Beware what you are asking for when you run off men who faithfully preach God’s word. You are asking for God’s judgment. He will gladly give you someone to preach nonsense to you if you keep demanding it. This is the worst form of judgment, since you have tasted of the things of God, but rejected them. He will give you over to your base nature.

I know a fellow pastor who is going through some real trials with his church. Apparently, preaching the full-counsel of God does not sit well with many in his congregation. Now, before you go and say that I’m just saying this, realize that I have downloaded quite a few of his sermons and listened to them. Others in his presbytery have done the same, and had the same sentiments. He is preaching the full counsel of God, faithfully.

Basically, what my friend is going through is the beginning of the end of that particular church. The more carnal people in the congregation have realized how much power they yield by going to the elders and demanding that my friend be forced to resign. The elders, being the staunch spiritual leaders that they are, caved so quickly that I have to question their leadership ability. The church is becoming subject to mob rule. And when mobs rule in the church, the church dies. I’ve seen it firsthand and understand how sad it is.

The reason mobs are so successful is because they are usually the loudest portion of the church. They are given over to their fleshly desires and their fleshly desires are the gauge by which the judge everything, not Scripture. The more godly, and humble, tend to stand quietly by while the mobs rule. Then… the godly leave, giving the mob more power than before. It is a vicious cycle and eventually the church becomes filled with the tares who kill off the remaining wheat.

Where mobs rule, Christ does not. This is why the elders need to stand against the mobs. No matter how many times the mob threatens to leave or quit giving to the church, the elders need to rebuke them in their carnality. Sadly, too many elders fail to do so, and thus fail in shepherding. This is why so many churches are small and dysfunctional. At some point, the elders are faced with following Scripture and the Spirit in the midst of a conflict, or following the loudest voices. When the loudest voices rule, the congregation suffers.

It is in view of all this that there are a few things I wish every congregation would realize. I know that the more carnal congregations will not give heed to my words because they feel they are always right to begin with. In their mind, they think they are doing God a great service by sending a pastor packing when that pastor fails to tickle their ears. Unless the more godly in the congregation are willing to stand up to these congregational mobs, the mobs will continue to rule. Please know that these things do not apply to all churches. Some congregations are truly godly and look out for and care for their pastors. But this is for those who see no problem in running a pastor off simply because they do not like something about him.

Here are a few things for congregations to consider:

1. The pastor and his family are the ones that are taking a risk when they accept a call to a church, not the other way around. The pastor has to move his family, leaving behind friends and, often times a home, in order to serve in the new call. Yes, I know that many people in the business world do the same, but I point this out because when he loses his pastorate, he very often loses his home as well. The ne’er do wells get to keep their homes and their churches when they run a pastor off. This is why it is so important to stand up for pastors when they are being ill treated by members of the congregation.
2. You called a pastor to lead you and feed you spiritually.

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