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Did You Hear About This?
By Lafe Tolliver
Guest Column
When people come to me and are disillusioned about the
current state of the local church and they want to know how
they can spot a local assembly that seems to be on the up
and up but they do not want to commit to it unless and until
they know something of its inner workings, I tell them this:
By their fruits you can spot and smell a phony church
which is producing bitter grapes or brackish water and is
engaged in religious nonsense and buffoonery and, on the
flip side, a church that is legit and authentic.
Yes, sad as it is, there are church bodies that exist
for reasons other than the primary purpose of the
propagation of the Gospel and to humbly disciple men and
women.
In my decades of attending various church assemblies
and storing up a considerable library of books that speak to
the same issue and being able to discern between a wolf and
a true under shepherd, I offer below my personal top seven
“Bewares” so that you can discern for yourself what is
happening in a church fellowship with which you are
considering being affiliated.
Will my list touch upon every possible scenario that you
could possibly encounter in choosing what is known as a
“church home?” No, but it is a good starting point
especially for a novice who, as of yet, is not yet versed in
the bog of “churchy” sounding words or church politics.
So, here we go.
Beware One:
If you go to a local church assembly and their main focus or
emphasis is on separating you from your wallet or purse.
Watch out! You are in the company of money hustlers who will
use any means possible, including guilt trips, to have you
get in their $100 giving line or the $25 giving line. They
will merchandise you without a qualm.
Why do they do it? Because they can! Because the
sleeping sheep in that church are without any discernment as
to what the Word of God says about giving. They may stay due
to family ties, out of peer pressure or are just too lazy to
go elsewhere.
If there is a steady drum beat of give … give … give
until it hurts or you are pressured to give for any and all
occasions created by the pastor and there is no transparency
as to where the money goes or who gets it … run for the
door.
Even if you have to leave your coat or hat in the pew,
just run. Run like someone just set your pants on fire. Run
like your life depends on it.
Matter of fact, because of your running, you should
have many bruises on your arms and legs as they were hitting
chairs and pews on your way out of the door.
Clear enough?
Oh, by the way, when they preach that gambit that you
are under a divine obligation to give a weekly or bi-weekly
tithe (one tenth of your gross income), run even faster
because tithing is not required under the New
Testament. Joyful, freewill and glad giving is. Any pastor
that says that the tithe is your guaranteed ticket to
wealth, health and favor with God doesn’t have two working
brain cells.
Beware Two:
When you attend a church meeting about the business of the
church and you have questions but are discouraged from
asking them and are given the “evil eye” when you are
seeking transparency and wishing to avoid doubletalk in the
decisions that are made … run. Run like a crazy man (or
woman) until you reach the parking lot and are peeling
rubber to get away from that cult.
If you want to see the financial records of the church
or its minutes and you are told that you are not a leader or
an elder or a deacon and thus those records are not for you
to see … run. Run like someone is about to throw a
five-gallon pan of super hot grits on you. Run, fool, run!
Beware Three:
If the fellowship you are considering has a pastor or a
leader who is always speaking from his subjective
experiences or from the news headlines or from a popular
book on human potential or is always giving a feel-good
sermon but with no biblical basis for the text … run. Run
like you just came upon a mean hungry bear with her starving
cubs and the bear eyes you like her next snack.
Beware Four:
If the fellowship you are attending or plan on attending
wants to give you a list of do’s and don’ts which includes
mandatory church times, seeing your paystubs, telling you
whom you can see or not see, regulating your free time, whom
you can or cannot marry or what holidays you can celebrate
or not celebrate or having you stand up when the pastor
enters the sanctuary … run. Run as if you were just poisoned
and you are running to a local hospital for an antidote.
Beware Five:
If you study the Bible and have questions as to what you
heard from the pulpit and it does not line up with the Word
of God and you go to the speaker with your concerns or with
gentle corrections, suggestions or input and you are shown
the door on the basis that you do not “touch God’s
anointed”… run. Run as if you just learned that your
daughter is drowning in the next door neighbor’s pool and
you can hear her calling out for help!
Beware Six:
If you attend or think about attending a local fellowship
where you are expected to give deference to anyone who has a
title and not question his “authority” or you see the local
leadership giving preference to those with money or those
with degrees or titles … run. Run as if you just saw three
giant pit bulls running at you and they ain’t wagging their
tails! Run, fool, run!
Beware Seven:
If you are considering a
church that has a First Lady (if there is a “first” lady
then there has to be a second or a third lady and, by the
way, there is no such title or office in the Word of God) or
the church has a female co-pastor (again, pure man-made
fiction with no scriptural support), slowly, but smiling all
the time so as not to cause any undue suspicion alarm, move
to an exit and then bolt for your car, never to return. Run
as if you are being chased by a headless horseman.
Well. There you have it. A partial list of what to watch
out for since so much of the world’s corrupting influence
has entered and captured the church that sometimes you
cannot tell one from the other. Now, you can with my Beware
List! And it’s free! Disregard it at your own peril.
Contact Lafe Tolliver at
Tolliver@Juno.com |
