Nearly two years ago, I did a post entitled Stop Hatin’ On Joel Osteen, which received a lot of comments and still receives hits daily. If I’m being totally honest, there is one thing that irritates me as a Christian and a pastor, and that’s to see pastors, Christians, and ministries hatin’ on other pastors, Christians, and ministries. This is not of God, and it needs to stop.
According to the urban dictionary, hatin’ is defined as: Sayin’ bad things about or puttin’ someone down. This can be for various reasons: because they have something that you want, you think you have all of the answers or you think you know what they are all about — a player hater.
I don’t want to hear how Pastor Joel does this or that, I don’t want to hear how this church grew to 10,000 but only baptized this many people, I don’t want to hear how that’s the TV church, and the pastor is just on the screen, I don’t want to hear that online ministry is not real ministry, I don’t want to hear that they are crazy and weird because they speak in tongues, I don’t want to hear that so and so let this secular group perform at their church so they must not be about Jesus, I don’t want to hear that so and so is fake and has big hair and funny looking because he’s a TV Preacher… The list goes on and on- just fill in a hatin’ comment of choice. I don’t want to hear it and neither should you!
We are all part of the body of Christ and all necessary to reach all people for Jesus. Pastors and Christians hatin’ on one another is a playground for the enemy who is crouching at the door trying to kill, steal, and destroy anything that matters to the heart of God. The local Church and local Church leaders matter to the heart of God.
There is power in both the written and spoken tongue. The tongue has the power of life and death…Proverbs 18:21 Use your power wisely. If someone is hatin’ on other pastors, call them on it. If you are hatin’ on other pastors, STOP!
What do you think? Is it ever OK to hate on other pastors and ministries?