http://www.worldviewweekend.com/secure/cwnetwork/article.php?ArticleID=1390%0A
Why Many of Todays Evangelical Pastors Are Cult-Like
By Brannon Howse
I am very thankful for the many Bible-believing, conservative
pastors in America that love the Lord Jesus and serve Him
faithfully. Sadly, many of Americas self-professing evangelical
pastors exhibit some of the traits and characteristics of a cult
leader instead of that of a Biblically-minded, servant
leader.
Recently, I was sharing my concerns with a friend of mine that is a
pastor and church administrator. I shared with my pastor friend the
various stories of churches in turmoil due to the lack of biblical
integrity, leadership and humility from their senior pastor. My
friend commented that many of these pastors sounded like cult
leaders.
A few hours after our phone conversation, my pastor friend e-mailed
me a few of the characteristics of cult leaders that he had
uncovered in his afternoon of research.
While many of todays evangelical pastors dont reject the
foundational Christian doctrines such as the virgin birth, the
trinity, the resurrection and salvation through Jesus Christ alone;
they do however exhibit some of the following characteristics that
are common to cult leaders.
1. Specially appointed by God
I am stunned at how many church members defend the sinful actions,
attitudes and beliefs of their pastor by declaring that they were
appointed or ordained by God and thus should never be
questioned.
Many of the pastors in America were never called, ordained or
appointed by God, despite what their fans claim, and this is
confirmed by the pastors lack of Godly proclamations, leadership,
convictions, and lifestyle.
Paul tells us in Acts 17:11 that the Bereans were of more noble
character than the Thessalonians because they examined the
Scriptures daily to see if what Paul said was true.
Many of the leaders of todays churches are being enabled by the
simple-minded and not Bereans.
2. The cult's adherents often expound the virtues of the leader and
seek to cover the leaders sins and wickedness.
Some of the virtues espoused by the defenders of todays
cult-celebrity pastors include:
Attendance has increased under his leadership
Giving has increased under his leadership
He is a very gifted speaker and communicator
He is attracting and appealing to a younger audience that has been
missing from our church
He is so personable
He is a strong leader
While these may be commendable leadership qualities resulting in
ministry productivity, they are not a license for financial
mismanagement, unaccountable authority, blatant sin, or sexual
misconduct. Followers who turn a blind-eye to this type of
leadership activity contribute to the denigration of the Gospel in
the minds of believers as well as non-believers.
3. Entangling Organization Structure: The less truth a movement
represents, the more highly it seems to have to organize itself;
the absence of truth seems to make necessary the application of the
bonds of fear. Cults often demand total commitment by their
converts to an organizational involvement that entangles them in a
complicated set of human restrictions, giving the impression of
passionate and often irrational devotion to a cause.
Many of todays cult-celebrity pastors rule with an iron fist of
threats and intimidation. Some of these pastors dont like to be
involved in the intimidation themselves so they leave it up to some
of their deacons, elders, associate pastors, or ministry
representatives.
Biblically-minded Christians are often completely astounded by how
committed the sheep will be to their cult-celebrity pastor. Even in
the face of irresponsible, immature, unethical and even illegal
activities by the pastor or ministry leader, the flock will
passionately defend them with arguments and excuses that are
completely irrational as they disregard the truth that stares them
squarely in the face.
Those that question the pastor or ministry leader are guaranteed to
be admonished by him and his leadership team to cease their
criticism or find another church or ministry organization. Indeed
this kind of control and manipulation on the part of the leadership
entangles many of the church-goers or followers because they dont
desire to give up their freedom of speech, conscience or
convictions. Neither, do they desire to leave the church in which
many of them were raised, married, dedicated their children and
even held funeral services for their parents and/or grandparents.
The church members indeed find themselves entangled by fear that
the truth with banish them from what they have come to love dearly
the church.
4. Financial Exploitation
Under the leadership of a cult-celebrity pastor, financial
exploitation can take on many forms. Many of these pastors
financially exploit the church by receiving salaries that are no
where near the average salary of the congregation, but are more
consistent with the salary of a CEO running a Fortune 500 company.
I have read of pastors that receive salaries from their church that
range from $250,000 to $500,000 or more.
I once asked a friend if it bothered him that it was reported that
his pastor was receiving a salary of $500,000. I was quickly and
defensively told that it not only did not bother him, but that his
pastor deserved a million dollars a year.
Am I the only one that sees something wrong with pastors receiving
$250,000 salaries or more here at the beginning of the 21st
Century? Are these individuals interested in being a
pastor/shepherd or a CEO?
The perks that many of these cult-celebrity pastors receive, in
addition to their salary, continues the financial exploitation of
the church, and its members, that have given generously and
sacrificial by doing without the many materialistic things that are
now enjoyed by their cult-like pastor.
The financial exploitation can also include the pastors strict
demand that church members tithe according to his standards in
order to be in good standing, hold positions of leadership within
the church, or receive great financial blessings from God.
If any of these cult-like characteristics sound like your pastor,
you might want to pay close attention the next time your church
observes the Lords Supper. When you receive that little plastic
communion cup make sure it is filled with grape juice and not
Kool-Aid.
**edited by CE - deleted the too many
between-paragraphs spacing.... nothing else has changed. sorry
laoda.
