Our Experience

Posted: 20th July 2010 by Mike Ross in Abusive Pastors, Christian Offense, Offense, Pastoral Abuse, Shepherding, Shepherding Movement, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Authority, Spiritual Covering
3

Over the next few weeks I will detail some of our experiences in ministry. There are many wonderful stories I can share about our experience. From time to time I will share some good stories. For the next few weeks I want to deal with a very sensitive subject. I feel that this subject is very important and must be addressed. I have eluded to it in some of my previous blogs, but have yet to really give details about our experience. For many years we were told we could not talk to people about what we were going through. This feeling persists even today. We were taught to cover our leaders, and this warped teaching still tries to invade rational thinking. I have to remind myself that there should not be anything in my pastors life that he would need me to cover. I have to ask myself the question “why would they teach me that what I cover in my life God will not cover or forgive, yet they ask me to cover them?”

These blogs are intended to help people that may find themselves on staff or in leadership positions at churches where shepherding, spiritual authority, and spiritual covering are taught. These blogs will give details about what we went through with a follow up of a concise scriptural contrast. This is all in an effort not to uncover a man, group of men, or a church, but rather to uncover the very dangerous theology of spiritual authority, and how it can destroy people. My experience with this teaching and those that practice it left me questioning the very existence of God himself. As someone that has seen the results of this unscriptural teaching many times over, I feel the need to expose it for what it is, and help those that have experienced it as well.

You, Jesus, and your Bubble

Posted: 16th July 2010 by Mike Ross in Uncategorized
1

I would like for you to play a little game in which you have imaginary friends and circumstances. Ok, maybe not so many friends, but there are circumstances. Imagine if somehow you lived your life in a bubble and you had no contact with the outside world. In this bubble you had the nourishment to sustain your life for twenty years, and a Bible. In this scenario you have the ability to read, and the Bible is your only source of information and entertainment, so you read it daily for twenty years. Suddenly, you are removed from you bubble, and you find yourself in America living among the population. You hear mention of “church” and you are excited because you have read about it for so many years and never experienced it. The person telling you about church invites you to a service and you gleefully accept. You are given directions, and the schedule. You are told to be there Sunday morning at 10 AM, and you cannot sleep for days because of the anticipation! Sunday morning rolls around and you have been up all night because you could not sleep. You are so excited you show up early. The doors finally open and you go in.

Here is where I would like for you to take over. What thoughts go through your head during this church service?

I will share mine in the next blog  ;)

Church Growth Strategy

Posted: 15th July 2010 by Mike Ross in Church Growth, Church Growth Strategies, Church Marketing
0

I believe all Whiteboards will have their place in the lake of fire. I know this sounds a bit harsh, but I have a thing about whiteboards in the church. It is like one of those things exhibited by weird people, like having to sit with a view of the door in a public place. I know people that cannot sit with their back to the door. Strange, I know. I also know people that cannot eat food on a stick i.e. corn dogs, popsicles etc. They will literally take the food off the stick before they eat it. There are some strange people in this world! For me a whiteboard in the church rates right at the top of things that disturb me. Surely you must be thinking, “Mike, what has a white board ever done to you?” I would like to explain.

In my years in ministry I have spent a lot of time in front of white boards. In these meetings we would discuss people. You would think that would be a good thing, you know “we count people because people count” and all that stuff. Every department would report what their attendance was. This would be followed up with a discussion of how we could raise these numbers. In a lot of cases there was more concern about revenue than there was concern about people and how the ministry was meeting their needs. This was followed by scheming and strategizing about how we could add something to the schedule that would attract more people. Maybe another service, program, or ministry.

Quite often I was literally sickened by how we looked at people as numbers, and how we could somehow equate people in pews with success in ministry. If you have a lot of people, lives must be changing, community must be forming, and we were fulfilling the great commission. The biggest problem is that we measured success by what we did within the walls of the church instead of outside the church where it really matters. There were lots of pretty Christians attending and soaking up great sermons.

We were encouraged to bring numbers up in our particular ministry, because once again this meant success. One Friday night at a singles meeting someone looked at me and said “You only have 80 people in here. You guys really need to find a way to reach more people.” I think they were stunned at my response. I simply stated that I felt like if we could love and pastor the people we were entrusted with effectively that Jesus would entrust us with more. This person looked at me like I was a buffoon.

