SUBMISSION TO SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY VERSUS MANIPULATION

It is that time of the month again lovely people.  I know, The topic!! The topic!! However, before you start throwing stones hear me out.  Keep an open mind.

REFLECTIONS

This topic came to mind a couple of months ago, and immediately two (2) things happened:

        i.         I was speaking to an acquaintance and she mentioned a situation which she was undergoing with her boss.  After explaining her expression was “But that is manipulation, she stated I did not even know the word and the meaning.  It was while I was sleeping that the Holy spirit brought the word to me and I looked it up.  She then stated, but that is what is happening in the church to”. I laughed and then concurred with my sister.  That is when I decided to add the word to my topic.

      ii.         This poem by the late great Jamaican Folklorist the Hon. Dr. Louise Bennett-Coverley came to mind “URIAH PREACH”- The gist of the poem is that a church member’s son has access to the pulpit and when he gets the opportunity to preach, he uses it to settle old scores or dress down the congregation.  These days we are not so brazen it has been developed to a fine art.

There are many types of submission that the Bible speaks about governmental authority, children to parents and wives to husbands.  There is a lot of material available on the latter.  Ladies they have your number.  As I often say be anxious for nothing. 

The literature that is available on submission is to a large extent written by Pastors and in my opinion for the most part is superficial and simplistic.  The quotations of a few scriptures and then a conclusion.

I am writing this Blog as a sheep in the church.  I have no position and is not trying to get anyone to submit to me.  I am writing from the perspective of one who led and is being led.  People remember that we are all leaders whether we want to believe it or not.  All you need to decide is whether it is positive or negative.

As I travel around and interact with people, more and more I have come to realize that it is not major doctrinal issues that are affecting the church. It is the St. John 3 verses 16 – 17 for God so loved and the things contain in Jesus’ first sermon.  THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT – the basic and fundamental principles that governs life in the kingdom.

I am amazed at the things that goes on between the pews.  I am wondering if most of us read the book that we take to church or have between WhatsApp and Face Book on our smart phones.

The result of not obeying basic and fundamental scriptural doctrine is that our doctrine lacks sincerity and there are a lot of Christians in transition; people who are just in church in body. Instead of producing sheep we are producing goats – people will buck the life out of you.

Let me pause here to give an illustration:

I visited a church in August 2016 with an acquaintance.  While waiting to enter the main auditorium, we sat in the hall. I sat beside a lady. So, as is my custom I introduced myself and decided to get to know the lady.  She was elderly and quite pleasant so I asked if she was a member of the church.  She said no! nothing strange I was not either. She then went on to elaborate that she visits the Catholic and the Anglicans and the present location. Having been there done that myself (life happens) I did not shun the lady or acted outraged.  I just told her very calmly you cannot do that.  You must be planted Psalm 92 verse 13.  I really did not know if she was listening to me but it did not matter.

Suffice it to say, in December 2016 I just had an urge to go back to the church.  The Jesus need go through Samaria sort of situation. On my way, if I was faint of heart I would have given up because of the number of obstacles on my journey.  The bus got stuck at a train line for over 20 minutes.  The train was long and it is the first time I saw a train literally crawled.  Then I had to wait twenty (20) minutes for the connection to the subway.  So, I went to Walmart and bought a bag of potato chips. All that salt was not good. Then I got on another bus, would you believe it I missed my stop and had to get off and walk back to the correct stop.  This was in freezing weather people.  Then I had to wait for another connection. However, I reached in time and did the ladies thing before the start of the service.  When I went into the auditorium I had the shock of my life. I met the same lady bouncing and smiling.  She was not only a member of the church she was now a bonified worker in the fellowship. My joy was full. The service was good and the prayer session was vigorous all that paled into insignificance compared to how I felt about my sister. Face Book is good and WhatsApp but, how can you have hundreds and thousands of nebulous connections and don’t even know the person who is sitting beside you week after week in church.

By the way people the art of connecting with people does not come by osmosis, it is something that you have to be intentional about.  Fortunately, for me I worked under a Pastor who knew his congregation and when the leadership asked him how he did it.  He told us that as leaders it was our responsibility to know the people we are leading

 CRITICAL DEFINITIONS

Submission: The word has two meanings however, the meaning we are interested in is the action or fact of accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the authority of another person.

