Monday, November 22, 2021

A Compromising Ministry


The young man sat and told his pastor how he couldn't control his sexual urges. He was 18 years of age and explained to the pastor how he would convince his girlfriend to have sex with him. She did not attend this church but the young man did. Actually, she wasn't saved and he had met her at a party. They had dated for a while and, as he shared with the pastor, they began to have sexual relations. The young man told the pastor, "I know it's not right for us to have sex but I just can't help myself." The pastor thought for a few moments and then said, "Don't beat yourself up over this. It's natural for you to have these urges. Just make sure you're protected and the same goes for her. You don't want an unwanted pregnancy on your hands." And that ended the session and the young man went on his way believing it was alright to continue living in this sinful situation.

This is a compromising ministry; this pastor totally ignored two situations which the Bible speaks against. Sex before marriage is a sin and is known as fornication. The Bible also tells us in 2 Cor 6:14 that we should not be unequally yoked together. This can apply to personal relationships, business partners and other relationships. It doesn't mean we can't have unbelieving friends. But this pastor didn't even blink when this young man explained his sinful situation with him. Of course, this example is all fiction but these types of ministries do exist in the church and parachurch groups.

Now, first allow me to say that I'm not the expert on how pastors should or should not do ministry. That's God's job; and, I have made enough mistakes myself in ministry but I have always attempted to give advice and counsel according to what the word of God says. In saying that, I sometimes wonder if some Christian leaders have ever read the Bible. That might sound harsh and critical but when one of them passes off an open and obvious sinful situation like it never happened, then I have to wonder.

Years ago, when I was in my first ministry position, there was an unwed pregnant woman teaching elementary level Sunday School to children. I was an elder in the church at the time and when I became aware of it, I went to the senior pastor and he advised me to talk to her and explain why we couldn't allow her to teach children as an unwed pregnant woman. Well, I knew she had to be confronted and it had to be done in a loving and compassionate way. But I also knew there was no way I would be able to tell her she couldn't teach due to her situation without her getting upset. It didn't matter how deep the compassion was which I had for her situation or how the church was not condemning her, she was going to take this the wrong way. And she did. I tried my hardest, with the leading of the Holy Spirit, to make sure she knew and understood that we believed the Lord had forgiven her for this but she couldn't be in that position in children's ministry and displaying the evidence of her sinful act. I didn't judge her for her situation. If that was the case, I could have been held in judgement by many people for all the dumb stuff I did.

But I couldn't give in to the situation and had to do what I believed the Holy Spirit was leading me to do. All I could think of was a child asking her about her husband and her telling the child she wasn't married. (Actually, she wasn't even in a relationship with the father) It would have been very easy to look the other way and hoped that a child would never pop that question. But as new as I was in ministry and church leadership, I knew that her situation didn't align with the word of God.

While I was doing some church planting about 20 years ago, I was attending a church whose pastor I had got to know. We decided to attend his church until we got the ministry off the ground and up and running. It was brought to my attention that a Gay woman attended every service and always sat in the back row. I asked this pastor if he had spoken to her about her sinful lifestyle and if she had received Jesus as her savior. He told me she was not saved but she was there every service. I then ask him if he had ever considered that she might think she's in good standing with God just because she was always there. He told me he had not. So, at the risk of appearing like I was sticking my nose in his business, I told him he should explain to her she needed to be saved. He just looked at me and said, "I know I have to talk to her. I just keep putting it off." I told him, "Look, you have to say something to her. She thinks she's okay by just coming to church. You are cheating her of the opportunity to know the truth. She needs to be told she is living in sin and she needs Jesus. It has to be done with compassion and love and know she is not being singled out as a Gay person but a sinner in need of salvation."

I don't know if he ever confronted her. Maybe I should have confronted her but I don't think that would have gone to good. He was the pastor and she would have listened to him; she didn't know me and coming from a stranger would have just sounded like I was judging her and pushed her away.

