Loyalty and Disloyalty PDF

Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Loyalty and Disloyalty Copyright © 1998, 2005 Dag Heward-Mills First and second editions published by Parchment House 1998, 2005 Published by Lux Verbi.BM (Pty) Ltd. 2008 Published by Parchment House 2011 Find out more about Dag Heward-Mills at: Healing Jesus Campaign Write to: [email protected] Website: www.daghewardmills.org Facebook: Dag Heward-Mills Twitter: @EvangelistDag EBOOK ISBN: 978-0-88270-167-7 All rights reserved under international copyright law. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book. CONTENTS Chapter 1: Why Loyalty? Chapter 2: Stages of Disloyalty Chapter 3: A Culture of Allegiance Chapter 4: Lessons on Loyalty Chapter 5: Signs of Disloyalty Chapter 6: From the Lips of Treacherous Men Chapter 7: A Loyal Assistant Chapter 8: A Disloyal Assistant Chapter 9: Why Judas Betrayed Christ Chapter 10: Avoiding Disloyalty Chapter 11: The North Wind Chapter 12: The Good Fruit of Loyalty Chapter 1 Why Loyalty? Why teach on the subject “Loyalty and Disloyalty”? I believe the Lord has laid on my heart this practical subject for various reasons. First of all, I have seen the relevance of this subject in the Word of God. The Scriptures are replete with accounts of faithful and treacherous people. There is a lot to learn from these accounts in the Bible. My few years in the ministry have also made me very aware of loyal and disloyal people. I have noticed the impact that it has on churches and ministries. In the next few pages I will share with you a few reasons why the subject of loyalty is such an important one. Seven Reasons Why the Subject of Loyalty Is Important 1. Loyalty is the principal qualification for every minister. An inexperienced person is likely to think that the more gifted you are, the more qualified you are for the ministry. My little experience has shown me that it is the faithful and loyal people in church who are most qualified to be leaders. Friendly and Flashy! An inexperienced person would think that a friendly brother would make a good pastor. He may also think that someone with good oratory skills would make the best preacher. Do not make that mistake. The Bible teaches us that the cardinal requirement for leadership is faithfulness and not anything else. …it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 1 Corinthians 4:2 I have many wonderful pastors who work with me. Many of them are not overly friendly, flashy or particularly gifted. But time has proven that they are the best gifts that God has given to His church and me. 2. To fight the 5th column Very early in my ministry I realized that the devil is an expert at destroying the church from within. If you are a good minister, called of God and doing the right things, the devil will have very little opportunity to fight against you from outside. Like Jesus said, …the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. John 14:30 You will realize that Satan often does not have the occasion to launch deadly attacks against you from outside. Jesus was saying that though the enemy was coming after him, he did not have any grounds to destroy him. There are many anointed preachers in this same category. Satan has no basis for which to overcome them so he has to use someone from within. In the case of Jesus it was a traitor (Judas) whom Satan used. I recall reading the story of an army general who surrounded a large city with the aim of conquering it. This city was heavily fortified with a high and imposing wall and gate. The army general surrounded the city in readiness to attack. One friend of the general came along and asked him, “Sir, how do you think you are going to overcome the defenses of this city? No one in recent history has been able to conquer this great city.” The army general smiled and said, “It’s my 5th column. I’m depending on them to do the trick.” The general’s friend was very interested and asked, “What is this 5th column? I thought you only had four columns.” The army general replied, “I do have a 5th column.” “Oh, I see. Is it a special commando unit or are they airborne paratroopers?” the man asked. I Will Fight from Within The general laughed, “No, it’s none of these. My 5th column consists of my spies, agents, friends and supporters who are already within the city. You just wait. They will open those big gates from within and my armies will rush in.” This is the only way the enemy can destroy a successful and powerful ministry that is doing all the right things. It has to come from within. The 5th column comprises the disloyal, double-faced, double-tongued and discontented people within every ministry. If these people are allowed to wreak havoc as they so very well can, they will destroy the church. I Had a Disloyal Associate I remember years ago when I started out in the ministry, I experienced the effect of having a disloyal associate. This person although officially standing on my right-hand side, did not believe in me and was murmuring against me all the time. His home was the meeting place for all the discontented people in the church. Every time they gathered, they would discuss and criticize me. At times, they would talk about the way I preached. At other times, it was the way I sipped water in the middle of my sermons. Yet again, some felt I was not friendly enough. But the Lord revealed all these things to me. I prayed about it and asked the Lord what to do. God told me, “Get rid of that guy.” I said, “Lord, do you mean he must leave the church?” And the Lord said, “I mean exactly that! Dismiss him otherwise you will never have peace and your church will never grow.” So I called for a meeting of the elders of the church. At the meeting I said, “I realize that Brother X is not in support of me. He’s constantly full of bitter criticisms.” I said to Brother X, “I know that you do not believe in my leadership anymore. I trained you. I brought you up. And today you are too big to remain under my authority.” I asked, “What do you think we should do?” Then the brother said, “Let’s work things out.” But the Scripture that the Lord had shown me came floating up to my mind. Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease. Proverbs 22:10 I spoke up, pointed to my assistant and said, “You know as well as I do that it’s not going to work. You don’t believe in me anymore.” I went on, “From today, I have relieved you of all your duties in this church.” He sputtered, “What!” Then he said, “I will continue coming to church even though I may not have certain responsibilities.” You Must Leave This Church Now! But I said to him, “No! You must leave! You are not part of us. Your presence in the church will only be destructive.” I tell you, it was no easy thing to dismiss a friend and associate of many years. But it had to be done. The Bible tells us that when Abraham was in conflict with Lot he directed Lot to go somewhere else! Abraham was saying, “If we are apart there will be peace and the work of God can go on.” A disloyal person breeds strife, hatred and murmuring. These disloyal sentiments are like smoke that fills an entire house. The only way to get rid of the smoke is to get rid of the fire. If we want to have a large church, we need to minister with love and with oneness. If we cannot be one, let’s stop pretending. You see, I encourage people to walk out of my church if their hearts are not with me. He that is not with me is against me… Matthew 12:30 I will beg you to leave, if I have to. I am serious about this. I will even give you money to pay for your transportation and snacks as you leave us! So that those of us who love one another and are confident about each other can stay together and continue working. Get Rid of Pretenders I don’t know how to pretend. I simply don’t know how to do it. But there are many pretenders in the church. They pretend to love you and support you but in their hearts they despise you. 3. For the love of God to fill the church The ministry is supposed to operate with the power of love, unity and teamwork. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35 To minister as effective leaders you need to exhibit the love that Jesus spoke about. People are attracted by love. When they see leaders who flow together in genuine love they are attracted. You must never forget that your church members are not blind. Neither are they deaf. They can see and feel disunity and discord when it is there. Sheep Only Drink from Still Waters One thing that every pastor must know about sheep is that they drink from still waters. If the water is murky and rough the sheep will stay away. You see, they are not sure there is no crocodile in the water! …he leadeth me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2 Whenever there is treachery and distrust your church members become scared and wary and stay away. 4. To have a large and successful ministerial team One man can only do so much. One pastor can only be at one place at a time. He can only minister until his strength (which is limited) is exhausted. Because of this, anyone who wants to extend his ministry and bear much fruit has to learn to work with many other people. These people are the team that I’m talking about. However, it would be better to work alone than with a team of disloyal, disgruntled, disunited and disaffected people. In fact, it is not possible to have an effective team with such people. I believe I have only been able to do as much as I have done because of the team with whom I work. 5. To have a Mega Church As I am writing, there are Lighthouse churches all over the world Ghana, South Africa, New York and Switzerland to mention a few. These churches are part of a network that is loyal to the headquarters of the church in Ghana. People often ask me, “How do you sustain churches in all these different locations? What sort of controls do you have?” You see, much of the system depends on loyalty. The churches are pastored by ministers who are loyal to the Lord, to me and to the Lighthouse vision. Without loyalty every network or denomination of churches constantly undergoes disintegration. They frequently divide into splinter groups and smaller sub-churches. Their Church Disintegrated I remember the story of a branch church that disintegrated because of disunity. Some long-standing seeds of disloyalty manifested shortly after a fundraising event in the local church. As a result of this disagreement, the pastor decided to resign and start his own church. He was so angry that he returned all the monies he had raised. The church members of course were very surprised that the money they had given to the church was being returned. This pastor spread many bad stories about his denomination and its senior ministers. Naturally, this church virtually disintegrated following the pastor’s actions. Dear friend, I can give you story after story of why churches (especially branch churches in big cities) constantly divide and break off. What I can say for sure is that without principled and loyal pastors the ministry of our Lord will always be limited. 