Grace and peace be multiplied unto you. I am optimistic that you are doing well. I have decided to write to you through this medium, not necessarily because I want to follow the evolving trend in our nation, but because ecclesiastical protocols often debar effective lay-clergy communications, particularly, pew initiated engagements that urge pastors to uphold the norms of account-giving behaviour. Again, in face-to-face context, it is not commonly seen as a mark of spiritual heroism for a pastor to share experiences or solicit help on overcoming secret vices till they become public knowledge. In fact, sexual issues are commonly seen as off-limits to explore conversationally.
Pastor, as you can see, moral decadence is a marked feature of our time. Its ubiquity conveys the notion that we are on the eve of the collapse of our civilisation. As it was, when Roman civilisation was on the cusp of decline, so it is today. Humanity is now intellectually poised to embrace a new civilisation without shared morality, freedom without responsibility, spirituality without grace, theology without Theo, Christianity without Christ, and church without bible. The emerging climate of thought is profoundly marked by ethical haziness. I guess that the nascent Queen James Version of the bible may become as popular as the authorised King James Version, because of the incessant moral failures of church leaders. Their failures nudge and urge influential leaders of thought to drag humanity along thorny paths of moral ambivalence.
It is common today, to find the kind of Christian C. S Lewis spoke about in his bestselling book, Mere Christianity: “A famous Christian long ago told us that when he was a young man he prayed constantly for chastity; but years later he realised that while his lips had been saying, “Oh Lord, make me chaste,” his heart had been secretly adding, “But please don’t do it just yet.” Folks with this kind of attitude set off an epidemic of drifting away from God. They would neither zip up nor shut up. They have all the trappings of God’s spokesman, but their belief-behaviour dissonance make people to drift from truth, compromise standards, and get by with sloppy living.
Pastor, it is evident that sexually broken pastors cannot pilot churches to ever-increasing sphere of significance, fix societal ills, and guide humanity along the path of moral probity. Sexual blunders significantly impair ministerial effectiveness. A church leader that misuses his reputational capital cannot make maximum impact. I wonder if there is anything that saps the spiritual vitality of church leaders, and muffle their voices like inappropriate sexual behaviour. Hence, some can’t decry corruption any longer. Rather, they keep company with political malfeasants.
Consequently, experimenting with new evil has become a popular hobby. Just like the days before Martin Luther led reformation, some now openly flout ecclesiastical niceties, flaunt depravities, priest and prostitute now tango. Living like pigs, yet, they create Saint Augustine-like aura around themselves, and seek veneration as supposed apostolic authors of Acts 29. Unfortunately, the dynamites of truth hardly blast to shreds a sin-hardened conscience of a regenerated man.
Church crowd during worship service
I imagine that if this trend does not abate, very
soon, Christians may become flip with God to the point that pastors will
exultantly speak about their illicit sexual escapades. It will be
punctuated by thunderous shouts of Hallelujah. If they say something
like “I am dealing with it. You see, I use to rape minors, but now I
sleep only with consenting adults” people will give
thanksgiving offerings for the tone down, or supposed lifestyle
modification. There are many illusions that trigger pastor-related sexual misconducts. For example, there are church-going ladies who think they become anointed by sleeping with anointed men, like you. There are young ladies who mistakenly think it is okay for them to render sexual services to a pastor for ministering deliverance from the spirit of poverty to them. Again, there are those who at the drop of a hat will sleep with a pastor just to be projected as core in his support network. There are also those who feel their bodies are meant to tantalise men to church. In fact, I heard the latest church growth expert in town is fond of saying; to grow a mega-church, grow young women leaders.
Pastor, there is an age-old illusion that you can sleep with a sexpot on the same bed through the night, and you will be still as stone and know that God is God. Please, don’t experiment. Otherwise, you may become a guinea pig in Satan’s lab. It is conceit to acquiesce with those who peddle the illusion that you live beyond the sphere of sin. Don’t indulge your ego and forfeit your soul. Those that say when you were anointed and appointed, your body became dead, non-responsive to visual and tactile sexual stimulants like an ice-capped man at the North Pole, seek to dig your vocational grave. Don’t allow them to take liberties with you. Build safety barriers against their influences. Cherish your well-honed character, and hard-earned reputation for integrity. If not, you may create life-long debilitating credibility gap.
Credibility, which is fuelled by purity, is the bedrock of pastoral influence. Without it, your belief and behaviour are not worthy of emulation. In other words, credibility deficit will make your influence marginal. Every pastor is bound to fight the battle of credibility. Of course, one critical arena where credibility is tested is in your relationship with the opposite sex. It is ministerial suicide to live like a pig and stream pulpit platitude like an angel. Take some lessons in sexual purity. Live a life of blazing holiness that will refute the prejudices of mean-spirited faultfinders. A pastor is a time bomb going somewhere to explode if discretion and purity are missing in his interactions with the opposite sex. If your bedroom becomes a prayer ground, you are a step away from sleeping with ladies on the altar. Destruction is afoot whenever discretion is trivialised.
By Omozuwa Gabriel Osamwonyi (SR)
No comments:
Post a Comment