Freely given, but NOT free We've chosen to distribute Alone In The Sanctuary free, praying, if you find it helpful you will contribute to PeaceMakers. The responsibility is yours to help care for others. "Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor." Galatians 6:6 Copyright (C) 1990 ver 9/99 by William R. Fields. Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction

It's Still True Today

Part 1: The State of Affairs in the Church

1. The Abused Worker

I'm Hurting (letter from Hurting).
I Know You're Hurting (response from Peacemaker).

2. The Wounded Parishioner

I've Been Wounded (letter from Wounded).
Dear Wounded (response from Peacemaker).

3. Am I Crazy?

What's Happening Out There? (letter from Hurting).
Look At The Mess The Church Is In (response from Peacemaker).
Why Can't Christians See When Leaders Fall?(article by Peacemaker).

4. The Misguided Leader

Dear Leader: Remember Your Calling (open letter from Peacemaker).
Modern-day Paraphrase of Matthew 23.

Part 2: Taking Personal Inventory

5. Getting on the Road to Righteousness

What Can I Do to Recover? (letter from Hurting).
Check Your Heart (response from Peacemaker).

6. Reconnecting to a Group of Believers

How Do I Re-enter? (letter from Wounded).
Maintaining a Spiritual Heart (response from Peacemaker).

Part 3: The Christian Leader

7. Getting Your Act Together!

You Are Accountable (open letter from Peacemaker).

8. No Room for Compromise

Maintain Your Integrity! (open letter from Peacemaker).
Restoring Integrity To The Church (article by Peacemaker).

9. Relationships Are Premier

On Loving Others (open letter from Peacemaker).

Part 4: Christian Brotherhood Lost( A Case Study)

10. Sexually Abused

God Help Me--I'm Going Crazy (letter from Abused).
Rest in God's Faithfulness (response from Peacemaker).

11. Failed Caregivers

You Stole My Children (letter from Distraught).
You Have Failed to Understand (response from Peacemaker).
Let's Tell the Truth in Love (letter from Rev. Nice Guy).
Help Us Bring Reconciliation (letter from Peacemaker to Rev. Nice guy).
Use God's Word, Not Her Lies (letter from Peacemaker to Leader).
We'll Not Cooperate With Evil(letter from Peacemaker to Wayward denomination).

Part 5: The Church's Proper Response

12. The Believer's Responsibility

Where Do I Go from Here? (letter from Hurting).
Live the Faith (response from Peacemaker).

13. Our Lord's Example: Living in Freedom

What Would Jesus Do?
Make Him Your Lord
With God's Help, I'm On His Way.(Letter from one who has 6+ years on God's path)

14. Conclusion: Live Free, God Continues Building Your Faith In Him!

APPENDICES:

Appendix 1: Almost A Christian
Appendix 2: Checking Your Eyes and Heart
Appendix 3: Eight Steps to Forgiveness And Reconciliaiton
Appendix 4: When To Meet?
Appendix 5: When Should I Confront Sin?
Appendix 6: Focusing Your Dispute
Appendix 7: Principles for Resolving Disputes
Appendix 8: Detract, Gossip and Slander
Appendix 9: Recommended Restoration Process
Appendix 10: PeaceMakers.net Statement of Faith and Principles

PREFACE

Elite staff and volunteers, the "best of the best," the "most caring of the caring," all leaders of one of the world's largest and fastest growing Churches, stared at me asking to learn the latest counseling techniques. I knew the Holy Spirit would want this to be a demonstration, not mere words. I asked if anyone would come sit beside me in the chair I just pulled next to me. A nervous laugh proclaimed the tension and the church joker, a team leader, cracked a joke to break the tension. I asked him to join me.

Shocked, the joker's friends and coworkers wept as he began to open his heart to the Spirit's healing touch. Within five minutes he revealed that he was considering suicide, that very evening. No one ever suspected. He had no friends, no one to talk with. Everyone was too busy with his part of the ministry. For the next three hours, one after another came to talk beside me. In some was born Christ's reality, we are to love each other! The staff and volunteer leaders represented a world renown ministry, yet most were lonely and desperate, wanting to belong so bad they sold their souls and lives, in the image of ministry, a shadow of friendship.

If, as you look at today's church, you're wondering whether you're crazy because you're hurting when everyone else looks so happy, this book invites you to find God's Truth! If you agonize over how people are treated by those calling themselves Christian, this book invites you as a friend. If you're dying inside and no one has enough time or wisdom to care, this book invites you into closer intimacy with Jesus Christ, our Brother. If the Holy Spirit has convicted you of wrongfully treating others, this book invites you to die in Christ. This book welcomes all in repentance, confession, reconciliation, restitution, and increasing holiness, persevering to the end. If you're unrepentant, this book is a warning.

Tears fill my eyes when I see parents wonderfully happy and loving their children, as their daughter or son enjoys being home, plays sports, participates in the drama special, or receives special recognition for an important accomplishment. You know what I'm talking about; you've seen it, maybe even felt it. Sitting in church or at a ball game, maybe at a school program in the gym--parents and kids in a love feast. It's something to see. It's wonderful to feel. Then my heart weeps as I return to the real world where these same people, God's creation, inflict such inhumane suffering upon each other, while calling themselves Christian. Christ also weeps.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate." [Jesus Christ to church leaders, Matthew 23:37-38]

Introduction:

Godliness Versus the Form of Godliness

The pastor was singing joyously, the minister of music was leading vigorously and the Women's Missionary Union president beamed in anticipation of announcing this month's featured mission outreach. This was a church well known for it's mission emphasis. Almost everyone was enjoying worship. It was another wonderful Sunday morning service.

Now here's the REAL truth. The pastor had just politically forced out of the church the Sunday school superintendent. The pastor was also stealing from the treasury and having an affair with one of the ladies in town. The minister of music continued sexually molesting his two daughters and son, and was later promoted to pastor, even though the denomination knew of his criminal sexual abuse. His wife, the Women's Missionary Union president beat the three children daily, in spontaneous fits of rage, pulling them upstairs by their hair, kicking and slapping them. Brutalizing them for hours while stripping them naked to beat them. Ransacking the kids rooms and destroying their prized belongings, all the while assaulting them emotionally.

No one was reaching the lost like this mission. No one!

As one of the top five parachurch missions, special meetings were held to strategize for growth over the next five and ten years. Religious leaders and Christian businessmen volunteered to help. First-rate Hollywood actors and actresses volunteered to help raise funds. Expansion plans were in the making, and the future looked great. Almost everyone knew God was blessing their efforts.

Now here's the REAL truth. On the president's current term developed the worst financial disaster, with multimillion dollar debts and money being misappropriated from the employee health fund to pay hounding bill collectors. The producers of the new television program used donations to pay drug abusers and prostitutes to appear on film. Money raised to fund an international evangelistic outreach was channeled into building and remodeling the home office facilities. Several long-time missionaries, who challenged the home office leader's excesses were underhandedly slandered and driven out with destroyed reputations, while a practicing homosexual, an alcoholic, a rage-o-holic, and several missionaries in adulterous affairs were being honored for their faithfulness. The organization's chairman of the board, recognized the wrongs, but said, "My hands are tied. Besides, look at all the new Christians because of this mission. That's just the way imperfect people in imperfect organization are!"

At denominational headquarters all were aglow as the year-end figures told the exciting news: more churches had been started and added to the denomination than ever before. All their work, planning, and recruiting were paying off. God's Word is true!

Now here's the REAL truth. The mission had rejected the denomination's help in four different cases that called for church discipline. One case involved adultery by a spouse of a nationally known Christian artist, but the local church would not get involved. Another case involved a person, in obvious lies and deceit, swindling hundreds of thousands of dollars from families within one church. Eventually, this person ran to another of the denomination's churches to avoid church discipline in the first. Families were financially destroyed.

Another case involved charges of abuse, theft, and sundry other charges against a missionary leader who was forced to resign after destroying the mission station, but who never repented of his wrongs. When a coworker of the fired mission leader pursued the church's help, he was thrown out as "unforgiving." The last case involved a pastor sexually abusing children within the church. The denominations response? "It's the local church's responsibility."

Religious leaders, denominations, missions and churches are abusing God's People, God's children of all ages.

Abused and abuser are strangling in each other's death dance choreographed by Satan, the father of lies. Each is rebelling in self-justified violence against God's love, mercy, and forgiveness. Each is fighting in denial to escape God's justice without surrendering self-will. Each is praising and encouraging others in the respectability of their religious facades. All are murdering and being murdered, in loneliness. And Christ says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." [Jesus Christ to the church, Revelation 3:20, NIV]

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." [Jesus Christ to the synagogue, Luke 4:18-19, NIV]

"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love, remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from it's place." [Jesus Christ, to the church, Revelation 3:4-5, NIV]

As a peacemaker, and burden bearer to the abuser and to the victims of abuse orchestrated by the Prince of Death and inflicted by those calling themselves Christian. This book is for those who sense in their heart much of today's church isn't Christ's Church, but that of Satan. As a peacemaker, I am to call the sinner to repentance, discerning good from evil, using God's Word. I am to warn the unrepentant of God's eternal justice, and faithfully, without respect of person, exercise God's justice for the stubbornly unrepentant.

I am a sinner saved by grace, who by God's mercy desires to persevere to the end. Only time will tell. This book is born from my own sins and faltering walk with God, through Jesus Christ, with guidance of the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and fellow believers. Only God knows our heart completely. I have a clearing conscience, but that doesn't mean I'm without sin or need not ask others for forgiveness. I have committed sins against many. More importantly, my ignorance and arrogance blinds me to unseen sins against others, even now. I wrestle against my flesh and Satan's schemes that tarnish Christ's witness in me. I weep for the consequences in the lives of those I sin against, and pray they will turn to God for His healing. I hope this book will invite any I've wronged to hear my confession, and my continued healing, and to restore Christian unity.

I'm not alone in my sins. I have all levels of experience with thousands of individuals from all walks of life, Christian organizations, and churches, from the biggest to the smallest, all around the world. These include, televangelists, radio programs, magazines, book publishers, video ministries, relief missions, mission missions, counseling programs, conflict resolution efforts, educational institutions, seminaries, health agencies, businesses in the secular market place; you name it, And I've most likely contributed within these programs in some capacity or consulted with it, or consulted with someone who has.