6. To have a long-lasting ministry One person has only a few years of practical and effective ministry. Jesus only ministered for three and a half years but he extended his ministry and his influence through an effective and loyal team. Notice that Jesus’ ministry has branched out into the whole world and has spanned almost two thousand years. If I die now, the Lighthouse Chapel is going to live on! It does not depend on me. I have not built a church around my personality. The church will continue. None of us is indispensable. God can do without us. That is why we need to build a team of loyal successors. 7. In order to reap our full reward Those who benefit from the blessings of success are the faithful and loyal ones. One day, we all hope to hear those famous words: Well done, good and faithful servant. Those who stick with you through difficult times are different from those who come in when everything is working well. Well Done! Jesus himself told his twelve disciples that they would be treated differently from any other famous minister. They would have a special kingdom and their names would even be written on the foundations of the New Jerusalem. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles... Revelation 21:14 Even the great men of God we know today will not qualify for this special reward. Jesus gave a reason for this special reward they had been loyal to him through the most difficult part of his ministry. Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations... I appoint unto you a kingdom... Luke 22:28, 29 You see, loyalty is most appreciated in hard times. In the good times everybody seems loyal. A Few Have Stood I appreciate very much the pastors who have stood with me throughout my ministry. They have watched me rise and supported me, even in my mistakes. To me, they are different from others. Like Jesus said, they have a special reward! Chapter 2 Stages of Disloyalty Becoming Disloyal Is a Process Disloyalty doesn’t just happen overnight. Becoming disloyal is a process! Most people are unaware of the fact that they are becoming disloyal. Many leaders do not even notice disloyalty in their associates. In this chapter, I am going to outline the stages a person goes through when he is gradually changing into a rebel. Learn to Detect Disloyalty There are two reasons why you must know these stages of disloyalty. First of all, it will help you to identify and kill any such tendency within you. Secondly, it will help you to detect disloyalty in any person you work with. This applies to the ministry and even to businesses, especially smaller companies. The Lord has shown me eight important stages that a person goes through when he is becoming disloyal. The first stage is when he develops what I call an independent spirit. 1st Stage The Independent Spirit The independent stage is so subtle that most people do not recognize it for what it actually is disloyalty. When a person belonging to a group, ministry or company develops an independent attitude, he sort of becomes autonomous within the set-up. The rules of the organization no longer control him. Such a person is still a part of the church but does what he wants to do, in spite of contrary instructions. For instance, the pastor may say, “We are all fasting on Friday.” But the person with an independent spirit would think, “I’ve already decided to fast on Wednesday. So that’s what I’ll do.” Watch out for the Independent Ones Pastors, watch out for deacons and leaders who have independent spirits. You may call for several meetings, but a person with an independent spirit decides to attend only those he feels are important. Such a person obeys only certain instructions the ones he thinks are really important. Because Ghana is independent of the USA, whenever there is an American holiday it has no bearing on Ghana. Ghana and America are two countries in the same world, but independent of each other. When Ghana declares a holiday, America takes no notice of it because America is independent of Ghana. If you are unfortunate enough to have choristers who have independent spirits you may experience something like this. You would declare prayer meetings, rehearsals, and outreaches, but an independent chorister would decide, “I think I’ll just attend the rehearsal.” Once again this individual is doing exactly what she thinks should be done. There is nothing wrong with being independent. I believe in independence and we thank God for independent people. However, if you are a part of a denomination, group or company you are not independent. When you begin to exhibit a spirit of independence within an organization, be it known onto you that you are becoming disloyal. I Had an Independent Spirit Many years ago, I belonged to a group that had branches all over the country. I even founded a branch of this group. But as time went on I began to have difficulties with the headquarters of this group. At that time, I thought to myself that my superiors at the headquarters were out of step spiritually. You see, the group I was leading was growing. Many souls were being established every week. The overall directors of the organization would call for meetings at the headquarters. They wanted the whole group to come into town for these meetings. But I never went for any such meeting; neither did I encourage any of the members to attend. I always said to myself, “Those meetings are not important. What I am doing on campus is important. I am winning souls.” I Was Wrong But I was wrong. I had an independent spirit and didn’t even know it. The overseers found me to be a successful leader in my little branch. But they could not control me within the organization. At that time, I just attributed the conflict to lack of vision on the part of my overseers. The point I’m making here is: If you belong to an organization, you are not independent of that organization. Therefore, you cannot just do what you think is right. You must comply with directives that are coming from the head. If you feel you want to be independent then you should resign. Pastor Joab The Independent Killer Were there independent people in the Bible? The answer is yes. Throughout the Second Book of Samuel, Joab is noted as someone who did what he wanted to do. He was part of David’s army. He was part of David’s ministry team, if you like. He was one of David’s managers! You could say he was the Prime Minister or David’s right-hand man. He was so powerful, yet he had an independent spirit. This independent spirit manifested itself many times. The first example of the independence of Joab was in the murder of Abner. Abner was the commander-in-chief of another section of the armies of Israel. David as the head of government, decided to make peace with Abner after years of conflict. The King even called for celebrations of this peace agreement by feasting with him. So Abner came to David… And David made… him a feast… and he went in peace. 2 Samuel 3:20, 21 But when Joab heard that this man had been entertained in the palace, he was furious. He chased him, caught up with him and requested to speak with him privately. But Joab tricked him and killed him. And...he [Joab] sent messengers after Abner, which brought him again… took him [Abner] aside… and smote him… 2 Samuel 3:26, 27 When the King opted for peace, his right-hand man decided to do otherwise. Although he was supposed to submit to the wishes of the king, he went ahead with his own plan. People like this are dangerous. Joab could have plunged an entire nation into war through his independent actions. There are people like that in church. The founder or Head pastor is often the vision carrier. He leads the way because he is the head. All associate pastors and leaders in the church are supposed to flow with his vision. An independent ‘Pastor Joab’ will only bring confusion and strife to the church. Take note of such people in the church, because they are only a few stages away from open rebellion. The second incident I want you to notice is in Joab’s handling of Absalom’s coup d’état. Rev. Joab Moves Independently Again Absalom rebelled and actually ousted his father David from the throne. Absalom was now in power and David was faced with the bizarre circumstance of having to fight against his own son. In the midst of these extraordinary circumstances, David specifically instructed that the army should not kill his son Absalom. He wanted to spare the life of his son. And the king commanded Joab… Deal gently for my sake with… Absalom... 2 Samuel 18:5 Thankfully, the battle turned in the favor of King David and Absalom had to flee. A certain man reported that he had seen Absalom hanging by his hair on a tree. Joab immediately blurted out, “Why didn’t you kill him? I would have rewarded you handsomely.” But the man said,...Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king’s son: for in our hearing the king charged thee… saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom. 2 Samuel 18:12 This unnamed person was part of King David’s set-up and was obviously loyal to him. But here comes a man with an independent spirit and look at what he did. Independent People Do What They Want to Do …And he [Joab] took three darts… and thrust them through the heart of Absalom… 2 Samuel 18:14 Independent people do what they want to do inspite of the instructions that are emanating from above. Ironically, Independent People Don’t Leave Notice that Joab never really left David’s camp. Such people have not decided to leave. They will stay around but will do what they want to do! That is the independent spirit and it is a degree of disloyalty. I always notice independent people within the congregation. Some of them are leadership material but because they are independent of me and of my vision, I cannot work with them. He Was Spiritual, but Independent I once asked an independent church member, in whom I saw leadership potential, to join our Bible school. Quite characteristic of an independent person, he said, “I have been in the church since it began many years ago. I have heard all of your messages.” He went on, “Pastor, what else am I going to learn in this Bible school?” That was the end of the matter. He didn’t attend. At another time, I asked him to become a fellowship (cell) leader within the church. He told me, “Pastor, I am already conducting a fellowship in my home.” I asked, “Who are the members of this fellowship? Are they members of our church? Do you consider this to be a church group?” “Oh no!” he answered. “They are my personal converts.” This brother could not be a cell leader within the church because he was building his own private cell group. He had no intention of defecting from the church. He was within the church but independent of everything going on around him. Branch Pastor Joab Threatens a Takeover The next example of Joab’s independence was when he fought against the royal city of Rabbah on behalf of King David. When victory was in sight he sent a warning message, “You better come and participate in the war otherwise I will get all the credit.” Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it... 2 Samuel 12:28 He wanted David to be there himself! What he was saying in other words was, I’m no fool to do all the hard work only for you to take the glory. As is said in Ghana, “monkey dey work, baboon dey chop”. (In other words, the monkey does all the hard work whilst the baboon benefits from the reward.) Pastor Threatens to Change Church’s Name Joab went on to threaten that if the king did not get involved as he was suggesting, the city could be named after him instead of David....lest I take the city, and it be called after my [Joab] name. 2 Samuel 12:28 How can you send such a message: “Come quickly otherwise I will change the name of the church?” Such a pastor can take over a branch church and rename it. Such a person can convert a cell group into his personal church. This is the reason why some pastors don’t believe in cells or branches. They fear that they will have Joabs as leaders. The last example of Joab’s independent spirit comes at the end of the king’s life. David made it very clear that he wanted Solomon to be the next king. Independent Pastor Helps the Opposition There was another son named Adonijah who wanted to be king in the stead of Solomon. To do this he needed the help of some perfidious characters. Once again Joab, who knew David’s wishes went contrary to it and helped Adonijah. Then Adonijah… exalted himself, saying, I will be king... And he [Adonijah] conferred with Joab … [who] helped him. 1 Kings 1:5, 7 2nd Stage Offence The second stage of disloyalty is offence. Jesus said, And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. Matthew 24:10 From this Scripture you can see that people begin to betray and hate one another when they are offended. The Bible says folks will betray you when they are offended. I have always been wary of wounded people because I know that they can turn against me. The spirit of offence opens the door to the spirit of treachery. Is Anyone Hurt? Dear leader, look around you and observe those who have been wounded by one event or another. If these people have not genuinely overcome their hurts, hear the voice of the Spirit today. They are potential separatists, and they can easily become your enemies. I believe that Absalom was grievously hurt by two important events. First of all, his half-brother’s rape of his sister. He probably decided to kill his brother from the very day it happened. Secondly, his father King David did not take the appropriate action against Amnon for raping Tamar. The Bible says King David was very angry with Amnon. However, he was under obligation to do more than just being angry. If he had done his duty, he would have fulfilled the Law of Moses. And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter… and see her nakedness... [he] shall be cut off... Leviticus 20:17 The penalty for incest in those days was death. But David failed to implement it. Never forget this, hurts and offences usher people down the road of disloyalty. 3rd Stage Passivity After being offended by one thing or the other, people become passive. When a person is in the passive stage of the disloyalty process he does not involve himself in much. He sits and watches unconcerned and uninvolved. Pastors, look out for people in the congregation who are indifferent and unconcerned. They are potential deserters of the ship. Watch out for the Uninvolved Members For instance, I consider members to be passive if they don’t get involved in prayer meetings or smaller group activities. If all businessmen were called for a meeting, he is not likely to attend, even though he is a businessman. Such people may have been hurt in the recent past. They say things like, “I don’t want any more trouble in this church. Let me just keep to myself.” Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood. Jeremiah 48:10 You can see from the above Scripture that God expects you to get involved when you have something to contribute. This verse is actually teaching us that it is a curse to be uninvolved when you have something to pitch in. Passivity is dangerous because you move rapidly into the critical stage of disloyalty. In order to become critical you must be uninvolved. You must have enough time to scrutinize and despise the church and its leaders. Don’t you know that an uninvolved person more readily sees the faults around him? As they say, it is the bystander who sees that the worker is digging a crooked trench. All leaders must learn to look for this important sign of passivity among their workers. The uninterested leader is uninvolved for a reason. Why Was He So Quiet? Remember the story of Absalom who went through this stage of passivity. Amnon had raped and disgraced Absalom’s sister, Tamar. Absalom was doubtlessly angry with his half-brother but said nothing for two whole years. That is passivity! Doing nothing and saying nothing! I do not overlook silent and detached people who have nothing to say or contribute. And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad… 2 Samuel 13:22 But notice again that this indifferent person (Absalom) quickly degenerated into a murderer and tergiversator when the opportunity presented itself. …Absalom had commanded his servants… when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine… then kill him... 2 Samuel 13:28 Are You Happy? When I talk about being quiet, I am not talking about someone who has a naturally subdued personality. I am talking about someone who is normally outgoing but is consciously subdued and detached. One of the common questions I ask those around me is, “Are you happy?” I want everybody around me to be happy. I am concerned when someone is unusually calm and cool. Every good leader must ensure that those around him are secure and content. If King David had noticed Absalom’s nonchalant attitude, he might have been able to prevent his son from becoming a full-fledged anarchist. 4th Stage The Critical Stage A disloyal person is not passive forever; he progresses into the next step of being critical. This is the stage of noticing and magnifying faults. In church, he finds faults with the preaching of the Word and with the order of service. He analyses the building and notices all the deficiencies of the surroundings. Miriam had become critical of Moses. She had followed his leadership all the way out of Egypt, but now she began to see his faults and humanness. And she spoke about his marital problems. And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses… Numbers 12:1 I remember early in the ministry, a spirit of disloyalty entered my church. Many of the church members became very critical of me. With eagle eyes they watched out for my faults. Poor me! I Was Frightened by My Church Members I was a young pastor with no theological training. Here I was, being subjected to the critical scrutiny of these people. “Is he really called?” they asked. “Can a medical student be a pastor?” I could virtually hear them saying, “We know you don’t have much to say. Just summarize your message and let’s close the service.” I Dreaded Saturday Evenings I would become so nervous on Saturdays that I would have diarrhoea from Saturday night to Sunday morning. Once I asked my beloved (fiancé), “Is this the dread I will have to go through every Saturday night?” I will never forget standing before the congregation, on one particular Sunday morning. I lifted my eyes from my Bible after praying, and saw the angry and hypercritical eyes of my assistant and a host of others. I knew within me that they would never find anything good in what I was going to preach. This critical atmosphere almost broke up my fledgling church. Naturally, a hypercritical atmosphere does not help anyone to preach well. Some may ask why I teach so much on the subject of loyalty. This is because I have experienced the devastating impact disloyalty can have on the ministry. Point of View or Viewpoint? Someone once told me, your point of view depends on your viewpoint. The value of a thing varies depending on the eyes with which you look at it. If you look at something with critical eyes, you will only see the imperfections. However, if you look at it with an eye of love you will see something good and hope for the future. Absalom also had begun to find faults with the king’s style of leadership. He was so engrossed with the deficiencies of David’s ministry. He could see no good anywhere. This only led to another stage of disloyalty deception. And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. 2 Samuel 15:3 5th Stage The Political Stage When a person becomes political, he tries to involve others in his ideas and philosophies. Politicians operate on the power of people’s opinions. Many politicians cannot tell the truth because they want to please people. What people think and say is what concerns them most. When a person is becoming disloyal he tries to involve other people in his treacherous ideas. He wants to gather a following and make people believe that he has identified a real problem that must be addressed. This is exactly what Absalom did. Absalom was hurt (offence stage), then he said nothing for two years (passive stage). He then became unduly analytical of David’s policies (critical stage). Now he began to involve other people in his disloyal thoughts. And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. 2 Samuel 15:3 The Bible tells us that Absalom sat at the gate of the city. When anyone came to see the king, he would ask if they had any problem. He would then listen carefully and sympathize with them. He explained to the people, “It is a pity that the king has no time for you today.” He lamented, “Unfortunately, he has not even bothered to delegate someone to attend to your problems.” Let’s Pray for our Pastor Absalom went on, “Let’s pray for our dear king. He’s getting older and is probably finding it difficult to cope with the job.” This is the mistake that some associate pastors make. Because of their work schedule they may have more opportunity to interact with the people. The congregation begins to feel that the associate is more accessible and friendlier than the senior pastor (the king) is. The mistaken associate will allude to the senior pastor (the king) as incompetent and really just a figurehead. The people of Israel were so impressed with the king’s son for two reasons. Number one, he was so handsome and physically attractive. Two, he seemed to genuinely care for them. After impressing them for a while, Absalom won the hearts of the people. …so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. 