Manipulation: The action of manipulating someone in a clever or unscrupulous way or to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one’s own advantage. Every time I write the word I am reminded of the Chinese character for crisis which on the other hand can also mean opportunity.  Likewise, manipulation leads to deception.

Deception: The act of making someone believe something that is not true.

Authority: The power or right to direct or control someone or something.

SUBMISSION TO SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY

I am wondering if there is an unwritten law in most churches that says when you become a Christian that you are to leave your brain at the door or some people are not allowed to think? I don’t remember seeing that written anywhere in the Bible.  In fact, I see quite the opposite.

 Peter, James and John were fishermen. Paul was a scholar he went to the best school of the time Hebrew Institute of Gamaliel.  Today that would be Oxford or Harvard University (dare I say the University of the West Indies! Don’t look at me in that tone of voice love yuh).

Peter wrote two (2) books Paul wrote half of the New Testament. Need I say more.  The church is the only place where the total man is taken care of.  We are to be trained and deployed.  That is why the organizational structure is so flat. I suppose the hospitality industry were not the first originators of the all-inclusive concept. God was ahead of them.

We all need to be educated the saints and the shepherds. In the book of I Corinthians 4 verse 15 – The Apostle Paul advise that there are many teachers but not many fathers. In the book of Ezekiel 34 Daddy is very explicit about this shepherding thing.

We will go to the only perfect example to illustrate kingdom authority:

In St. Matthew 3 verses 13 -15- Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist because John was the resident prophet on earth at the time.  He represented spiritual authority reiterating Jesus in verse 15 – Let all righteousness be fulfilled.  He had to be in right standing.

THE WORKING OF JESUS’ MINISTRY

The Disciples

Jesus chose twelve (12) disciples. Some had very distinct personalities.  Some you hardly read about. However, it is documented that most died as martyr except John who died at a good oil age, leaving us to wonder if being boiled in oil preserved him.  

Peter was impetuous among other things, Jesus had to rebuke the devil out of him, he denied Jesus but he also walked on water and was the main guy on the day of Pentecost.  Where in the Bible did you see, Jesus chastening him openly or maligning him among his peers. In fact we read how Jesus restored having abandoned all after the crucifixion and returned to fishing.

We had James and John the sons of Zebedee they not only wanted to call down fire on people but they were also ambitious and got relatives involved in church business to put in a good word for them.  Jesus did not chastise them, He just told them it was not His call and they had to be willing to pay the price for such grandiose ambitions.

Judas; can you imagine eating and drinking every day with a man that would play Brutus to your Julius Caesar.

Then you had doubting Thomas walked around with Jesus for three and a half years (31/2) and still did not believe that He was the Son of God literally did not believe in the resurrection.

You also had uppity Nathanael who thought that nothing good came out of Nazareth.

Andrew thank God for faithful Andrew who found a good thing and immediately shared it with his family member.  People we need to stop singing those fly away songs and Maranatha come Lord Jesus most of our families are not saved.

I was recently doing a research on world religions and discovered that about thirty three percent (33%) of the world population is of the Christian faith; of that approximately seventeen percent (17%) is Roman Catholic, another one and a quarter percent (1.25%) are Anglicans.  Then you have the protestants and various other denominations.  Among the potpourri of beliefs, the evangelicals did not even register. The Islam and Hinduism have thirty four percent (34%) and then you have Buddhism, atheist etc. controlling the other thirty three percent (33%). People we need to get the fundamentals right so we can go fulfill the great commission. Religions of the World

Inner Circle

Jesus had an inner circle consisting of three (3) disciples Peter, James and John and as such they witness many miracles of Christ that the other nine (9) disciples were not allowed to see. John was seen to be a favourite of Jesus even lying on Jesus’ bosom.  There is nothing wrong with having favourites.  However, you need to handle it like Jesus not Jacob.

