Once upon a time a wise old man was meeting with another old man who
was seeking to become wise. The two
talked about life and God at length.
They also talked much about the "church"; what Christ intended
for His Body, and what it has become.
The wiser man offered these humble thoughts on one aspect in particular
that was troubling the less wise man, “The other thought I have is this. My wife was formerly married to an alcoholic
for many years who has now passed away. In
learning how to live with this man she used to say: ‘He did exactly what an
alcoholic was supposed to do, which was to drink and behave badly. Until he and the Holy Spirit agreed on some
change, it was not my mission to try to change him. I could only choose whether or not to live
with him and, if I chose to live with him, how I wanted to live accordingly
with him.’ In the same way, the pastor
of an institutional church is often doing what he is “supposed” to be doing
when he is controlling, manipulating, self-protecting, defensive, and being
fickle in his relationships with those who do not support his vision. However dysfunctional this is, it should not
be a surprise. If you choose to play in
that sand box, fine. But if there is any
hint that you are there to try to change or to help that man or that system to
change, you are only creating misery for yourself and him unless the Holy
Spirit is at work in Him and he is asking for your help. The same applies to most of the members of
that church. They are also doing what
they are supposed to be doing which is support the system with their tithes and
attendance and take, overall, a passive role to ministry. I will simply speak for myself here when I say
that I have to be very careful that I’m not trying to be the Holy Spirit and
work where God is not working. Yes, I
have a longing to see ALL believers experience the freedom and joy of “organic”
Jesus ministry BUT, I simply do not have the ability to transform anyone and I
can only work where He is working. To do
otherwise in the name of trying to help them to change will only bring
frustration to me and to them. I find that
those whom God is working in have a way of finding me; I don’t need to be at work
trying to change them nor do I even need to be in their sandbox for them to
come seek me out. So, that’s my two
cents which I only offer because you asked.
Like I said, take something if it’s helpful and leave the rest. I do feel for you as these types of
situations are never easy!”
The less wise man decided it was time to part ways with his wiser
friend, go into his “cell”, and ponder what God might be saying to him about
all this?
}:-/
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