What you read in this book is present in almost every one of them. Names and facts have been altered and cases compiled to help eliminate focusing on the lesser issues of who. Because of the evil and wickedness in all our hearts, we're all seducible by Satan and included and identifiable. Every case is a summary of the dynamics found in every case. There is nothing new under the sun! God's Word is the definer of our hearts and the light unto Him.

May God bless you with an honest heart and faithfulness to draw closer to Him. May God give you a broken heart, (empathy), to bear one another's burdens. Always remember.... "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:3-6).

"Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." Hebrews 13:3

About the Format

I have chosen to present Alone in the Sanctuary in letter format, with each chapter, each story, building on the last. The dynamics involved in this kind of work are evident in the various growth and communications that take place between the parties involved, especially during the counseling process. The conversational freedom of the letter allows a writer to exhibit his or her emotions; often difficult to accomplish with straight prose. I hope that the format will encourage the reader to gain special insight into the personality and behavior of the letter writers. In this way, those who are seeking help may more effectively identify with the experiences of those characters in this book. Interwoven around the letters are other devices, namely articles, a Scripture paraphrase and a case study, that are intended to highlight important points and emphasize specific truths. My goal is to glorify Christ within His Body, His Church, inviting you to join in returning to our first love.

How to Use This Book

This book is born out of human experience: suffering, disillusionment, hurt, anger, confession, and repentance. As you read, engage not only your mental faculties but also your heart. God's Holy Spirit makes it possible to embrace God's truth with your mind at the same time you grasp it with your heart. Allow the truths expressed through Scripture, and through the lives God has touched, to minister to your heart.

If you are hurting and seeking answers, be receptive and ask God's Word to speak to you.

The Players

Hurting

Hurting was a successful employee of a leading Christian organization. The name of the organization or its function is not relevant. What this organization does to its employees, however, should be of great concern to the Church. Hurting is a victim of the kinds of employee abuse so prevalent in Christian organizations. He can't believe he's been abused this way; after all he contributed to help build this ministry into what it is today.

Wounded

Wounded comes from a local church setting. She used her gift of teaching for several years in a Sunday school. She found herself in the midst of a scandal enveloped in politics. She fought hard to believe in her pastor and elders as God's anointed. She wanted to submit to their leadership. They abused her.

Leader

Leader is any Christian leader in a position of authority in the church. He may be the president of an organization, a pastor, a member of a church board, your local pastor, a Christian school leader, et. al. Leaders were chosen because of years of hard work, much sacrifice and now some grey-headed wisdom that has buried the zealousness of their youth. They are great speakers and fund raisers and everyone loves them. They're too busy to be involved with the personal problems of the staff. Why can't others be as dedicated and self-sacrificing as they?

Abused

After going to Church her whole life, she began to doubt her faith. She's a leader among the young women of the Church. She's a great teacher of God's Word. From youth, on up, she was dedicated to God's work and considered becoming a missionary. When her doubts began, she was confused and feared going to hell. Her marriage was weakening and she asked for help from her pastor; but he didn't seem to know how to help beyond offering a few more Bible lessons.

Distraught

As the Mother of abused, Distraught can't seem to understand anything but losing her grandchildren, her children and the life she had hoped for her and her loved ones. She's gone to the best counselors, pastors and national leaders for help. Each one lamented her pain. Each was angry about how she was being treated. Not one did anything about it! They mouthed a few Bible phrases about forgiving and forgetting, blessed her as having repented from her sins, and went their way. Today she's hurting, alone and angry.

Rev. Nice Guy

After serving in several churches for many years, Rev. Nice Guy has learned the hard way, you can't change people. You must learn to love them and get on with living life richly with God's grace and mercy. No good ever really comes from spending all this time in Church Discipline and introspection. He's tired, and knows no one else does anything differently. In fact, he's often sought as a leader in building Christian Unity in the local church. His message is, " Love covers a multitude of sins."

Case Study Method: Read very carefully. See if you can spot wrong beliefs and practices in the letters to peacemaker. Are there any demonstrated inconsistencies in the use of scripture and its application? Do you see consistent levels of maturity? This case study gives you an opportunity to encounter many dynamics found in most conflicts.

"He said to me, son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, `The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land.' Again, he said, `You will see them doing things that are even more detestable.'" Ezekiel 8:12

"Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, "Bring the guards of the city here, each with a weapon in his hand." And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.

Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, "Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it."

As I listened, he said to the others, "Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple. Then he said to them, "Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!" So they went out and began killing throughout the city.

"The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: `This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.

You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.

`Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:

This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them" (Ezekiel 34:1-10, NIV).

LETTER FROM HURTING--TO PEACEMAKER

"I'm Hurting"

Dear Peacemaker,

I am writing you with hopes that you can help me sort out my life. I have just come through a traumatic experience, and I'm not sure which way to turn or to whom. I'm so upset I can barely sleep or eat. It's killing me and my family. I don't even want to go to Church. Please help!

To start, let me give you some background. I was employed by a Christian organization for several years. I moved up the organizational ladder. In fact, after my latest promotion, I was asked to participate in our monthly fund raising meeting. I was a valued employee; or so I thought.

As I sat in on these meetings for several months, I became confused about how we viewed our constituency; "uneasy" is a better word. It seemed that our stated corporate mission took a back seat to "acquiring resources for our ministry," as our committee preferred to call fund raising. It soon become clear that this pursuit of "resources" was the overriding force within the power structure of our organization. I found myself in a dilemma. Should I voice my concern and possibly create division, or should I remain a "good employee" and go along with our leader? I voted my conscience and chose to voice my concern. After all, wasn't my organization part of the Church, and shouldn't we be accountable to our constituency and ultimately to God? My fears were somewhat allayed as our leader thanked and praised me for my insight and perspective.

As the week went on, I heard nothing more about my concerns. I assumed that they had been well taken. At week's end, however, I was informed that my position was being terminated. Immediately, I demanded to know what brought about such a decision. After all, wasn't I fitting into the organization? I considered myself a team player.

But I never got a straight answer; only vague responses like, "It was a necessary action for the good of the organization," or "Don't worry, God will take care of you." My termination was processed, and I was let go unceremoniously. I never even got a farewell party. What kind of treatment is this? Is this Christian? They gave me two hours to clean out my desk! My wife is really uptight and wonders what I did wrong.

Now I'm out of the organization, when all the while I thought I was on their wavelength. It seems they had a different agenda. None of my friends even talked with me. It was like I had AIDS. Well one did say he was sorry and that it wasn't all my fault, and God would take care of me. Not a single person came to my aid. I'm really hurting.

Can you help me understand what happened? Why did I no longer fit into the organization? How can Christians behave this way and still call themselves Christians? I've been rejected. I'm angry and I'm bitter. Why do these people think so highly of themselves? Why are they so judgmental? Christians ought not behave this way. I have rights, and they were violated! I've been wronged, and I desperately want justice for those who wronged me. What can I do about this? Where do I turn? I want back my position and dignity. Can you help me gain justice? Please respond. I urgently need your help.

Sincerely,

Hurting

RESPONSE FROM PEACEMAKER--TO HURTING

"I Know You're Hurting"

Dear Hurting,

Let me start by assuring you that I understand you are hurting. In fact, I believe that I understand your hurt. But from your thoughts and questions, I can see that you are also confused about what you know to be true and about the way you have been treated. Several truths strike me as I read your letter.

It was our Lord who said, "In the world you shall have tribulation." Certainly, we live in a world that is politically and relationally violent. And we must, at times, expect to be victimized along the way. You're hurting because, if what you said is accurate, you've been abused. Apparently, some in your organization decided that power, control, funds, and image are more important than individuals who make up the organization. Those in control gave priority to what they considered to be the "ministry" or the "greater needs of the organization." And that constitutes abuse. Abuse takes many different forms. Basically, abuse is self love and hate of God and others, (1 John 4:20-5:5). Sadly, abuse is rampant in the Christian community, both within Christian organizations and in our churches.

In this imperfect world, hurting happens. People hurt people. It is unavoidable. It may seem curious that Christians are often great abusers of people. We need to recognize that like everyone, Christians are fallen people. The difference it that believers have the Word of God and the Spirit of God to guide their thoughts and actions. Unfortunately, too often those calling themselves Christians fail to allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse their heart and their lives according to God's Word. They sometimes give way to sin. As a result, the attractions of this life gain a hold on their lives, and in the course of their quest for power and possessions, they abuse others. These abusers would all pledge unfailing love of the brethren, but after love of themselves, their visions, their ways, their security. Be assured that God will deal with them. Do your best to leave that aspect with Him. We'll talk soon about God's process of restoring Christian unity. Instead, you must first give your attention to cleansing your heart and your actions.

You must face the fact that you have "crashed" from the system. In spite of those who have done their worst to you, and in spite of the apparent consequences of the evil that has been visited upon you, you need to get a Biblical grasp on your situation. You must learn how to live within the context of an evil world that masquerades as good. Don't view recent events as the end of your life or the final chapter of your career. Even Jesus Christ learned obedience by the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8).

It's good for you to learn that most people can see the bad (e.g., adultery, stealing, murder, and so on), but it's rare for someone to see the difference between good and evil. Evil always hides as good, having the outward form of good but pride and passions of the flesh, are at the heart. See this experience as an opportunity for God's grace to work in your life. We learn much from experiences such as the one you are going through as we apply God's truth (Hebrews 5:11-14).

During this time when you are hurting, you are vulnerable and run the risk of sinning against your abusers. It is very common for those in your circumstances to harbor anger and bitterness toward those who have sinned against you, you've got a case of being human. You must not allow your anger to control you. It is essential for you to deal with your anger and those who have sinned against you, God's way. (see... Appendix 2: Checking Your Eyes and Heart, and Appendix 5: When Should I Confront Sin? .

The Bible tells us in Matthew 5:21-26, that if you or another person gets hurt, deal with any anger right away. Don't even let the sun go down before you do (Ephesians 4). When you get hurt, be quick to address it, It's not necessarily wrong to be angry, but it is wrong to sin because of anger. Ask God to show you your sin and be quick to repent of any wrongs you've done. See your sin as God sees it and let the Holy Spirit break your heart in that Godly sorrow found in 2 Corinthians 7:10-11. Otherwise you become so hurt that you, in turn, hurt others. You see, the world tries to avoid pain to self, while Christianity uses pain as an opportunity for Christ to bring cleansing and healing, and that brings strength. So, when we hurt each other because of our insensitivity's, different understandings, and different maturates, Christ gave us a set of directives to deal with broken unity so that we all become stronger individually; and so does Christ's body. (see Appendix 7: Principles for Resolving Disputes).