In the past I shared with you some statistics. I don’t mean to bore you, but I feel compelled to share them again. Since 1991 the number of unchurched adults has nearly doubled from 39 million to 75 million. (article here)

What this means is that while you and I have been in a comfortable church singing “we bring the sacrifice of praise” we have been losing when it comes to reaching the lost. In the past nineteen years we have lost significant ground. Being at a very large church for several years I can tell you that it is not because of a lack of “church growth” strategies. I think we personally employed more than half of them. There have been more strategies and more marketing campaigns than ever in the church in the past 10 – 15 years and clearly it is not working.

I can’t help but think that when the church starts looking like Jesus, that we will not have to worry about our white boards and church growth strategies any longer. Read the New Testament. People were always drawn to Jesus. If they are not drawn to our churches maybe it is because they cannot see him there.

**** DISCLAIMER ****

Posted: 1st July 2010 by Mike Ross in Christian Offense, Discipleship, Offense, Shepherding, Shepherding Movement, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Authority, Spiritual Covering
8

In my life I have spent 18 years in church and ministry. In that time I served in some capacity at more than nine churches. I spent a couple of years on the road traveling in ministry from church to church. I have literally had personal contact with around 200 pastors.

My blog is like a personal memoir. I do not expect that anyone will even read it. On my blog I can share my personal stories and talk about my experiences. I have been doing this for the past several months. People have expressed how they are offended that we could talk about their pastors or their church. They are essentially offended at us for being offended. I do not think I need to point out the circular reasoning here, but I will anyway. Somehow it is wrong for us to be offended by injustice, but it is not wrong for them to be offended at us for being offended at injustice. I recently had a conversation with someone that sent me an email discussing how I have done things that offended them. I received the email and promptly followed the instructions given in Matthew 5:23-24 “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” If I know my brother is offended with me it is my responsibility to reach out to them and attempt to make it right. Based on this, I know there are some that are offended with what we are saying, and I would like to address the offense.

Most of the comments we get are from people (many people) that are grateful they have found our blogs. Many have told us what we have written has helped them a great deal. There have been a few negative comments and the recurring theme is “you are talking about my pastor”. I would like to respond to this statement in this blog. As I stated in the first couple of sentences, I have personally known many pastors. I have been personal friends with many. If I wrote a blog about how I saw a pastor steal money from the church and have an affair with his secretary (true story), most people would not have a problem with this. Most people would not be offended and accuse of us talking about their pastor. I literally have hundreds of stories I could share and most people would not be offended by them because in most cases they know their pastor is not capable of such things.  If however I write a blog about how a pastor teaches unsound doctrine, and manipulates people into a life of service, and somehow it resonates with them, and they think this might be their pastor, maybe it is because he Is not above reproach.

If you read something on my blog and it clearly contains what I consider an issue, and I then counter the issue with sound scriptural reasoning, and you feel offended because it sounds like your pastor, where is the problem? Is the problem the unsound false teaching as it should be, or is it that I am willing to confront it? If my defense of the Gospel gives you an uneasy feeling about your pastor, I feel very sorry for you. Most people do not get offended when they read content that discusses spiritual abuse, and how it has permeated many American churches.

 I would also like to respond to a statement that has been made a couple of times. “You are only attracting offended and bitter people.” Firstly, I would like to say, if you responded in this manner, you were attracted, so by your own admission you must be offended. If this is the case Lynde and I are here to help you, and love you through it. Secondly, I must once again admit my offense. When someone says that we are only attracting bitter and offended people, and suggest that based on this knowledge, we should stop sharing our story, what they are essentially stating is that the bitter and offended no longer matter to Jesus. That somehow because someone has been broken and hurt in church that they are useless to God, and he no longer cares to love on them. I am sorry, but when I think about these people I cannot help but see the lost sheep of Israel, or fight the compulsion to leave the 99 and go after the one. Broken, wounded, hurt, bitter and offended people may not matter to you or your pastor, but they matter to me, and they matter to Jesus.