2 Samuel 15:6 When someone becomes political he wants to involve others in his train of thought. You see, the more people that you can involve in something controversial, the more confidence you will gain. Disloyal people have an insidious way of discussing the shortcomings of their leaders. They ask questions like, “How did you find the service today? I thought it was a bit dry.” They even come up with Scriptures. “As a Bible based church, don’t you think we should have some miracles?” “Do you think our pastor is as anointed as he was last year?” “Have you noticed that a lot of people are leaving the church?” “I think that our pastor travels a bit too much. Don’t you?” These questions are used as bait for unsuspecting Christians. They drag innocent members into analysis of issues that are “above” them. …neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Psalm 131:1 Gradually they are able to spread their dissenting feelings to a group of gullible Christians. Many People Are Saying… The next thing is that they approach you with reports of discontent within the congregation. From experience, I have come to learn that when a person is in the political stage of disloyalty, he has three favourite phrases: A lot of people are saying “so-and-so”. Everybody is saying “so-and-so”. Many people are saying “so-and-so”. They say, “A lot of people are saying, ‘You travel too much.’ Everybody is saying that the church building project has taken too long to complete.” They explain, “I am speaking on behalf of many who are not happy in church.” His Home Was the Centre of Discussion Some years ago, I had an associate just like that! He seemed friendlier than I was and more accessible. People would take their problems to him. His home was the centre for the discussion of the problems of the church. They discussed all of my shortcomings in his house. The church members became more and more discontent with my style of doing things. “He preaches too long, don’t you think?” “He sips water while he preaches.” “He walks up and down too much.” With time, he began to tell me, “A lot of people are saying… Many people are saying…” There Is Joy and Liberty When He Travels I recall one day I was at a retreat centre for a time of fasting and prayer. I came across the associate pastor of a large church in my city. After exchanging social niceties, I asked, “How is your senior pastor?” “Oh, he’s around.” He said. I went on, “How is the church doing?” He replied, “We have some problems, but we are watching. You know what, when he travels everybody is happy.” Confused, I asked, “When who travels?” He smiled and said, “The senior pastor.” “Why is this so?” I queried. He answered, “Because when he’s away there is liberty and joy, and the Holy Spirit flows. The fact is that, a lot of people are not blessed anymore when he preaches.” He emphasized, “Oh, many people are not happy when he is here! There is joy and liberty when he is away!” As I listened to him, I concluded that this man was far down the road of disloyalty. And I was not wrong! Less than a year later he rebelled and broke away from his senior pastor with a section of the church. Sack Him! When a person gets to this political stage of disloyalty he becomes dangerous to the unity and stability of the church. Such an individual is a threat to the security of your leadership. It is unsafe to maintain this “Absalomic” personality within your ranks. In my opinion, you have more than enough grounds to get rid of him. 6th Stage Deception One thing that I am sure about is that people who rebel are grossly deceived. If they were not deceived they would not do some of the things they did. Most people who have rebelled have ended up in destruction. And I know that no one intends to destroy his life. I want to take you through some of the common deceptions that ministers encounter as they progress along the road of disloyalty. You must realize though, that every minister is tempted with these thoughts. Many rebellious people are deceived into thinking they are greater than their seniors. Sometimes a son in the ministry can rise up to do greater things than his father. Jesus did not seem to be worried about the fact that some of his disciples would do more miracles. He actually predicted that his trainees would do greater things than he had done and he was happy about it. …the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do... John 14:12 History has proved this to be true. Today, evangelists minister to larger crowds than Jesus ever did. Ministers have larger Bible schools than Jesus did (Jesus had only twelve students in his Bible school). Jesus never travelled more than two hundred miles from the place where he was born. I have travelled thousands of miles from the place where I was born. Jesus never wrote a book but you are reading one of my books. Jesus never had an office for his ministry. But most churches do. Jesus never went to the university, but I did for seven years. Jesus raised only two people from the dead, but someone like Smith Wigglesworth is said to have raised twenty-one people from the dead. At the end of his life Jesus was ruthlessly murdered by his enemies and condemned amongst thieves. Most pastors would be given an honourable exit from this world. But Jesus didn’t have that! While he was dying, the soldiers gambled for one of the few things he had on earth his coat. However, most ministers now own more property on this earth than Jesus did. These facts do not make any of us greater than Christ. Christ is still Christ the King. And you and I are still mortal non-entities. Without Him we are nothing. Do not be deceived by your recent promotion in the ministry. You are still you. Jesus said,...The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. John 13:16 It is unfortunate that when we make little gains in the ministry, we begin to think that we are greater than anyone who has been before us. Don’t Despise Your Teacher Ministers despise their teachers just because they have acquired a little following and a new car. One of the oaths I had to make as a new doctor was to respect my teachers. You must remember that you have been helped by somebody to get to where you are. You must never forget that, in a certain sense, you have been set where you are by or through someone else. Lucifer was appointed by God, but it seems he forgot the all-important fact. Thou art the anointed cherub… and I have set thee so… Ezekiel 28:14 Lucifer forgot that his perfection, wisdom and beauty had come from somewhere. It was actually created. You learnt what you know from somewhere. Eighty per cent of what we preach and teach is learned. Lucifer was a created being. He did not create himself....Thou… full of wisdom… perfect in beauty… wast created. Ezekiel 28:12, 13 Some people have a little vision and go off into the deep end. Some pastors have a few miracles in their churches and from that time they respect no one. They lay hands on one or two people who fall under the power of the Spirit and their hearts are corrupted because of their success in the ministry. Many sing their praises and young ladies approach them with admiring eyes. Deceived by His Recent Success Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty… Ezekiel 28:17 Many Ghanaian pastors become rebellious when they are sent outside their country to pastor churches in rich European and American cities. They walk up and down in the midst of the “stones of fire” and it goes to their heads. I remember one minister who had been in training for some years. He was sent to pastor a branch church for the first time in his ministry. After six months he returned completely transformed into a rebel. He Said, “Give Me Six Months” No one could control or counsel him. He had cutting rebukes for his seniors, pointing out to them that they were not always right. This person had become deceived into believing he was as gifted as anyone else was. In the end, he resigned, bitterly denouncing and deriding his superiors in the ministry. Out of contempt, he called his former church a cult. He even went as far as calling his father-in-the-Lord (the one who led him to Christ) a fool, for associating with the church he was leaving. To emphasize the “I’m as good as you are” attitude, he started a church a few meters away from his home church. And began to invite members from his previous denomination to join him. That was not all. This refractory anarchist vowed to prove his ministerial gift to all and sundry within six months of his defection. However, years after this defiant separatist revolted, he has simply disappeared into obscurity. This obstinate insurgent thought that within six months he could achieve things that take many years of experience to attain. I believe that avoidance of deception was one of the reasons why Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. It is to remind everyone that no matter what you achieve or attain you are not Christ! We need to remember our origins. We need to remember how we became what we are today. Jesus said, …this do in remembrance of me. Luke 22:19 Many rebellious people are deceived because they are gifted and anointed. Absalom was very gifted but wanted to be the king. Many insurrectionists think that they have acquired all the knowledge they will ever need. The Mother of All Deception The mother of all deception is when the mutineer thinks that he can destroy his teacher and father. He thinks he has enough clout to obliterate those who have been a blessing to him. The spirit of rebellion does not only lead assistant pastors to defect but also inspires them to fight against the authorities that have been set over them. Absalom fought against his own father and failed. Judas tried to destroy Jesus his teacher and Lord but that is the mother of all deception. You cannot destroy the Lord through your uprising. Lucifer thought he could dethrone God, but that was also not possible. What folly! What unthinkable madness! He Threatened to Destroy His Own Father Some years ago, I sat at home fellowshipping with a Nigerian minister. This pastor friend of mine is the overseer of several large churches scattered all over Nigeria. As we chatted, I realized he had had experiences similar to mine. He spoke of one mutinous pastor who had grown up in his house as a sort of servant. I Will Publish a Book about You This young man had graduated into becoming the pastor of one of his largest branch churches. My friend told me that this pastor had become anarchistic and had decided to fight against him. I was struck by one of the comments that he made. He told me, “This young man rebelled, broke away and began to say all sorts of malicious things about me.” His own son in the ministry said, “I will publish a book of seditious material that will bring you down.” I Will Run You out of This Town How interesting, I thought. I remembered a similar threat that I had received from a rebel pastor. This person had said that he was going to run me out of my own city. You see, this is the mother of all deception. This is the spirit of Absalom that fights against your own father. The spirit of Lucifer, is the spirit that tries to replace and take over rightful authority. The spirit of Judas, is the treacherous spirit that betrays and turns against its own teacher. I want you to learn right here, that all of these things are impossible. You cannot replace God. And you cannot succeed in fighting your own father. God will not help you and in fact, He will fight against you. All of nature, including the wild ravens and eagles of the air will fight against you. The Bible says, The eye that mocketh at his father… the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. Proverbs 30:17 7th Stage Open Rebellion This is the stage where deceived insurrectionists fight openly against authority. This open fight comes about because of the confidence the rebel develops over the months and years. He gains psychological support by gaining the support of some of the people he talked to. Remember that Lucifer gained the support of over a third of the angels. He has had time to analyze the merits and demerits of the person against whom he is rebelling. Then suddenly, he exposes himself to be what he is at heart. 