By Justin Hege
LIKE many of you, I’ve been in ministry for a long time. Twenty-three years, to be exact. And all this time, I’ve been so proud to be part of a really special, yet humble group of people who feel called to lead people to Christ. I’ve held onto a deep inward satisfaction that comes from living out my life as a disciple. Of course, it’s required sacrifice along the way. But I’ve retained my deep admiration for the profession and my feeling of pride that I get to spend my days throwing a lifesaving ring to people who are drowning.
All of us pastors are likely unified in these feelings. And when COVID-19 hit, there was further unification in our preaching. We all pulled on the idea that God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear (2nd Timothy 1:7), and that we should count it all joy when we fall into various trials (James 1:2). We started talking about Psalm 91 and how God is our refuge and strength. And in so doing, we started treating the virus like a pre-game for real persecution.
But the cracks began to show about a month into all this. We watched discrepancies unfold in the reports, we saw lockdowns get enforced, masks become required – and we were required to close our doors. We couldn’t relieve all the pressure and grief we felt like we normally would, by catching a late Spring baseball game, working out in our local gym, or getting together with friends. So, many of us pastors got flustered by the constant state of having to be reactive rather than proactive and I have talked with many who helplessly watched their body become divided.
Our platform, which was so preciously given to us, suddenly changed from being about Christ as many pastors jumped into the fire of an invisible army of political unrest. We started to hear pastors themselves saying things like, “Those who wear masks don’t have faith” or taking the opposing view and saying, “Anyone who supports reopenings right now is inconsiderate to others.” Our churches, starting at the top with us pastors, started to resemble judgmental battlefields, rather than the home of the fruits of the spirit.
How are so many neglecting to see that the enemy loves this? When we’re divided as Christians, we look no different than the world. Don’t get me wrong: I don’t like having my rights taken away or not being able to go eat out at my favorite restaurants or watch my kids play in organized sports. But, as Christian leaders, we’re not put in our position to argue against these things (remember Romans 14?). And this brings me to my main point here:
We are pastors for one purpose alone – to win souls for eternity.
Where does pointing fingers at other Christians fit into that? Where does it say in scripture that we should care more about our earthly home than our heavenly one? In what bible is it ok to tear down our government? The answers are – it’s not, it doesn’t and not ours, respectively. When we misplace our rage and direct it toward our rights being taken away, we use up valuable energy that could be spent being shepherds and leading our flocks to Christ. Of course, we’re not blind to the fact that being a shepherd means therefore being involved personally in people’s lives, and sometimes being asked to weigh in on social issues. But, when this does happen, we must look to the Bible for its guidance around how to frame our responses.
Romans 12:18 says: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Well here’s what many of us seem to be forgetting – it does depend on us. I want to remind you that Paul wrote this book to Roman Christians who were serving under Nero, one of the most evil men to ever walk the face of the earth. And he wrote this when he was under the threat of being executed; not simply being asked to wear a face mask. So why is it so hard for us to abide by the rules? As pastors we’re called to be peacemakers. Not peace lovers, who are only in relationships with people who agree with us. Peacemakers. So ask yourself: Are you creating peace, or uprooting it?
I was sent a video last week about everything going on from a seasoned Christian who I respect and have known for 30+ years. The video’s title was “Watch this: he destroys her” and it was about one person “destroying” another in an argument. This, my brothers, is where we’re getting tricked by the enemy. At what point would Jesus ever say to “destroy” someone else? He wouldn’t. All of this hate and discord is bait; and far too many of us are taking it.
All of this extends into the Black Lives Matter movement, as well. Many pastors are inserting themselves into the conversation, when they frankly have no grounds upon which to do so. Where did we get the liberty to rip into another Christian because their life experience growing up black is different than ours? Who are we to take inflammatory stances on racism, if we’ve never personally been affected by it ourselves?
It’s not our call to comment or judge, but rather learn from the people who have experienced what we have not. Remember “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). In these times, we need to ask ourselves what Jesus would do, and work to be His hands extended to those around us.
In His first sermon, Jesus took the time to put into focus what a true disciple looked like. He used the words “meek,” “humble” and “persecuted for righteousness.” Being a pastor means being in a resting position of power by servanthood. It is not a platform by which we should condemn, inflame or divide. And it’s certainly not a platform in which we should lose ourselves and get so concerned in winning the moment, leading a revolution, or getting likes and applause, that we give up the pursuit of winning souls.
Trust me, I have my own opinions about wearing masks, business reopenings, social injustice and protesting. I have strong opinions on all of it. But my opinions, quite frankly, don’t matter. What matters is my pursuit to help lead others to Christ. I’m writing to you now to implore you to come back to the Bible. I’m beseeching you to get back to using the powerful platform we have in the right way. Let’s stop throwing out the second half of Romans chapter 12 as our foundation, and treating 1st Corinthians 13 as if it’s suddenly irrelevant.
Before I close, I want to share a quick story. When I was 17 in the first year of my internship, my parents were out of town. One of my buddies wanted to get a fake tattoo and I said, “Let’s do it,” immaturely thinking I could get a rise out of some of my co-workers. So, I ended up getting one of those thorn tattoos around my arm and later showed up for Saturday night prayer. The 65-year-old pastor whom I served under looked at me and said, “Choose you this day whom you will serve.”
I was shaken. I wrote him a letter and apologized. But he called me into his office the next day, prior to service and said, “You’re throwing rocks where I’m fishing.” Granted, this was 1997 and a bit of an old school approach, but nonetheless valuable. Essentially, he was telling me that he was working to win souls and I was disturbing the place where he was fishing for them. Please don’t read this as a close-minded, judgemental statement on tattoos (my wife and I both have one); it’s an example of how in his eyes, my actions were reckless and hindering my purpose to lead. I’m telling you this because it’s a good reminder of why we’re here. Our responsibility as ministers isn’t to voice our opinions; it’s to fish. Have you been fishing – or have you been throwing rocks into the pond?
Remember that Jesus calls us to be at peace with all, and he uses the Greek word “anthropen” which means all of mankind; male, female, every nationality, religion and skin color. Sometimes we can’t be at peace with everyone, but it’s our responsibility to exhaust the resources we have to this cause.Let’s be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves,” as Jesus called us to be, so the only thing we’re fighting for is the gospel.
I’ll leave you with this…The constitution of the United States isn’t actually God’s word inspired by the Holy Spirit. Let’s not let our allegiance to it get in the way of our heavenly job description. According to 1 Peter, we are citizens of heaven before we’re citizens of earth. Let’s start acting that way, and leading our flocks that way too. This letter is in no way, shape or form meant to disarm you. It’s intended to empower you to take advantage of every opportunity that we have to reflect unto our Savior.
Are you with me?
The writer is the senior pastor of The Shelter Church in the Phoenix, Arizona, US.
