It’s now a joke — a parody — that hypocrites in some churches will argue over anything, like the color of the carpet. Who could be so petty, so unreasonable, so argumentative?
We had someone do it, kind of. Well, it was about the floor tiles but it was the same level of obsession and juvenility. He threw a fit over our removing the old floor tiles and left in a huff, ignoring his church covenant. Here’s the kicker: he then became the “pastor of discipleship” at another church!
To hear the story, click on this short (just a little over one minute) excerpt:
Philippians 2:13 tells us not to “dispute,” meaning to prohibit arguing over minor issues, like the famous argument over the color of the carpet Christians make fun of. ‘Those hypocrites are so petty, they’ll argue over such trivial things,’ we assure ourselves, thinking that would never happen to us. But over a dozen years now, we changed the floor tiles in our gym and — I kid you not — someone argued that we did it wrong. Someone who never saw it, who took no part in it, who was on his computer writing angry emails while the rest of us were cleaning up the tiles. But his lack of actual knowledge didn’t hinder him from arguing and arguing. He simply saw some photos, jumped to a conclusion, refused to listen to every person who actually took part. To allay his fears, we offered to have a professional test done. It would be at our expense. We asked him to arrange it. Instead, he reported us to the state, claiming we had broken a law about removing asbestos tiles. So we had the professional come administer the test to see if the building was contaminated. It wasn’t. But he wouldn’t stop arguing. He grumbled and disputed and left in a huff, calling the pastor a “demented tyrant,” never mind the church covenant which committed him “to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation.”
Churches have a problem with hypocrites like this because rather than call him to account, they pander to him, pretending he didn’t do what he did; trying to woo him back without confronting the problem, like the hypocrite’s father-in-law who, rather than confront him, enabled him. We have a problem with hypocrisy in churches because enablers won’t confront the problem. They’ll try to woo them back, flatter them, placate them, rather than tell them out-right that they’re lying and reviling, fault-finding and disputing. Then if he seems to have an exciting, charming personality, they’ll hire him as a “pastor of discipleship,” not to actually make disciples but to draw in more spectators. Then even the enablers he lied about forget about his lies and his disputing because it’s easier to pretend it didn’t happen than to keep calling him to repentance. Enablers always take the path of least resistance. Thus, hypocrisy prevails and flourishes.
Then, other churches don’t do what Baptist churches used to do to ensure they aren’t admitting hypocrites into their membership: require a letter of transfer from another church. Allowing members to join without a letter of dismission or commendation may undermine the discipline of a prior church, defeats the purpose of accountability church membership exists for, and may allow people who are “unsound and hypocrites inwardly” to be admitted into the church.
To read about how Baptist churches used to require letters of transfer that would keep hypocrites from bouncing from church to church and becoming the “pastor of discipleship” without ever repenting of his disputing about tiles, read: Baptist Polity Inherited from Congregationalism (go to page 153).
“When a member removes his residence nearer to another church of the same faith and order, he is bound in duty to procure a letter of dismission from the church to which he belongs.” — The Charlestown Association (1774)
When churches care more about numbers of people in their seats than truly making disciples, they’re desperate and so will ignore if the new person left in a huff over floor tiles. They won’t even inquire. Formerly, Baptist churches required a letter of transfer from a previous church. Now they take whoever they can get, no questions asked, and no disciples made (unless it is despite them). So the hypocrite who argued about the tiles, was hired, ironically, to be a “pastor of discipleship.”
“Pastor of Discipleship”?
The “pastor of discipleship” was reminded repeatedly of his offense at his former church but never sought to make it right. To this day, he’s never attempted to apologize and obey the Lord Jesus’ command to be reconciled to those he has offended, all while he pretended to tell others about “discipleship.” Work not to be like that “pastor of discipleship” at a Danville/Eden-area church.
His church was repeatedly informed that their “pastor of discipleship” had not dealt with his sin — his disputing about floor tiles. Want to know why there’s so many hypocrites in today’s churches? Because churches hire hypocrites as “pastors of discipleship.” We will continue to be plagued by hypocrites until we prioritize real discipleship — enforced by truth-telling — over numerical “success.”
Jasonbarrowed down into slanderous hysteria. He was so hysterical because something in the church was not done his way. He broke his repeated commitments when it was convenient, finding church leaders guilty without any inquiry, refusing to obey 1 Tim. 5:19, Mt. 18:15f. He have often couched his accusations in rash, inflammatory rhetoric (e.g. calling his pastor “stubborn,” “incompetent”, “demented tyrant”, etc.; and taking unto himself the right to issue a “final warning”, etc., (what 1 Cor. 5:11 calls being a “reviler”). I suggested we pay for his counseling. Instead, he left amid a flurry of false accusations. He then went on to become the “pastor of discipleship” at, what to him, must have been an enabling Eden, like he was born in Oz (or Os?).
“What Kind of Work Do You Do?”
To hear the entire message on Philippians 2:13-30, “What Kind of Work Do You Do?,” click here:
