Admonition for Pastors

Admonition for Pastors

 

Why is “Christian” America going down the preverbal drain?  It’s because of so-called Christians and their Pastors, that’s why!

By de Andréa

March 13, 2014

Tax Exemption Pre-emption. Has the Church sold its soul for 20 pieces of silver?  Has the church been cowed into inactivity by the supposed loss of their tax-exempt status if they say anything remotely political? This kind of ignorance can make folks who don’t or won’t get good legal advice as politically active as Howard Hughes during the flu season … but it needn’t be!

First of all, there’s really no need to have an IRS 501[c][3] tax-exempt charitable status to assemble and be a proper church. The church has been around a bit longer than the 501 [c][3] statutes, right? We are afforded the right to assemble, ‘by God and by the U.S. Constitution’. Not having the tax exempt status simply means you’ll have to pay taxes at Costco when you buy hot dogs for the church picnic etc.

Secondly, 501[c][3] or not, we are called to obey God rather than men, and God has called his leaders to be involved in civic affairs, and to represent Christ and his word in all areas of society. And that entails expounding the biblical worldview all the time, including election time. Sometimes you have to rebel against unrighteous, limiting laws. There’s nothing wrong with proper civil disobedience when the need arises, especially if the government tries to stifle your scriptural rights and obligations.

Why did I lead with this fact? Because my friend, only 31% of Christians who are registered to vote, voted in the last election.  Only God knows how many more failed to even register.

Fear of man. If you purport to be a man or woman of “the cloth”, then your regard for God and his opinion must trump the trepidation of the creature He created from spit and mud. Come on, man/woman of God – don’t fear us. We’re ants with cell phones who’ll shoot Botox into our foreheads. We’re weird and fickle weather vanes of the modern media. ‘Lead us’ – don’t just follow us!

Man/woman of God, fear God! Declare his will and his way and let the chips fall where they may. Within both the Old and New Testaments there are very unmuddled, eternal opinions on current political issues. These opinions should be embraced and shouldn’t be publicly curbed and bridled because some deranged deacon, some quacky congregant or a preening politician doesn’t agree with the scripture and might get their panties in a bunch over a particular political issue. Never live for a nod from the congregation or some political twerp or a particular party, especially when said group is way off biblical base.

Ignorance. Most people are not bold in areas where they are ignorant … always excepting Michael Moore, of course. I know keeping up with all the pressing political issues is maddening but that’s life, ducky, and if you want to be a voice in Gods world instead of an echo of the enemy, then you have got to be in the know. Staying briefed, running each political issue through the gauntlet of the scripture and determining God’s mind on a certain subject is par for the course, for the hardy world changer, besides, it’s your responsibility. Come on’, it’s the information age. Get informed and watch your boldness increase.

Division. I hate the current non-essential divisions in the church as much as the next free speaking Christian columnist. Squabbling’ over the color of the carpet, who’ll play the organ next Sunday or who the Beast of Revelation is! Oh puhleeese!

Dial down on the inconsequential seditiousness, okay, Jedidiah? Relax. Go into the desert and get focused. The church is currently so divided and defeated with such definition that we can’t agree on which shade of white to use for our surrender flag.

Last Days Madness. Many ministers do not get involved in political issues because they believe that, “it simply doesn’t matter” since “the end has come”, and Jehovah is about to run the credits on this failed earth flick, remember He has seen this video before.  And oh! Remember He is in control!  Oh really, where in the Bible does it say God is a control freak?  The truth left behind is - that He gave us a mind and a responsibility. These defeatists believe that any change in the jet stream, war, earthquakes, success of a corrupt politician, even a new Britney Spears video, is “proof” that God is getting really, really, ticked off and His only recourse is to have Christ physically return and kick some major butt.

Their only hope is in ‘The Rapture’. They see the church and themselves as impotent and having no real ability to change things morally, politically or culturally with any long-range ramifications. Thus, any stab at a better tomorrow is simply an exercise in futility for this crew. Attempting to right culture is, in their eyes, equivalent to polishing brass on a sinking ship. They are, therefore, content to simply pass out tracts, tramp from Christian rock concert to Christian rock concert, eat fatty foods, drink grape juice and stare at Christian TV.

