Post by philiprosenthal on Jul 4, 2006 8:06:43 GMT
TEN EASY STEPS TO BECOME AN ABUSIVE HYPOCRITE / MODERN PHARISEE
The EveryNation pharisees don't need to study Matthew 23 to find how to misbehave. That is because each step downward in bad behaviour follows logically from the previous one. The steps follow logically in the order given by Jesus in Matthew 23:
* Step 1: Decide you are a religious elite better than everyone else. Your organisation is better. Your leader is better and you are better than everyone else.
* Step 2: Surround yourself with religious and material status symbols, like 'apostle, prophet, pastor' titles, different smarter clothing, big car, entourage etc to convince people you are better than them.
* Step 3: Forget about Christs kingdom and instead build your own kingdom, where you are the elite - ruling for Christ. Then shut people out from participating fully in other parts of Christs kingdom. For example, discourage them from any contact with another ministry. Kick anyone you don't want from your little personal kingdom.
* Step 4: Try to make people disciples of yourself rather than disciples of Christ. They belong to you and your little kingdom and must have your obedience. Con yourself and others that your great sacrifices are being made for Christs kingdom while actually they are just being made for your own little cult-kingdom.
* Step 5: Learn double talk and ambiguity so you can deceive people to follow you despite the fact you are not living up to your claims of super-spirituality and elitism. (Since no human being is really that spirtual anyone who pretends to be has to use deception to maintain impressions). Cover up your faults with lies. To maintain your sanity while deceiving yourself and others - become blind to your own faults and those of your organisation.
* Step 6: Since your heart is not right inside - don't worry because people can't really see your heart anyway - just focus on outward worldly appearances and material things. Money has more value than the spiritual - so run after it - you can use it to buy more status symbols to make yourself look more important (step 1). At all costs keep up outward impressions otherwise your elitist control will be undermined.
* Step 7: You must now find reasons to convince yourself and others that you are better than everyone else. Since you aren't really an elite in terms of true biblical tests, therefore you must major on the few minor trivial things that you are really good at. Thus you must throw out the set of priorities in the Bible and replace them with your own. So if you convince everyone that your best qualities are the most important qualities, then you can convince them that you are the best and therefore they must all focus their efforts on trying to be like you instead of being like Christ. So ignore the major issues like justice and mercy and focus on the little things you are doing right like tithing.
Step 8: To further keep your little kingdom submissive and in awe of you - focus on your personal and corporate image. Forget about integrity - that could hurt your image if you told people the truth about your faults. You need to keep your kingdom together and under your thumb.
Aside: The good young leader looks at the senior Pharisee in awe at his perfection and power and elitism. He thinks he is going to learn to be part of the elite - actually he doesn't realise he is walking over a grave full of dead mens bones. He may well be contaminated, defiled and infected with his spiritually filthy behaviour - which he is blinded to think is good.
Step 9: To maintain image, associate yourself with the heroes of the past. Pretend you are following in the footsteps of the great leaders like Luther, Wesley, Augustine, the apostle Paul etc. By talking about them, you get to be associated with them. Pretend your new little personal kingdom is a new 'Reformation'. Pretend it is in the footsteps of the 'Apostles'. Tell people this is the 'New Apostolic Reformation'. Then you will borrow credibility from the greats of the past. You can trade on that momemtum and your foolish sheep may swallow it. But don't do what Luther did. Don't speak against unethical fundraising in the church, because that might decrease the money we need for our status symbols and control. Don't preach the priesthood of all believers because that might cause people to dismiss your cultic authoritarianism. Don't earn your own living like the apostle Paul and live a modest life. Rather use the church budget to live in the most expensive house and hotels.
Step 10: When some real true prophet comes along and challenges your hypocritical false and abusive behaviour - then to maintain your power and facade - you must convince everyone that he is an evil troublemaker. You must persecute him. You must abuse him. You must make people afraid to associate with him or ever dare to suggest the same things again. If you don't your kingdom will start to disintegrate - so you must throw him out and blacken his name. You must threaten worse so he doesn't talk after he has left. Just don't let your flock hear the truth - and to keep them from hearing the truth, you must persecute those who speak the truth.