First, Christ so strongly believed in having right relationships among the brethren that he placed restoring a broken relationship before worshiping God, (Matthew 5:23).

Secondly, you are to go to the brother who seemingly is in sin and attempt to resolve all issues. Remember you might not have correctly understood what took place, (Matthew 18:15, Luke 17:3).

Also remember that we're all sinners saved by God's grace. Keep that in mind, and you will recognize that just about any accusation that can be made is accurate. So when I'm accused of being too powerful or too rough, it's in my heart, why should I be surprised? What too often happens is that we lose our humility and assume that we know what we're doing. And then, instead of remaining humble and meek and considering that an accusation may be accurate, regardless of what percentage is your fault, you find ways to defend your rights (Matthew 18:21-35).

If you've wronged someone, the "Eight Steps to Complete Forgiveness When You've Offended Another," may prove helpful, see Appendix 3 :

1. State specifically what you did or said wrong to cause offense.
2. Identify the biblical principle(s) you violated.
3. Ask "How were you impacted when I did or said...?"
4. Share a time when you were wronged in a similar way.
5. Restate your sin and wait for the offended one to respond.
6. Say, in your own words, what the offended person answered.
7. Ask, "What can I do differently, so I won't hurt you again?"
8. Restitution, "What can I do to make you whole?"

Also note in Matthew 18:15 that it makes no difference who wronged whom. We are to go and make wrongs right; then we can offer our gifts at God's altar.

Secondly, if the sinning Christian will not resolve matters, take one or two witnesses with you to help bring about reconciliation and establish the facts of your exchanges and the details of your dispute, (Matthew 18:16).

Thirdly, if the sinning Christian still refuses to correct the sin in his life, you and the witnesses are to go to the Church [pastor, elders, authorities, congregation] and seek their help to bring restoration and restore Christian unity. Note, since para-church organizations do not consider themselves a church, you should seek your / his church's help.

If the erring Christian still refuses to repent and stubbornly refuses to listen to the Church (assuming the Church is practicing God's full Word), the unrepentant sinner is to be treated as though he is not Christian, (Matthew 18:17).

See Dr. Jay E. Adams' book Handbook of Church Discipline (Zondervan) for an excellent treatment of biblical discipline and conflict resolution within the Body of Christ.

Keep in mind that your experience is an opportunity for God to work in your life. Allow Him that opportunity. But make no mistake about this: you will find that His priority is not to change your circumstances, but rather to change you. He knows how your experience has left you and what exactly is going on in your heart. If you are harboring anger, resentment, or sin, He is determined that you repent of those sins that prevent or hinder His work in and through you.

You have much to learn from your experience. Do not waste it. Open yourself to God and let Him teach you and conform you to the image of His Son. Reflect on what I have written. We will correspond again soon. Your friend, Peacemaker

"It could be shown that much of the weakened state of the churches at the present time is the direct result of a failure in church discipline. Divorces occur, church splits take place. false teaching is introduced and the like, because the means Christ outlined for forestalling such things, the process and application of church discipline, is no longer intact.

One of the greatest tragedies resulting from the failure of church discipline is the wreckages of homes strewn across the land. Had discipline been in place and properly functioning, few of the marriage failures and the child/parent problems now facing the church would have occurred. They would have been nipped in the bud by lively, loving disciplinary action, dealt with summarily, and in most cases, coupled with good biblical counseling (which, remember, is an essential element in effective church discipline) would have been put to rest. Failure of church discipline as a viable function has led to chaos in the church. And this chaos, in turn, has led to every other form of difficulty and trouble.

From what I have said, you can see how important church discipline is, can't you? Indeed, the work of the church cannot be (indeed, is not being) conducted properly apart from church discipline." Dr. Jay E. Adams, Handbook of Church Discipline (Zondervan).

LETTER FROM WOUNDED--TO PEACEMAKER

"I've Been Wounded"

Dear Peacemaker,

I have just been through an ordeal in my local church. I'm very confused and I need help. Although I'm writing you, I'm not really sure what you or anyone else can do to help. But please read this letter and try to make some sense out of this situation.

Recently, news surfaced that a prominent person in our congregation (a "pillar of the church," if you will) has had an extramarital affair. By "prominent," I mean this person is involved in many of the church's functions and is known within the community. He is well-to-do and is generous toward the church. And he has been a big promoter of the church within our denomination and to the local community. The news of his behavior shocked our church.

Even more shocking news was my discovery that our board was aware of this person's activities long before it became public knowledge. Rather than take disciplinary action, they chose to "hush up" the matter lest the publicity negatively affect the church's image in the community or our denomination.

Now, I know we need to be forgiving of those who fall into sin, but, in such a case as this, isn't some kind of disciplinary action in order? As members of the Body of Christ, ought we not insist on high standards of morality, especially regarding those in leadership?

I decided to take a stand. That's when my ordeal began. I phoned my pastor to voice my concern about the church's handling of this gross sin. The Bible is very clear about maintaining one's moral lifestyle. My pastor assured me that our church's board would review the situation and its circumstances before deciding on what, if any, action was appropriate. Although he addressed my questions, he didn't seem to share my level of concern.

That was several months ago. Now it seems that the crisis has been all but forgotten, and any obvious negative effects have been smoothed over by church leaders. Since his affair, our prominent member continues to sing in the choir and perform other ministries within our church. He shows no signs of repentance, and acts as if nothing has happened. No church disciplinary action was even taken. Doesn't the Bible provide specific guidelines for church discipline? Concerned and burdened more than ever, I spent days studying the Bible and commentaries. I again approached my pastor. To my surprise, I was told to forgive my brothers and sisters; not condemn them. He told me that I needed to put this incident behind me as the church has done. He also quoted Scripture and warned me about gossiping and spreading falsehoods. Can you believe that! Is that true ministry? It became painfully clear to me that the leaders within my church have compromised their integrity. Image, status, and financial resources have taken precedence over truth and righteousness. I was devastated. I became depressed. I couldn't sit under his preaching. I'm alone.

Two weeks after I approached my pastor the second time, the chairman of our church board asked me to resign from my position as a Sunday school teacher. His reason: I seem to have difficulty working in harmony with others in the church. Nothing could be further from the truth! But he relieved me of my ministry on that basis. It was humiliating. Inwardly, I was crushed. I had done no wrong. I only did what I thought was the Biblical way of dealing with sin in the church. It's clear that those in leadership here have no resolve to enforce disciplinary action. Nor do they want anyone to "rock the boat" within the church. My pastor and others in the congregation now avoid me. I'm a stranger in my own church.

I'm wounded in spirit. I've been misunderstood and harmfully treated. Can you help me?

Sincerely,

Wounded

RESPONSE FROM PEACEMAKER--TO WOUNDED

"Dear Wounded"

Dear Wounded,

It was troubling to learn of the incident in your church. Unfortunately, yours is not an isolated occurrence. Corruption of the sort you described is running rampant in many churches and Christian circles today.

And your pastor's response is also not uncommon. It has been my experience that far too many pastors and church leaders are simply unprepared, unwilling, or unqualified to deal with these kinds of moral issues. The Church's tolerance level with immorality is frightening, as is the incompetence of some of its leaders who attempt to deal with the problems in their churches. Many seminaries and Bible schools teach Christ as information, and ministry as a job, but fail to exercise Christ likeness themselves and or make it prerequisite for graduating students.

What often happens is that a church member becomes engaged in sin and needs the help and care of a shepherd; a pastor or minister who will apply the truth of God's Word to him. Too many of our Christian leaders can't do that. The person in need then "crashes" because the pastor throws Bible verses at him without teaching the deeper meanings and refuses to bear his burden. More accurately, he abuses him. The Pastor may even falsely accuse the hurting member of something, in ignorance, (i.e., impatience in the face of physical violence), and when the hurting member tries to follow the Pastor's advice he finds that the pastor, entangled and exhausted in his own political system, turns on him. The member then discovers sin won't be addressed properly.

Another common example is when a member comes with a marital or a family problem who claims to be a Christian but doesn't even have a personal faith. You ask if this person's a Christian and you find he can quote you all kinds of Bible verses, chapter and verse, but he doesn't have a personal relationship with Christ, reading Jonathan Edwards' book Religious Affections located on the internet at: http://www.mcs.net/~fields/peacemakers.html/religious_affections.txt. will help greatly here. There are many variables and possibilities, and it takes an experienced, competent leader to discern what the problem is and how to address it. How many leaders can competently handle those kinds of situations?

This failing pastor needs help in addressing his own sins with God's Word. Next there are pastors who "confess" their sin, and their people sit in their pews and say, "We have a wonderful pastor. He's open, he's vulnerable, and he's willing to confess sin." I say, "Oh, really? Let's talk about that. Is he willing to make it right with those he has wronged? Or, is he simply whitewashing his wicked heart to keep his power and position?" Unfortunately, the latter is very common. Evil knows the best place to hide is behind the truth. Truthfully admitting wrong is not confession and repentance!

A leader must know how to shepherd God's people. Today's pastor is taught in seminary to pass "problem" people along to a psychologist within or outside the church. He's taught to get rid of these kinds of problems. I've heard church-growth leaders make this statement to new pastors or pastors starting new churches, "Don't get bogged down in personal counseling." What are pastors for? Counseling and ministering to people's need is exhausting work. It's hard work. By and large, our pastors aren't trained for this. The result is that we have many people in the pastorate who don't belong there. We don't have shepherds; we have hirelings. And the problem perpetuates and keeps expanding.

Hirelings, (John 10:10-15) are evil shepherds who practice a shepherd's look and duties, but run when danger and/or the cost is too great. A hireling is the guy who will not preach God's truth to the point his congregation will want to stone him. He will preach right up to "We want your resignation!" point, only once or twice a year, hopefully during Christmas and Easter so he can call it evangelism when the church is filled with people and everybody can say, "this sermon is for them, not me." A hireling is the guy who is hired to watch over the flock. That is, in the hireling's mind until the bear or lion shows up, then he's outta there! Good-bye! "This isn't my flock." A hireling is not a Christian, but one who gives the appearance of godliness, but denies Christ's power.

