Did You 'Go' Or Were You 'Sent'?

How do you pick a pastor? Is it by his work experience? Is it by his education? Is it by his preaching ability? Is it by his good looks, charm, and overall personality? Is it by his fit with the feel of the congregation? Or do we pick him at all? It is unfortunate that we have turned pastoring into a career and thus have affected how we deal with the calling in most ministries. Too often now we consider the most suitable and qualified person for the position, like any other job in the world. The funny thing is, Yahweh has this knack of choosing the most unqualified person and equipping them for the task. Could it be that we are leaving Yahweh's will to one side?

There is a difference between being "sent" and just going. There is a difference between being chosen and choosing. There is a difference between being called and desiring a position. A hired shepherd will not lay down his life for the benefit of the sheep. At the first sign of danger to himself he will run. A family shepherd will do whatever it takes to protect and raise those sheep, he will sacrifice day and night. He knows he must stand his ground because there is nowhere to run to, this is his responsibility.

Samuel was a great prophet, priest and judge. He led the people of Israel well but he was also a father. And as a father he thought well of his children; he thought well of his sons. He wanted the very best for them, so he set them up as judges in Israel:

Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. (1 Samuel 8:1)

It seemed a logical thing to do. Samuel was getting old and needed help. Who better to help him than his sons. But judges were not selected by man, they were chosen by Yahweh, set aside for his purpose and given the ability to do what was necessary by Yahweh. Samuel made a mistake here and Israel was changed forever:

But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. (1 Samuel 8:3)

As a result the elders were provoked to demand for a king because they wanted to be like all the other nations. Because of Samuel's decision to do what only Yahweh does, the nation rejected Yahweh as their king. The strange thing is, this same attitude resulted in their first king being removed from the throne.

King Saul stepped into a responsibility that wasn't his. Before battle, Samuel, the priest, would come and offer a sacrifice. On the eve of a great battle Samuel was late and Saul was panicked. He looked around and decided the need trumped the call so he stepped in and offered the sacrifice himself. He went from king to priest. Because of this arrogance Yahweh took the kingdom from him.

There are many examples of people taking on responsibilities that were not appointed to them or of man choosing according to his logic, leaving Yahweh out of it. We have to stop and realize that such things are beyond our comprehension and it is Yahweh who chooses who he wants when he wants. Sometimes he picks people with the qualities we expect and sometimes he chooses an insignificant shepherd boy to become the greatest leader of his people. Sometimes he chooses a well educated man and sometimes he chooses a drunk. Sometimes he chooses a man of great leadership ability and sometimes he chooses a carpenter, plumber, baker. The fact is, it is his choice and not ours.

Allow me to highlight key phrases from 1 Corinthians 12, the great chapter on the Body of Christ:

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (v. 11)

But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. (v.18)

And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. (v.28)

And if we were to take a quick look at another passage concerning the Body of Christ:

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. (Ephesians 4:11)

It is very dangerous ground to walk on to appoint yourself or someone else to a position that Yahweh reserves for himself. It is not a thing of elitism because everyone is called to something but we are called by Yahweh's appointment, for his purpose. We are not to walk in someone else's calling and responsibilities. We have our own calling to deal with.

Unfortunately there is a lot of confusion in the Body these days because we have adopted the attitude of the world in assigning responsibilities and have left the Spirit out of it. We are paying a great price for that decision.

Yesterday I Resigned As Pastor

Some of you are aware that there is a restoration and re-align taking place with the apostle of over our church, with our church itself and with many individuals in the church. We see this as a period of restoration and revival. Great things have been taking place around us as the power of God continues to manifest anytime any of us get together.

It is also a challenging time, and sometimes painful as the Spirit deals with things that need to be dealt with in our lives. This past weekend was such a moment for me.

