Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | 1 Chronicles 16:22 "Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Chronicles 16:22 "Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm." [Gen 20:7] |
Subject: Should a member rebuke an elder? |
Bible Note: Hello Doc, It is always so good to dialogue with you. I value this forum especially because of brothers like you. I know it is difficult, sometimes, to counsel and advise on some issues because both sides are not heard, body language speaks volumes, backgrounds are not known, agendas may be hidden, etc. Though I have written to this forum on more than one occasion about our Church...my husband and I have prayed and fasted about what to do about it for years. We both have been so grieved at how our leadership has evolved during the past few years. When we met the pastors (he and his wife are co-pastors) 14 years ago...you could not have met a more humble couple. They were both coming out of a strict pentecostal upbringing. They became involved with Paul and Jane Crouch of TBN ministry, the prosperity message, mega-Church mania, titles (he had a "doctorate" conferred on him and recently became a "bishop"),etc. They have been on national TV many times. Sometimes success can be your friend...but sometimes it can be your enemy. The pastor is very charismatic and constanly tells us the "buck stops with me". He and his family started the Church, so it is "family owned". All three of his children, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, sister, his son's father and mother-in-law, father and mother-in-law, ex-brother-in-law are all on Church's payroll. He and his wife are much younger than my husband and I. My pastor has never had any formal theology training...only finished high school. I love them dearly. They have never been anything but good to my husband and me...we have been given more positions of leadership than we could fulfill. We have no hidden agenda, bias or bitternes against them. Our objective is to get them on the same page with the Bible as we see and understand it. We are also very grieved for the people who are being psychologically enslaved to this Neo-Christian practice. We solicited a meeting with the pastors/elders to discuss what we have been observing. No one responded until one Saturday night at our regular prayer meeting. An associate pastor (relative of the pastor) and an elder pulled me from the meeting to discuss the matter. I was alone...my husband was not there. This was about two months ago. We have not heard from them since that time. We do desire resolve, reconciliation...we let them know that they could always feel free to call, email, come to our home, etc. On our (former) Church's website, our pastor's bio says that he is gifted in the "ministry of reconciliation". Yet we have not heard from him in over three months. My "fleece" before the Lord in making any spiritual decision is to pray for wisdom, search the scriptures and my heart, then to feel at peace. I have no regrets about exhorting them...my husband and I pray ernestly for them daily. Doc, what do you think about the Bereans, Aquila and Priscilla exhorting Paul, Apollos, respectively? Bereaniam |