I was encouraged to learn that you raised the issue of accountability and brought it to the forefront. I'll bet you weren't aware that, in most churches, raising such questions is tantamount to a death wish? You see, making oneself accountable to others is considered by some leaders to be a great inconvenience. Most yield to the temptation to sweep such issues under the rug. You see, to bring the incident you described to the general attention of the church and beyond would do more than inconvenience the pastor and the offender. It might also serve to threaten the church's financial base, especially if the offender was contributing heavily to the church's funds. It might also expose the pastor's inability to properly handle this issue of immorality. As long as accountability is absent, the stage is set for sin's free reign in the lives of those in authority. Politics, greed, pursuit of power--the sins of the flesh---are given opportunity to conceive, develop, and grow. The result is often a human system that professes to be Christian and biblical in its standards, but in reality, operates according to the flesh.

There are no perfect Pastors, elders, leaders or Churches, but Christ calls all of us to address our imperfections according to His ways!

A Christian leader who is living according to the truth of Scripture knows all too well the pitfalls of leadership. Such a leader is aware of the power of temptation and knows the wisdom of voluntarily submitting to a body of authority, of being accountable to God and to others.

No person is above the potential for sinning. The decision to resist temptation and stay above reproach is a determination to be made well in advance of the temptation. A leader making him self accountable, enlists the help of brothers and sisters for the purpose of helping him remain true to his calling and true to Scripture.

A leader true to Scripture would know that the Bible is clear on church discipline. He would know what Scripture says on this very important matter.

At a minimum, your pastor could have explained the biblical steps of Matthew 18:15-20, in confronting an erring believer and that the reason no public steps have been taken is because it wasn't time to "tell it to the church."

However, another biblical process is necessary in your church's case, namely the sin is openly known and the spiritual leaders of your church need to immediately rebuke the sinning person in sight of the whole body, as Paul did with Peter in Galatians 2. If he refuses to repent, "hand this man over to Satan, so that his flesh may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 5:1-5)

I've enclosed a copy of our "Principles Used In Resolving Disputes." (see Appendix 7). This will give you detailed principles, definitions, and steps about how to proceed in church discipline with this man and with the pastor and elders. But, be warned: if they refuse to hear God's Word on these matters, (meaning they don't repent) you should flee to a body of believers who practice all that Christ commanded. In Revelation 3, God says that if the churches do not repent, we will leave them and they are no longer a church. Those are strong words. May your church never experience God's turning away.

Finally, Wounded, don't let such goings on or the people who participate in those activities shake your faith in God. Such people do not behave like Christians, and therefore, do not live according to the truth of God's Word. They are not living the life of faith! Instead, they are only using God to satisfy the desires of the flesh. Such people are not your measuring stick. God is not like them, nor does He condone their behavior.

Look instead to the Lord Jesus. He is your Good Shepherd. You may confidently trust Him to see you through this trying time. It is at the core of these kinds of experiences that we find the faithfulness of God and learn the lessons He would have us learn. Praying for you, Peacemaker

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me" (John 17:20-23, NIV).

"Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. No Christian community is more or less than this. Whether it be a brief, single encounter or the daily fellowship of years, Christian community is only this. We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ.

What does that mean? It means, first, that a Christian needs others because of Jesus Christ. It means, second, that a Christian comes to others only through Jesus Christ. It means, third, that in Jesus Christ we have been chosen from eternity, accepted in time, and united for eternity." Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, (Harper Collins).

LETTER FROM HURTING--TO PEACEMAKER

"What's Happening Out There?"

Dear Peacemaker,

Thank you for addressing my urgent cry for help. After reading your letter, I'm beginning to realize that mine is not an isolated experience. It's frightening to think that such experiences are commonplace in many Christian organizations and churches.

I tried what you suggested, you know, going and confessing my sins and addressing what I see to be sins that they are committing. Boy did I get killed! After you told me the right Bible verses, I had confidence God would work everything out right. It looks even more hopeless now.

Sure I confessed, I listed all my sins of anger, outbursts, impatience, etc., etc., and they just looked at me with sad eyes and agreed I was like that and they would pray for me. It didn't feel right, but how am I to know? Then there was silence. I mean nothing. I waited for them to confess how they've been wrong and they just stared at me. When they asked if there was anything else, I lost it again. I really messed up. They shook their heads and asked me to leave. The President was there as well as a couple of board members. That's it. That was step two of Matthew 18.

I'll tell you something else that burns me up! Every time I want to talk with these people, I have to wait until the next board meeting. That's at least a month away, and often two or more months before everyone can work out their schedules. This makes me mad. What am I to do to feed my family in the meantime?

The pursuit of power and financial resources seems to have gotten a grip on so many of our leaders. The taste of "success" often causes even well-meaning people to stray off course. But what is success? I would think that our Christian leaders would guard vigorously against any kind of compromise with the world. But it seems as though the Christian community willingly has adopted the goals and ways of the world. How can the Church emulate the world's agenda and be an effective witness for the cause of Christ? The Church ought to be different. What would our Lord say about all of this?

I've gained a few pounds back and I'm starting to sleep better. I think I'm getting over my trauma about the way I was treated by those in the organization, but I still see their sins. To me, they are so flagrant. Shouldn't others know about what goes on behind the doors of these religious industries. They don't seem to operate like churches, or according to how the Bible says churches should. They need to be held accountable for their actions. Don't they need to repent? How can God continue to bless them if they don't? Doesn't the Church care? It seems as if God condones their actions. Or, at least, He allows them.

Well, I've tried to be Christ like about this whole thing. I believe I've dealt with my anger according to the Bible. And, for the most part, I've put it behind me. It really hurt when those I counted as my best friends and coworkers practically shunned me, with only one saying, "God is faithful." I'm through with the whole lot. I've done enough, haven't I? I'm ready to start over somewhere else. So, what is my next step?

Sincerely,

Hurting

RESPONSE FROM PEACEMAKER TO HURTING

"Look at the Mess the Church Is In"

Dear Hurting,

I'm pleased to learn that you are trying to deal with your anger in accordance with biblical directives. You have taken the first step asking God to work within you. Take care not to lose heart. This process may seem a bit painful to you now, but later you will come to value its work in your life. It is through such experiences, Romans 8:29 tells us, that we become conformed to the image of His Son, if we love Him. Recognize that this is quite painful, and the cultural church doesn't want to know about it -- the cultural church works hard at ignoring these truths; it would rather believe in their man made fantasies of what they think the church should be. The Bible is full of examples of people destroying themselves rather than face the truth.

Be cautious: any unchecked anger is like a brush fire. It can smolder for a while before bursting into an inferno that quickly consumes its path of destruction that may require years, if not a lifetime to restore. How many of us have suffered the difficult lessons of unidentified and uncontrolled anger.

I know how difficult it is to see those you counted as friends mistreat you the way they are doing. And, it's downright discouraging when those who are to protect you and who are to practice Biblical truth, are more interested in covering up the leader's sin and the organizations wrong treatment of others. They've bought into a sin from the pit that God will clean up their mistakes because they are in the ministry. That's very foolish, and very painful to encounter. In a moment I'll share some next steps, but first...

Now you are ready to face the task of "Checking Your Eyes and Heart." (see Appendix 2). This exercise is essential if you are to maintain fellowship with God and with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Doing so will cause you to come to grips with the sin in your own heart with a view to confessing your sins and repenting of them. We will deal with that later. First, I want to address the concerns of your letter while they are fresh.

It is quite true that the Church is in a sad state of affairs. We come to that conclusion for many reasons. For one, the Church has forgotten servant hood. God's servant knows the gifts as well as opportunities to exercise these gifts are given in an act of love by God. Therefore, servant hood utilizes its gifts to empower other's gifts to accomplish God's ways and will, at the sacrifice of it's flesh. stewardhip is servant hood in action based on God's time, God's ways, with God's resources for God's glory. In the Church we discover many people who enjoy power, control, prestige, image--all things of the flesh. When are pastors going to learn to be servants? When is the Church going to learn servant hood rather than control and power? Servant hood is so foundational to ministry. It is a principle of Christian living that Satan seeks to corrupt and destroy. The original sin with Adam and Eve was the attempt to become like God, and many in the Church have set about continuing to be their own gods. When this happens, everyone becomes a law unto himself. He comes up with his own theology, his own ways, and his own definitions. Servant hood becomes lost in the shuffle over power and control.

Another problem is the Church's propensity to emulate the ways of the world. So much so that it is often difficult to distinguish the Church from the world. In fact, many within the Church who call themselves believers are not believers at all! They want what Christ can do for their vision, goals, loved one, etc., but they don't want Christ or His cross. And, if you attempt to point this out, they will persecute you until you're destroyed. If they can murder you they can live and continue in their fantasies.

In His parable of the wheat and tares, our Lord illustrated that unbelievers would infiltrate the Church and even take prominent positions. That leaders of our churches and religious organizations might be impostors comes as a shock to naive and uninformed Christians. But it is a fact that as a Church we need to understand.

Christ taught in Matthew 13:25-30 that Satan plants tares (which look identical to young wheat) among the wheat. The meaning is, there will be unbelievers among those who are true believers. Christ warns Christians not to go on "tare hunts," but to wait until the harvest when it will be clear who are tares and who are wheat. Otherwise you will damage wheat.

You see, Hurting, in the midst of the true Church has cropped up a "cultural" church. Basically, it has much of the look of the Church and might even promote the right things, but at its core it has adopted the ways of the world and the things of the flesh. It is controlled and manipulated by the prince of this age, Satan. It is a counterfeit system pretending to be God's Church. Such a system is energized by the resources of the flesh, not by the power and resources of God. Again, it has a form of godliness, but denies the power of Christ. Keep in mind that you were caught up in the workings of this cultural church. Your intellect and emotions have been under its influence for several years. You need to examine your own heart to learn how much and to what extent you allowed it to control your behavior and shape your view of God.

Often, the story of the "Wheat and the Tares" is misapplied to mean that we are not at any time to remove tares from the Church. This is poor exegesis. The warning includes the dynamic of the time when tares can be safely identified, which for most is at the harvest. This warning does not preclude any tare which identifies itself clearly as a tare from being disciplined and removed from the church. This misapplication is used to protect corruption within the cultural church.

What we find within the cultural church is corrupted leadership. Let me give you an example. I counseled a couple who claimed they had been abused by a major Christian organization. I asked the couple's pastor to hold a forum, a biblical church discipline process, for his own members and with the leader of the organization. But the pastor refused. I received letters from him that explain that he saw the issue as none of his business.

Since that incident, the pastor has been appointed president of a large denomination. I recently received some materials from that denomination. It has a fairly well-written process for dealing with clergy misconduct, including sexual offenses. It's a nice document, but this president doesn't practice it with everyone. What can be more hypocritical than to have a beautiful document that says how he and his denomination should operate, and then only apply it to the ones he chooses, not to those in positions of greater influence? I call for his repentance.