Sloth. If you wonder why your flock is so apathetic, ask yourself, Pastor Grim Carnage, if you have stolen their earthly hope that their valiant efforts can actually prevail in time, and not just in eternity, come on, why do you think’ God gave us the book of Revelation. If you constantly pump the doom and gloom message, if you teach them that evil will ultimately triumph on our terra firma, if you spew messages that consciously or unconsciously convey “big anti-Christ and little Jesus Christ”, then for them…it will come to pass because you have effectively zapped what’s left of your parishioner’s passion.

Paltry pietism and the separation from the world mentality. Pastors and priests avoid politics because such concerns are “unspiritual”, and their focus is on the “spirit world”. Yes, to such imbalanced ministers, political affairs are seen as “temporal and carnal”, and because pastors and priests trade in the “eternal and spiritual”, such “transient” issues get the same attention from them as Rosie’s Ab-Blaster does from her.

What drives this type of clergy and Christians? Well, this brand of believer desires a “personal relationship with Jesus only” type of religion. This bunch is primarily into heavenly emotions and personal Bible study, tucked away from society and its complicated issues. Being preoccupied with looking inward and upward, such solipsistic saints inadvertently chain themselves to the never ending treadmill of spiritual introspection. We should all join a monastery. They forget that they are commanded to be seriously engaged with our culture. The effects of this type of “Christian” separatism/pietism proved disastrous in pre-Nazi Germany, and aided and abetted Hitler in mounting his hellish warhorse.  The world should rejoice that America was then still a “Christian Nation” willing to stand a fight.

Now, the Obama Thought Police have Tali-banned us. Pastors and priests have muffled their political voice because they fear being lumped in with the radical Muslim extremists by Obama’s politically correct thought police. The correlation made between Christians’ non-violent attempts at policy persuasion and Taliban’s kill-you-in-your-sleep campaigns is nothing more than pure unsorted garbage. Here’s what I’m talking about: A minister who wants to protect the unborn, preserve the Biblical and traditional view of marriage, maintain our nation’s basis in some semblance of Biblical righteousness all of the sudden gets grouped up with Osama and his nuclear-suitcase-carrying cabal.

Ministers, please blow off the tongue wagging blowhards who try to intimidate you into silence by making quantum ludicrous scat laden analogous leaps in equating the implementation of a Biblical worldview with the Taliban’s Jihadist cross-eyed perspective.

It’ll cost them Money. The creepy thing about a lot of ministers is their unwillingness to give political offense when offense is needed, simply because taking a biblical stand on a political issue might cost them their time share in Aspen and their Chrysler Mini-Van. Oh well, what do you expect? Christ had his Judas and evangelicalism has it cheap prostitutes.

Anytime a pastor takes a sturdy stand on a substantial issue, it usually ends up offending some people. If a congregant gets angry because you have just barbequed his favorite ideological golden calf, his cash will leave weeks before his physical body departs to find a church that’ll tickle his ears.

Never fear, pastor. Even though nailing your colors to the mast during putrid political times might cost you a parishioner or two, don’t sweat it. There are also tens of thousands of serious parishioners who are looking for leaders with the spiritual guts to lead the church to make its proper stance during days of declension. So, my advice to you, Mr. or Ms. Pastor, would be to stay the Biblical course against the secular corrupters. I guarantee you four things:

God will send you better Christian soldiers of the cross,

He will supernaturally increase your revenue to labor for His cause,

You won’t have to look the other way when you approach a mirror, and –

You will sleep better at night knowing that cash couldn’t buy your convictions.

If Christian ministers would crucify their fear of man, get solidly briefed regarding the chief political issues, not sweat necessary division, not get caught up in last days of lost hope madness, maintain their hope for tomorrow, understand their liberties under God and our Constitution, not become so heavenly minded they’re no earthly good, focus on the majors and blow off bowing to cash or a tax exempt 501[c][3] status instead of convictions, then maybe … just maybe, we will see their influence cause our nation to take a righteous right turn away from the secularist’s putrid path to Hell.

PS. FYI.  There has never been a case since its inception in 1913 where the IRS has revoked the 501[c][3] tax-exempt charitable status of a church for preaching Biblical politics from the pulpit.  All they can legally do is blow smoke.

If you agree, please share these posts with your friends, family, and coworkers.  The only way to defeat the lies and propaganda of a government and its controlled media is to spread the truth.

 

Thanks for listening – de Andréa

 

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