Many years ago I was asked to pastor our church through a troubling time. Many leaders abandoned the family and it was a difficult time for people to hold on. Those who did, matured in the process and gained a profound understanding of the family of God. But there is a definite chain of command in the Body of Christ. Although we are all equal in importance and relationship in Jesus, there is a certain establishment of authority that he has created. Read Ephesians 4 as well as 1 Corinthians 12 to gain a beginning understanding of these matters.

This comes as bad news for those free radicals who do not want to be answerable to anybody but God. These are the type of believers who often dis-associate themselves from the Body for various reasons or spend their lives going from church to church, avoiding accountability. But they are also the ones who sit with a smile on their face in the pew, rejecting much of what is being preached because they believe they know better. But the Word demonstrates that the responsibility, vision, and leadership falls on a few that we know as apostles and prophets and it is the responsibility of the Body to support, encourage, and submit to these leaders. We have the responsibility of carrying the vision God has given to them.

On the weekend some of these things started coming together for me. The Spirit pointed out that things were not aligned properly in the headship of our church. My pastorship, which started 9 years ago, came under the authority of a man who had no authority over our church, thus my pastorship had no authority. Although we had placed the church under an apostle, that apostle had never appointed me as pastor, never laid hands on me, and I was not in alignment with his authority. The Spirit clearly made the point with me that I had to resign because mine was not a correct authority and it was blocking what God wanted to do.

This news came with no guarantees. I was to put aside the mantle of pastor, lay it at the feet of the apostle over the church and sit down. I was not permitted to walk away from the church. In fact, it was clearly my responsibility to become a man of valour to the apostle as David's men were to David. It was my responsibility to support, encourage, lift up, defend, serve, and humbly obey, carrying out the vision God had given to him. Not as a pastor but as a man of valour.

Sunday morning came and it had all been laid out in the spiritual realms what was to take place. I saw it clearly but I did not know if I had the strength to do this. How could I walk away from my calling, the only thing I knew how to do, my purpose on this planet? Yet it was the will of my Father and my only desire was to walk in his will. No guarantees. But as I stood in worship in our pre-service prep time, Jesus stood beside me.

I'm not kidding. I saw him in the Spirit stand beside me, put his arm across my shoulder in a physical act of encouragement and said very clearly, "I will give you the strength you need. I am proud of you." I was overwhelmed by gratitude and love. I felt his strength, his power and I was warm all over by the burning that was taking place in me. A burning I could not control. A burning I could not contain. I wept all the way through worship, not out of sorrow or fear of what I had to do but out of gratitude for the compassion of my King, for his presence and my awareness of it. I wanted to dance, shout and sing all at the same time. I was being renewed and re-established in this one single act of submission to my Father's will. Why had it taken me so long to understand?

The moment came quickly, the Word was preached easily, and in a single act of total surrender, I laid my Bible, representing my mantle, at the apostles feet. Peace filled my soul. I pledged myself to this man of God, to lift him up, to defend him, to carry his vision, to serve. Strength flowed into my limbs, my heart, my soul. Then my wife and I sat down.

It was done. Finished. Completed. I was no longer pastor. No guarantees.

And then something incredible happened.

The apostle took my Bible, had my wife and I stand, handed my Bible (mantle) back to me and laid hands on us, appointing us as pastors of the church under his authority as apostle. If no one else understood the significance of this moment, the man of God, my apostle did. Everything suddenly came into alignment with the Father's heart. Everything from the past was washed away. Everything was made right, proper, and in the will of God. The authority in the church was established according to the will of God. Everything in an instant was healed and made whole. The church gathered around with affirming words and prayers.

Now it was done. Now it was finished. Now it was completed. Now I was truly pastor. Guaranteed.

Today I am more than I was yesterday. Today I am truly a man of authority under authority. Today I stand healed and made whole in my leadership in the church. Today, the mountain is removed and the path made clear for the free flowing blessings and power of Jesus. Today is the first day of a new season for me, my family and the church, and I think for our apostle as well. Today my apostle has a man of valour by his side. May God use us all mightily in this dying world as we minister in his appointed manner.