1. Lucifer did this. And there was war in heaven …and the dragon [the devil] fought… Revelation 12:7 2. Absalom fought against his father. And David said… Behold, my son (Absalom), which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life… 2 Samuel 16:1 3. Absalom tried to become his father in all aspects, including in the bedroom. …and Absalom went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. 2 Samuel 16:22 4. Judas betrayed and fought against his Lord and master....Judas… came, and with him a great multitude with swords… Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. Matthew 26:47, 48 Judas had told them to get a good hold of Christ and not let him go. This is the open fight against your master, teacher or your father. It is what I call the open rebellion stage of disloyalty. This leads us into the last and final stage of this drama. What I call the execution stage. 8th Stage Execution The end of all rebels is one and the same execution. Rebellion is an essentially evil thing. The Bible teaches us that rebellion is as witchcraft. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft… 1 Samuel 15:23 The Biblical punishment for witchcraft is execution. Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. Exodus 22:18 God does not support rebellion in any form or fashion. Do not involve yourself in any kind of rebellion. Those who get involved in revolts are often simple-minded people. Many of them do not know what is afoot. And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing. 2 Samuel 15:11 Many people run into rebellion because of their innocence and ignorance. If Absalom’s followers had known exactly what they were doing, I believe they would not have followed him. The fruit of rebellion throughout the Bible is very clear execution. God will divinely displace and replace you with someone else. Your seat will be taken by another who is worthier than you. You will be banished into obscurity and oblivion. There will be a curse on you and your family. Just study the following list of executions: Lucifer And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:9 Absalom And ten young men… compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him. 2 Samuel 18:15 Ahithophel …Ahithophel… hanged himself, and died… 2 Samuel 17:23 Shemei So the king commanded Benaiah… which went out, and fell upon him (Shemei), that he died... 1 Kings 2:46 Adonijah And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him (Adonijah) that he died. 1 Kings 2:25 Judas And he (Judas)… went and hanged himself. Matthew 27:5 Chapter 3 A Culture of Allegiance A culture can simply be defined as “the way we think and the way we do things around here”. The culture of a church is a very powerful force. A church can either have a culture of loyalty or disloyalty. In visiting different churches, I have noticed a prevailing climate of loyalty or treachery. I remember once when I was in South Africa to minister, I interacted with several assistant pastors and leaders. Throughout my interactions, I noticed a certain reverence and genuine love that all the associates seemed to have for their senior pastor. Never once was there any sarcastic remark from anyone. They seemed to sincerely love and respect their pastor. That Church Had a Culture of Disloyalty I recall also being in another church where the contrast was unmistakable. I found assistant pastors who did not hesitate to make sarcastic comments about their head pastor behind his back. They seemed to think that they were gaining my sympathy by applauding different aspects about my church while maintaining an unfavourable picture of their own church. I remember one of the pastors said, “Oh, I like your church building. It’s simple and practical.” And he continued, “You know our ‘man’ (he was referring to his senior pastor). We have been doing this expensive project for many years and we are getting nowhere.” I just looked on in amazement! You see, by this comment this pastor had ridiculed his pastor and his pastor’s management in front of me, an outsider. I remember another time, when I was officiating a wedding of a church member. The bride was from my church and the bridegroom was from this other church. I had asked my associate to perform the nuptial ceremony so that I would preach. He Said, “I Like Your Style” After the service, this pastor who belonged to the bridegroom’s church approached me and said, “I am very happy to meet you. I like your style.” He added, “I’m glad to meet a Bishop who allows his associates to participate in the ceremony. You know, at our place things are different. Our man the Bishop, would not have allowed anybody else to play a prominent role.” I listened quietly. I thought to myself, “This man thinks he’s praising me by making cynical remarks about his Bishop.” But He Was a Rebel I said to myself, “This is a rebel in the making.” And sure enough a year later, this pastor rebelled against his Bishop. I am talking about a culture of disloyalty. A culture can simply be defined as “the way we think and the way we do things around here”. A church’s culture is simply the set of unique customs and values that the members are accustomed to. The culture of a church is a very powerful force. You may not be aware of it but it is real. You need to develop a good culture of faithfulness, fidelity and loyalty. Even in the business world, the culture of the company in question determines how well it does. In my church, we have gradually developed what I call a culture of loyalty. It is unacceptable to speak negatively about any minister. I myself have no sardonic remarks to make about my friends and pastors behind their backs. If I have anything to say I will usually just say it. People Notice Loyalty Lighthouse church members would regard you as a rebel if you began to speak in a certain way. One brother, coming from a less loyal church culture remarked, “Your church is airtight.” What he was trying to say was that he had found our culture impermeable to all forms of malicious talk. As a result, the undercurrents of murmuring and discontented people are not free to exist in our environment. Five Keys to the Culture of Loyalty 1. The key of the North wind The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue. Proverbs 25:23 The first key to developing a culture of loyalty may come as a surprise to many. It is what I call the Key of the North Wind. The Bible says that the north wind drives away the rain. A powerful rainstorm is driven away by a strong wind. In the same way, the power of malicious backbiting tongues can be neutralized by certain facial expressions. Your Face Is the North Wind Just show someone by your face that you are not interested in their conversation. According to the Bible, your disagreeable attitude is strong enough to deter unruly and rebellious elements. People will gradually get to know that disloyal people are not welcome there. One day a certain young lady came to see one of my associate pastors. She mistakenly thought she was praising him when she said, “How approachable you are!” She went on, “If it wasn’t for you I would have left this church.” My associate pastor told me, “As soon as she made that remark I ‘squeezed’ my face.” (In other words, this young lady was saying that I was not a nice enough pastor. And the only reason she could give for staying on as a member was the presence of my associate.) However, the expression on the associate pastor’s face was enough to quench any further traitorous discussion. You see, the pastor could have thought that he was very anointed and that was why this church member was saying what she said. But that would have been a mistake. Assistant pastors must not be deceived by temptations to be disloyal. The devil often uses ordinary people to bring about these temptations. The women in Israel sang, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” This was not true. David had just killed Goliath and not tens of thousands of Philistines. Do not be deceived by empty words that come out of baby Christians. The Friendly Assistant Pastor Often the assistant pastor seems friendlier than the head pastor. This is because the head may have certain duties that are for the benefit of the whole church. The assistant pastor may be delegated to handle the lesser needs of the church. The assistant pastor therefore seems more approachable and accessible. Some associates can become deceived into thinking that the congregation prefers them to the senior minister. A loyal assistant must learn to drive away any backbiting and criticism of the senior. Her Face Frightened Me Many years ago, I attended a meeting of a church group to which I belonged. At the close of the service the pastor decided to take a second offering. When he announced it, I immediately turned to the person sitting by me and murmured, “Why take a second offering? It’s not necessary.” She said nothing but gave me a look I will never forget. Suddenly my heart smote me and I realized I had done something wrong. I felt so bad that I had complained, even though it was unknown to the pastor. …an angry countenance [drives away] a backbiting tongue. Proverbs 25:23 2. The key of constant pruning To have a culture of loyalty you must constantly prune out disloyal elements that find their way into our midst. I believe that no one should stay on in a church when he or she does not want to. I have discovered that if anyone indicates his desire to resign, it is best for such a person not to stay on but to leave immediately. This is because his heart has already left the church. Remove Disloyal People Quickly I learnt this the hard way when I encouraged a rebellious pastor to stay on after he had indicated his desire to leave. The extra months that he stayed on were not worth the trouble they yielded. Now, I have a different policy. If you indicate your desire to leave, you will have to go immediately. Even if you change your mind, it is too late. The reason for this is simple, …a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 1 Corinthians 5:6 One dissenting employee pollutes the others with his disgruntled attitude. After Judas resigned from Jesus’ ministry, Jesus told him, …That thou doest, do quickly. John 13:27 One pastor of a large church described how many unhappy experiences he underwent because he retained a pastor who did not want to stay on. People who don’t want to be with you must go; and they must leave as soon as possible. It’s as simple as that. Some pastors are so soft that they do not remove openly rebellious elements. I remember the testimony of a pastor who graduated from the Bible school of a church with a disloyal culture. He said, “It was obvious that the Dean and lecturers of this Bible school had little confidence in their own church.” “They could rarely find something positive to say about their church.” This pastor said something that I find amazing! He said, “Whenever there was need of an example to illustrate a negative point, they would choose their own church as the example.” He went on, “Once when we were being lectured on administration and management, the lecturer said, ‘See, this church (and its pastor of course) is an example of a church with a poor administration and bad management.’” What do you think the students would think of the senior pastor whenever he taught in the Bible school? Such people need to be weeded out of the system. Do not allow any leader to pollute your precious sheep. 