Shepherds That Harm

Jeremiah 23:1 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.

Please pray for me that I will not be a shepherd that causes the destruction or scattering of God’s people. No shepherd is immune to sin and that sin can cause devastation and a dispersion of the church. My greatest fear as a pastor is that I would do anything that would cause harm to the church, the bride of Christ.

Please also pray for some pastors and some consultants to pastors who are causing the destruction and the scattering of the church. In particular I would ask you to pray for pastors that are a part of a movement called “The Emerging Church” and for a consultant in particular named George Barna.

I do not know the hearts of these “emergent” pastors and I do not know George Barna personally, but I am seeing some devastating effects their work is having on the church. I genuinely believe these men love Jesus, but I also believe that what they are doing is not good for the church.

There is no doubt that the church of Jesus Christ in North America has a lot of growing up to do, but many “emergent” pastors (Let me quickly say here that the term “emergent” is a loose term and to categorize “emergent” as a unit is not fair. There are different types of people and doctrines within the “emergent” movement, but because they use the heading I will too.) and George Barna in his book Revolution are encouraging the abandonment of the church.

I believe these men are sure they are serving God and are creating a “better” church. I just don’t believe that calling people away from a local body of believers they have committed to do life with and being hyper-critical of the local church is healthy.

What they have to say needs to be heard and there is a great deal we can learn from these dear brothers. Pray that they will not abandon the Biblical call to gather in local churches or alienate themselves from existing churches with their overcritical and many times arrogant statements and assumptions.

Pray that the church of Jesus will grow strong and that we as His people with differing views on critical issues and doctrines can unite under His banner and keep Christ and the Gospel He proclaimed and provided our focus and passion.

Pray that I will be an ambassador of the Gospel, a good shepherd to the local flock under my care, a friend to sinners, and a help to the hurting and voiceless in our world.

Email your comments and questions to jpettus@lhbg.org.