “House Party.” When the show segued to television in the early 1950s, he sought out spunky Los Angeles youngsters who wouldn’t be intimidated by the trappings of an early TV studio. Linkletter asked local teachers to “Pick the kids you’d like to have out of the classroom for a few precious hours.”

One boy’s answer, when asked what animal he wished to be, provided the funniest response, Linkletter once told an interviewer. An octopus, the boy said, so that he could grab the many bullies in his school and hit them with his “testicles.”

“I’ve been around long enough to develop some insights,” Linkletter told the Orlando Sentinel in 2007, “Don’t retire, become a ‘seniorpreneur,’ keep a positive outlook, and maintain your sense of humor.”

A few ditties about a very funny man who interviewed children and made quite a living while making us laugh. Now that’s humor and honesty rolled up into one as comedians today could take some notes from this professional who elicited hilarious remarks from children.

Let’s take a biblical glimpse of a Godly minister or pastor and then ask yourself, is the minister or pastor of the church that you are attending a man of God or a false prophet?

As one reads the book of Revelation, turn to chapter 3: 14-17 (NIV) where Jesus says the following: ^“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

As you study prophecy, you can see that Christians have entered into the Laodicean period where the church has become bland, distasteful repugnant. The church, its members and the pastor have become lukewarm by being idle and indifferent and would not take a stand on God’s laws, commandments, statutes and judgements.

Jesus replies to those churches, its members and pastors— I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Pastors must awaken their flocks and preach about those who go thru life as half hearted and in name only Christians when it fits their situation. 

My wife is reading the entire Bible and has put forth a lot of questions to which some I can’t answer, but I try to explain that in the Old Testament, the focus is on the Israelites. 

As for the first human minister in the Bible, we are introduced to Aaron, brother of Moses and a Levite as shown in Exodus 4:14. Aaron was also a prophet as shown in Exodus 7:1, so Aaron wore many hats in the exodus of Egypt.

Confused, here is information for you to ponder—Deuteronomy 18: 1-8 (NIV) The Levitical priests—indeed, the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance. ² They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.

³ This is the share due the priests from the people who sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the internal organs and the meat from the head. ⁴ You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep, ⁵ for the Lord your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the Lord’s name always.

⁶ If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the Lord will choose, ⁷ he may minister in the name of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the Lord. ⁸ He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions.

When reading the above verses, do you see the correlations between the Levities and your minister today? Ministers like the Levitical priests are to teach the people the word of God and the way God wants each of us to live, ministers are to be the example of Godly living, ministers are to care for the sanctuary, the sanctuary workers and the congregation. 

Back in the Old Testament, the Levitical could not own property or take on outside business interests for they knew God supplied their needs, and that people wouldn’t take advantage of them.

Does your church pay the pastor adequately? Is he paid in accordance for his skills or the time he puts in? Think about this, pastors are expected to attend every evening meeting and this continual absence wears down and causes him and his family internal strife.

Yes, pastors have problems also for they listen to the good and bad from the congregation and have no one to share their problems, trials and conflicts.

Motivation is not momentary or just a feeling especially when preaching or leading his flock—motivation must be reciprocal for the congregation and the pastor preaching the gospel. Pastors need encouragement from the congregation as well as feedback when teaching the word of God. 

Does your pastor encourage you to read your Bible daily? Does your pastor put you to sleep or energize you when you listen to his sermons? Are you getting the milk of the word or the meat? Is your pastor genuine? Does your pastor dilute the sermon to please the congregation? Does your pastor teach about discernment between right and wrong biblically? Does your pastor accept bribes without realizing it? Has your pastor allowed worship to become a big business? Does your pastor provide you with sound doctrine or do they say what you want to hear? 

I base many of these questions off the reading of Micah 2 & 3 for we have pastors or ministers who are leading their congregation straight to hell. I would not want Jesus to say to me that he would spit me out because I was lukewarm and took no stand on Biblical issues.

I wish to answer more of these questions in the next part of the series, but I want you read the following from 2 Timothy 4:1-5 (NIV) In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ² Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. ³ For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Look at this passage closely for Paul is “spot on” challenging both pastors and the congregation. Timothy words resound today as to the day when He wrote these words. 

Pau lets each of us know that God and Jesus are omni-present and that they will judge each person whether living or dead when Jesus comes back to claim his earthly kingdom. 

Tmothy charges or requires pastors to preach the word and for all believers to be prepared at all times for no one knows when Jesus comes back to claim his earthly kingdom.

Pastors and the congregation are to correct, rebuke and encourage each other in the faith, but we are to do so with great patience, love and discernment.

Folks we are at the time where sound doctrine is not taught in the churches and the pastors are the culprit because they suit their own desires and desires of the upper clergy to the sect they belong to. 

As a result, the congregation will have itchy ears and turn away from the truth, thus becoming lukewarm Christians who will stand for nothing and fall for anything.

Man is stiff-necked and wants to follow the desires of his heart instead of listening and following sound doctrine from the word of God and pastors who are taking the responsibility to shepherd their sheep.

Paul ends by saying that Christians should keep their cool when jolted by people or circumstances for Satan and his minions will do all they can to jar you and your witness.

Paul gives each Christian, whether it be a pastor, elder, deacon, watchman, evangelist or congregation member words of encouragement for not only Timothy but for each of us and that is to keep fighting the fight for no matter how hard the fight, we will soon be with Jesus and discover was well worth the fight.

Don’t go away for Part 2– Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.