Ben je er van overtuigd dat de leiders van jouw kerk wolven in schaapskleren zijn? Als dit zo is, wat moet je dan doen? Het antwoord op die vraag is niet zo gemakkelijk omdat de kans bestaat dat je het verkeerd voor hebt. De verschillende karaktertrekken die Jezus opsomt in Mat. 23, en die we de voorbije weken hebben bezien, zijn moeilijk in absolute waarden te meten. De scheidslijn tussen een sterk leider en een verkeerd leider is dikwijls heel dun.
Zoek raad. Spreek met een ander pastor, ouder of onderlegd broeder en vraag hem je bezorgdheid te bevestigen of te doen bedaren. Ik bedoel hiermee geen achterklap. aan. Deel je bezorgdheid niet zomaar met de eerste de beste. Zoek bij voorkeur iemand die je kan vertrouwen, die niet bij je kerk is en die ervaring heeft in die zaken. Zelfs dan kom je er snel toe het slechte te overdrijven en het goede te minimaliseren. Probeer dus zo objectief en eerlijk als mogelijk te zijn in je rapport. Eens dat de raadgever zijn oordeel heeft gegeven, hou je er dan aan. Zoek niet rond naar bevestiging die jou past. Jammer genoeg zijn diegenen die in een verkeerde situatie vertoeven dikwijls uitgesloten van enige bediening buitenaf wat het moeilijk maakt om goede raad te vinden, maar het is niettemin belangrijk. (De reden waarom ik raad van buitenaf aanbeveel is dat indien de leiders werkelijk verkeerde leiders en wolven zijn, ze de aanklacht simpelweg zullen loochenen en jou zullen trachten te overtuigen/intimideren om te geloven dat wat zij doen goed is).
Indien je nu ontdekt dat je leiders inderdaad verkeerd zijn, wat moet je dan doen? De Schrift is duidelijk-ga naar degene met wie je een probleem hebt en spreek hem onder vier ogen over zijn fout(Mat. 18:15). Zijn antwoord geeft je meer inzicht om je vrees te bevestigen of te ontkennen. Indien hij een kind van God is zal zijn antwoord ook Goddelijk zijn maar antwoordt hij in boosheid, in verdediging, rancuneus of hoe dan ook negatief, dan wordt je voorgevoel bevestigd. Ben je tevreden met het antwoord van je broeder, bouw dan daarop voort en zie of er verandering komt in hem of in je houding. Een ware herder laat er geen twijfel over bestaan dat hij een ware herder is.
If, however his response is negative then you have a real problem because the next step is to take witnesses with you. (Matthew 18:16, 1Timothy 5:19). The first problem is that in an abusive situation, most folk will be so intimidated that they will not be willing to testify and the second problem is that most believers do not have what it takes to confront a wolf who is entrenched in leadership. This leaves you with only one option: run for your life.
Too many people remain in churches where the leader is a wolf because they feel that they can fix the situation. Do not be deceived. Someone who is not in a very powerful position in leadership themselves will never be able to change a situation where the leaders are wolves. I do not know of a single example where those under the domination of an abusive leader, have ever been able to bring about significant change. Have you ever noticed, that Jesus never even tried to convert the scribes and Pharisees, except for the two who came to him (Nicodemus and Joseph)? Why do you think He did not try to transform the synagogues with their system of scribes, rabbis and lawyers?
Jesus warned: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” (Luke 12:1). And in Matthew 16:11&12 He says: “How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? – but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees”. Thus Jesus refers to both the hypocrisy and the doctrine of these leaders as leaven. Why did he not refer to it as dirt or weakness or some other analogy? Why is it leaven? Because there is a cure for filth, weakness, a lack of understanding and even sin, but there is no cure for leaven. Once a little leaven gets into the lump of dough, it will penetrate at a microscopic level until the whole lump is infected with the bacteria. (1Corinthians 5:6, Galatians 5:9). Paul says the only way to purge leaven out is to make a clean break with the source of the leaven and to have a new lump of dough. (1Corinthians 5:7). If the source of leaven is one of the believers, it is relatively easy to put him out of the church (after following Matthew 18), but if the source is a / the leader, it becomes almost impossible to deal with. Either way, distance has to be put between you and the source of the leaven.
One of the popular errors propagated by abusive leaders is that as long as the believers are in submission to the leaders, the Lord will reward those believers for their submission but the leaders will be judged for the error. Thus they tell you not to worry too much about where the church is going – that is up to the leadership and even if the whole church is led astray, the followers will be fine because they are being obedient and it is not their task to discern right from wrong. This is a sure sign of a church that is already deep into heresy. “Each of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12). Even in the Old Testament it was established that “all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4). And “each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor” (1Corinthians 3:8). Each one of us is responsible before the Lord and while shepherds will give an account for the flock, the sheep will never be able to blame their failure on the shepherd.
In Revelation 2:18-23, Jesus speaks about Jezebel (a symbolic name for an actual person in the church of Thyatira) “who calls herself a prophetess (who) teach(es) and seduce(s) My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.” (verse 20). While He pronounces a severe judgment on her, He judges the church for allowing her to continue her evil work, but even more startling, Jesus says that He will also “kill her children with (eternal) death” (verse 23). This means that those who are followers of false prophets will be judged with the same judgment as the false prophets! So don’t think you can continue following false shepherds and not be contaminated with their error, or worse, be condemned with the same judgment.
To those who find themselves in a false religious system God says: “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4)