This is a major doctrinal error. Should we now bring this president to account and insist that he practice the principles and steps in this document? Is he willing to repent? Is he willing to go back and make things right with the couple who asked for his help? Is he now willing to deal with that organizational leader correctly? Not so far! It's interesting that none of these organizations I'm addressing have Godly prophets in their organizations. These prophets are thrown out of the organization. Their churches throw them out. Anybody who speaks up to say, "This is wrong," will be thrown out. Such people get ostracized, belittled, condemned, and abused. Everyone knows that Israel had mostly ungodly prophets that would tell the King anything he wanted to hear. And you know, it was always these ungodly prophets who were protecting their own flesh by calling for the death of God's prophets.

In contrast to the cultural church's behaviors, the Bible gives us an important illustration. A man was running along a ledge, yelling below to King David. David's right-hand man pulled out an arrow to kill him. David said, "Don't. It may be a message from God." What an interesting response from David! "We're not sure of this guy's heart, but let's see how God would use him." That's not how it's done in our churches. Instead we hear, "You've got to get with the program. You're being divisive." And so many of these issues have little or nothing to do with God's Word. It's more about whether the church should have a new building program or go to two morning services, and so on. It's a closed system. Our leaders fail to leave room for God's "prophets," and the ministry of His Word through them. No wonder the world wants nothing to do with Christianity! We're a major embarrassment to the cause of Christ. The major barrier to the lost coming to Christ! As you can see, the cultural church has a problem with spiritual maturity. We have a range of maturates within the Church. Genuine maturity is progressive. It's the result of submitting to a process (often painful) of spiritual growth. However, today's Church seems to specialize in "instant" maturity. Instant maturity is nothing more than masquerading immaturity. What is maturity? "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." (Hebrews 5:14). Those who must wrestle with pride are not ready for leadership responsibilities and positions., (1 Timothy 3:6). They are more concerned with image and power. Such leaders do not become servants who build up those around them. Instead, they use others to build themselves up. The result is often manipulation and abuse of those under their charge.

Another reason for the Church's sad state of affairs is its lack of personal accountability. Do you realize that most leaders of Christian organizations as well as church leaders operate with little or no accountability for their actions and behavior? These people are often under extreme pressures and, like all of us, constantly face temptations. They are not made of steel; they are made of dust. Satan knows our weaknesses! He is the champion of compromise. If we give him the slightest opportunity, He will subtlety invade our thoughts and use them to his advantage. How many of our leaders have fallen prey to Satan and committed gross sins?

Out of Christ's love we must make our Christian leaders accountable for their behavior. They must constantly be on guard for the fiery darts of the enemy. In fact, they ought to voluntarily submit themselves to a body of mature believers to make themselves accountable for their performance and behavior. God has denominated such a body a board of "elders." Wouldn't that change the way some organizations handle their donations or treat their employees! Unfortunately, what we see instead are leaders who place themselves and their actions beyond the reach of Biblical accountability, by using pseudo-accountability.

Look around at the many of our Christian organizations that refuse to place themselves in a position of accountability within the Church. Their leaders are often accountable, not to the Church, but to a board that does not use biblical standards of measurement. In these cases, the matter of "accountability" often becomes a political process, not a biblical one. It becomes based on political allegiances or monetary goals, not character. Should we treat such leaders as elders? What we find is that these leaders reject the notion that they need to meet the qualifications of an elder within the Church. If they are not elders, what are they? To whom are they accountable? Organizations such as The Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability [ECFA], once stated publicly they are not granted authority in these kind of issues.

What can be the result of all that is wrong within the Church? Abuse! Individuals, families, and congregations are constantly being abused by those who use the ministry for personal gain. That is the state of affairs in the Church. The day will come when our Lord will no longer tolerate the violation of His people. God help us to confess our sins, repent of our ways, and turn to Him before judgment befalls the Church.

Well I can see I got off the path of helping you check you eyes and heart. I've focused more on the state of affairs in the Church. I want you to know you're not alone in your experiences and feelings. What has happened to you happens all the time.

However I do want you to come to grips with the state of affairs in your heart. During a quiet time, read the enclosed "Checking Your Eyes and Heart," (reader see Appendix 2) and ask God to search you heart and ways. Listen to His small voice, and heed His instructions. Until the next time, We'll be praying for you and the others.

Sincerely,

Peacemaker

Why do so many Christian leaders and Pastors arrogantly choose to love the world, preach the Word and work hard to deodorize their pharisaic ministries? The answer is: because they are of the Order of Judas Priests.

The late New Testament scholar Merril C. Tenny believed Judas probably joined Jesus because he believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah that would regain the independence of Israel. Jesus' refusal to make His mission political, and Jesus' declaration that his death was imminent, may have spurred Judas to action.

"Disillusionment, the frustration of his expectations, and greed plus a definite Satanic influence, prompted Judas' treachery. (Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible).

Judas' motivation was success through greed, power, control and celebrity. The call of God's spirit is faith and servant hood! The Christian leader who has not learned faith through humility, submission and patience will turn to a deceived self ambition to "win the battle for Christ." He has joined what I call the Priestly Order of Judas.

The frustrated Judas Priest, convinced he serves God, becomes manipulative to accomplish his understanding of God's will. This deception devours the Christians' spirit and bears the fruit of Desolation. Many leaders with good intentions are led by Satan into rebellion against God. They surrender to the alluring beauty of doing God's will, while declining to be God's servant. Much of the Christian world envies their success while overlooking their hypocrisy!

Most Christians shirk from holding leaders accountable. They misapply David's phrase "touch not God's anointed" in 1 Samuel 26. David commanded his troops not to kill King Saul. Awhile later, David publicly rebuked Saul for his sins. David was NOT saying we shouldn't confront erring leaders. This false doctrine has led to the destruction of many pastors, Christian leaders, and Churches! Accountability is every Christians' responsibility. The goal of accountability is reconciliation with God, self and mankind.

Jerry White, President of The Navigators, Colorado, says, "Everyone's authority can and ought to be questioned! The New Testament clearly holds that no person is his own authority. Therefore," White continued, "confronting Christian leaders provides the necessary checks and balances in the Body of Christ"

"You Need three elements for effective accountability:

1. Each leader must be accountable to those he serves, and that includes a congregation, co-workers, employees and constituents.

2. There must be accountability from a representative body, such as an elder board or a board of directors.

3. Each leader needs close personal brothers in the Lord. They must be totally outside the leader's direct sphere of authority. They must know the leader's life so completely that they can lovingly care for the leader and correct him as needed, without fear of reprisals.."

"A Christian leader called to a task is not wiser, nor more spiritual or infallible," Rev. Erwin Lutzer, Pastor of Moody Memorial Church, Chicago, adds, "A leader, just like any other believer, left to themselves, will go astray. Those who submit to spiritual leadership will be kept in the straight and narrow way. Individuals, including leaders in position of authority, who violate any of these principles or the qualification of Christian leadership are not above reproach and if left unreconciled, are disqualified from leadership."

Why can't most Christians see when their leader falls? Because they recognize BAD, but they can't distinguish between GOOD and EVIL. BAD is the values, motives, and attitudes that everybody recognizes as selfish, corrupt and injurious to others.

GOOD is Christ's values, motives, and conduct that accomplishes God's Will. GOOD is not always understood, yet mature Christians will obey. GOOD gives themselves for Christ and His Church, as Christ gave Himself for them.

EVIL is the outward appearance of obedience to Christ. It's the representation of pure motives and values, hiding a rebellious heart. Evil is an attempt to manipulate Christ and the Church for the benefit of self. This results in surrendering to Satan and destroying others.

Listen with spiritual ears and watch with Godly eyes and you'll learn to hear the ever so slight inflections and see the subtle emphasis of actions that hides in a deceived heart. What fallen leaders are saying outwardly, and why they're saying it, is contradictory inwardly to what they're saying and why they're saying it!

1. Leadership is GOOD when it recognizes that all Christians share in Christ's vision. Good leadership encourages the practice of all spiritual gifts and principles. GOOD leadership is accountable for the Godly stewardhip of God's resources.

Leadership is EVIL when it manipulates people, resources, values, and policy to fulfill the leader's vision, regardless if it's for self or God. Leadership is EVIL when it refuses to be accountable and when it chooses to honor only some in the Body of Christ. EVIL leadership preaches Godliness while looking after self.

2. Submission is GOOD when it submits to Christ and His principles, values, actions and processes. GOOD mutually submits to those living in obedience to Christ. Submission is GOOD when it is open to instruction and correction.

Submission is EVIL when one submits out of ignorance, fear, slothfulness, and regard for self to either Godly leadership or those who manipulate power and control. EVIL submission contributes to the destruction of others on the altar of vision, self fantasy, and mission, and is not open to instruction and correction.

3. Unity is GOOD when its foundation is humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love. GOOD unity makes every Godly effort to keep the unity of GOD'S SPIRIT through the bond of peace.

Unity is EVIL when coerced by reward, promises, guilt, and threats, for the unity of man's organization. EVIL unity is motivated to gain the advantage for those lording over others in a move to heighten their own celebrity, power and control.

4. Decision making is GOOD when exercising open analysis of questions and problems. GOOD decision making includes the patient development of many options. Good decision making gives deference to others when there is a choice between GOOD options.

Decision making is EVIL when manipulation of power and control is practiced to give the appearance of GOOD, but in truth is condemning, impatient, inflexible, intolerant, and controls options and opinions, especially in pet projects. EVIL politicizes the decision making process and alienates those in disagreement.

5. Organization is GOOD when it equips and liberates God's people to be servants of Christ. Then they are free to worship God and participate as God wishes.

Organization is EVIL when people are slaves to the needs of the organization. Organization is EVIL when it manipulates and treats people as expendable objects regardless of how "Christian" the objectives appear.

6. Programs are G00D when successful in encouraging the Body of Christ to love and good works.

Programs are EVIL when they sacrifice people for the sake of programs, and abandon people to protect failing programs. Programs are EVIL when they divert attention from spiritual growth and practice, to gaining knowledge and practicing the law - without God's spirit. One wonders if any program can be good.

7. Success is GOOD when it's measured by God's standards of relationship with Him, relationship with others, plus love, and righteousness.

Success is EVIL when it's measured by the world's standards of influence, power, control, and bigger accomplishments.