3. The key of creating fire At times it is necessary to create conditions that expose disloyal elements within the team. …there came a viper out of the heat… Acts 28:3 When Paul landed on the island of Melita, the local folk kindly kindled a fire for him and his companions. Paul gathered some sticks and laid them on the fire. The Stick Was a Snake Suddenly, a viper (which by the way is one of the most dangerous species of snakes) came out of the fire and fastened itself to Paul’s hand. One of the ‘sticks’ was a snake! The fire exposed it. Before being subjected to fire, some snakes can pose as ordinary sticks. What fire am I talking about? The fire of time for instance is an example of something that exposes the snake-like nature of some people. Difficult times and hardships also bring out the true nature of people. Sometimes softening the path on which ministers travel does not help to test their hearts. Jesus suffered in the ministry from wicked people all around him. We must also suffer. And suffering brings out the true nature in people. Do Not Be under Pressure to Promote People Do not be in a hurry to promote people. If they will rebel because they have not been promoted, they will rebel even if they are promoted. If you don’t believe me, just try it out! I have come to see that rebellion is of the heart. If a person will cause trouble, no amount of money or attractive conditions of service will prevent it. Transfer and See What Happens One of the fires that bring out snakes within a large denomination of churches is the “fire of transfer”. Numerous pastors when subjected to the possibility of transfer rebel against the authority. Why should you rebel against your transfer? Did you obey the call of God on condition that you would live in a rich city? A person’s reaction to being transferred tells us a lot about his character. 4. The key of working with willing people only Make sure you do not have unwilling (trapped) people around you. Constantly make a way for them to leave if they want to. One thing you should not have is someone who would like to leave but because of financial or other reasons feels trapped within your organization. The hearts of such people are not with you anymore. They can become traitors. Make a way for such people to exit peacefully. There is nothing like working with a willing and happy person. For if there be first a willing mind… 2 Corinthians 8:12 I have decided to assist the departure of any unwilling person who wants to leave. Because in helping them I will also be helping myself. 5. The key of teaching against disloyalty Constant teaching on the subjects of loyalty and disloyalty are very important. Most people are ignorant of the evolvement of the disloyalty process. In other words, many rebels are unaware of what they are doing. Constant education will prevent people from unknowingly involving themselves in traitorous activities. Anyone who wants to build a large church must constantly teach on faithfulness and loyalty. No one is born with faithfulness and loyalty written all over him. Every minister will have his due share of temptations to become disloyal. Your leaders will develop a culture of loyalty as you constantly teach about it. Chapter 4 Lessons on Loyalty Lesson #1 Loyalty Demands Full Persuasion You must be fully convinced in your heart about anything you are involved in. To be a committed member of a ministry team requires what I call full persuasion. If you are going to be loyal to me, you will have to be sure about me. Am I somebody you can trust? Am I somebody who is what he claims to be? I once asked some pastors, “What will make people stop talking about me?” One person gave the right answer. She said, “If you stop doing the work of the ministry, people will stop talking about you!” And that is very true. Jesus Was Accused In Luke 23:2, Jesus was accused by many people of, …misleading our people... Twentieth Century New Testament …teaching our people sedition... The Four Gospels (E.V. Rieu) …preventing them from paying taxes to the Emperor... Twentieth Century New Testament …telling them that it is wrong to pay taxes... New Testament in Modern English …claiming to be an anointed king... Emphasized New Testament And in Luke 11:15, Jesus was accused of being able to cast out devils because he is, …in league with Beelzebub, the chief of the evil spirits... The New Testament in Modern English Paul Was Accused In Acts 24:5, Paul was accused of being …a source of mischief... New Testament in Modern Speech …a veritable plague... Berkeley Version of the New Testament …a public pest... Twentieth Century New Testament …a disturber of the peace... Weymouth translation …one who stirs up disputes... Twentieth Century New Testament …a fomenter of discord... New English Bible …a ringleader of the sect... King James Version In Acts 24:6, he was also accused of being someone who, …also attempted to desecrate even the temple... The Emphasized New Testament …was attempting to make the temple unclean... New Testament in Basic English Anyone working with Paul would have to be fully persuaded about his character. Was he really the ringleader of a sect and the source of mischief? Did he ever attempt to desecrate the temple? I wouldn’t like to work with someone as evil as that. So, it is important to establish in your heart all the facts about the ministry or person with whom you’re working. Be fully persuaded so that when the accusations, trials and testings come you will be able to remain faithful. Can There Be Smoke Without Fire? There is a saying that there is no smoke without fire. In other words, there is some truth in every rumour. I would rather say find out the real truth behind every rumour. Was there any truth in any of these terrible accusations? The answer is no. You see, in the normal experience of ministry there will be numerous accusations, rumours and stories about every man of God. All Pastors Will Be Accused I remember visiting a pastor who had been accused of committing adultery with some of his church members. A popular newspaper had published this scandalous story. I decided to visit that church on a Sunday morning to encourage him. That day, as I interacted with some of the other pastors and loyal members, I realized that there were probably questions in their minds. I knew immediately that they would have to be fully persuaded about their pastor. You see, it was a matter of his word against his accuser’s word. Who was telling the truth? The accuser or the pastor? If you decide to stay on, you must be prepared to confidently defend the integrity of the ministry. …I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded… 2 Timothy 1:12 Do not stay on in a ministry if you have lots of questions in your mind. Answer the questions for yourself or leave. Openness Breeds Full Persuasion 1. Openness about finances Let those who matter, know the source of everything you have. Do not be a mystery personality. Some pastors when asked, “How did you get this expensive car?” Respond by saying, “The Lord has provided.” We know that the Lord has provided, but how did He provide it and through whom? Even if people fail to question you, be it known unto you, that they are asking those questions in their minds. Although I am under no obligation to do so, I try to explain the source of all my blessings to those with whom I work closely. I want them to be fully persuaded as to what I really am. I don’t believe in being a mystery person who nobody can fathom. When people start accusing, it is those around you who must be able to answer confidently and correctly. 2. Openness about your vision Let people understand what you are trying to achieve. Let them know why you are so zealous about your vision. This is one of the reasons why I teach by giving long lists of reasons why certain things should be done. I once taught, Twenty Reasons Why You Should Be a Permanent Member of a Church. I also remember teaching, Fifty-four Reasons Why You Should Be a Soul Winner. When you give someone fifty reasons for doing something, don’t you think he would be fully persuaded? They Thought He Was on Vacation I recall one pastor who was committing so many misdeeds that he had to be corrected and even suspended. To preserve this pastor’s ministry, I kept the details very private and the congregation even thought his suspension was a vacation. However, when this rebellious person eventually defected from my ministry he went around spreading all sorts of stories about me. You see, he had to justify his unexpected defection. But nobody knew that this pastor was someone who was undergoing disciplinary measures because of his multiple wrongdoings. I Was Now under Fire! When all sorts of questions arose concerning this character, I had a hard time explaining to people. Ironically, my church members were now questioning my integrity. That was a great lesson to me! Sometimes it is good to explain certain issues as they develop. Openness about what is going on generates confidence, understanding, and the fullest assurance, especially in a crisis. He that is not with me is against me… Matthew 12:30 You cannot be neutral in a crisis. You must know about the issue and face the issue. You must know what you stand for and you must be prepared to die for it. I don’t want to work with anyone who is “neutral”. Either you believe in what is going on or you are against it. Dear Christian friend, be fully persuaded that you are in a good church where God wants you to be. Be fully persuaded about the pastor-in-charge. Before you venture into full-time ministry, be fully persuaded about it. This is essential for the development of true loyalty. Lesson #2 Your Loyalty Must Be to the Higher Authority In a large organization like the church there will always be a number of different authorities you will have to submit to. Obviously, some of them will have a higher rank than others. The lesson here is if the question of loyalty arises, your loyalty must go to the higher