1) We must honor those who come to worship.
We who lead churches must not abuse them, manipulate them or see them as serving our purposes. They are not “the attendance.” They are not “my crowd” or “our bunch.”
These are the people of the Lord. They are “His people and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3).
Leaders who abuse and misuse God’s children will give account to Him personally some day, and it will not be a pretty thing. Furthermore, those of us who believe that “since I am saved by the blood and ‘there is no condemnation,’ I will not have to account for what I have done before the Lord” are in for a rude awakening.
Remember you heard it here.
2) We must honor the offerings people bring to the Lord.
Every gift is His and not ours.
Among the disciples, it was Judas who loved the offerings more than he should (John 12:6) and who treated the contributions of others as his own.
There must always be financial accountability for those who would lead the Lord’s flock. Pastors and staffers who live lavishly upon the offerings of the Lord’s people should be held accountable and expected to live humbly and faithfully. Churches should insist that just because one pastors a congregation of wealthy contributors does not entitle that minister to a large income and a mansion in which to dwell.
A great segment of ministers has not gotten that memo.
Every church needs a system of checks and balances, and every congregation on the planet should have an opportunity for any member of the flock to stand in a meeting and ask how a thing was decided, who made the decision to buy this or build that. The more distance a church puts between its ministers and the flock, the more abuse it is subjecting itself to.
“Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (I Corinthians 4:2). “If you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?” (Luke 16:11).
3) In all things, we must honor our Lord Jesus Christ.
We must not leave the impression that God is merely a symbol or a good luck charm or that His words are a magic formula. Numerous times through the centuries, the Lord’s people discovered the hard way that “God’s name on us” did not guarantee them the right to sin, to rebel against Him, to flout His laws or go their own way. God allowed the Assyrians to completely annihilate Israel (what we call the “northern kingdom” in 722 B.C.). The scattered population would never return and the nation was never rebuilt. God allowed the Babylonians to defeat Judah and destroy Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
In each case, God’s priests were lulling His people into a false sense of security, telling them “God is with us, so we’re untouchable.”
If anything, the Lord’s people are held to a much higher standard than the world. Behavior that would be overlooked in the world is forbidden to the Lord’s saints.
All we who work in churches and denominations should see ours as a holy calling with a great responsibility and a stiff accountability.
Let us honor the Lord’s people.
Let us respect their worship.
Let us fear God.
The writer of Ecclesiastes shared our concern …
“Walk prudently when you go to the house of God, and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know they do evil. Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in Heaven and you on earth. Therefore, let your words be few …” (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2).