How can Christians avoid joining the Order of Judas Iscariot? Follow these principles...

1. Love one another, 1 Cor. 12:31;
2. Be One in Christ, and members of one another, Rom. 12:5
3. Devoted to one another in brotherly love, Rom. 12:10
4. Honor one another above yourself, Rom. l2:10
5. Be of one mind according to Christ Jesus, Rom. 15:5
6. Accept one another, just as Christ accepted you, Rom 15:7
7. Admonish one another, Rom 15:14
8. Serve one another in love, Gal. 5:13
9. Bear one another's burdens, Gal. 6:2
10. Be humble, gentle, patient, and bear with one another, Eph. 4:2
11.Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, Eph. 5:21
12. Encourage one another and build each other up, I Thess.11 

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Matthew 7:15-23, KJV).

LETTER FROM PEACEMAKER--TO CHRISTIAN LEADERS

"Dear Leader,

Remember Your Calling" Dear Leader, To minister the Word of God to the people of God is certainly a special calling. Reaching out to a lost population requires individuals of great dedication and unfailing effort. Perhaps Christ's greatest witness in this world is those who live a righteous life. Practicing the truth before men is no easy matter in this vile and evil world. In fact, it's impossible without the power of God within. Truth lived out in life creates opportunity for people to impact people. However there are those who need to heed God's warning about being a false prophet. They can repent.

Your vocational calling as a leader of the church is a sacred trust. Being a faithful steward of a sacred trust demands extreme care and conscious dedication. You must guard yourself to remain a clean vessel so that you may righteously handle that trust. But it is becoming more and more the case that many of you have corrupted the calling that has been entrusted to you. This is no light matter. The Bible makes it clear that God will judge those who desecrate His Word.

Those of you who fall into the ranks of corrupting your calling must return to your first love. You must face your sins, confess them, and repent of your ways. It's quite likely you began your ministry with the right motives. Your goals were to win others into the kingdom and bring glory to God. But where are you now, after doing battle with the world system? After facing the temptations from the enemy? What is the condition of your heart now? Have you lost ground? Have you yielded to the enemy? Are you really called to be a minister? Too often, those of us in leadership start off being righteous, trying to accomplish a mission we feel God has given us. But somehow, we get caught up in the attractions of the world--money, power, and prestige believing this is what it takes to do so. When that happens we become pawns in the enemy's hands.

Many leaders fall into Satan's traps. One form of ministry corruption is using our earthly talents in perceptions and schemes to keep the ministry viable. We raise additional funds or market ourselves a bit smarter. We do those things to keep "God's ministry" going rather than having the faith and developing a relationship with God that will expand it, reduce it, or shut it down. We don't want to trust God because we can't see Him. We depend instead on clever marketing and financial schemes, and then use and abuse people as the way to keep those programs going.

Be warned! If you try to do ministry knowingly with unconfessed sin, Satan can use you whether or not you're aware of his activity. If you allow him, he will deceive you into believing that you are "righteous" and doing a "good work" for the Lord. Any way he can, the devil will use you to defame the name of our Lord and make a mockery of the faith.

Allow me an example. Pastor A is pastor of a church. and married to wife A. Pastor A has an adulterous affair with woman B. Woman B's husband finds out. Man B divorces woman B. The pastor divorces his wife (A) and marries women B. So now we have pastor A married to woman B. This is all happening in the same church.

Next, pastor A, married to woman B, has to leave the church because he is in adultery with woman C. Now he left the church, but wasn't biblically disciplined, and is now a pastor at another church. No one took his ordination to the ministry away from him. This adulterous pastor has now divorced woman C and the church that he originally pastored is praying for him to come back to wife B. The Bible calls that wrong. But the church is praying for that to happen, including the current pastor. A woman in that church came to me and said, "I think I'm going crazy." Why? She's been encouraged by the current pastor of the original church to meet and help the adulterous pastor and woman B to remarry, all the while she's saying, "this doesn't seem right to me. Am I crazy? How can I be, the whole church is praying for this.

It's wrong, and I showed her why in the Bible. We are not to go around swapping wives like that. So I went back and volunteered to help this pastor and talk about the Scriptures with him. What was his response? "Oh, Peacemaker, thank you." Right! Silence was all! The pastor abused the woman who came to me with a concern, and would have nothing to do with me. After that, the woman initiated Church Discipline and the elders called her wrong. That church no longer has an idea of what sin is. They don't recognize it. They refuse to recognize it.

Romans 1:28 tells us that God gave such people "over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper." I believe because of Romans 1, that those who encourage such sinning are reprobate. It isn't a matter of ignorance, especially where we have clear teaching from God's Word. No! It's flat-out rebellion. Either we're blind or we're not. If we turn our heart towards God, we'll see Jesus. He'll show us the truth.

So, if you're blind, it's because you're not looking to Christ. You can't use it as an excuse. Even the secular world knows this. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Churches all across America wrongly practice mercy and ignore justice. Frankly, I don't think we understand justice. That's because we are totally out of balance. Christ himself used the words justice and righteousness, In Matthew 23 when addressing the hypocrites. "You have avoided the weightier matters of righteousness, justice, mercy." What was He saying? He was rebuking them for arrogantly tithing and thinking they were "spiritual." Because of their evil hearts, they refused to risk their well being by caring for God's people, by practicing Biblical mercy and justice, to protect them from the wolves the Pharisees had become.

Christ placed the same emphasis upon mercy and justice. In the Old Testament, we read that David's son, born of Bathsheba, had to die to keep God's glory clean and His righteousness pure. That is what justice is about, consequences. A person can be forgiven, but consequences don't disappear. Christ never protected us from the consequences. Rather, He would use them for good for those who loved Him. Our problem is that we have eliminated justice from our evangelical vocabulary to protect ourselves, because we lack faith. We have ungodly mercy and little biblical justice.

The word justice in Matthew 23 deals with the oppressed; some would consider those the poor. If we start discussing oppressed, we are talking about people who lack power, whether it's money, prestige, or influence. The oppressed lack the ability to defend themselves. The church is responsible to make sure those people are protected. And in our society that would include those who have been abused. But the church doesn't do that. It spends money and cares more for the abuser than it does the one abused. In our society (and it's also true in the church) we look at the one abused as though that person has in some way consented, desired, wanted, approved, and cooperated with the abuse. We look on the abuser as some kind of hopeless victim. We have this all wrong! They both need Christ's mercy or His justice, depending upon any required repentance.

Leader, to learn God's justice for others you must face your sins then watch God turn your consequences into Christ's witness to those in darkness. With an honest heart you must be truthful with God. Confess your sins. Repent of them. Then God will give you a burning desire to exercise righteousness in all situations, and you will become a true peacemaker. Make no mistake about this, anything less means you are willing to lie to God, and lie to others. If you are willing to lie to God you are lying to yourself. When you have digressed to that point, you have certainly sold out to the devil, for it is clear that he has completely deceived you, and you only have a form of godliness and are in danger of hell.

How often do you check the condition of your heart? Do you check your thoughts, motives, and actions against the standards of Scripture? Are you continually confessing and repenting of your sins. Matthew 7 and Galatians 6 call for those who are spiritual to address their own heart. The enemy is constantly at war with us. If we fail to constantly check our hearts, we will lose the battle. Why? Because there is no middle ground in the battle for spirituality. Either we are living righteously, or not.

It would be easy here to give you the most hideous examples of those who sinned, but that would be pointing to the obviously bad. Remembering that evil hides as good, let's focus instead on those who call themselves pastor, elder, teacher, board member, trustee, and Christian ministry friends and supporters who have financially benefited by these fallen men's greed and excesses; who have gained fame and position by cooperating with their sin; who have persecuted those Christians as evil who have cried out about the wrongs of these leaders.

These are leaders who have used their resources and materials to make themselves look spiritually mature. These are the truly evil ones, for they are hiding as righteous. Believe me, they practice the same sins in their lives and organizations as well-known reprobates practice. These sins are in every church and organization, and we've accepted this scenario as inevitable. Satan hasn't defeated us, they never left his ways!

How much of this kind of behavior can the church tolerate? Perhaps the greater question is, how much of this kind of behavior will God tolerate? Listen well. God is not mocked. What a man sows, he reaps. The answer to these questions is obvious. The church should not have to handle any more corruption of its leaders. The only way this trend can be reversed is for those leaders who are corrupt to repent of their ways and for the Church to reinstitute biblical discipline to attempt the rescue of wrong-hearted men and women.

What is the fallout of corruption in the church? For one, the church is no longer an effective witness to the world. In most cases, the world sees no difference between itself and the church. The church has so adopted the ways and looks of the world that there is practically no distinction except a steeple or two. What message do you suppose is being received? What is the logical conclusion of corruption in the Church?

The ministry of the gospel is compromised by those individuals who have used the ministry for their own purposes. As a result, the Church's effectiveness in the world is neutralized. It no longer functions as salt; ironically, it snugly (and seemingly comfortably) fits into the world system. Tragically, many in the Church willingly fuel the corruption we see around us. It leaves its created purpose for the "treasures" and enticements of this present age.

The Church's credibility is shot. How can the Church expect to be taken seriously by a dying world when it makes mockery of its message and betrays its Lord? A frightening question indeed: is the Church dead? Do we foolishly believe we can escape accountability for the condition of the Church? Christ's Church is not dead! What then is the solution? As individuals, we can submit to the cleansing power of God. Are you now living in sin? Are you guilty of unconfessed sin? Are you abusing and using others for your personal gain? Turn from such ways.

God is ready to help you begin anew. You can confess your sins and repent of your ways. You can again be used of God for His glory. But you must first want to put away your childish toys of flesh and unrighteous tools of manipulation.

I often wonder how long our Lord will tolerate our corruption. Dear Leader, what will you do? With great concern,

Peacemaker

P.S. Major deceptions in the church today hide as "holiness", "revival", "reconciliation," and "Christian community." Satan has prepared the counterfeit church to gain more power by the manipulation of these biblical truths to further deceive. How will God's people know the difference? True holiness, revival, reconciliation, and Christian community will be evidenced by Christians loving one another, as Christ prayed in John 17, and repenting of their sins as identified in Matthew 23.

Would Jesus say his woes to the hypocrites this way to today's cultural religious leaders?

Then Jesus spoke to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The Pastor and the leaders assume equality with Moses:

At least some show from God's word what jobs in the church you should do, and how much tithe you should give, and what programs you should lead, to be a good Christian, but don't live like they live, because they preach half truths and live wickedly.