authority. For example, the structure in our ministry consists of Fellowship Shepherds, Ministry Shepherds, Branch or Chapel Pastors and Senior Ministers. If for instance, the Branch Pastor begins to say things that are contrary to the general vision of the church, your loyalty must go to the higher authority. If the most Senior Pastor begins to say and do things that are contrary to Christ, you are not supposed to follow him. Even Apostle Paul said, Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV) In other words, Paul was saying, follow me only as long as I follow Christ. The day I stop following Christ is the day you must stop following me. Your loyalty in this case is to the higher authority that is Christ. I am convinced that many people do not understand this principle. Whom Must I Follow? Many years ago, when Jim Jones led hundreds of people to commit suicide, the whole world was stunned. Since then, people have tried to put many genuine pastors in the category of Jim Jones. Let me tell you how to distinguish a genuine minister of Christ from a heretic. A genuine minister will always tell you, “Do not follow me if I am not following Christ.” Christ did not tell you to drink cyanide. If your pastor is telling you to drink cyanide, it must be wrong. I always tell church members that because I am a man, I can make mistakes. Therefore, follow me as I follow Christ. The Pastor Stole the Church I remember one Charismatic denomination that had a large branch church in a city in Ghana. One day, the Branch Pastor had a conflict with the General Overseer of that denomination. Following the dispute, he decided to take control of the branch church and change its name. Would you believe this man painted over the original name of the church and put up a new signboard with a new name? He then announced to the church that the assembly was no longer a member of their former denomination. This defecting pastor stole the church building, church property, church instruments and even the pulpit. However, many of the members knew that their loyalty was to the higher authority, which in this case was the General Overseer. They said, “We are not going to be a part of this rebellion. If you decide to rebel and steal a whole church, we will not follow you! Our loyalty is to our General Overseer.” I am sad to tell you however, that many of the church members followed this renegade minister. These things can only happen because people do not know the principles of loyalty. Lesson #3 A Loyal Person Does Not Withhold Information A loyal person is open to his senior about whatever is going on. I consider someone loyal if he tells me about any corruption that is taking place. If I find out that he knew all along, but said nothing, I will consider that he is disloyal. There are several examples of people in the Bible not withholding information. Some of these led to great revelations and blessings. Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians and said, It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you... 1 Corinthians 5:1 Notice that Paul did not have a word of knowledge about the extent of immorality going on in the church. Someone reported it to him. A good and loyal structure works by faithful people who inform the top about anything that is out of order. We would not have had all the teachings of 1 Corinthians 5 if someone had not reported about this act of sin. Observe how another family reported to Paul about some happenings in the church. This report did not even come from the pastor, but from an ordinary church member called Chloe. For it hath been declared unto me of…the house of Chloe, that there are contentions... 1 Corinthians 1:11 Such reporting leads to the edifying of the church. There is a difference between godly reporting to the appropriate authorities and slanderous gossip. The Pastor’s Fiancé Had another Boyfriend I remember a minister who proposed to marry a young lady and began courting her. Unknown to him, this girl, although a regular member of the church, had an unbeliever boyfriend on the side. This minister did not know what he was dealing with! There happened to be another church member who worked in the same area as this young lady. After awhile this sister said to herself, “This young lady is preparing to marry one of our pastors. But I see that she has an unbeliever boyfriend on the side. She is leading a double life.” She Spilled the Beans This sister mustered up courage, went to the office of the church and “spilled the beans”. The rest of the pastors were horrified but thankful to this loyal sister. You see, godly reporting saved that pastor’s life. If you do not withhold information, it may save your life some day. For example, Mordecai was sentenced to death through the evil conspiracy of Haman. Just before he was to be executed, it was discovered that Mordecai had earlier on exposed two killers who almost murdered the king. …Bigthan and Teresh… …sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it… Esther 2:21, 22 When you know of something evil, you are expected to tell it! Mordecai’s act of loyalty was recorded in the annals of the nation. The king could not sleep one night and was reading some materials from the archives. He discovered that Mordecai (whom he was about to execute) had in fact saved his life. This revelation proved that Mordecai was actually a very loyal person. When you withhold information the impression is given that you are in support of what is going on. It is what we call complicity. If you uncover an insurrection and arrest all the rebels, that is only the first step. The next thing to do is to find out all of those who knew about it. Godly reporting can save the life of a church. Lesson #4 Loyalty Is Based on Principles and Not Emotions Many people operate by feelings and emotions, rather than by a set of principles. Decisions based on emotions rather than principles are not substantial. If you have decided to belong to something you must make your decision based on principles and not on feelings. They Said, “We Feel Sorry for Him” Once upon a time, a dissident pastor went off on a tangent and decided to do the wrong thing. Some church members decided to follow him. When some of them were asked why they were following this renegade fellow, they answered, “We know what he is doing is wrong, but we feel sorry for him.” You see, I have experienced rebellion before. Many people who follow rebels do so without thinking. You must remember that all those who followed Absalom without seriously considering it were killed. Remember that all those angels who followed Lucifer were cast down. You must remember that when Korah the rebel was perishing, he was destroyed with his entire family and three hundred others. All of these people wouldn’t have been destroyed if they had thought twice about what they were doing. How can you follow somebody like Absalom, who was fighting his own father? Perhaps Absalom’s good looks and long hair swayed the masses. The point I’m trying to make is that loyalty is based on principles and not feelings and emotions. The Return of the Rebel Once upon a time, I had a pastor who left me with a small group of rebellious people. A few weeks later, I was informed that one of the rebels wanted to meet with me. I was told that Rebel #2 wanted to meet with me. I said, “Why should he want to meet with me. I have nothing to do with him anymore.” However, they insisted, “Please come down, he wants to talk with you.” I agreed. At the meeting I asked, “Young man, what can I do for you?” “I have come to apologize for rebelling against you,” he replied. “You have done me no wrong, and I don’t see why I behaved the way I did.” So I asked him, “Why did you join Rebel #1 in fighting against me?” I Don’t Know Why I Did It He bowed his head and replied, “I don’t know why.” He went on, “I got born again here. I grew up here. Everything I know in the Lord, I learnt from you.” So I asked again, “Why did you do it?” He shook his head and answered, “Pastor, I don’t know why I did it.” This young man admitted that he acted out of emotion. He could not even explain to himself why he had taken the course of action that he took. Many disloyal people just follow the crowd. They feel that they are on to something new. There was a pastor of a church who felt he was popular and broke away with a section of the church. This caused much pain for the senior pastor-in-charge and virtually destroyed the ministry. Those that joined the rebellion were initially very happy thinking that they were on to something new and exciting. You Can’t Fool Me Twice After a year or so, this traitorous pastor travelled to America and never returned. He abandoned his breakaway church when the door opened for him to go to America. Those who followed him were very surprised and felt let down. (But what else can you expect from a rebel?) It happened that some members of this now pastor-less group drifted over to join the Lighthouse Cathedral. Not long after, we also had an experience of rebellion. A rebellious pastor approached some of these new members and invited them to his renegade church. One of the people he invited told us about the response he gave. He said to this rebel pastor, “I once followed a pastor who did exactly what you are doing. I have seen all of this before. No one can fool me twice. There is no way that I am gong to follow you!” Church, let us stop playing games. Let us base our loyalty and commitment on principles and not on emotions. Baby Christians live by their feelings! Loyalty is broken when the Word and its principles are set aside. Loyalty is to God and to his Word and to the principles of His Word. Jonathan Was Principled Cast your mind back to Jonathan, the son of Saul. He realized that his father was wrong in principle. He also realized that his father was trying to murder an innocent young man. So he decided to help David even though it was emotionally difficult. Even though his actions were directed against his own family, it was the right thing to do. Some people just follow family lines. If it’s your brother or your sister it must be right. Even if it is glaringly wrong. Jonathan was not like that. Look at what he said. …but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will shew it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace… 1 Samuel 20:13 Lesson #5 Loyalty Will Cost You Relationships and Friendships Everything has a price. Education has a price. Even your salvation has a price. The Bible says we are bought with a price. Loyalty also has a price. To be loyal to someone means you cannot be loyal to everyone. Loyalty will cost you relationships and friendships. My loyalty to Christ has meant that I cannot maintain some of my old friendships. Loyalty Is Expensive I have some friends with whom I can no longer flow. The reason for this is my loyalty to the Lord. I find it amazing that some Christians claim that they are simply friends with a rebellious person. They say, “Oh, he’s just a colleague from school.” I’ll ask, “Are you sure?” They answer, “Oh