Ring: Loving the leadership of our church – Bluffton Today

John Ring| Bluffton Today

What did you fear most as a child? I thought it was having to stay inside on a sunny day. My mother told a story about when she would make me go to bed early. She said I would tell her, Mom, spank me, please, but dont make me go to bed when the sun is up.

I always had a strong dislike for spiders, snakes and dogs that bite. To this day, I dont like strange big dogs. When you are younger than 10 and get bitten by big dogs three times, they tend to go in the dislike column. That is about all I feared, except for one thing: the times Mom said, Wait until your father gets home.

Those words scared me to death. I would rather have a dog grab a snake eating a spider off my chest than hear those words. Dad never spanked us. I dont remember one single time. However, he had a way of expressing his displeasure that melted the heart.

We could con mom. There was no conning Dad. Not only that, but his word was final. It wasnt only the discipline; it was the tone. Oh, the tone. I dont know one single time my dad screamed at us. But the tone, it went deep. Im sure some of you know exactly what I mean.

Lately, there have been several discussions about authority and how we respond to it. Im not sure there is anyone who likes authority. We like it when it comes down on someone we consider offensive, but when authority disciplines us, we dont like it.

What is that feeling you have when the blue lights come on behind your car? It is not one of, Thank you, officer, for pulling me over. I needed a ticket. No way! My first thought was often, What is wrong with this cop? I dont deserve this. I have been told the same attitude exists among most convicts in prison. They seldom admit their guilt.

Authority is a problem for the independent, self-governing, relativistic individual of today. Lets be honest. Few churches split over theological issues. As I look back at those who threatened or left the churches I have been part of, it came down to obeying authority.

Nobody left because the pastor stole the offering. Nobody left because the preacher was teaching heresy. Nobody left because they were offended by an elder. Now, Im sure there has been abuse in some cases. I dont blame anyone for leaving a church for gross moral decay. However, those cases are often rare, not the norm. We leave because we are not happy, and often its because something is demanded from us.

Jesus often pointed this out in his parables. He spoke of authority and being submissive to it. He spoke of obeying authority unless it violated the word of God. Not personal opinion that we masquerade as conviction. He said to obey man when in authority unless it violates something clear in our worship of the Lord.

What can those things be that violate our Lord? We wouldnt steal. We shouldnt lie (by commission or omission). We dont kill someone for the sake of personal gain. We shouldnt even covet what someone else has. The list goes on.

Lets get very practical, and if I may, very straightforward. I have seen too many people give up on their church, and thus their spiritual family, over pandemic issues that have nothing to do with offenses to the Lord. Somehow, American freedom has melded into the word of God to create a buffet of obedience issues.

Add a tinge of political allegiance and this has become a mess. Churches are being torn in two over issues that have no place in the body of Christ. I hate to say this, but we dont worship an American Jesus. We are followers of Jesus who happen to be Americans. No matter what label we can put on, we are believers and followers of Christ first.

When we became believers, we forfeited our personal rights to become children of the living God, Jesus. He gave us the golden rule that has us loving Him first and then loving others so much that we dont do anything to them we would not want done to us.

I understand more than ever part of the problem is that church for most is only a Sunday event. However, relationship is important to being united in Christ. We need it. A friend once told me, When you are going to leave a church for any reason, go and talk to the pastor. That is what we have done. At times we have stayed when we saw the pastor as more than a preacher.

When we do not submit to authority, even in the church, we are leaving an example to the next generation. What example are we leaving? Sometimes we wonder why they did not obey us. Maybe that is exactly what we taught them.

Jesus and the apostles talked a lot about unity in the church. Unity was to be the opposite of how the world does things. In the kingdom of God, unity is obtained by loving my Lord and my spiritual family. That love is defined as laying down your life (opinions, desires, time) for the sake of another.

Lets start with loving the leadership of our church. They need it. Oh, and they have never been through a pandemic either.

John Ring is minister of family counseling and community outreach at Grace Coastal Church in Okatie.

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Ring: Loving the leadership of our church - Bluffton Today