A pastor morally falls. So does his son. People are devastated, hurt, confused, angry, sad and their faith is shaken. A church is thrown into turmoil. This is happening now in Junction City, Kansas.

The pastor, Edwin Young, suddenly and without warning, turned in his resignation last week (August 2nd). The church is already set to vote on a possible new pastor this week, possibly Don Boyer, who Young felt should succeed him.

Young took over the church after the death of L.E. Westberg, one of the men instrumental in pushing through the affirmation resolution in 1992 (went into effect in 1993). At that time, Faith Tabernacle was a part of the United Pentecostal Church. Both men held license with the UPC, but Young ended up leaving the organization and went independent apostolic at some point after becoming the pastor. From things I heard, it got stricter under Young.

What causes a pastor to fail morally? Are there signs we can watch for, that something seriously is wrong in the life of a minister? It hits the news more and more and involves various church groups. There's another big story going on now in Indiana that has been reported by the media.

I will share one thing I have learned through the years and red lights go on whenever I hear it happens. When a minister is harsh in sermons and outside the pulpit, BEWARE. There is an enormous difference between speaking in love against sin, or what one perceives to be sin, and another when people are torn into, made examples of, and treated not in love by a minister. There is also a problem when no sin is involved, but a minister gets irritated at someone and rips into them in front of all.

From numerous reports, that is exactly what this minister did for years and years. If similar things happened in a healthy church, the pastor's wrong behavior would have been addressed when it happened or soon after. But at this church, it wasn't. It was tolerated, allowed, and even thought to be proper conduct by many. Many 'amened' him and cheered him on when he did these things. It isn't proper behavior. It is far, far from how a minister is to conduct themselves.

A huge problem is that in unhealthy churches, this is often a gradual process. And when it gets to this point, the people have been conditioned through previous teachings and incidents, to accept what is happening. The pastor is "the man of God." You don't "touch God's anointed." The pastor "watches for your soul and has to give account of you." The pastor knows more than you and what is best. If the pastor is wrong, all we can do is "pray about it and let God correct him." So when people have this type of mindset, it opens the door for much abuse and other wrong things.

Learn how a pastor is to be. Go to your Bibles and search this out. A main characteristic of a minister is they...

Lois

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...29120699935619



Here is a link where you can watch the movie, Marjoe, in its entirety for free on Google. Some may find it difficult to watch due to the subject matter and scenes from Pentecostal services.

Marjoe was raised as a child to be an evangelist, but was never a Christian. His parents, who had an AOG background, had him memorizing sermons & movements to go with them from the age of 4, I believe. He exposes himself as a fraud in this documentary and also tells how some evangelists & ministers scam people.

Lois

Awhile back I posted a video of a made-for-TV movie based on the book, "The Wave." I recently found it has been made into a feature length film in Germany. This is the link to the DVD on Amazon, where you may read reviews. It is based on an incident that actually happened in the 1960s in a school in California. People who have been in unhealthy churches should be able to relate and maybe learn something from it.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...iritualab0c-20

You may also rent it for a lot less: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...iritualab0c-20 There is a trailer you can watch on this link.

I was able to watch it recently. They updated the story, having it take place in our time and the ending was changed. Both endings in each film are powerful.
In doing some research afterward, though not in depth, I found that the made-for-tv version is closest to what actually happened. I also found that last year a documentary was put together about it, with interviews with some participants and the teacher. The name of that is "Lesson Plan" and the DVD is not yet available. In fact, the teacher has a bit part in the German remake and there is a brief interview with him in the bonus section.

As previously mentioned, the movies are based on an actual event from 1967 at a high school in California. It was a class experiment that got out of hand. It was the first year of teaching for Ron Jones, who three years later lost his fight for tenure (it appears to do with political activism).

Here is the short story that Ron Jones wrote about the incident: http://libcom.org/history/the-third-...ount-ron-jones See if you notice anything similar with what happens in unhealthy churches. I encourage you to watch either this film or the 1981 TV version that is found on Google. Amazon also rents the film.


Here is a quote from Ron Jones from the interview on the DVD: "...you're looking at 'The Wave,' trying to understand why do we give up our freedom for the thought of being better than everyone else. And it's a lesson that we all need to see and hear and talk about."

Another quote from Ron Jones from the DVD, in speaking about one of the students crossing over an invisible line that was a simulation and became something real: "And I realized that I was crossing over that same line. I was no longer just teaching about this thing called fascism, I was enjoying- enjoying- being a leader and that was frightening."

Some of the similarities from this incident and being in an unhealthy church are:

Blind obedience to authority

A gradual process of influence and indoctrination

Rigid rules

Conformity

Peer pressure

Giving up yourself to be part of something great...

Lois

There is a false sense of safety in never questioning or looking into what a church is teaching. The boat isn't rocked, everyone feels familiar and you know what to expect, even if you are unhappy. Yet if it is error being taught, then that nice sense of security is false. It means there really is no security.

That's really something to think about. You might liken it to some investment schemes. People have lost their life savings, or a good portion of it, by having a false sense of security in the investment plan offered by the scam artist. They truly believe their money is being wisely invested, with a guarantee of a profitable return. In the end, their security is shattered because what they placed their faith in ended up being false.

Some time ago, I read a book by Don C. Marler, former UPC member, entitled "Imprisoned in the Brotherhood." While I disagree with aspects of the book, he brought up some points worthy of consideration. In the introduction he shares about the pursuit of truth and how it can feel like the person is on shaky ground when they start this journey. Many people who are involved in unhealthy churches get caught up in religion instead of a relationship with God. When one starts to question if what their church teaches is true or not, it shakes this religious foundation and it can be quite scary. Let me quote from Don's introduction.

Quote:
"When one moves full tilt into pursuit of truth, he may find that the ground becomes shaky and his resolve to pursue truth wherever she might lead becomes tenuous. One learns that security based upon ignorance, prejudice, illusions, misinformation and blind tradition is a false security indeed. Old guideposts can no longer be relied upon. The prospect of seeking truth and following it fully then is often frightening. Not everyone can face it; some decide to keep their heads in the sand. The illusion of security is more tempting than the fearful journey into the unknown.

"Some individuals believe that pursuing truth wherever she leads is dangerous because it destroys or weakens belief and faith. Beliefs should be open to change and one would hope that truth should prevail over mere beliefs. Faith, of course, is different from beliefs and should be strengthened by truth. Does it not require faith to seek truth?

"A prerequisite for pursuing truth is the ability to be open and honest with self and the ability to recognize and accept that one doesn't possess all truth. Another is the ability and courage to assume individual responsibility for one's search and for the conclusion one reaches. The alternative to individual interpretation and definition of truth is an institutional definition and interpretation." End Quote

Why does the ground feel shaky when we start to question some teachings in unhealthy churches, whatever they may...

Lois

Lois