Jeremiah 23:1-2 Woe be unto the PASTORS that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the PASTORS that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.
Ezekiel 34: 10 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.NIV
Matthew 7:15-16 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits.
Acts 20:29-30 I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
God will not vindicate any device whereby man shall in the slightest degree rule or oppress his fellow man. The only hope for fallen man is to look to Jesus, and receive him as the only Saviour. As soon as man begins to make an iron rule for other men, as soon as he begins to harness up and drive men according to his own mind, he dishonors God, and imperils his own soul and the souls of his brethren…….
The high-handed power that has been developed, as though position made men gods, makes me afraid, and ought to cause fear. It is a curse wherever, and by whomsoever exercised. This lording it over God’s heritage will create such a disgust of man’s jurisdiction that a state of insubordination will result. The people are learning that men in high positions of authority cannot be trusted to mold and fashion other men’s minds and characters…….
In order to reign and become a power, they employ Satan’s methods to justify their own principles. They exalt themselves as men of superior judgment, and profess to stand as representatives of God. These are false gods……
At the time of the first advent of Christ to our world, the men who composed the Sanhedrin exercised their authority in controlling men according to their will. If men’s wills were always submerged into God’s will, this would be safe; but when men are separated from God, and their own wisdom is made a controlling power, the souls for whom Christ has given his life to free from the bondage of Satan, are brought under bondage to him in another form. Mrs. E. G. White in Special Testimonies to Ministers and Workers, Series A, pgs 177-186
Wicked Church Leaders? – Adventist
On the outside things look nice and conservative until you dig below the surface where you discover things are just–wrong. You start to get involved until you discover that folk compete against each other for the top jobs for themselves, their family members and their cronies in one big power struggle. The focus is on personal goals and gaining prestige, pride, power, position and a big name for themselves climbing up the church social ladder. Have you ever encountered such a church that was filled with nastiness, where you are not welcome or even mistreated …a church filled with a bad atmosphere from the bad spiritual breaths of its leaders?
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
Identifying Wicked, Diabolical “Church Leaders”
1, They have a lust for power and control over others, layered thick with deep welling pride.
2. They seek a minimalist structure of accountability. Indeed, if they could get away with it, they would operate in a totally autocratic fashion, with heavy, top down leadership.
3. They expect behavior of others they don’t expect of themselves. “Do as I say, not as I do.”
4. They see almost everyone else as inferior to themselves. You will hear them criticizing other leaders while building themselves up.
5. They show favoritism. It is clear that they have a favored few while they marginalize the rest.
6. They are brutal and truly take pleasure in disciplining, while cloaking themselves with sorrow and heavy heartedness.
7. They brag in having some special insight and calling that makes them superior to others in the church body.
8, They make intentional and conscious efforts to disrupt relationships in order to gain their own ends.
9. They take titles for themselves, even though Jesus specifically warned otherwise.
10. They sit at the choicest seats in the church, usually up front and center aisle to be seen by men.
11. They are snakes who slander, scheme and gossip about the brethren behind their backs.
12. They use their ministries to become famous and popular.
13. They commandeer your right to function as a member of Christ’s Body.
14. They publicly embarrass and threaten people with censure and curses if they refuse to pay them homage.
15. They regularly usurp to themselves the spotlight that is meant for Jesus alone.
16. They seek to dismiss or marginalize people before they attempt to develop them. People are means to their ends; they see them as projects, not God’s people who need mentoring and developing.
17. They are manipulative. Their most common tactic is using partial truths to get their way.
18.. They lack transparency. Autocratic leaders are rarely transparent. If they get caught abusing their power, they may have to forfeit it.
19. They do not allow for pushback or disagreement. When someone does disagree, he or she becomes the victim of the leader’s anger and marginalization.
20.. They surround themselves with sycophants. Their inner circle thus often includes close friends and family members, as well as a host of “yes people.”
21. They are self-absorbed. In fact, they would unlikely see themselves in any of these symptoms.
Whenever you see any or all of these distinguishing marks in someone who says that they have been “called and duly-authorized by God into the ministry,” they should be resisted even to the disruption of the body.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
The church tyrants “come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” Matthew 7:15 and what a shameful tragedy, that men will exert such carnal, authoritarian rule over the saints of God. Too many people have walked away from their faith because it had simply been beaten out of them
Wicked Church Leaders? – Adventist
I’m tired of impostors in the pulpits? I’m sick and tired of going to the house of worship only to find a den of snakes?
It would seem, then, that Jesus didn’t speak well of the pious criminals of His day. It would seem that He did not want his people becoming anything like the religious leaders who had used, abused and indoctrinated/brainwashed them from childhood. So, what do you think that He would have to say to the religious leaders in the Adventist church today? I don’t think it would be a very pleasant conversation.
These modern Pharisees and Scribes in the church are exactly the religious vermin that he warned his people of. And yet, today’s church people pay little attention to what their ‘Savior’ had to say about these particular ‘men and women’.
These religious wolves preach and then keep their sheep singing and shouting, “Hallelujah” and “Love Love Love” when there is no love shown so there is no time left to really consider the in-depth doctrine, the dogma, that is supposedly the basis for our religion’s existence. In other words, Adventism basically amounts to this: indoctrinated and crooked teachers/ministers/pastors leading’ sheep, who are sitting in the pews with their eyes and minds closed. With some exceptions of course.
I think calling them ‘hypocrites’ and ‘snakes’ would be going way too easy on these modern-day Pharisees and Scribes.
It is imperative to this generation that there are some brethren who are standing against and exposing these spiritual monsters in Christ’s assembly. May many more rise up in opposition to this disgraceful display of carnality and papal power by those who “lord it over” His assembly.
Welcome to church life. Maybe this is not universal and there are still some good churches and people, but how common are despotic church leaders?