Christian's in Crisis (effect of fallible church leaders)

Today thousands of Christians will die, tomorrow thousands more will join them. I am not referring to the men, women, and children who are just the inevitable casualties of the daily grind; cancers, mystery deaths, beatings, car accidents, and such. I am eluding to the poor souls who are exterminated daily for their faith in Jesus Christ. Those who have decidedly and willfully accepted the fact that God gave his only Son, Jesus Christ, to die a miserable death on the cross, to absolve us from our sins; are being systematically destroyed on an hour by hour basis.

Christians are facing the most precarious time in history, not just in third world nations like Africa, but developing countries such as India, Pakistan, and China to name a few. It is alarming. As a devout follower of Jesus Christ and a witness unto the blessings and tremendous love he has brought me, it is hard to be objective. However the facts speak for themselves. Christian persecution is nothing new as you read this a women in Pakistan is being jailed for blasphemy. Shamim Bibi, a 26 year old mother of five was arrested after her neighbors had accused her of uttering remarks against Mohamed. In Pakistan, a country the United States taxpayers give hundreds of millions of dollars to, blasphemy against Mohamed is punishable by imprisonment or death. In Nigeria Churches are being burned, children are being raped and murdered.

Although I would certainly enjoy continuing to enlighten and inform everyone as to the suffering and indignity Christians battle everyday, this short writing is in regards to another sinister development. Physical, economic, emotional and mental persecution aside; Christians face a daunting task with life in general. We wholly rely on our religious leaders, sometimes with blind abandonment, to direct us toward righteousness and obedience. We often place our salvation in their hands, for we believe that God has entrusted them with our spiritual welfare. In most cases this is true, God has chosen good men and women of faith to spread his Holy Word and teach those of us who yearn to be free. The only true liberty and freedom is through our faith in God.

Even those who the church places in authoritarian positions struggle with sin, the most ardent pastor or priest often find themselves asking for forgiveness. At the end of the day they are only humans, fallible and weak. Keeping that in mind, it is those who assume leadership roles in our churches, who should be constantly be aware of their motives.

Recently a friend of mine who has been a valuable member of a local church doing ministry work and being a role model for other women, came under fire when she decided to live with her fiance. The pastor and the deacon disapproved of her decision and threatened to remove her from her role in the church. She pleaded for their understanding and found no quarter. Although the bible does not state that living together before marriage is a sin, it was their church doctrine that opposed it.

Together with parishioners from the local church they alienated and maligned her as if it were suddenly righteous to condemn a person for disagreeing with their desired social order. It wasn't enough that they removed her from her beloved ministry work, but they chastised her for her decision and tried to garner support from her peers. The frightening truth was that even though they had grown close for years, when the young woman didn't comply with their orders they abandon her. Compassion and understanding was not afforded to her and instead she was served hostility and anger from people she had grown to trust and admire.

Thank goodness this woman's faith had endured, to find out all she had known for close to three years had been contingent on her obedience to the church, not the Lord. She has grown exponentially through this adversity and pain, but what of those whose faith is not so concrete. In United States there is a war for the soul of the people, not just between God and Satan, but the Godless progressive dictatorship vying for control of our government and its people. They are removing all reminiscence of the Christian values in which this country was founded upon. Not all the early pioneers of this nation gave their life to Jesus Christ, but the vast majority understood that for our nation to remain free and prosperous Godly laws and traditions must be adhered to and recognized.

Today Christians from all denominations should build on their common belief in Christ. It is extremely difficult for people of faith to navigate through this ever growing secular society and all of its deadly trappings. When I hear disappointing situations such as what my friend has endured, it becomes hard not to be skeptical of these people we put so much trust into. Leaders who have lost their way, they have become so diluted with their robotic doctrine, so self absorbed that they have forgotten what's important, like salvation, understanding, and love. Christians are being slaughtered every moment for their admiration and declaration to Christ, yet these mere men remain concerned about their petty allegiance to the small world they have created. At a time when we should encourage fellow Christians and save our dying people, situations like this reveal just how far we are from God.

Moral of the story: Follow God, not mans belief of what God might want. The church doesn't decide sin, God does. Love your fellow Christian with all your heart and never give up on them, because God doesn't give up on you!