This is the model that Jesus used, twelve (12) to change the world and one was a betrayer, but God never leaves himself without a substitute. If you can wait on the perfect will of God He will send you somebody greater by the name of Saul/Paul.  Even though you might have gone ahead and drawn lots and replace Judas with a Mathias.  All we are going know of the gentleman is his name. Man, looketh at the outward appearance God looks at the heart. I Samuel 16 verse 7.

JESUS MODEL EXPANDED

I remember a prominent Rastafarian in Jamaica did a management training for the company I was a part of and he called it the Jesus Model. This is the Jesus Model as per Raphleta Taylor

        i.            You must be hooked up to the Father, Jesus said I do nothing that I did not see my father do St. John 5 verse 19. He prayed St. Mark 1 verse 35. You need to be accountable to someone.  Jesus yielded to the authority of John when he was alive.  After John left it was between Him and the Father.

      ii.            Jesus had an inner circle you also need a select group to brainstorm with and discuss confidential information. Ideally these will be people filled with the Holy Ghost Power and Wisdom, to a large extent independent thinkers and not people to massage your ego.

    iii.            Clarity of vision – people are going to come and go one thing that must remain constant is the vision.  Jesus started preaching the arrival of the kingdom of God and He has not stopped. Write down the vision make it plain Habakuk 2 verse 2.  People are perishing for lack of knowledge Hosea 4 verse 6.

    iv.            Put systems in place. Systems outlast people.  In the book of Acts 6 they had bickering because they did not have proper systems in place. If you are having bickering, back stabbing and gossiping.  Clear indications of leadership problems and no proper systems. You must have a proper mechanism to deal with confrontations or disputes.  Moses and Jethro in the wilderness. Jethro organized Moses (The black man the vision to the body of Christ) Exodus 18 verses 18 -26. When there was a dispute at the highest level in the church Paul and Peter circumcision versus uncircumcision of the Gentiles they took it to the Elders Acts 15.

People are looking from transparency when they come to church.  It is not a secret society.  My prayer is that soon I can go to all these great church websites and see financial statements. Acts 17 verse 11 states that we sheep must be like the Bereans. They scrutinized the teachings of the Apostles exhaustively. It does not matter who is teaching we must test everything against the word. This attitude prevents wolves getting among the sheep St. Matthew 7 verse 15.

MANIPULATION

The most classical case of this is I Kings 21 Jezebel and we know that ended up in the murder of Naboth a very severe case of engineering things for your own end.

Let us now go to Jesus, one point of note people is that Jesus never woed a sinner but he woed the religious people the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The case of the woman caught in adultery St. John 8 verses 1 – 11.  The first thing that comes to mind is where is the man.  In verse 6

⁶ This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

They clearly knew what to do, they are the teachers of the law but they wanted to trap Him. Jesus is classical, people like these you just ignore, not worth the time of day. Genesis 3 verse 21 God exposes no one to shame and ridicule it is a principle established in the Garden of Eden.

The religious people also tried to trip him up concerning the payment of taxes St. Matthew 22 verses 15-22. Jesus’ response verse 18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?

Jesus is brutal with religious people who are trying to block other people from making it because they are hopeless themselves.

CONCLUSION

We will have to follow up in future looking at specific areas in leadership particularly servant leadership based on the sermon on the mount. St Matthew 5 verses 23 – 24, 18 verses 15-17.  Based on these principles there should be no Uriah Preach in the church.  You have ought against your brother you go to your brother. The method and criteria for removing people from the church is clearly outlined in the Bible.

Ephesians 4 verses 11-13. Looking at specific roles in the church. I heard one man of God said “A weak society is the reflection of a weak church and a strong society is the reflection of a strong church.” Simply put judgement begins in the house of God.

We want to explore scriptures such as St. Matthew 18 verse 6.  When I think of this scripture a little anecdote come to mind.  It is this: I remember writing a particularly scathing email to a man of God.  When I was finished I was feeling quite satisfied. I said to myself I have socked it to him. All I heard in my Spirit was Really! That is my business. Leadership is God’s business.

