Stephen
Terry, Director
Authentic
Christian Ministry
Commentary
for the September 5, 2026, Sabbath School Lesson
"Let
no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for
whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, 'You shall not
commit adultery,' 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not
covet,' and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one
command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to a neighbor.
Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." Romans 13:8-10
As a church member, I have had
the opportunity to see many pastors who came and went over the decades. Some
pastors everyone loved while others left divided churches in their wake. Both usually
went on to new churches, repeating what happened at their previous parishes without
ever understanding why the same cycles kept repeating in their lives. They may
feel something is not right about their ministry and appeal to their superiors
as they try to discover what is falling short.
They do not realize that their superiors may never have found those
answers for themselves, and any advice they give may be tainted by their own failures.
This does not mean they will not
have successful careers in the ministry. Far from it. Many have advanced to
high positions because they have learned that pleasing one's superior to promote
is just as important in the ministry as in secular careers. If one's boss is
flawed and a young man or woman learns to falsely praise and emulate those
flaws as wisdom, they are far more likely to see a powerful and influential future
in any organization, including the church. Seeing a miniature version of themselves
in the up-and-coming pastor, these flawed leaders convince themselves that their
own path is correct and is the reason for the younger pastor's success and
likeability.
How does one tell that this is
the case? For most the major exposure to the pastor's thoughts and ideas come
through the weekly sermon. Does the sermon encourage an individual's own faith
and relationship with God through the Holy Spirit or is it more apt to push for
loyalty to the denomination and financial support for the corporate church?
Does it seek obedience for the individual as a key to heavenly paradise while
ignoring corporate responsibility to be obedient to the same principles?
What about when the pastor is
not behind the pulpit? I have never forgotten the scene in a church foyer I
witnessed a couple of decades ago. The pastor had preached a sermon that had
moved many. One of the poorer members of the congregation, who had brought
several family members into the baptismal tank over the years, approached the
pastor for help with a concern. While they were beginning their conversation,
another wealthier member with influence with the pastor's bosses came up and
demanded the pastor break off the conversation and come with him for a private
talk. The pastor immediately and abruptly broke off his talk with the one who
had initially approached him and went with the man who had interrupted that talk,
leaving the poor woman wondering what had just happened. As a career move, the
pastor probably made the right choice because he was later promoted to a much
larger and more influential church. But as Jesus reminded us, what profit is
there in gaining the world if you lose your soul in the process? (Mark
8:35-37)
I loved this pastor like a
brother because his life in many ways echoed my own with the exception that he
valued unquestioning obedience to power that could make or break him while I,
since childhood have continually asked, "Why?" even in public high school. When
I was a student long ago, dress codes were strict. Girls were not allowed to
wear pants or even culottes. Nor could they wear hair styles like the boys
wore. For us boys, the rules were fewer but also strictly enforced. I remember
walking down the hall on a beautiful but hot spring day, and because of the
heat, I had my shirttail out. Unfortunately, the vice-principal happened to be
walking down the same hallway and berated me for having my shirt untucked. I
asked, "Why?" For that, he suspended me from school, and my parents had to
apologize to get me back in. Ironically, the dress code that was so inviolable was
suspended the very next year. This taught me that rules that are considered
ironclad can be arbitrary based on the assumptions and prejudices of those who
demand obedience to them.
Because of my willingness to
ask, "Why?" progressives have sometimes felt I was of their ilk as that is
often the question they ask about existing policies and dogma. But I have
discovered they are no more amenable to those whys than those on the right are.
They seem unaware that history is replete with right-wing and left-wing rulers
replacing one another in turn with each demanding unwavering obedience to their
credo. Each seems unwilling to bend in their attitude toward the other, so like
the pendulum that continually swings to and fro, we remain trapped in a cycle
of extremism both secularly and within the church. As a result, self-serving
career ministers and administrators vying for control of their corner of the denomination
recruit and mentor according to the faction they wish to see running the show.
