YOU ARE MAKING MY EYES HURT!

The new US National Team Olympic Weight Lifting coach?

Naw.  Just kidding.  But, what if this fellow was hired to such a position?  What would you think or say?  (I think we can guess)

Nobody and no Olympic selection committee, in their right mind would even consider a guy who looked like this, would they?  And, do you know why?  (come on, you know!)

Then, why do we consistently see guys who look like this in our church pulpits?

(This is not a real preacher;  just an exaggeration to emphasize a point)

But, these guys are real preachers…

And, we see way too many, overweight, tattooed,

sloppily dressed preachers,

lecturing and sermonizing the rest of us on how to think, how to act, how to live, how to have self control, etc.? 

(One Sunday, I visited a church, and the ‘very overweight preacher’ was lecturing about overeating!  He feigned embarrassment and admitted he had a problem with doughnuts.  Oh, really?  The rest of us healthy folks didn’t notice!  I did not return)

I am talking about preachers and pastors who are supposed to be representing Jesus and His Gospel, not some worldly image!

I thought, “maybe it’s just me?  Maybe …”  Then, I came across this article on The Gospel Coalition website, asking the same question:  https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/erik-raymond/so-why-are-pastors-fat/.

 

So, it’s not just me wondering “why”?  Why is this so prevalent?

• • • They preach self control, but they lack self control. 
    • They preach peace and love, but they don’t demonstrate the same thing. 
    • They preach being a good steward of the money God has provided you, but they and their church organizations are deep in debt with little or no reserves. 
    • They preach honoring your word but they and their church organizations frequently don’t pay their bills, walk off on bankruptcies, etc. 
    • They preach trust, faithfulness, honest and fairness, but they rule their churches and families like control-freaks and tyrants.

How do they get away with it?

YOU and ME!  We are the reason.  We stay at these church organizations and support this hypocrisy.  They may mean well, but good intentions are just not good enough!   They spread their personal brand of religion.  But, Jesus said, “they (hypocritical men) travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell (hypocrite) as yourselves.”

Are you thinking that maybe I am just full of sour grapes?  Well, check these articles and think again!

What if Jesus acted like you?

The Christian Betrayal of Jesus in America

Church Scandals and Abuse

SHIPWRECKED

Jesus model of ministry is this:

1.  He SAID the WORD.  He went about preaching and teaching the Word.  And AT THE SAME TIME…

2.  He SHOWED the Word.  He lived it out.  He live according to all that His Father has told Him.  He did this for us to see what that looks like – so we would imitate Him.

3.  He SENT the Workers.  He made disciples who then made other disciples, following the same model.

Many good men have followed and are following Jesus over the decades and centuries since Jesus was on earth, and some are still implementing His Plan of Salvation through Disciple Making.  But they are harder and harder to find.

So, now I am asking where have these men gone?  Where are the real “Men of God”?  Those men who will REALLY give all to Jesus and not just lecture the rest of us on “how”?

Share your view.  Do you know of a

(1)  Bible Preaching / Jesus Preaching Church and pastor 

(2) A Bible Living / Jesus Living Church and pastor 

(3)  A Bible based / Jesus centered Disciple Making Church? 

Tell us where!  Share you testimonies about these MEN and CHURCHES.  Please!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young