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The Proper Way by which Preachers Should Treat their
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 e will study God’s prohibitions to preachers because, nowadays, there are many religious organizations that do not implement God’s prohibitions and restrictions. Their members are free to do anything they please. They impose no sanctions either. That is, even if they know that gambling is prohibited, the member could still gamble. Their pastor wouldn’t mind it, especially if he happens to be one of the top donors in the church. Even if the pastor tells them that they should not kill, they would neither be excommunicated should they happen to commit murder. They will remain to be members of the church. They practically tolerate their members from doing whatever they want to do.
But biblically speaking, God has an appropriate measure to every person who transgresses the law and to those who do things which are against the will of God. The don’ts, or the prohibitions, that we are going to study are being violated by many preachers today. But, on our part, we would like to be as truthful as we can be because those prohibitions are clearly stated in the Bible.
This time, we will talk about the proper way by which preachers should treat their members, and how, in turn, members should regard their pastors or preachers. Sometimes, the members are unaware that what their pastors are doing is wrong because they were not taught of what were written in the Bible; aside from the fact that their pastors are not teaching them those things. Let us begin by referring to II Corinthians 12:14, which says, “Behold the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you; for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for their children.”
Did you get the idea what St. Paul was trying to convey? He was telling the Christians in Corinth that he was coming. But he assured them that he would not be a burden to any of them. He said, “… I seek not yours, but you …” He was seeking, not their possessions, but his brethren. He even added that, it is improper that children lay up for their parents. Instead, the parents are the ones who should lay up for their children. Paul used the parent-child relationship to illustrate the ideal preacher-member relationship. A preacher should be a parent to his flock. This is what I Thessalonians 2:7 say, “But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherished her children:”
St. Paul compared their gentleness to a nurse who displays the same gentleness to her children. The shepherd-flock relationship has been likened to a Parent-child relationship. And because of that, we must realize the privilege given to a child by his parents. As mentioned by St. Paul, this privilege is that, the parents are the ones who ought to save for their children, and not the children for their parents.
As a parent, do you prefer that your child is the one who is working while you are just loafing? Or, would you rather work for your children? Isn’t it more ideal to see the parents working for the welfare of their children . . . that they are the ones planning for what is best for their children?
That is why, in a preacher-member, or shepherd-flock, relationship, the greater sacrifice ought to be rendered by the preacher. He is the one who makes sacrifices; he is the one who gives way. And he has a greater accountability. It is just like what a hen does for her chicks. When other people maltreat, or chase, her young, she is there to protect and defend them. And that is how a preacher should protect and defend his flock. If there are enemies, he should be in the frontline.
But if we are to look at the way things happen today, we will find out that the situation is the opposite of what the Bible said. The ones defending their leader are the members. The chicks are the ones fighting in defense of the hen. Why? Where are their leaders, or pastors? They are in their palace . . . they are inside the convent, tightly guarded while the members are out in the streets fighting for their faith, and soliciting money from passers-by to further enrich their pastor. Have noticed that? The members are the ones laboring for their pastor to live a very comfortable and luxurious life. But if we are going to use the illustration given in the Bible . . . if we are going to pattern the preacher-member relationship after a parent-child relationship, it should be the parents, or the pastors, who should sacrifice for their children, or members.
But try to examine the many religious organizations we have today. See for yourself who is making a greater sacrifice. You will find out how the members have been burdened in the construction of their chapel, or house of worship, as they call it. They contributed for its construction, but once the chapel has been build, who do you think will reside there? It’s their minister! And what is worse, the member could not readily enter it because there are security officers guarding the place. Try to enter the place without due permission and you’ll surely be reported to the police despite the fact that you contributed so much for the construction of that chapel. Wasn't it that during the time that it hasn’t been built, your pastor said, “Let us contribute for the construction of OUR chapel.” But when it had been built, “it is no longer OUR chapel, but MY chapel. You had been excluded in its ownership. Proof to that is, you could not enter it without their permission. If it was really OUR chapel, then, you could enter it anytime. But that is not so. There are now security officers guarding it. And you have to pass so many stations before you could talk to your pastor. There is now a wide distance that separates the pastor from his members. He has become unreachable. He no longer has any spare time to talk to his members.
This is not what the Bible teaches. A preacher-member relationship has been likened to a parent-child relationship. The ones working to sustain the needs of the children are the parents, in the same way that a preacher should be the one to make sacrifices for the sake of his members. Like a parent, he should look after the welfare of the children. But very rarely can we find pastors of that kind. Today, a pastor, or a preacher lives comfortably. If his back is itchy, a maiden at his disposal will scratch his back. If he wants to urinate, another maiden will hold the bedpan for him. Why do I know such cases? Because some of their members have joined our group and they are the ones who told me of these things.
Preachers today live in luxury. There is even one pastor who is entertained by a Canadian woman every time that he feels sad. Aside from that, there is another preacher from this country who had sexually molested 36 women. In the US, I know of one preacher who had 48 wives and 27 children. Actually, there was a minister who raped a member who was then five months pregnant. But why are there young ladies being abused by leaders of religions? It is because the members readily give in to their pastor’s caprices. They gladly do as he pleases. That is wrong!
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Bible
Apostleship
and the Rightful