Another gem is Hebrews 13 verse 17 This one reminds me of another teaching moment in my life. I remember I was home reflecting in the formative years of our fellowship and listening to a tape series (I had no CD in those days) on Submission by Pastor John Bevere. I can’t remember who gave me the series. He used the life of King David to teach this principle.  Summarizing the teaching I realized that King Saul was a mad man whose only goal in life was to annihilate David.  King David had the opportunity to kill King Saul twice and he stated that he would not touch the Lord’s anointed.

Then I had one of those ha-ha moments. Raphleta what you ladies on the executive are doing is wrong.

 Let me back up a little on the church executive committee we had four (4) ladies. Three (3) of us were University graduates and all single and two (2) were never married and one (1) divorced. I was among the single never married category.  To complicate the matters   I used to be a member of the Junior Chamber International (that is another story).  At that time, it was touted to be the premier young people’s leadership training organization. So, I thought I had parliamentary procedures, meeting management, report writing and some other skills pat. When you think that you know, then you realize you don’t know. We were a very zealous bunch. So one of the things we three (3) or most of us would do is discuss matters prior to the meeting and have a position going into the meeting.  Really and truly no Pastor should have to deal with this.  This is not a political party it is not a democracy.  It is a theocracy. God has his way of doing his business. Thank God that the days of ignorance He winks at. This can tie a Pastor’s hands.  You have to trust that God is using the man of God and defer to His judgement on most matters. There is room for discussion but ultimately if the man is a man of prayer and you have proven him you have to submit.  Hence, my ha-ha moment so I did my repenting in my little room.  People please note that every new word you get will be tested.  The next day I got a phone call.  Hello! Raph? Yes, yuh si dah one Pastor So and So (You see that Pastor So and So).  The old Raph would have said yes, weh him duh? (Yes, what has he done?).  The enlightened Raph said Have you spoken to him? Call him and talk to him.  To date I have not received another phone call.  I was tested the same way several months hence, this time at an open meeting. I just said to the lady call him and speak to him. The late Dr. Myles Munroe and Pastor E.A. Adeboye says the closer you get to God the shorter your leash. You don’t get away with things. I believe them.

One of my best gems though of biblical portrayal of leadership that I have had to date is with my past Principal the late great J. Barbara Martin at Merl Grove High School.  This school is my alma mater. She encouraged me to do a stint at the school. I accepted, I taught Advanced Level Economics, CAPE (Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations) Accounts and CXC (Caribbean Examination Council) Accounts and Principles of Business.  Since I had no prior teaching experience except for Sunday School at Church and my hand writing was terrible those day it was chalk and talk.  In the same manner, I did for my Sunday school class I had to find innovative ways to impart the knowledge.  By this time, I had written many Sunday School lessons on various topics given out many gold stars and candies. The school had a bus so my strategy became Education in Action. For Principles of Business I took the ladies on a field trip to one of the largest and most diversified companies in Jamaica and they had one of the Senior Executives sat down with them and taught them about business. He was fantastic. It was a joy to watch. So they now had practical knowledge and could make more informed career choices plus they had information for their School Based Assessment. For Economics, I took them to the Bank Of Jamaica, the Mecca of Economics in the country so they did the grand tour and lecture.  In addition, the bank overlooked the sea and the International Conference Centre so that was bonus. Moreover, with these responsibilities I oversaw a form. As you can imagine between writing lesson plans, organizing field trips, teaching and marking I have never worked so hard for my bread. Father bless all teachers.

To my surprise, I was summoned to the Principal’s Office.  Mrs. Martin said “Raphleta Miss so and so has informed me that …and it continued (people if you can’t call name it is gossip).  Then she said what say you” So I cleared up whatever the matter was and was never summoned again.  When I think of it I am still blown away never in the church have I seen this biblical principle in operation. Phenomenal woman of God. Then came a Principal who knew not Raphleta.

So people it can be done and it will be done because Jesus is coming back for a church without spot or wrinkle.

In closing, let me leave you with this teaching by Dr. Mensa Otabil.  Get the book that he speaks about Good to Great by Jim Collins. Very good book.  However, it is not for the uninitiated. If you are not comfortable with analysis and critical thinking continue to burst bubbles.  These days all I hear the Spirit saying is that you know better, you know better.

Once again this is me Raphleta, Lillene’s baby girl coming to you from the True North. 

À bientôt