There's no place for compromise in God's business and that business is telling people about Jesus and letting them know there is forgiveness for their sin and salvation available. In a church ministry, when a sinful situation is known by the pastor or those in leadership, it must be addressed. Church discipline is addressed in MT. 18 but so many leaders shy away from confrontation and are afraid of offending someone. It's better to offend a person than to allow them to fall farther and farther away from the Lord.

Allegorizing scripture and sermonizing it is popular among many pastors in the Church. I was taught to teach the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter and book by book. It is so much more distinct to read the verse or passage and then explain what the writer is saying than to tell a story about it. Expository Bible teaching is the only way to teach what the Bible is saying. Why was a specific word used? What was the culture of the time it was written? What were the customs of the writer or the recipients? I believe the best type of Biblical interpretation is Grammatical-Historical. Examine the grammar or the language and words and also the historical setting at the time of the writing. The process of word studies and original language as well as the historical and cultural setting of the time.

Far too many pastors sermonize the word of God and nothing is really learned about what the word really says or means. It is nothing more than a nice sounding story. And too many are centered around the social issues of our time. A passage of scripture can be used as a sermon and explained as the sermon moves along. But too many times a verse is read and then the sermon follows and has nothing to do with the verse which was read, or has very little to do with it. There will be times when a Biblical sermon is required and is determined by the Holy Spirit. But it should be delivered with an explanation of the scripture used as a basis. 

Allegories are good to use when explaining a situation in scripture in order to better explain what the verse or passage might be saying. It is a way for people to better understand. Jesus used parables which were stories relating to the current times. He did this repeatedly when speaking about the kingdom of heaven. An allegory is similar; it gives an example of something people can understand and makes the passage or verse easier to comprehend or understand. But it should never be used to take the place of explaining the scripture.

When allegories are used improperly or without explaining the passage of scripture, the truth of what the passage is saying is totally lost. When the allegory replaces the scripture, the Bible becomes meaningless and has no impact on what is being taught. At that point, the message becomes a feel good speech or, depending on the content, can be nothing more than a self help message. Of course, it all depends on what is being taught. But all too often in the Church today, and especially in the progressive liberal churches, a social agenda is the main topic. A church pastor who speaks from the pulpit and delivers a rousing speech concerning a social agenda or something with a political theme, is not speaking for God, the pastor is speaking for the people. 

Finally, there is one last item to mention. In the Bible there is what are known as difficult passages, or verses. These are hard to understand or even explain and some can't be explained. Only God knows why He put them there. Maybe the most difficult verse to explain or understand is 1 Cor 15:29 where Paul is writing to the church at Corinth about being baptized for the dead. There are and have been many different explanations on this verse and some who have simply said they can't give a definite meaning. I was always taught that if you don't know, then simply say you don't know. In the case of 1 Cor 15:29, an explanation of a possible meaning or what scholars might suggest is okay but it should be made clear there is no definite, rock solid meaning or intent of the verse. Unless of course, God by the Holy Spirit just reveals the absolute true meaning. But that is unlikely if God wants the verse to remain unknown in meaning.

The one thing I always considered wrong was to just pass over the verse and not give it any attention at all. If, after much research and study, the understanding or meaning cannot be found, then simply say that, "I don't know." Over the many years of scholars studying and researching, most of scripture has good commentary. With the tools available to pastors and teachers today, a dedicated servant of God should be able to study and research and be able to explain the Bible. The difficult passages will be there and it will take more time and study to get the answers but it benefits you first and then the people listening.

I want to mention once again that these are my own opinions concerning how ministries can be compromised when teaching the Bible or preaching topical sermons. I know many will disagree or have a different opinion. But the most important point to remember is when we decide to answer God's call to ministry, we have only one document by which we are led by and that is God's word, the Bible. When His word is skewed or distorted or even placed aside, the ministry is compromised. Always remember what the Bible says in James 3:1-2; not many should desire to become a Bible teacher because they will be judged by a stricter judgement. But for those who do ministry without compromising have nothing to be concerned about.

Bill Petite