Bishop Eddie Long, the Georgia pastor accused by several of his young male congregants of coercing them into sexual improprieties, is the scandal du jour in the Body of Christ and the popular media. The outspoken anti-gay pastor may or may not be guilty of practicing what he preached against, but his case is a powerful reminder that we the believers of the Body need to heed clear, consistent scriptural warnings about false teachers and false prophets. We must always remember that we can’t trust every person laying claim to the title of pastor.
Those of us worshipping in Second Life must be especially vigilant. Ours is a virtual world where anyone can make a grab for Christian community power and glory by slapping a title over his head and talking a well practiced talk. I could label myself an accountant, a Ph.D., or a counselor in Second Life, and although I am none of those things, no one would immediately know the difference. The same is true of anyone who buys a sim and launches themselves into the Lindenverse as a church leader.
Spotting a false pastor may not be as easy as we'd like. Before considering how to go about identifying imposters, we should probably look at a few approaches that don’t work.
· It’s not enough to genuinely like the guy and to feel comfortable with him. Maybe that seems obvious to you, a no-brainer. But if we’re honest, we’ll admit that "liking" someone and "feeling liked" by him is, in fact, the very first step we take toward considering him legitimate. That includes when we call our feelings “discernment” to make them more noble. But think about it: Wouldn’t a false teacher need to be likeable to work his malice? If someone is unlikeable, he’s not going to get very far in his efforts to delude even the elect, if that were possible.
· It’s not enough that the guy believes and proclaims the Word. We might not react well to this fact, but it’s as true as the last one. We must always remind ourselves that demons, too, believe in God, utterly and completely. James said so directly. It would also help us to remember that Satan himself felt quite comfortable quoting Scripture to the Lord Jesus during the temptation in the desert, trying to use the Word of God on the very Word Himself. Is it any wonder that the children of the deceiver would use the same tactic today?
· It’s not enough that the guy’s efforts are succeeding and appear to attract other believers. The false pastor will be quick to point out church growth and influence as evidence of God’s blessing. And we as believers are susceptible to being awed by fast growth, big talk, and seductive voices that claim direct divine approval. According to 2 Timothy, foolish women, especially, are given to inviting false teachers into their homes … and as much as it pains me to admit the gender-specific wisdom of that warning, I have to acknowledge that the Internet now provides more doorways than ever into women’s houses.
So, a true pastor is likeable, a believer, a proclaimer of the Word, and blessed with success in outreach. Meanwhile, a false pastor is also likeable, a “believer,” a proclaimer of the Word, and successful in outreach.
Which ones are the liars? Is there any way to tell the difference between charlatans and the real deals?
Praise God, yes … and I have a few suggestions I hope will help out.
First Five Ways to Ferret Out Fakes
1. The Fakes slip in secretly. False pastors will not be detectable upfront. They slip in, integrating themselves with the Body, and are busy taking over before anyone fully understands that an invasion of the enemy is underway. Interestingly, they may claim to have credentials – and the credentials themselves may have been legitimate at one time (see number 3 below). But more often than not, the false pastor will boldly declare that no man had to call him to ministry, and that no man was required to set him on the path that God laid out for him. Powerful words, and believable when spoken with the right charisma and conviction. But we have to wonder – why did the Apostles bother laying hands on new leaders and deacons as a sign of God’s approval for the office? Why were even those selected to act as waiters on church tables expected to be commissioned by previous leaders and to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Yes, rarely there are some called without the intervention of men. Yet those called in the manner of Paul on the road to Damascus were the exception. Looking at today’s flood of Internet pastors and breakaway home-based churches, one would think they were the rule.
2. The Fakes use grace to justify their immorality. False pastors have one annoying fruit that they seem unable to conceal—their overt lusts. It’s probably for this reason that Paul tells Timothy that a pastor should have a well ordered household and that he should be the husband “of only one wife.” Think, in this context, of the woman at the well in Jesus’ time. She had, she claimed, no husband, to which Jesus agreed, since she really had had five, rendering her current spouse no husband at all. Such an inconsistency in commitment was bad for her; how much worse for one trying to run a house of God? Don’t get me wrong—I realize life has complications, and there are pastors out there, blessed by God, who are on their second marriages. But the false pastor will stand out in his insistence that grace has, it seems, utterly redeemed him from every bad choice of earlier marriage commitments. A single divorce and remarriage may be no cause for concern … but when a pastor turns out to have had three, four, even five previous spouses like the woman at the well, some degree of scrutiny may very well be in order.