If by chance you happen to read blogs that describe men that are self-serving, that will twist scripture, and manipulate people to achieve their desired result, and you think it is your pastor, you should not be confronting me, you should be confronting him. If you would rather not confront him, and my blogs bring you pain PLEASE STOP READING THEM. I do not write blogs for you and I promise I will not have my feelings hurt.

 It is not my goal to hurt anyone or cause confusion. It is my goal to point out unscriptural false teaching, and warn others about it so they will not go through what we have seen many others go through. It is not my intention to cause people to leave churches. If your pastor manipulates and abuses people, and teaches unorthodox theology, you should confront him and allow him the opportunity to lead by repentance. If your pastor is guilty of things I have discussed in my blogs it does not make him an evil individual. It makes him human. We should expect humans to have shortcomings and a sinful nature. We should however, expect that we could address issues in their lives, and that they would not be so prideful they could not simply see their wrong doing, repent publicly and move on. If they truly repent and move on, then you would not think about them when you read about my experiences.

I do not use names of churches or individual pastors in my blog. So the disclaimer is that after 18 years and hundreds of experiences I could share, if you happen to think I am talking about your pastor, it is because you have judged him accordingly.

Are You Offense Proof?

Posted: 22nd June 2010 by Mike Ross in Christian Offense, Discipleship, Offense, Shepherding, Shepherding Movement, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Authority, Spiritual Covering
3

Someone recently made this statement concerning me “Mike Ross has been offended for seven years”. At first I have to be honest. I started to have my feelings hurt, then I realized they were right. I was offended the entire time I worked with this individual. In this blog I would like to confess and admit my “offense”. 

As much as we discuss offense and we hear pretty little sermons about it, we are never taught that we should find some things offensive. We have spent so much time being conditioned to be offense proof that injustice no longer matters to us.

There are many stories in the New Testament where Jesus was offended. In John 2:13-16 Jesus is offended that they had made his father’s house a den of “thieves”. Jesus took every opportunity to counter the false teachings and the pious attitudes of the religious leaders of his day. He confronted their sin to the degree that they considered him offensive. 1 Peter 2:7-8 “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone, and A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”

Jesus was offended that Peter was not mindful of the things of God:
Matthew 16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Clearly Jesus was offended, and clearly it was not sinful or “divisive”, yet  we have taught people that they should never be offended.

In Proverbs 6:16-19 we are told of seven things that God hates (finds offensive).
These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
1. A proud look,
2. A lying tongue,
3. Hands that shed innocent blood,
4. A heart that devises wicked plans,
5. Feet that are swift in running to evil,
6. A false witness who speaks lies,
7. And one who sows discord among brethren.

According to scripture a person is sowing discord if their teaching is contrary to orthodoxy or “sound doctrine”. We are to actively watch for those who are making divisions and causes of stumbling.

Romans 16: (17) And brothers I exhort you to watch those making divisions and causes of stumbling contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and turn away from them.

When you confront men that are serving their agenda rather than God’s they will accuse you of sowing discord or being divisive. If confronting prideful, self-serving men is sowing discord, then the Jesus himself was guilty of this when he confronted the Pharisees and told them their father was the devil. The man that labeled me “offended” was spot on. I was offended by pride, arrogance, a lying tongue, a heart that devised wicked plans, false witness and yes one that sows discord among the brethren. I was offended by the way people were used and run over for the sake of the “vision”. To be concise I was offended by men that wanted the title of Pastor, but had no interest in really loving and pastoring people.

In Ezekiel 34:4 God shows great displeasure with the “shepherds” of Israel:
The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

I have witnessed this live and in person for years and was told to look the other way. If  am labeled offended because I will stand up for what God stands up for I think I am in good company.

So, are you offense proof? If you are it is a shame. I for one am willing to confront what Jesus would confront.

Grade School, Bullies, and Jesus

Posted: 18th June 2010 by Mike Ross in Christian Offense, Offense, Shepherding, Shepherding Movement, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Authority, Spiritual Covering
3

I have distinct memories of grade school. As hard as it may be for some of you to believe, I did not hang out with the cool kids. I hung out with the kids that were picked on the most. It is not that I was picked on a lot and just belonged to that group as much as I just enjoyed being around those kids. Two of my friends were in car accidents and their faces were scarred and disfigured. I had other friends that were just sickly and scrawny. There were always kids and bullies that would pick on them. This typically resulted in these young boys crying. I was not a very big kid growing up, but for whatever reason I could not help but feel what I now know is compassion and stand up for these kids. I got in many fights in elementary and junior high school, but they were all without fail the result of taking up for someone that would not or could not take up for themselves.