They create programs and practices that make it hard to love God, to love your families, love your neighbors, and care for the poor and oppressed, making you suffer by putting all this on your shoulders but they do not help you carry their man-made duties and laws, they are too busy doing "the lords work" to lift a finger to help.

All their acts are so men will praise them: they preach great sermons, speak at important conferences, write deep theological books and build bigger churches, are members of important boards, position themselves as god experts to Oprah, Jerry, Ricki, Geraldo, Phil, Sally and others.

And they love power breakfasts, important lunches and dinners with presidents of nations, corporations, and the highest visibility in churches and councils,

And greetings at shopping malls, hospitals, rallies against sinners' vices, and to be called "Doctor" or "Reverend" by men, or the best preacher in town, or the best Bible speaker on TV or radio.

But you are not to be called any of these: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all of you are brethren.

And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

Neither should you be called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

But woe unto you, pastors and church leaders, hypocrites! You keep others from knowing Christ by preaching great sermons but not living the power of Christ in your life, in fact if someone were to experience the power of Faith in their life you faintly praise them and tell them to conform to convention and not be too excited or overly zealous in submitting to God's word.

Woe unto you, preachers and church leaders, hypocrites! You steal a widows' house, and promise Christ will repay her, so that you can build a bigger ministry in the pretense of reaching more for Christ, but in truth to build your own egos and feed your steeple envy: therefore you will receive the greater damnation.

Woe unto you, preachers and church leaders, hypocrites! You go on big promoted missionary journeys over sea and land to convert one pagan to your own ways, and when he joins, you pervert Christ's teachings so much you make him twice the child of hell than yourselves.

Woe unto you, you blind guides, who say, Whoever admires the best preacher or best modern writer, or televison personality, it is nothing; but who ever ascribes to conservatism, or liberalism, is a debtor!

You fools and blind guides: for which is greater, National leaders or doctrine that sanctifieth the gold?

And, Who ever pledges loyalty to Local church autonomy, it is nothing; but whosoever submits to the denomination that leads it, he is guilty.

You fools and blind guides: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?

Who therefore will swear by the altar, swears by it, and by all things thereon.

And who will swear by the temple, swears by it, and by him that dwells therein.

And he that shall swear by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him that sits thereon.

Woe unto you, preachers and church leaders, hypocrites! You pay a tithe (I'm sure some do) on your books, magazine articles, movies, video tapes, television, radio programs and speaking engagements, and are too busy to practice the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: Good, but you should have helped the poor, the weak and needy (most of them work for you), especially when they were being taken advantage of.

You blind guides, you strain at doctrinal minutia rejecting those not holding precisely to your doctrinal stance or opposing your building program, while fellow shipping with unrepentant abusers.

Woe unto you, preachers and church leaders, hypocrites! You make pseudo confessions and clean up your act on the outside, but in your hearts you are full of extortion and excess.

You blind Pharisee, cleanse first your heart, then the outside will be clean also.

Woe unto you, pastors and church leaders, hypocrites! you are like a bathed whore, which indeed appears beautiful and appealing outwardly, but is full of dead men's souls, and all uncleanness.

Even so you also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Woe unto you, preachers and church leaders, hypocrites! because you praise the prophets, and weep at the graves of the righteous, while shaming God's sheep for their lack of faith and say, "If we lived in those days, we would not have joined them in killing the prophets."

You are witnesses unto yourselves, that you are the children of those who killed the prophets.

You deserve all and more of your fathers reward.

You selfish abusers, you generation of pimps, how can you escape the damnation of hell?

Look, I send you prophets, and wise men, and righteous ones: and some of them you will kill and crucify; and some of them you will shame and abuse in your churches, and persecute them from city to city, falsely accusing them of being with your father the devil:

I cover your head with all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom you killed between the foyer and the altar.

Truthfully I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

O, churches, organizations, you that kill the prophets, and brutalize them that I sent unto you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and you would not!

Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

For I say unto you, you shall not see me again, until you say, blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.

"Have mercy on me, O God...Cleanse me...Create in me a pure heart...Restore to me the joy...The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, and a broken and contrite heart, oh God, you will not despise" (Psalm 51:1-19, NIV)

"This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: `In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it You said, no we will flee!.....'

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'

Then you will defile your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, `Away with you!' (Isaiah 30:15-22, NIV).

LETTER FROM HURTING--TO PEACEMAKER

"What Can I Do to Recover"

Dear Peacemaker,

After reading what you describe as "the state of affairs" in the Church, I feel like that person who is the last one to know what is going on. I was in the middle of all this good versus evil, and never realized what it meant. Thanks for making me aware of the truth and setting me straight--I think. Just kidding.

In your last letter, you mentioned that I first needed to deal with my own sins. I'm a bit fuzzy about what you mean when you talk about the "state of affairs in my heart." Are you implying that my heart is unclean; that I am to blame, in part, for what happened to me? I didn't sin against my abusers. I was the victim, remember? Right now, I am back in a crisis mode. I've been rejected by my organization, they haven't repented of anything and their home churches won't help and I'm out of work. Shouldn't that be my first priority? Certainly I can be of service to another Christian organization--one that is more understanding and treats its employees properly. I want to be part of a ministry. But I feel injured enough from the actions of others without performing some kind of "spiritual autopsy" on myself. Besides, what does the state of my heart have to do with getting back on track with another organization? Please explain this "state of the heart" business and its relevance for me. Certainly, my heart is in the right place.

I genuinely want to recover from my traumatic experience and get reconnected. I'm sure it's a matter of finding a "righteous" group or organization, one that isn't abusive to its employees. It's hard for me to accept that the entire system is corrupt. I certainly hope it isn't. For if it is, where do I go now?

Searching for the truth,

Hurting

RESPONSE FROM PEACEMAKER TO HURTING

"Checking Your Eyes and Your Heart"

Dear Hurting,

I can see you're still hurting and confused. Be patient, God will bring clarity when it is time. Each time I try peacemaking in these situations it takes me weeks to recover from the lies and attacks. Believe me the first step to your recovery is dealing with the sin in your own heart. Let me show you. The Bible illustrates an aspect of this principle in Matthew 7. Our Lord spoke of judging others, and said, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

This is not an easy thing to do, for you have to die to self. You have to understand that your own sins against God and others are greater than the sins being perpetrated against you, see Matthew 18:21-35. You will become an abuser and not recover if you keep feeling sorry for yourself and you will think you need some kind of spiritual or fleshly fix to "feel good." You first have to come to that point where you are dying to self.

God's way is for you to see your own sins first. When you do, you will see them as far graver than those committed against you. You are then ready to clean out the beam from your eye, repair (where you can) the damage it has caused, and begin the process of healing. Only then may you confront your brother with God's truth and ask him to live differently so that you and he can live in harmony and unity in the Spirit, being patient, bearing each other's burdens.

So you see, the value in looking at your own sin first is not in comparing your sin with your brother's sin. Rather It's to prepare your own heart, by God's word, that will lead you to go to your brother seeking forgiveness for your sins against him and a readiness to forgive if he sinned.

Roy and Revel Hession explain in their book We Would See Jesus (Christian Literature Crusade) that Christ is the door, and that "seeing Him we are convicted of sin, broken, cleansed, filled with the Spirit, set free from bondage, and revived." So the purpose is seeing Christ, and that will bring His natural healing process.

When people come to me for counseling, they come bearing the image of themselves or the one who wronged them. They are not coming to see Christ. But they must see Him. To see Christ is the only way to be revived, to begin the process of righteousness.

You see, the kind of conflict you have experienced is an opportunity to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord. God wants you first to use it to shape yourself, not those who offended you. It is an invitation for you to grow closer to Christ. In time God will deal with your offenders. The urgent question you need to ask yourself is, are you ready to stop looking at the speck in your brother's eye, and work on personal holiness? I will caution you. Dealing with personal holiness can bring pain and sacrifice, as your flesh fights surrender. As a result of progressing in personal holiness, you may decide to turn away from much of the environment you once found so comfortable; and so friendly. You will find it necessary to leave it all behind, and pick up the cross of Christ, and exercise new faith in Him, trusting Him to use you in new ways.

When you have an honest heart and turn to Christ to cleanse our heart, our teacher, the Holy Spirit will lift the veil and you will see Jesus.

When you "check your eyes and heart,"[Appendix #2] and discover your sins against God, the sins done to you pale by comparison. The Bible calls the non-Christians' heart deceitfully wicked, and the Christian must crucify his fleshly ways - the plank in your eye. We think that because we are Christians we have clean minds and pure thoughts. When one becomes a Christian Christ replaces his heart of stone with one of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19) and that new Spirit begins cleaning us from the inside out. Some argue we never sin again, but if our ways are fully clean, why would David say, in Psalm 51, "search my heart"? Why would Paul talk about progressive sanctification work? No, it's a cleaning process. We're to be constantly in the process of mortifying our fleshly ways and killing our sins, by the power of God's Spirit and Word. That's what Jesus meant when he said "Take up your cross daily" (Luke 9:23). Putting your desires, your self-centered ways to death day-by-day you are to "Follow Him instead."

Philippians 3:13 tells us to forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. This means we must deal with our sins correctly, and then put them behind us. We are not to dwell on them or they will keep us from achieving God's will. Our goal is Christ alone. Look to Christ, not to your enemies, not to your own heart. Every time we see Christ, in His light, we can't help but see the darkness in our flesh. The deepest truths of God come from seeing and living Christ; we don't have to look at the darkness. Looking to Christ IS reaching for the future. It is where you must begin His righteousness.

Be informed that righteousness is not automatic. You must be interested in God changing you, from the inside out. You will find pride to be your greatest obstacle. Pride is the basic sin of all of us. Pride will cause us to put on an outward appearance through language and behavior. We make a pretense of searching for truth and doing those things that protect our self image and the image we think others will accept without changing. When you become a Christian Christ breaks Satan's bondage over you As you apply God's Word to your mind and behavior, you'll begin noticing a progressive loosening of Satan's chains of sin bondage, The working of Christ continually sets you free. Your mind and flesh will fight strongly against the Spirit's ways. Don't quit! Keep believing God has been, is, and will be all He promised, (Hebrews 13:5-8).

