Where Are The Pastors?
by Chuck Baldwin
Excerpts from the "Chuck Baldwin Live" Radio Talk Show
March 7, 1997I just received a fax from a fellow named David. He is at work and he can't call in because of the job he has, so he faxed this note. "Chuck, why aren't the clergy more involved in getting the truth to their flock? Would you please address this thought? The church will always be ineffective in educating their following when they rely on a tax exempt status. Cutting the nose off to spite the face comes to mind. I enjoy the show and thanks for every effort."
Well, Dave, thank you. I really don't think the tax exempt status, the 501(c)3 incorporation status has much to do with it. Our church is incorporated, 501(c)3. That status has done nothing to intimidate me or hinder me in any way, obviously. I have been doing this program for 2 1/2 years. Now, this show is not under the auspices of the church. We've made that clear from the very beginning. What I do here I do as a private citizen, not as pastor. The church is a sponsor of the program, as are others. So, it's independent of the church. Still, the fact remains that there has not been the first attempt by anybody to use the 501(c)3 tax exemption against us. So, if there are any preachers out there that are using their incorporation status as an excuse to not address the great social and moral issues of the day it is a cop-out, Dave.
Why are pastors not speaking out? There are three basic reasons:
1. The pastors' time is very much demanded. They are "meetinged" to death. They often have little cooperation from their churches, especially if they pastor a smaller church. Most churches are not very sensitive in helping their pastors do the work of the ministry. Quite frankly, most church members are lazy. They see the pastor as a glorified errand boy to do what they should be doing. It's not uncommon to find pastors cutting the grass at church, fixing the pipes when they break, doing the electrical work, cleaning up and doing all the things that the church members, themselves, should be doing. Add to that his study time. Add to that his counseling time. Add to that his visitation time. Add to that his administration time. And what you have is one guy running around like a chicken with his head cut off. Many preachers don't even know what day of the week it is much less, what the pressing issues are. To be personally involved in the affairs of state is beyond their comprehension, often because they don't have the time. Now, let's honestly admit that lack of time will sometimes be used as an excuse. "I'm too busy," they say. Sometimes it's the truth. It's the truth because the people of their churches are insensitive to the needs of the church and are demanding the pastor do both his job and their job. In that case, the pastor becomes a little robot running around doing all these menial things that they, the church members, should be doing. That is a major problem in our churches.
So, what can you do? You're a member of a church, I trust. You can get in there and do your part. If everybody that's complaining about the pastor not getting involved would get involved in the church the pastor would have more time to be the leader he's supposed to be. What are you doing to help him? What are you doing to help your pastor have the time he needs to get involved in being a spiritual leader in your community? He is so busy babysitting people. He's so busy doing what others ought to be doing because they are too flat lazy to do it that he doesn't have time to be an effective moral voice in the community.
2. The second major problem is that some pastors are still laboring under the deception that, as a pastor, God hasn't "called" them to get involved. They have swallowed hook, line and sinker the atheistic, humanistic, secularist perspective. They have bought into the ACLU interpretation of the First Amendment and the mythical separation of church and state. They really believe that they are not supposed to address anything that could be described as political. They haven't thought it through. They haven't read their own history. They are victims of their own ignorance. They've not studied the Constitution. They've not read the writings of the Founding Fathers. They've not read our great historical documents. They've not read John Leland. They've not read Witherspoon. They've not read Locke. They've not read Benjamin Rush. They know very little about true American history. They're victims of a modem educational system that has stripped them of their God-given responsibility to be the moral and spiritual leaders ofthe nation. They really don't know what their role is.
3. Some are cowards. It takes a little grit to stand up and speak out for things that have become controversial. And there's always some carnal, backslidden, two-bit, brain-dead, church member out there that when the pastor tries to stand up for what's right, mounts a protest. So, rather than make waves, rather than stir the pot of controversy, they take the path of least resistance. There's nothing new about that. It is old-fashioned cowardice.
I believe those are the three reasons, Dave, why more preachers are not involved. Let's pray for our pastors! Let's encourage them to be the leaders God intended them to be. Let's help them in any way we can fulfill their responsibility to God and to our country. Don't just complain that they are not involved. Help them get involved! Do YOUR part.
The truth is, if more people in the pews would help their pastors and encourage and pray for their pastors more pastors would find the tenacity and the time to be the leaders God wants them to be. The old addage is still true: we get the leadership we deserve. It's in the White House and it's in the church house. So, what are YOU going to do about it?
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