 I was trying to sleep the other night and was almost tormented by the current state of things. Have I missed it somewhere? Am I as some people have labeled me “bitter and offended”? Have I allowed offense to make me ineffective in the Kingdom? As I pondered these questions I recalled the instances I detailed above. It seems I have spent most of my life being offended. In grade school I was offended by “popular” kids making fun of the less fortunate and gaining pleasure at their expense. It seems as though I have carried the same “offense” into adulthood. I spent years being offended with pastors and “leadership”. I can honestly say that most of my offense came as a result of their failure to love and shepherd people. We may have all grown up, but there are still people gaining pleasure at the expense of others. I have seen selfish men demand that people serve them to the point of exhaustion. Some are shocked at the content of some of my blogs. What I have been saying in my blogs is not new, I have been saying it for years. I have been screaming the message of “You cannot treat people this way” for a very long time, for it to just be ignored. If you know anything about us, you know that we have always treated people differently, that we genuinely love them and want to serve them. Jesus himself did not come to be served, but to serve, how can we be any different? For some reason injustice offends me and I cannot help myself. I have been confronting it since I was  a child. I cannot help but look at people that are being abused and have compassion on them and want to do something about it. You might call “Justice” one of my core values.

 Life is still very much like it was in the third grade. There are still bullies out there. They have different titles and positions, but they are still picking on and abusing the helpless. You may not have a problem with this and may be able to look the other way. As hard as I have tried, and believe me I tried for a long time, I simply cannot ignore bullies pushing people around especially when they are claiming to do it in the name of Jesus.

Twsited Scritpure

Posted: 11th June 2010 by Mike Ross in Discipleship, Shepherding, Shepherding Movement, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Authority, Spiritual Covering
9

I was going through one of my journals today and I found a message I took notes on several years ago entitled “Learning to Hear the Voice of God”. I have to admit when I heard this message it all sounded pretty good. Lynde and I had not been in church that long and we simply believed everything we were being told and put it into practice. As I read this entry in my journal I was troubled. I would like to share the message here.

The message deals with Samuel and how he heard the voice of the Lord speak to him. The message begins with the scripture below and ends with point number 5.

1 Samuel 3:4

4 that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” 5 So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down. 6 Then the LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.) 8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”

1. He was in a place to hear the voice of God.
2. He ministered to the Lord. He was faithful to the “chores”.
3. He served someone who knew the voice of God.
4. The voice of God sounds a lot like the voice of your leader.
5. He allowed Eli to help him discern the voice of God.

Now I would like to talk about what troubles me about this. In points 2 and 3 we were told that in order to hear the voice of God that we must serve. Can you imagine what this teaching does to young Christians? From personal experience I can tell you it puts you in a mode of performance based Christianity. The focus of your affection will be the men you serve rather than the Jesus you desire to converse with. You cannot serve your way into relationship with Jesus. If you could the law would have been sufficient and He would not have had to die.

In points 4 and 5 we were told that God’s voice sounds like our “leader” and that it is our leader that helps us discern the voice of God. Every one of these points essentially tell us to serve a man and listen to a man. There is no mention of having a relationship with Jesus or the Holy Spirit. This is not “equipping saints for work of ministry”. This kind of perverse twisting of scripture is self-serving and places a yoke of bondage on people that Jesus never intended for them to wear. You will have a life of service and not a life of relationship under this kind of teaching. The idea that leadership is God’s voice can lead to a very abusive and manipulative situation. See this list of signs of Spiritual Abuse

Verse 7 clearly tells us that “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.”  “Samuel did not yet know the Lord”. The difference in you and me is that we have met Jesus. We know him. In John 10:27 Jesus states “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” He also states in John 14:26 “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of  everything I have said to you.”

There is no mention here of needing a “mature” Christian to translate or mediate the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus tells us in John 16: 13-14
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.”