3. The Fakes were former authorities, but are now only dreamers. As I mentioned, a false pastor may come with credentials of real life ministry in the past. That makes sense. How could one sound convincing about the Word of God and life in the Spirit unless he had previously tasted of such a lifestyle? But each day I spend on Second Life, it becomes clearer to me that I should look for current, rather than previous, credentials. Scripture has a lot of examples of those in favorable positions who abandoned or who were cast from their posts – the children of Israel, who were favored with escape from Egypt but slaughtered when they turned to an idol of gold; Saul and Solomon, blessed kings who lost their ways and lost their favor with God; even angels in the highest of places who abandoned their stations and are now held captive in darkness for their rebellion. A preacher of great charisma can appear suddenly and powerfully in Second Life, spinning tales of his miraculous past auguring great days to come, mighty works of the Lord on the horizon, and powerful movements of the Spirit. Notice when a pastor speaks like this – and take note whether the claims point a finger of adulation back at the boaster. It is always, always fair to ask such a potent speaker: What is your position now, right now, in the Body of Christ in your physical neighborhood? If all his claims are to previous positions of honor, you may be dealing with a disgraced dreamer of empty dreams.
4. The Fakes speak with arrogance toward the devil. Maybe this point surprises you. What? Speaking boldly against the devil? Isn’t that what a strong pastor does? I’m forced to agree that yes, some pastors do that: “Devil, get out, I stomp on you in Jesus’ name, get out of here, you’re a loser, a total wimp, and I come after you with the blood of the Lamb, cursing you, rebuking you, reviling you as the warrior of God I am!” And man, those preachers look so cool when they do it! They’re tough! They’re powerful! They’re inspiring to others who revile the devil in the same way! And they are completely outside of the will and the Word of God. They revile things way more powerful than themselves, creatures of the celestial realm. But even Michael, prince of angels and powerful enough to justify any rebuke to his enemies, didn’t dare speak in such ways to Satan. He opted for a quieter and much more meaningful response, a simple, “May the Lord rebuke you.” So the next time you see a preacher or pastor bouncing around a stage (and I say stage on purpose) shouting revilement and rebuke at the powers of darkness, ask whether you’ve found a person more authoritative than the Archangel Michael … or one who in pride believes himself so.
5. The Fakes speak abusively about what they don’t understand. I’m blessed to have an RL pastor who carefully considers new fads or efforts in Christianity to determine whether they have a spirit aligned with the Word of God and the core of the gospel. Such careful consideration, even of things strange and innovative, gives me reason to admire him as a true man of God. He’s a refreshing change from too many preachers who respond with abuse and suspicion whenever a fresh breeze blows through the Body. (Yes, mixed metaphor, I know, I know … but I’m keeping it.) The false pastor does far more than oppose a thing because it is new or strange; he actively rallies followers against it with vitriol and fury. With almost animal-like instinct, the false pastor senses that any new movement of the Spirit is a threat to his position in the Body. By definition, the more a movement is of the Lord, the less it is of the pastor. The more it glorifies the Father in heaven, the less it gives glory to the intruder in the pulpit. He won’t get to boast of the fruit of the new movement. The congregation will see the Lord, and not the pastor, at work. Poor false pastor won’t be feelin’ the love … because it will be centered, once more, on the Lord. And the intruder, most certainly, can’t have that happening.
Here ends Part 1 on how to spot a fake pastor. Those of you who are fans of the Letter of Jude (or of 2 Peter 2) have already figured out that what I’m writing here isn’t a randomly assembled reflection. I’m going point by point through Jude’s teaching on false pastors and prophets, and I’ll be continuing that in my next post … 5 More Points on Finding the False Ones.
Maran Atha,
Cosmic
