For many years now, I have been troubled by some things that have occurred and are still occurring in my church. There have been times when I have spoken up in the past regarding some of these things, but lately, over the last couple of years I have remained silent for the most part unless talking with someone who feels the same way.
Today, I just did not have a good morning. So, when I got my family to church, I stayed outside in the little park area and spent the time reading the book of Matthew and praying. The words of Jesus we pure joy to me. The quiet and beautiful setting gave me a chance to focus and it was the best prayer time I have had in a while.
It came to me during my prayer that silence is not always golden. You see, I have voiced my concerns to other leaders in the church before and asked for advice on how to approach the minister about them. In many cases, I was told that the minister would not take it well, that he had problems and issues himself and that I probably should just be a good friend to him. I took that advice and kept my concerns to myself for the most part. The problem is, that the minister, with whom my concerns lay has never been made aware of them. Imagine, if someone could see that you were failing in a certain area and never told you about it. How would you ever know and how would you ever change.
As I read through Matthew I came to realize that Jesus would not have let this rest and he would not have been silent. He would have gone to the brother in a loving way and spoken the truth. So, I resolved to be like Jesus. I decided to go to the minister and suggest that we have lunch the following week, fully expecting him to make himself unavailable to me. In the past he has always been very busy when I have tried to speak to him. Yet, this time he was eager to get together and offered three different days this next week for me to choose from. We have a lunch appointment for Tuesday.
Will he listen? I don’t know. Will he understand my perspective? Once again, I don’t know. Will he be defensive and point out all my faults rather than addressing the issue? I have no idea. All I know is that if I never tell him I have denied him the opportunity to grow and I have allowed a negative feeling about my brother in Christ to fester in my heart. This is why Jesus told us in Matthew 18:15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over”. If he doesn’t listen, then there is more to that scripture that tells me how to handle that.
Scripture doesn’t just apply to the fellow who sits in the chair next to me during service. It applies to the deacons, elders and pastors as well and we should not protect them or insulate them from it. We are all equal in the eyes of God and it is to him that all of us must one day give an account. So, as the average “Joe Christian” is it for me to approach the minister about something I see in his character that is harming not only him but the ministry as well? Absolutely! Nowhere in Matthew 18 did Jesus make an exception for ministers. Be gentle, be loving, be kind, be generous, be Godly and then speak the truth as Jesus would.
Today, I just did not have a good morning. So, when I got my family to church, I stayed outside in the little park area and spent the time reading the book of Matthew and praying. The words of Jesus we pure joy to me. The quiet and beautiful setting gave me a chance to focus and it was the best prayer time I have had in a while.
It came to me during my prayer that silence is not always golden. You see, I have voiced my concerns to other leaders in the church before and asked for advice on how to approach the minister about them. In many cases, I was told that the minister would not take it well, that he had problems and issues himself and that I probably should just be a good friend to him. I took that advice and kept my concerns to myself for the most part. The problem is, that the minister, with whom my concerns lay has never been made aware of them. Imagine, if someone could see that you were failing in a certain area and never told you about it. How would you ever know and how would you ever change.
As I read through Matthew I came to realize that Jesus would not have let this rest and he would not have been silent. He would have gone to the brother in a loving way and spoken the truth. So, I resolved to be like Jesus. I decided to go to the minister and suggest that we have lunch the following week, fully expecting him to make himself unavailable to me. In the past he has always been very busy when I have tried to speak to him. Yet, this time he was eager to get together and offered three different days this next week for me to choose from. We have a lunch appointment for Tuesday.
Will he listen? I don’t know. Will he understand my perspective? Once again, I don’t know. Will he be defensive and point out all my faults rather than addressing the issue? I have no idea. All I know is that if I never tell him I have denied him the opportunity to grow and I have allowed a negative feeling about my brother in Christ to fester in my heart. This is why Jesus told us in Matthew 18:15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over”. If he doesn’t listen, then there is more to that scripture that tells me how to handle that.
Scripture doesn’t just apply to the fellow who sits in the chair next to me during service. It applies to the deacons, elders and pastors as well and we should not protect them or insulate them from it. We are all equal in the eyes of God and it is to him that all of us must one day give an account. So, as the average “Joe Christian” is it for me to approach the minister about something I see in his character that is harming not only him but the ministry as well? Absolutely! Nowhere in Matthew 18 did Jesus make an exception for ministers. Be gentle, be loving, be kind, be generous, be Godly and then speak the truth as Jesus would.
1 comment:
Thanks Antwane. I could not agree more.
jp
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