3rd April 2022.

DO THESE TO YOUR MINISTER OFTEN Pt.3

1Cor 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. KJV

BE LOYAL

Years back, I know an associate pastor who left his senior pastor for another Pastor because he heard the other pastor was giving cars to associates from what I heard. What he failed to tell people was that his former pastor once gave him an international platform by sending him to go preach on his behalf in the U.S. That's a rare privilege. It seemed to me that when the going was good in terms of benefits, he remained but when the tide turned, he jumped ship. Unfortunately for him, his former pastor became bigger and better after. From the onset, he wasn't loyal to him. It only showed when the opportunity to be given a car showed up. There are many disloyal church folks today. They "use" and "dump" their pastors only to jump ship whenever they hear it is happening elsewhere or whenever they perceive benefits will accrue. Some are only loyal because their present church fits their current "status". The test of loyalty comes when there's a change in status from middle class to upper class. Will that Pastor still remain your pastor if you become the Governor or President? Will you still be faithful in your duties to God in that church?

The stress of ministry is too much to be surrounded by disloyal associates and members. We need unwavering loyalty from you in every respect as long as it is in the will of God. By the way, what is loyalty? According to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, the word 'loyal' is defined as giving' or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution". Firm and constant support or allegiance is the thrust of loyalty. Other synonymous words are: faithful, trustworthy, devoted, etc. Every preacher/ Pastor is in need of loyal people not heart-breakers. Those whose loyalty to his cause and vision is unwavering. There are persons who deserted a pastor/ ministry because of unmet personal interest. They jump ship to another preacher's church for trivial reasons. What some pastors termed "growth" today, it is just a gathering/ convergence of disloyal members and associates from different churches. Such folks create more problems than they help solve existing ones.

Apostle Paul was blessed with loyal people: "Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life"(Philippians 4:3 NIV). What a joy it is to have true companions not rebels. If you are no longer in tune with the practices, teachings and doings in that church, it is honourable to leave peacefully instead of breaking the church into factions. Stop trying to "unpreach" or "unteach" your pastor's messages to prove you have knowledge. It is possible for him to be wrong just like any other preacher out there. If error/ heresy persist, prayerfully take a decision that is good for your sanity. Don't break that church into two with your "revelation". Don't forget that he laboured over you to grow. Don't be the reason behind the breaking or factions in a church. You are better elsewhere among a group of like minds that are in tune with your ideological leanings than where you'll always be at loggerheads with leadership. If that church/ ministry is where God want you, your loyalty should be unshaking. Be loyal, be supportive, be trustworthy, don't talk down the vision of your pastor.