Little of this has anything to
do with Jesus returning. It is immaterial to building a career in any denomination.
Of course, a pastor needs to say all the right jargon for his profession, right
down to the incantations for baptisms and communion. Yes, incantations, for
they are little more than divine spells intended to accomplish a magical but
incomprehensible change in people and inanimate objects. Like magicians,
professional clergy claim these things are evidence of God's endorsement of
their power over parishioners. But that power resides with the Holy Spirit who uses
who and what he will to accomplish whatever he wishes with whomever he wishes
without respect to the person performing some magical mumbo jumbo. Even an ass
has been known to serve the purpose. (Numbers
22:21-35) The Holy Spirit is why the work of God advances in the world
despite the perfidy of those who claim to be arbiters of holy things.
Jesus said of the Spirit's work,
"Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born
again."
"How can someone be born when
they are old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely they cannot enter a second time into
their mother's womb to be born!"
Jesus answered, "Very truly I
tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and
the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You
should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows
wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes
from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." John
3:3-8
It is not the ministry of pastors
or administrators that will save a person. They cannot even save themselves.
Very few pastors would have the right to claim to be as righteous as Noah,
Daniel, or Job. But even though the righteousness of those three exceeds that
of religious leaders today, the prophet Ezekiel tells us "...even if Noah, Daniel
and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save
only themselves by their righteousness." (Ezekiel
14:12-20) It is a hard thing to realize that I cannot save my son and his
family or my stepson. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, and he will not fail
to provide every chance possible. I cannot save my siblings and their families,
cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, or even my wife. Their salvation
rests with the Holy Spirit as does mine.
When we consider how powerless
we are to affect these things apart from our ability to pray on their behalf,
the idea of advancing in a ministerial career being in any way related to
saving those we love becomes ludicrous. God is not impressed by titles,
certificates, degrees or any of the many ways human beings have created to
honor one another. What impresses God can be seen in the difference between the
overtly wicked King Manasseh and the righteous King Josiah. Equal in power and
authority in Jerusalem, they were as different as the black and white keys on a
piano. Manasseh loved power so much he murdered those who opposed his will,
filling Jerusalem with innocent blood from one end to the other. (2
Kings 21:16) He even had the prophet Isaiah sawn in two because of his
faithful life.
Unlike Manasseh, Josiah became
alarmed over the fate of Jerusalem when he discovered the evil that had been
perpetrated by both former kings and people. He inquired of the Lord whether any
hope remained. Huldah the prophetess responded to him, "Tell the king of Judah,
who sent you to inquire of the Lord, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel,
says concerning the words you heard: Because your heart was responsive and you
humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this
place and its people--that they would become a curse and be laid waste--and
because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you,
declares the Lord. Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will
be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring
on this place." 2 Kings 22:18-20
The key for Josiah was humility.
There is not much of that to be found in our world today. We put people behind
a pulpit and tell them they are like the voice of God speaking to the people.
We give expensive advanced degrees to people and defer to them and their judgment
even in matters unrelated to their training. If they have wealth and celebrity,
we tolerate uninhibited evil and narcissism, even though we know God loves a
humble heart as he demonstrated with King Josiah. In so doing, we stumble not
only while traveling our own path toward God, but we lay stumbling stones for
those same individuals we look up to, hindering their own ability to find a path
to God.
Ezekiel refers to us as watchmen
given the responsibility of alerting the people. (Ezekiel
33:1-6) We cannot allow those who are only interested in their own advancement,
their own power and wealth to subvert those who should be humbly standing
watch, not for their own glory, but to protect those trusting in their
vigilance. It is important we decide which side of the street we are going to
walk, the one that leads to what we expect to be our own bright future or the
one that sets aside our own narcissistic pride to humbly seek a brighter future
where all are safe not just those who are in charge and everyone is free to be
all that the Holy Spirit ordains they should be.