Case Study
Pastor Smith is the pastor of Apostolic Ministries. He is required to travel for mission activities together with a group of pastors from other churches. Before he leaves, he receives a request from Pastor Dominic to minister in the church as he will be visiting the area. Pastor Smith approves the application as it is timely. Pastor Smith informs his congregation about the visiting Pastor and urges them to welcome and support him as Apostle John taught Christians.
For the next four weeks, Pastor Dominic leads the Sunday services at Apostolic Ministries, where he raises some concerns. The pastor preaches on salvation after which, he solicits funds from the congregation in exchange for God’s free salvation. He tells the group not to allow material things to hinder them from achieving salvation. As a result, he urges them to give up their finances as a sign of welcoming God’s salvation. This message drives away some members of the church, while others are left questioning the truth of the gospel. When Pastor Smith returns, he meets this challenge and addresses it through the following letter.
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Pastoral Letter
I greet you brethren with the love of Christ in whom we all believe. A few days ago, I received complaints about an itinerant pastor that ministered on the past four Sundays. Pastor Dominic’s doctrine rose a lot of concerns among the church community. The pastor solicited funds from the congregation in exchange for salvation, a practice that is not supported by the church. The church also lost several members as a result of the conflict of interests from the sermons, citing the Pastor’s arrogance as the main reason. He also dwelt on the gospel of prosperity, which is a culture that is highly discouraged by the church community.
First of all, I would like to commend you for the hospitality you showed towards the Pastor. As you are all aware of, anyone preaching the gospel of Christ is a member of the body of Christ and should, therefore, be well received. I would like to encourage all members to continue with the hospitality shown to visiting pastors and to do so with love (Swindoll, 2018). As the Apostle John urges us¸ we should be steadfast in our love and support of visiting brethren. Such hospitality demonstrates Christianity as portrayed by Christ. Love and support also represent true Christian faith as we are all members of the body of Christ (Swindoll, 2018).
Moreover, I would like to commend you for holding the truth as portrayed in the bible (Swindoll, 2018). The believers in the church accept the reality of the gospel, which is why the concern of heresy by Pastor Dominic was raised. The truth also led believers to question the teachings as they were contradictory to what they believe in. I encourage you all to uphold this truth with love, just as Christ taught the Church (Swindoll, 2018). True Christianity is measured by the love we have for other believers and non-believers alike, as well as practicing the truth of the gospel.
I also congratulate you on the support accorded to the visiting pastor (Swindoll, 2018). Members of the church encouraged the pastor’s work by attending church services and any other activities they were called upon to do. Additionally, they assisted the pastor in preparing for his sermons whenever he requested them to do so. The pastor was also accorded financial support that facilitated his stay for the period that he was in the area. The community, through the kitchen personnel, made it their priority to ensure the pastor was well fed at all times. More so, he received emotional support from the deacons of the church, who made his work at the church more accessible. All this support showed the love of Christ through the church members as we all live in truth (Swindoll, 2018). I encourage you to accord the same relief to other visiting pastors in the future.
However, I would like to condemn heresy as preached by Pastor Dominic, as it departs from the gospel truth. All preachers of the word are urged to base their teachings on honesty from the bible to allow proper understanding of the word of God (Yarbrough, 2008). Therefore, heresy is highly discouraged as it confuses the church. Accordingly, I would like to denounce the pastor’s preaching that salvation is bought, because salvation is given to us freely, with Christ having paid the price at the cross.
In regards to the concern raised, I would like to inform the community about financial prosperity. God encourages all believers to acquire economic prosperity. However, preachers are not allowed to receive gifts of any kind in exchange for salvation (Yarbrough, 2008). Instead, they are entitled to accept donations offered to them in good faith, without expectations of favors in return. Therefore, the congregation should understand that salvation only comes from God and should not be bought.
Furthermore, it is essential for servants of the Lord to use their roles in the church for empowerment instead of self-gratification. Pastors should understand that self-gratification causes Christians to harm their fellow Christians, thereby damaging the body of Christ (Allman, 2011). Once the body is hurt, there is disunity which hinders the growth of the church. As a result, all servants in the ministry should strive on impacting others positively using their roles, as well as winning more souls for Christ. It is my hope and prayer that the church remains open to all believers and for pastors to uphold truth in their preaching.
References
Allman, J. (2011). Suffering in the Non-Pauline Epistles. In L. Waters & R. Zuck, In Why, O God? Suffering and Disability in the Bible and the Church. (pp. 195-205). Wheaton: Crossway.
Swindoll, C. (2018). Book of Third John Overview - Insight for Living Ministries. Retrieved from http://www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-general-epistles/third-john
Yarbrough, R. (2008). 1—3 John. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.
