Why do we continue to fuel the fire of our enemy?

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3.
 
Several weeks ago I did an online seminar, “Who Do We Work For?” Simple answer, we work for the Lord, not the congregation of the church and not the leaders of the church. In this online seminar I placed more responsibilities on safety team members. Not only do we have to keep a watch for the wolves that may come into our house of worship, but now we need to keep an eye on the threats in the church, and those threats could be our own leaders. Over the past two years, I have been personally involved in two incidents where pastors were caught sending inappropriate text messages to women who were not their wives. Both occurrences were heartbreaking and caused pain to the church and the family members. People who had put a lot of faith in the pastors suddenly realize they are just like everyone else, flawed.
 
At Trinity Security Allies, we receive daily information from across the country about issues that churches are having to face. From vandalisms, shootings, break-ins, robberies to sexual sins against the church. Make no mistake, vandalism, break-ins and robberies are up, but what seems to be becoming more frequent is the immoral decline of the church.  Recently we learned that Tony Evans stepped away from his Dallas megachurch due to an undisclosed sin. Robert Morris resigned from his Texas megachurch due to allegations of a past relationship with a 12-year-old. Then even sadder news a megachurch in Lexington, KY, LexCity was closing their doors because of their pastor, Zachary King, being charged with first-degree rape, third-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, third-degree sodomy, and first-degree sexual abuse. Members of the church felt they could no longer support the church because this was the second time something like this had happened in the church.
 
“Former Lexington pastor charged with rape, exploitation and sexual abuse of a minor.” “Megachurch pastor admits past ‘inappropriate’ behavior with ‘young lady’ after accusation of molesting 12-year-old.” Headlines like these are like blood in shark infested water. It becomes a feeding frenzy, and the attacks are vicious and many. At least in these two churches we know what the crime is, but in the case of Tony Evens, the accusations are coming in fast and damaging. One article listed 13 possible reasons why Evens left the church. The list included adultery, homosexuality and connections with the death of his new wife’s husband. These are sad because all he has to do is come out and confess his sins so the church, Tony’s friends and family can heal. These speculations only fuel the fire of those that want to destroy the church.
 
Another example of a vicious attack is an opinion piece from the Lexington Herald-Leader “LexCity scandal shows again that churches, not drag shows, are hurting our children.” In this article it boldly proclaims that Zachary King’s victims were not attacked by a drag queen but by the clergy of the church. To add salt to the wound, the author writes “We can argue whether LexCity is abdicating responsibility by closing its doors, or whether they are too tainted to “rebrand” yet again. For the people who found spiritual fulfillment there, I’m sorry. For the victims of its pastors, I’m even sorrier.” Do they really care? They went on and talked about recent occurrences around the world like the victims abused in the Southern Baptist cases and the abuses covered up by the Catholic Church. The author finished with “And those are just the ones we know about. But we know they’re not drag queens. They are Christian leaders, and for some reason they still have the power to hurt their parishioners. That’s what people should be outraged about. Not drag queens.”
 
In a time that our country is totally divided, the church needs to get its act together and be the light on the hill for all that are hurting and looking for the answer, Jesus Christ. So how do we tie the safety teams of churches around the country into this issue? Because we are the protector of Christ Bride and unless we start to look at the dangers from the inside, just like the problem from the outside we are going to continue to see these headlines. The problem is that we, the church, have allowed these things to happen. Pastors are only human and as safety team members they need to be watched over just like those in the congregation. They are also a part of the flock and the threats against them are not of flesh and blood, but the devil’s scheme to destroy the church.
 
Pray every day for your leadership in the church. Go to your pastors and make time to sit or go break bread with them. Let them know you are there for them in these precarious times. Make sure that they have someone that holds them accountable and if they don’t, offer your services. Most of the time when you have a breakfast meeting, they will pay because of the value of your friendship and the accountability partner you have become to them.

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