yes, it’s just an old friendship. We never talk about church or anything like that.” I want you to meditate on the following verse. Please do not just brush it away. …whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. James 4:4 Notice that certain friendships are equivalent to enmity with God. No explanations are needed. Just the existence of the friendship implies enmity with God. Anyone who is the friend of my enemy is also my enemy. You don’t need to explain much about whether he’s an old colleague, a social friend or a neighbour. The Bible says that the existence of certain friendships is equivalent to certain enmities. You cannot take relationships for granted. They are not meaningless. They mean something. Every friendship or relationship will contribute something to your life. I would advise every pastor to observe the relationships and friendships that his associates maintain. I once visited an assistant pastor friend of mine. As we chatted, he spent most of the time commending the achievements and accomplishments of another pastor (not his own senior pastor). He said virtually nothing about his own senior pastor or his own church. In fact, he seemed closer to this external pastor than he was to his own senior pastor. The Friendship That Didn’t Pay On my way home, I mused about the closeness that seemed to exist between this assistant and an external pastor. I thought to myself, “I wonder how long this assistant is going to be in his present ministry?” Lo and behold, a few months later I heard the news that my assistant pastor friend had defected. No relationship is meaningless. Friendship with this means enmity with that! Your commitment to a cause may even cost you your relationship with your family. Jesus said, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26 There are certain things that are virtually impossible to see openly. For instance, it is very rare to see two human beings having sex openly. Fornication is one thing you are unlikely to spot with your physical eyes. But the Bible says, we should look diligently to see if there is any fornicator amongst us. How are we supposed to recognize fornicators? The answer is obvious. You are supposed to look out for signs of it. For instance when a couple who are not yet married visit each other till late after midnight. It is the same thing with the concept of loyalty. Disloyalty is not easy to detect. You have to look for signs of it. And one of the signs is unhealthy friendships and relationships. Your loyalty is revealed through the friends you keep. Some friendships will be broken if you are being loyal to Christ, to your church and to your pastor. Jonathan’s loyalty to David cost him his relationship with his own father. And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? And Saul cast a javelin at him… 1 Samuel 20:32, 33 When Jonathan questioned the decision of his father to kill David, King Saul was so angry that he threw a spear at his son. Notice that Jonathan almost lost his life because of his loyalty to David. Loyalty is expensive. Lesson #6 Loyalty May Cost You Physical Things The Bible teaches us that when Moses became a man, he had to choose between being loyal to God or to Pharaoh. His loyalty to God cost him everything. Moses may have become the next Prime Minister of Egypt. But his loyalty cost him his citizenship, his passport and his royal status. He lost it all because of Christ. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God... Hebrews 11:24, 25 If someone is giving you money on a regular basis and he rebels against God and against the church, you will have to choose between singing the praises of an Absalom and doing the right thing. If you decide to do what is principled, obviously your supply of cash will dry up. But dear friend, that is the cost of loyalty. Lesson #7 Loyalty Demands Analysis Whenever your loyalty is tested, you will have to analyze many things in order to stay loyal. An analysis is a detailed study or interpretation of the information set before you. I want to show you a few things that you must analyze in order to stabilize your mind and your heart in what you are doing. Analyze the Past I want to show you how Paul appealed to Timothy to analyze things. First of all, he said analyze the past. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:6 Timothy was a man who was probably deviating from his call. Paul wrote to remind him of what happened in the past. We don’t know exactly what Paul was reminding Timothy about, but it must have related to his call. He said, “I’m reminding you of something.” Think about all that has happened in the past. How God called you and brought you to where you are. I always remember the stirrings and callings of the Spirit, which I began to feel very early in my life. I keep in mind the zeal and love I have always had for souls to be won. That helps me to remain loyal to the call of God upon my life. I am certain that many people do not think for a moment about the past. I Found Someone with a Passion for Souls I remember one of the first times I talked with my senior associate. It was in a room in the medical hostel of the university. We spoke about preaching the gospel in the towns and villages of our nation. I realized he had the same passion and concern for souls that I had. Something in my heart clicked and I realized I had found someone I could work with. That discussion is still fresh in my mind. It helps me to stay on track and to do what I originally set out to do. That is why today we have a mass evangelism ministry. Anytime I want to do anything else, God reminds me of what he said to me earlier on. I have also decided to remember past associations and friendships. Once, a rebellious character went out of his way to slander me to my friend. Beware of Pastor Dag He said, “Be careful of Pastor Dag.” My friend replied, “Why are you telling me to be careful of him?” He answered, “He is into the occult.” “What! You must be mad!” my loyal friend continued, “Do you know how long I have known Dag? You don’t seem to know how long-standing our relationship is.” My loyal friend pointed out to him, “There must be something wrong with you.” Anytime you analyze the events of the past it will help you to remain loyal. Analyze the Individual Concerned In order to remain loyal over a long period of time, you will need to make a good analysis of the individual concerned. Paul said that Timothy should continue in the things that he had learnt. Most importantly, Timothy should remember the type of person from whom he learnt what he knows. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 2 Timothy 3:14 When people begin to come up with all forms of seditious stories and slanderous reports, think carefully about what they are saying. Analyze the individual who is being criticized and whether it makes sense. Who Earns More: Doctor or Pastor? One time, someone said that I was preaching for money, trying to get rich quickly. This person obviously is not a deep thinker. If this individual were to analyze what he was saying he would realize that very few people are privileged to be medical doctors. He would also realize that I must have been out of my mind to leave the practice of medicine in order to make money by collecting people’s pennies. How absurd! There are much easier ways of making money as a medical doctor. This dishonest character is refusing to consider where all my medical colleagues are and how much money they are earning. All I am saying is: analyze the individual who is being criticized and it will help you to decide whether to be loyal or not. But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, Persecutions, afflictions… 2 Timothy 3:10, 11 Paul said, “You have known my lifestyle and my character.” He was appealing to Timothy to acknowledge how intimately he had known him. When I meet people I have heard unfavorable rumours about, I find them to be quite different from how they have been portrayed. Get to know the individual concerned personally. It is only then that you will know the true picture. Did the Pastor Go to the Nightclub? A church member once told me that she had seen one of my pastors taking a lady into a nightclub. I thought about what this lady was saying for a moment, then I dismissed it. Why did I dismiss that story as being frivolous? When I analyzed the person who was telling me the story and the pastor concerned, I felt that this was a ridiculous accusation. I have known the pastor in question for many years, and I have never had cause to doubt his integrity. Why should I listen to the tale of some silly personality, whose agenda I’m not sure of? Of course, I would take an accusation like that more seriously if it came from more than one person. Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. 1 Timothy 5:19 Loyalty demands continuous analysis in the face of constant accusations, rumours and slanderous stories. I Supported Him Till… Some years ago, a man of God I loved was accused of committing adultery with a member of his church. I had heard this pastor preaching and teaching many times and have been very moved by the gift of God upon his life. So when this rumour was confirmed, I wrote a letter to him encouraging him. I told him I was praying for and standing with him. I emphasized that I still believed in him, in spite of what had happened. I felt that I should still be loyal to him because he had probably made a terrible mistake of which he had repented. A Girl in the Hotel Room Although many people criticized that pastor in the heat of the scandal, I constantly defended him, both in public and in private. You see, the Bible says the righteous man falls seven times and rises again. So I felt that he would rise again. However, a few years later, something happened that made me turn my loyalty away from this person. I visited this minister in a hotel. I had a message for him. The receptionist showed me the room in which the minister was staying. I went up to his door and knocked. Someone came to the door and opened it. It was a half-naked girl with a flimsy towel that she held up in front of her! I was startled. “Oh, is pastor in?” I asked. “I have a message for him.” She smiled sweetly and said, “Yes. He’s in bed.” I quickly sputtered out the message and left in a daze. As I walked out of the hotel I asked myself, “What was this undressed young lady doing in my man of God’s hotel room? Is this man not tired of scandals?” I analyzed the situation. Years after the scandal, this pastor was still engaging himself in questionable and immoral behaviour. It was only at this point in time that my loyalty to this individual ceased. Analyze the Form of Words You Have Heard Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me… 2 Timothy 1:13 You are supposed to check on what pastors preach to you from the pulpit. Is it accurate? Is it the Word? This will help you to know whether to remain loyal to them or not. These were more noble… and searched the scriptures daily… Acts 17:11 You

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