Drama In The Church

I’ll start by saying “Here we go again”. We seem to continue to witness the fall of people held in high regard with titles like, and for the purpose of this post, use the word pastor loosely. You know those Mega-Church Pastor’s who adorn the grace of the pulpit who has fallen short of the long arm of the law, at least morally. Let’s see there has been the flashy televangelist Eddie Wrong and Creflo "The Dollar Man" known for preaching that prosperity is good.

Now we have Pastor, and I use this loosely also, Jamal Bryant's fall from grace that began with an extramarital affair that tore up his congregation and destroyed his marriage. This guy was the leader of a mega church, the Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, Maryland, whose affair ended his marriage, disrupted his congregation, and almost destroyed his ministry. It is alleged that he had a child by a member of the congregation as a preacher.

Although this is not as bad as the Bishop, and I use that loosely, Eddie Long's situation - somehow in my mind it begs the question – WTF? First of all, if Jesus where to come back today I am pretty sure he would do just as he did in the temple with the money changes. In my opinion, these leaders of huge flocks cannot effectively serve the community when they have the huge financial responsibility of such monstrosities. Frankly, it’s just business! Just sayin!

There is a very popular radio host who does a show from time to time called “Pimps in the Pulpit”. Let me be clear, I am not calling either of these Sheppard’s pimps but when you take from the needy to benefit the greedy. Well, we have to find a word that more accurately describes the mission other than pastor. The larger question is who are the followers of these guys? Are they just sheep lead blindly?

Let’s recap! Last year there was a Mega-Church preacher from Florida who was found dead in New York (allegedly) of a drug overdose with drugs found on his person (allegedly). Both Long and Dollar were among six televangelists investigated by Iowa U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley from 2007 to 2010, following questions about personal use of church-owned airplanes, luxury homes and credit cards by mega church pastors and their families. I won’t even touch the Catholic Church and their problems.

I don’t believe these are isolated instances and I am not saying that every church falls into this kind of negative category. But I would suggest that if there tax status changed some of these issues would be remedied. I also want to say I am not just picking on African American pastors. There are just as many whites and others who are just as foul in their devotion to the all mighty dollar and enjoy the sins of the flesh. Like the Catholic Priests!

I am not going to spend too many words on the frailties of faith leaders. Nor am I challenging anyone’s faith – but believers we are or should be believe the word of God and the teachings of Jesus! Not some jokers with private jets or a huge worship palaces that you are paying for. If I can use a popular phrase that says “Game Knows Game” or you should.

Lastly, it might be a good idea to not be so blindly devoted to hustlers, con artist, or maybe I should say, pimps in the pulpit and you know who they are. Let me close by suggesting that maybe it is time to believe in yourself and know that you might find power in your soul. So, let’s get back to family, which is strength! And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…



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