A CRISIS OF GODLY LEADERSHIP IN THE CHURCH
Jeremiah 23:1 (NIV 1984) Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD.
Jeremiah had the word of the Lord for Judah, a scathing word: defeat by a foreign enemy, Jerusalem will burn, and seventy years of exile, all a reckoning for years of idolatry and detestable practices. Yet, Jeremiah was not treated well by the nation; he was threatened, imprisoned, and even thrown into a well (Jer 38:6). The leaders wanted affirmation, positivity, and hope from their prophets, not harsh, condemning, 2,000-year-old versions of hate speech. The nation’s sins were being called out, God’s judgments pressed, and Jeremiah was one of the few hearing what God was saying. Most of the others played it safe; nice when God wasn’t nice, affirming when God wasn’t affirming, and vulgarly hopeful when hope was decades out. There was a crisis of Godly leadership in Judah.
Jeremiah calls out these derelict preachers of falsities. He accused them of being unconcerned for the nation and dared call their ministries evil (v2). They used their power unjustly (v10), and their sinful actions made their way into the temple of the Lord no less (v11). The source of their message was Baal (v13) and themselves (v16). Their holy persona was a lie; they were adulterers empowering the forward movement of wickedness, and their words uninspiring (v14). Evil was spreading through the land, and the preachers of the day were the cause when they were supposed to be the solution (v15). They were not sent by God (v21), nor was He speaking through them (v21), yet they claimed so, delivering reckless lies (v32). The punishment for these failed spiritual leaders and their households was harsh (v2,34). They were to be replaced (v4), banished to darkness (v12), forgotten by God, and cast out of His presence (v39) into everlasting disgrace and shame (v39-40), hellish language to be sure.
There is a present crisis of Godly leadership, and it is within the church, not the liberal protestants that apostatized decades ago, but the evangelical, gospel-preaching church that has been carrying the torch of truth for so long. A devilish strategy has been afoot. Decrease the small churches, increase the big ones. Consolidate many into large church corporations, and reduce the number of spiritual voices to a popular few highly engaging speakers, all to maximize influence; more bang for the buck. Marginalize the faithful preacher who says unpopular things such as, “Repent or perish.” Combine modern pop psychology with doctrinal language, such as “We can’t love others until we love ourselves.” Or, “Jesus died to heal our brokenness.” Half-truths, maybe, but as a friend once told me, “Half-truths are usually whole lies.” Seduction is the game; redirection the goal. Get those Bible-toting Christians off the scent. Target the high-profile preachers who have the most influence. Seduce with the illusion of greater impact. Entice with money. Allure with elite invitations: dinners, photo ops, media interviews, the ego knows no bounds. Offer alliances for the common good. The seduction is strong. The mightiest have become prey, and the cost seemingly low: soften their harsh tones and preach less on certain topics. The seduced preacher is ever-so-slightly nudged off message, and, with a slight of tongue, impacts listeners with comments like, “the Bible only whispers about sexual sins.” Even if that were true, and it is not, does that mean a biblical whisper has less authority? That is the implication. Don’t try to change a preacher’s beliefs; simply offer other possibilities, and with that, the prophets are silenced. No threats. No pressure. No persecution. Offer money, influence, and fame, and the deal goes down.
“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep.” Jesus rephrases, “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, woe to that person from whom they come.” (Lk 17:1). There is a crisis of Godly leadership in the church. Who will be His prophet? Who will speak the true word of God? It’s easy to speak hard truths when it’s popular. It’s easy to show zeal when it buys a bigger audience and increases the offering plate, but what if it doesn’t? What if declaring truth minimizes impact, lowers membership, and strains finances? Is it still worth it? And is that even the correct question? If speaking the truth offers no noticeable benefit, is it not still right to say it? Jeremiah would say it is, and with that one Godly leader to balance the scales. For His eyes will be on the faithful in the land, and no one who speaks falsely will stand in His presence. Every morning he will put to silence all the wicked in the land (Ps 101:6-8).