We must stop teaching people unscriptural theology that is self-serving, harmful and manipulative to believers. God has called you to do great things and He speaks to you. You have heard his voice and are capable of following it. Do not be guilty of serving a man because it is easier than having a relationship with Jesus. We must be careful of becoming a counterfeit for the Holy spirit in the life of another believer. As pastors and leaders it is often easier to tell people what to do than it is to teach them to trust the voice of God.

Signs of Spiritual Abuse

Posted: 10th June 2010 by Mike Ross in Discipleship, Shepherding, Shepherding Movement, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Authority, Spiritual Covering
10

A google search for the exact phrase “Spiritual Abuse” returns more than 83,000 records. A search of books in Amazon.com for the exact phrase “spiritual abuse” returns 86 results. If there were no such thing as spiritual abuse there would not be so many google results and books on the subject. The reality is that if everyone that has experienced spiritual abuse would confront it, there would be exponentially more resources on the subject. Many people are afraid to confront the issue because they have been indoctrinated to believe that confronting sin in leadership is divisive or sinful, or they fear the fallout that will occur if they share their story with others. Lynde and I have experienced fallout and the demise of our “reputation” because of our willingness to confront sin and wrong thinking (bad theology) in the lives of pastors and leaders.

I have put together a list of some of the warning signs that can be indicative of an abusive system. This is not an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination. These are simply tactics and signs I have personally seen in my eighteen plus years being involved in ministry.

  1.  Leadership is God’s Voice
    The leaders or pastor make you believe that you can only hear God’s voice through them. They often portray themselves as being more “mature”. If the Holy Spirit speaks to you they must confirm it. See the scriptural response to this teaching here.
  2. The Counsel Consequence
    The leaders or pastor may distance themselves from you if you choose not to obey their “counsel”. Their advice is offered as counsel or guidance, but there are consequences if you choose not to follow their “advice”. Advice means: recommendation as to appropriate choice of action; counsel. Counsel ceases to be Godly when rather than being a recommendation it is forced.
  3. Obedience by way of Manipulation
    You are made to believe that to disobey them is to disobey God himself or that if you disobey them you are somehow removing yourself from God’s “covering” or “protection”. I have personally heard the following statement many times: “You can do what you want to do, or you can do what God wants you to do”
  4. Status
    Your compliance earns your entrance into the inner circle. The more you comply the more popular and accepted you are. Questioning authority damages your standing within the organization.
  5. Demanding of Respect and Service
    They constantly remind you of their title and demand that others address them by it. This enforces their sense of separation from “commoners”. These people demand that everyone serves them while they serve themselves. I would like to remind these guys that it is not the title that makes the man, but the man that makes the title. Some of this has made it’s way into the modern church via Watchman Nee and his unscriptural view of Spiritual Authority.
  6. Broken Relationships
    These pastors and leaders usually go through staff and followers at an abnormally high rate. These people are usually the ones that refused to submit or otherwise deify the leader or pastor. They are usually labeled rebellious, offended, bitter, or worse in an effort to discredit them and keep others from being “tainted” by their influence. Beware of pastors that label people like this. While it is true there are rebellious, offended and bitter people you have to wonder about a pastor that uses that to explain every broken relationship.  You should also be wary of pastors that are alienated from members of their immediate family.
  7. Cloak and Dagger
    Everything is run as if the organization is a part of some secret society. There is no disclosure of the finances to the membership. Staff is hired or more importantly fired or  relationships are severed without any accountability or explanation. I have personally seen staff members simply disappear and it never be addressed.
  8. Serve their Vision
    They require you to lay down your gifts and calling to serve the vision of the “house”. They are more concerned about accomplishing their vision than they are of the well-being of their followers. Service to the vision is seen as service to God and comes before anything, including your family and responsibilities outside of the church.
  9. Outward Appearances
    They make outward appearances a higher priority than the inward condition. They encourage people to dress and act a certain way. I have personally seen pastors tell some of their overweight staff that they should not eat in public. I have also seen very gifted female worship leaders not be allowed on stage because they were overweight. Apparently there is a quota of how many “big girls” you can have on stage. Not my words, but the words I overheard a pastor use.
  10. The only way
    They discourage fellowship with other churches or denominations and have an elitist attitude as if they are single handedly going to save humanity.
  11. Cover Them
    They teach you that you must uncover all your “sins” and confess all to them, all the while they teach you that you must cover them and their sin.
  12. Control Relationships
    They tell you who you are allowed to talk to and control what you say to them. I have seen this go as far as telling children not to talk to their parents because they did not “have the heart of the church”
  13. Complete Agreement
    You must completely agree with them on all points for them to be in relationship with you. Not agreeing with their theology makes you the enemy, and they will disassociate themselves from you, and require that others do it as well.