So that is the slippery slope of how good pastors in EveryNation turn step by step into abusive and hypocritical Pharisees.
The EveryNation pharisees don't need to study Matthew 23 to find how to misbehave. That is because each step downward in bad behaviour follows logically from the previous one. The steps follow logically in the order given by Jesus in Matthew 23:
* Step 1: Decide you are a religious elite better than everyone else. Your organisation is better. Your leader is better and you are better than everyone else.
* Step 2: Surround yourself with religious and material status symbols, like 'apostle, prophet, pastor' titles, different smarter clothing, big car, entourage etc to convince people you are better than them.
* Step 3: Forget about Christs kingdom and instead build your own kingdom, where you are the elite - ruling for Christ. Then shut people out from participating fully in other parts of Christs kingdom. For example, discourage them from any contact with another ministry. Kick anyone you don't want from your little personal kingdom.
* Step 4: Try to make people disciples of yourself rather than disciples of Christ. They belong to you and your little kingdom and must have your obedience. Con yourself and others that your great sacrifices are being made for Christs kingdom while actually they are just being made for your own little cult-kingdom.
* Step 5: Learn double talk and ambiguity so you can deceive people to follow you despite the fact you are not living up to your claims of super-spirituality and elitism. (Since no human being is really that spirtual anyone who pretends to be has to use deception to maintain impressions). Cover up your faults with lies. To maintain your sanity while deceiving yourself and others - become blind to your own faults and those of your organisation.
* Step 6: Since your heart is not right inside - don't worry because people can't really see your heart anyway - just focus on outward worldly appearances and material things. Money has more value than the spiritual - so run after it - you can use it to buy more status symbols to make yourself look more important (step 1). At all costs keep up outward impressions otherwise your elitist control will be undermined.
* Step 7: You must now find reasons to convince yourself and others that you are better than everyone else. Since you aren't really an elite in terms of true biblical tests, therefore you must major on the few minor trivial things that you are really good at. Thus you must throw out the set of priorities in the Bible and replace them with your own. So if you convince everyone that your best qualities are the most important qualities, then you can convince them that you are the best and therefore they must all focus their efforts on trying to be like you instead of being like Christ. So ignore the major issues like justice and mercy and focus on the little things you are doing right like tithing.
Step 8: To further keep your little kingdom submissive and in awe of you - focus on your personal and corporate image. Forget about integrity - that could hurt your image if you told people the truth about your faults. You need to keep your kingdom together and under your thumb.
Aside: The good young leader looks at the senior Pharisee in awe at his perfection and power and elitism. He thinks he is going to learn to be part of the elite - actually he doesn't realise he is walking over a grave full of dead mens bones. He may well be contaminated, defiled and infected with his spiritually filthy behaviour - which he is blinded to think is good.
Step 9: To maintain image, associate yourself with the heroes of the past. Pretend you are following in the footsteps of the great leaders like Luther, Wesley, Augustine, the apostle Paul etc. By talking about them, you get to be associated with them. Pretend your new little personal kingdom is a new 'Reformation'. Pretend it is in the footsteps of the 'Apostles'. Tell people this is the 'New Apostolic Reformation'. Then you will borrow credibility from the greats of the past. You can trade on that momemtum and your foolish sheep may swallow it. But don't do what Luther did. Don't speak against unethical fundraising in the church, because that might decrease the money we need for our status symbols and control. Don't preach the priesthood of all believers because that might cause people to dismiss your cultic authoritarianism. Don't earn your own living like the apostle Paul and live a modest life. Rather use the church budget to live in the most expensive house and hotels.
Step 10: When some real true prophet comes along and challenges your hypocritical false and abusive behaviour - then to maintain your power and facade - you must convince everyone that he is an evil troublemaker. You must persecute him. You must abuse him. You must make people afraid to associate with him or ever dare to suggest the same things again. If you don't your kingdom will start to disintegrate - so you must throw him out and blacken his name. You must threaten worse so he doesn't talk after he has left. Just don't let your flock hear the truth - and to keep them from hearing the truth, you must persecute those who speak the truth.
So that is the slippery slope of how good pastors in EveryNation turn step by step into abusive and hypocritical Pharisees.