Need some help to discover God's truth about yourself and what to put to death? To do that I read Matthew 23, Romans 1, 2 Timothy 3, Colossians 3, the fruit of the flesh in Galatians 5. In those Scriptures I find God's words about what is wrong, and what I need Christ to do in my life. That's how to do a personal inventory. It's right there in the Bible. How does your spirituality stack up against those Scriptures? Of course, we fail on all of them. What does it mean to be a Christian? It means repenting, progressing, persevering. Too many use their failures as an excuse to stay where they are and continue past sins, into the present and future. Our wickedness is very creative at establishing the appearance or the form of godliness, all the while denying the power of Christ in our lives. Those passages serve as warning signs to us, to rid our life of sin.

For the next year, live First John within your heart. Hurting, let the Holy Spirit check your life, and be brutally honest in doing so. Only then can you continue your path on the road to righteousness.

Sincerely,

"'Confess your faults one to another," (James 5:16). He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship in service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break-through to fellowship does not occur, because, though they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout sinners. The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. so we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is that we are sinners!"(Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, Harper Collins).

"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but who so confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13, KJV).

"In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval." (1 Corinthians 11:18-19, NIV).

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:24-25).

RESPONSE FROM PEACEMAKER--TO WOUNDED

"Maintaining a Spiritual Heart"

Dear Wounded,

You have learned a most brutal lesson about the Christian community. Not all who profess Jesus as Lord make Him Lord of their lives. The Bible tells us that many will call Him Lord, but God will not know all of them as His children.

This experience of yours accents your need to focus on Christ and fellowship with those who persevere in all that Christ teaches. Keep in mind that Jesus, not spiritual leaders, is your model. Even the most righteous man is but a shadow of God's truth and glory. All glory is God's! No matter how spiritual or righteous your church leadership and professing fellow believers are, Christ alone is your example and the fellowship of believers is to equip, encourage, and support your walk with God. Although others may fail you, He never will.

There are those who masquerade their spirituality. In fact, we've seen so many masquerades of spirituality that we must redefine the real thing as "genuine" spirituality. There is only spirituality. There is maturity and immaturity. There is true and false. There is no "genuine" spirituality. Spirituality is life driven by the Holy Spirit within. Anything else is not spirituality at all.

Read Colossians 3. Spirituality starts with my agreeing with God about my sins by confessing the condition of my life. It is by confessing my sins and repenting of them, and conforming my behavior to scripture, that by God's grace I'm trying to be different.

This is an opportunity for you to learn a great lesson. Though produced by the Holy Spirit you are responsible for your own spirituality, and there are real blessings when you find a true brother or sister in Christ, with humility, who will bear with you your sin's burdens. Your spirituality depends on God and the ministry of His Holy Spirit. You must learn to exercise your faith in spite of your circumstances and in spite of whatever consequences may result.

Get into the Word of God. The Bible is replete with examples of spirituality. David is the model of a contrite heart. David instantly, when confronted, sometimes in denial, looked at his own heart and his relationship with God. That is an example of the difference between a true Christian, a maturing Christian, versus one who has only the form of godliness. Saul, on the other hand, is the model of a pseudo-Christian. Saul was changed by God, and then in the change, continued to exercise a heart that repulsed God. God then removed His Spirit, or removed His authorization. Why? Because Saul blamed others, blamed circumstances, took responsibilities that were not his, and sacrificed strange fire to God. Saul gave a sacrifice because the priest didn't show up on time, so Saul went ahead and did his own sacrifice to God. When the priest showed up, Saul's remark was not, "Oh, I have sinned against God and violated you"? No. It was, "Well, you didn't get here on time." It is interesting when we go back to the time where Saul was picked. Part of it had to do with God making a strong statement about the right kinds of sacrifices. So, it wasn't a case of Saul not knowing that he shouldn't do it. It was a case of his impatience and taking authority that was not his. Pride, power and control caused Saul to loose favor with God.

Your church experience is also an opportunity for you to re-examine your heart. God allows these kinds of experiences to force us to become quiet and hear His voice, to cleanse our heart. When we examine our heart, we learn much about ourselves. We see the state of our heart and can more readily identify the "excess baggage" of sin and unrighteousness we carry. As you discover sin in your heart, confess it and repent of it. You become cleaner and grow in your relationship with God and others. It is your starting point for re-entry.

Don't be sidetracked! In your letter you mentioned a concern about changing the minds of those in authority. As you have seen, some who profess Christ have sold out to the cultural system that "embraces" Christianity as a means of getting what they want. Our mission is not to change that system. For now God allows it to exist for His purposes. This counterfeit system of instutionalized religion is corrupt. Every effort to correct the system provides the false prophets greater opportunity to deceive and lead more astray. It is fueled and controlled by the enemy. Rather, our mission is to live lives that honor God, and love others, even in the midst of unrighteous circumstances perpetrated by them. Doing so brings honor to our Lord while reaching out and ministering to others. This alone demonstrates the difference between good and evil.

There are Christians in almost every cultural Church (the remnant) who have not bowed to Baal, who believe and feel as you do. You need to become realigned with such a group of believers. Selecting a fellowship can be a difficult task, don't give up. What should we look for in our spiritual leaders? The Bible provides us with qualifications for elders within the church, (see 1 Timothy 3:5-13 and Titus 1:5-11). A chief qualification for leaders is having demonstrated faithfulness to God over a long period of time.

There is no such thing as a perfect church! We all sin and often sin against each other. Look at God's Church at Corinth. But a healthy church is humbled by its sin and practices dependence upon God and His Word. A healthy church practices the faith building blocks found in 2 Peter 1:2-11. "That's why you must do your best and see that your faith carries with it real goodness of life. Add to your goodness knowledge, and to knowledge self-control, to self-control the ability to endure. Your endurance too must always be accompanied by devotion to God; that in turn must have in it the quality of brotherliness, and your brotherliness must lead on to Christian love."

Remember, Wounded, look to the Lord always. Proud people will disappoint you, and Satan can use that to discourage you. Do not waste this experience! Learn what God is teaching you in this difficult time. He is preparing you for even greater things if you ask Him to do His work in you in His time.

Praying for your re-entry,

"Obedience to man must not become disobedience to God.

"But in that obedience which we have shown to be due the authority of rulers, we are to make this exception, indeed, to observe it as primary, that such obedience is never to lead us away from obedience to HIM..." (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 2, Chapter 8, p. 401).

"Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever....

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account" (Hebrews 13:7, 8, 17, NIV).

LETTER FROM PEACEMAKER--TO LEADER

"You Are Accountable"

Dear Leader,

Accountability. What does that term mean to you?

First, let's pursue God's concept of accountability. The whole Bible and the examples of the "Cloud of Witnesses," as well as Christ's own life is about relationships with God, other believers, and non believers. Accountability without relationship is the world's use of manipulation and control of the power model, based on man's legalism. World accountability is mostly what is practiced in today's cultural churches. Biblical relationships within the Body of Christ--His Church, on the other hand, place all true believers under God's authority, and each believer becomes a fellow struggler, in all believers living as God invites us toward His righteousness. You are your brother's keeper, above all, except God.

Our Lord illustrated the principle of accountability in His parable of the talents. This parable is no doubt familiar to you. You may have applied it to others or asked them to apply it to themselves. But it's important to apply the truths of this parable first to yourself.

As a leader given a position by God, you are en- trusted with responsibility and with a measure of authority to carry out His will in all matters. Are you made accountable within your church or organization? Do you make yourself accountable? We see the notion of accountability lightly regarded by too many leaders. Perhaps we have forgotten why it is so important. Perhaps there are those who intentionally choose to ignore being accountable. It seems that accountability in our churches and organizations has somehow gotten lost in the shuffle for power, position, and money--even "ministry."

As ministers and administrators of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is imperative to be accountable for our work and our behavior. When we consider accountability, we have to remember that we are accountable to God. We have to keep eternity in view. We are accountable to God when we face Him. And we are accountable to His Word and the practice of it. So, if you have foolishly constructed your own accountability so that you are not held accountable, that is a lie. You have deceived yourself. You may be successful in avoiding accountability in this current world. But, ultimately, you will be unsuccessful in avoiding it before God. A big problem we face is that some of our leaders have pulled together such strong political systems that the Church can't "touch" them. For example, one denominational board, with great pomp and sternness, publicly rebuked an erring "Christian celebrity's" sexual sin while not confessing their own sin of enjoying the fruit of the celebrity's greed and popularity.

In another case, "Christian leaders" were fully aware of a "Christian celebrity's" many adulterous relationships and several divorces, all the while promoting and using the celebrity to make money for "God's ministry," but seemingly really for themsleves.

Some have been "touched" because the federal government stepped in. We have all seen the highly- publicized scandals. But the day may be coming when the government won't even try to touch you. Or, when they will come down on all of us--the corrupt and the righteous.

Do not be mistaken. Final accountability is to God. Leader, you are accountable. You may not know it, or you may not think it is that important of an issue. My understanding of Scripture is that it's better to figure it out on this side of the Jordan than on the other side. God is giving you responsibilities for ministry and for leading others in your life as an opportunity to humble yourself before your Lord. Make sure on this side of the Jordan that you're dealing with it, otherwise Christ will judge us on the other side.

Accountability starts with God, but we are also accountable to the Church--that body of believers that comprises the Body of Christ. As a leader, not only are you a "high-profile" person, you are a target of the enemy. He knows your weaknesses and will attack your areas of vulnerability ruthlessly and relentlessly. The gravity of this situation should cause you to humble yourself before God. You should want to tap the strength and support that comes from making yourself accountable to others within your church or organization.

Look at how we play out accountability in our local churches and denominations. Do we really have accountability among pastors, among boards, among elders? Actually, true accountability is very rare. That's appalling. It's almost as if there is no accountability because we seldom see Christian relationships. We have ministerial associations. But they are more concerned with Easter sing-along and other such group activities. They're not wrestling with righteousness issues in each other's life. If one church has a conflict, do other churches come to its aid? Only if they're attacked by the ACLU, not if a member has been offended or wronged.

And so, we have set up a network in which our definitions (not biblical definitions) protect and cover each other. Have a pastor in one of these groups stand up and say, "Wait a second! This is not how we should act!" He'd be ostracized--no question about it. What often happens is the ministerial association will put that pastor in charge of a special committee with little funds and few volunteers. He then runs himself into the ground trying to teach when there are no ears to hear. That's normally what happens, and that's the way to destroy a person who's trying to be righteous, without the corrupt leadership looking bad. They say, "Oh, you have a spiritual maturity we don't have, and we should tap into that." And then they just jerk his chain around, and put him into a prison of performance. They may even have a week of "spiritual" meetings, but no one changes. If they're not