The behaviors listed above can be very subtle. Most pastors that exhibit these behaviors would never declare their subscription to the beliefs or practices that promote this type of abuse from the pulpit. In most cases the perpetrators genuinely think they are doing the right thing. Twisted theology has led them to believe that they have the right to manipulate people into “furthering the gospel”. You will often see trails of broken relationships and wounded people. This is covered by the statement “but look at all the good we do”. Whatever “good” they may be doing for some does not excuse the injustices committed to others.

See the Scriptural Response to Spiritual Abuse Here

Father Figures?

Posted: 9th June 2010 by Mike Ross in Discipleship, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Authority
Tags: , ,
2

My wife wrote this blog and I love it so much I had to borrow it. You can see her post here Lynde Ross or simply read my edited version below (replaced the word “daughter” with “son”)

I would like to challenge your theology today. I have attended a church in the past where the question was asked ‘Are you a son in the house?’ This question was always followed up with this explanation: A son would serve his pastor without question. He would be ready to help him fulfill his vision at any cost. No one would have to tell him to serve—he would just do it. Hmm. I have decided I don’t agree with this way of thinking. I am not sure why I didn’t think this through before, but can I suggest that it was because I was too busy serving another man’s vision? When I think about my own daughters, or sons, for that matter, I do not think, ‘Boy, I am glad I have these kids to help me fulfill my vision. I want them to spend their lives helping me live my dream.’ I know. Sounds crazy. If you are a son in the house, I think the daddy should do everything in his power to help your dreams come true. He should help you discover your purpose and equip you in every way to accomplish your vision for your life. How in the hell did this get so topsy-turvy in the church? Quite frankly, it really ticks me off. I can name countless young people who have passed through the doors of the above-mentioned church, been treated as slave labor, then leave not only the church, but God Himself. And, why wouldn’t they? What kind of Daddy were they shown? And, if they refused to buy in, they were told, ‘You just don’t have the heart of our church.’ Really? I am fuming now. And, for the record, righteous anger is a beautiful thing. Try it.

Shepherds

Posted: 7th June 2010 by Mike Ross in Discipleship, Shepherding, Shepherding Movement, Spiritual Abuse, Spiritual Authority, Spiritual Covering
2

There was an old shepherd that had a reputation for having the finest sheep around. Everyone knew that this shepherd loved and cared for his sheep. It was evident in the appearance of the sheep that they were cared for very well.

As the shepherd grew older it became increasingly difficult for the shepherd to care for the sheep he loved so much. Fortunately this shepherd had two sons and he would entrust the sheep to his sons. He gave the younger son half of the sheep and the older son the other half. The young son loved his fathers sheep as much as his father did. He wanted nothing more than to serve and love the sheep with the same intensity that his father did. The older brother loved the sheep as well. He loved the fact that he had plenty of wool to make clothes and that he had more meat than some kings had at their table. He loved that he could have milk whenever he desired it. It did not take long until the contrasting love that these brothers had for the sheep became evident in their appearance. The younger brothers sheep flourished and were considered the best live stock in the land, while the older brothers sheep appeared to be lean, abused and dying. One loved the sheep because his father loved the sheep and the other loved the sheep because they were useful to him and they improved the quality of his life.

The younger brother experienced a great deal of turmoil over the condition of his older brothers sheep. He found himself enduring many sleepless nights feeling almost tormented as he pictured the abuse they were enduring in his mind. You see, he did not just love and care for the sheep he was entrusted with, he loved all his father’s sheep.

Eventually the younger brother decided he would risk his reputation and his standing in society in an effort to protect his father’s flock. It was unheard of for the younger brother to confront or question the practices of an older brother but he had no choice. He was driven out of his love for his father’s sheep to do what he could to help them.

Older Entries