I recently saw a Facebook post by Pastor Tony Tice and asked him if I could share his post on FGGAM. Pastor Tony NAILS IT! His church, Church on the Rock, is in Elkhart, Indiana – where I worked for several years at WFRN Christian radio!
Thank you Pastor Tony for allowing me to post your message! God Bless you and yours!
Pastor Tony Tice’s Facebook page may be found HERE.
Here is Pastor Tice’s commentary:
We drank from the cup of the church growth movement from the 80-90’s. We became obsessed with leadership over servantship, even though Jesus said in the gospels: “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.”
I’ve seen with my own eyes – the choosing of the proud ways of the Gentiles instead of the humble ways of Jesus. There are so many examples of this I could give, but won’t. It would break your heart as it has mine.
Two things came out this week that show what happens when we see churches as organizations instead of organisms, and when we see pastors or elders as business leaders, not shepherds.
No. 1: The Southern Baptist Convention’s sexual abuse task force. Years of Southern Baptist Executive leadership hiding sexual abuse and intimidating victims. All in the name of protecting the brand.
No. 2: The most-recent Barna Research that reveals a majority of pastors don’t even have a Biblical worldview. I included the numbers. Take a look. Perhaps it’ll cause you to weep as it does me. What have we done with Jesus’ church?
I have a righteous anger today. This world desperately needs Christ. And, we need to stop being obsessed with building big churches and get committed to making disciples. We need pastors who will be humble servants instead of trying to be the next great church leader.