When The Pastor Becomes God

What happens when the pastor becomes God? The members are afraid of him, nobody questions him, the word of God takes a backseat to the word of the pastor. From there it's just a mater of time.While you may be thinking this could never happen at your church, it is a real danger and much more common than you may think. Sometimes it's the charismatic personality of the man preaching from behind the podium, sometimes

it's the relative inexperience of the members. People are so quick to say "amen" to anything coming out of a pulpit these days and so slow to open their bibles and get into the word of the lord.

If I could get todays church goers to remember one thing about putting undue importance on their pastor as oppose to God's word it's this.

When you stand before the throne of judgment God's word will stand right there beside you...your pastor won't be there.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1

Now I'm not suggesting that people start a revolt in their church and become disobedient goats. I am suggesting that people need to read the word and see if what they are being taught is true. I am suggesting that people hold their pastors to a standard and I am suggesting that people not put their pastor on so high pedestal and form so high an opinion of them that they forget that their pastor is human and subject to error just like anyone else.

Sometimes it seems that folks are just lazy, too busy shouting, singing, praising the pastor, dancing or whatever the case may be...that like a baby bird with its mouth wide open, they'll let you feed them anything. These people become so enamored with their pastor, so impressed by their degrees, and their following that they turn their brain off. You'll find this a lot with todays "celebrity pastors" and pastors of mega churches. People allow the status and reputation to blind them to the teachings and false doctrine.

So, would you know if your pastor was leading you astray?

I once had a person very close to me tell me that they couldn't explain their doctrine or show my scripturally why they believed they way they do but they would get someone from their church to explain it for them...my mouth nearly fell open. If this is where you find yourself then no, you wouldn't know.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

My advice...get in your word. Contrary to what many people think, the bible is not that complicated and there's not as much need for "interpretations as people tend to think. Much of the scripture can be taken at face value and if you don't understand it just read it anyway and absorb what you do understand.

Ask questions. If you're in a giant church or some other church where you can't ask your pastor questions you may want to consider making the move to a church where you aren't just a face in the crowd. Your soul hangs in the balance. If your pastor doesn't have time for your questions then go to the new members class and check every answer to see that it lines up with the word of God.

Don't get caught up in reputations, celebrity or status. I'm sure you think highly of your pastor but remember your pastor is not God. The size of his membership, the degrees he holds and his financial success, status, none of these mean that he's a man of God or that he knows what he's talking about. So don't get caught up with the drama or be distracted by the charismatic personality. Try the spirit and see if they be of God by reading the word and checking for the fruit.

lastly, make sure you get the basics right. Studying Greek and Hebrew is great but you should first learn the fundamentals. Faith, repentance, being filled with the Holy Ghost and baptized and living holy. If you are still living in bondage to sin the last thing you need to do is take of Christian apologetics. So, get the basics down and remember When you stand before the throne of judgment God's word will stand right there beside you...your pastor won't be there.