Proving Faith: At What Cost Ministry?

James Warren "Jim" Jones

"We were about to board the planes for the flight back to the United States.  Jim Jones didn't want us to leave, at least not alive. A tractor trailer loaded with men armed with shotguns and rifles pulled up and opened fire on us at that airstrip. Congressman Ryan was gunned down, having been shot 40 times. The first and only congressman in the history of this country to be assassinated during the line of duty. I was shot five times and left to bleed on that airstrip for 22 hours. Back at Jonestown, over 900 people lost their lives in a mass murder and suicide that night. This is what I awoke to on that long day. I was 28 years old, and I was waiting to die. I laid awake all night fearing some of the gunmen would come back and finish us off. Time passed, and local Guyanese people offered me rum to try and get me through the night. I had a lot of time to think. I promised God that if I lived, I would make every day count. I promised that I would make something out of my life if I was allowed to keep my life."

-- Jackie Speier, Congresswoman (CA)

Prove to me that you're a minister, before I train you on how to be one, and then pay me for the privilege of learning from me what God intended for me to give you freely - knowledge of the love of God and Jesus Christ. Come again? What sense does this make? Did God really intend for men, appointed by other men, to dictate the lives of everyone else, and do it for a fee? When did the "charity of others" turn into an invoice based business model instead of a philosophy of giving up your worldly possessions to follow the path of the Lord? And, was it really God's intent to have ministers of faith proclaim witches and heretics so those might be burned at the stake? Was it God's intent to have an Inquisition that would hold back man's progress through the Dark Ages? And, did God really intend that priests throughout the ages would live their lives at a status of authority and riches above those they supposedly served?  I had a hard time coming up with a title for this post, and I'm still not comfortable with what I have.  There is so much to cover on this topic that I tend to bounce around, but those of you that follow my blog are well aware of this.  I offer my apologies, up front.

"...the possession of great power necessarily implies great responsibility."

-- House of Commons, Great Britain, Parliament

In 1978 Jim Jones ministered 909 people to death, including 304 children, convincing them to drink cyanide laced Kool Aid.  Some would say that Jones was not really a "trained" minister. But, historically, well trained and faithful Abrahamic rabbis, priests, reverends, ministers, monks, pastors and their ilk, have shown us shown us the worst that man has to offer.  Teaching us what not to be like is actually one of their tasks.  I'm not sure teaching the negative aspects of sin and immorality by example has ever been the best training model for prevention, however.

"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

-- Lord Acton (1834-1902), Catholic historian, politician, writer

We are more cognizant of the corruption of power as is seen, more times than not, in the politics of our own nation and throughout the world.  It is difficult for people with great moral fortitude to keep their own egos at bay and not fall prey to the temptations and lust that great power offers.  Those of lesser fortitude succumb easily to the evil before them, not realizing, until too late, they have fallen from their lofty edifice of trust.  

So, when do you give your trust to another to teach you spiritual morality which you feel is required for the desired task of ministering?  For me, I trust no one that asks for money to teach spiritual morality or religious precepts.  Christ did not say to go bilk those faithful, wishing to follow my path, for the teaching required of you that they might succeed.  Nor did he ever say to create a business out of belief in Him.  There was never a demand, from Christ or God, for crystal cathedrals and other churches that cost more to maintain than the poor can afford while they continue to starve and suffer.  Yet, our religious leaders demand just that from their flock. 

"It is one of the ironies of the ministry that the very man who works in God's name is often hardest put to find time for God. The parents of Jesus lost Him at church, and they were not the last ones to lose Him there."

-- Vance Havner (1901-1986), clergyman, author

I also trust no one that judges me, or others, for their personal faith and beliefs in the Christ, or in God, providing they do so in peace and tolerance of other's peaceful beliefs.  To hold one's self above another is prideful and does not reflect the humble attitude and teachings of Christ.  Those that hold political or spiritual office in service of others must always be mindful they are in service of others, and not to be served by others.  Do not preach to me of how you are right and I am wrong, and do not judge me, lest you yourself be judged.

"One of the things about my ministry is that I have never branded myself as being above the people or superior to people."

-- T.D. Jakes, evangelistic minister

"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness."

-- James 3:1

"But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God."

-- 1 Corinthians 4:3-5

If you feel in your heart you are doing the Lord's work, are you?  Are you to be condemned if your trusted religious leader tells you to do wrong, if in your heart you feel he is above reproach?  And who would be so blatantly egotistical to dare speak for God and stand in judgment for or against you?  Is this really their place to do so?  I think that a person's desire to minister the word of Jesus Christ should come from the heart, not from a college or seminary except as a way to ensure your own thoughts are solid.  The fact you may not agree with their interpretation does not make you anymore right or wrong, just of a different thought.  At the end of the day it, the right or wrong of what you minister from your heart, will be judged by your only master.

Who are you to judge a Servant who is not yours? For if he stands, he stands to his Master, and if he falls, he falls to his Master, for it is appointed to his Master to be able to establish him

-- Romans 14:4

Editor's Note:  

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion.  It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other.  An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth.  After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human.  God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.
  

Pastor Frank Anthony Villari

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."