The easiest statement anyone will like to make when there’s an issue is ‘It’s not my fault, it’s yours’. So long as there’s another party that can be drawn into whatever mess that has taken place, why not lay the blame on them. Easy as A, B, C, right?

Well, if you ask me, maturity comes with taking responsibility. You ask ‘What of situations where, it is outrightly known to the other party that it is not my fault, but he/she refuses to take responsibilty?’  Hmmm, tough right? Well! I will say share the blame for peace to reign. Lol. [my personal take, I’m sure there are other contrary views] However, I guess different situations require different responses.

But you see, today’s post title is a recurrent event that has been in existence before I was born and till this day.

Just as everyone has a purpose, and in getting into that purpose, the ‘heat’ is always on; so is the same with these particular people- pastor/preacher/minister/reverend/priest…… The truth is, the ‘heat’ is extraordinarily always on, for them. And it won’t change as far anyone is concerned, like did you ever see Jesus’ heat off? Never!

When a person says ‘I’m a pastor, I’ve been called by God’, it’s just expected that they do things right like Jesus. They have to be sinless, pure. There shouldn’t exist anything human in them anymore. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking; ‘Well! They preach it. That’s the notion that is given to us’. I won’t disagree with you. Some do it. But let’s flip the script. When a person [with no pastoral title] says ‘Oh! I have given my life to Christ, I’m now born again’. All eyes are on that person as well, but still nothing compared to those with the pastor or preacher title. I have asked myself, ‘Why is this so?’

I won’t even think of patronising you by saying, ‘I’ve all the answers’. It’s a ‘Let’s talk’ segment, your input is needed in the comments section.

What I can conveniently say is that once a person says ‘I’m a pastor/preacher’. It’s automatically expected that this person has had enormous experiences with the Lord, therefore, he/she knows the in and out of God, and can lead the ‘blind’ to God, in all things. But when it comes to that brother/sister who has just given his/her life to Christ, it is expected that changes take place but he/she is still ‘partially blind’ and it’s the work of the pastor/preacher to take away such blindness.

And that’s where the problem starts…..

Pastors/preachers are ambassadors of God. They are vessels just like every other christian who may not have the title. They are not Christ- perfect, sinless. And some of them may not tell you this, but not being told is no longer a sufficient excuse anymore. Like we [Lawyers] say Ignorantia juris non excusat- Ignorance of the law excuses no one, that same principle applies here as well.

For such a time as this- End time, we cannot afford to heap the responsibilty on those in the pastoral positions. You’ve blamed them for misleading you, it’s time to share in the blame. When you give your life to Christ, it should remain with Him, it is not supposed to shift downwards i.e to the pastor. When Christ was leaving earth, He left the Holy Spirit with us. Also, what is the purpose of our Bible, if not to show us how we are to live our lives on earth. I understand that some people may not be ‘strong’ enough to venture on their own, therefore following their pastors’ example. But I’m still not unaware of those who have lackadaiscally decided not to work out their salvation. Those who have chosen to mirror pastor/preacher A. 

You see doing things the way a person does things is easier because you can see the person and it’s easier to believe someone that can be seen over the sayings of someone that cannot be seen. So if pastor A reads the bible and says God said ‘this and that’, it’s easy for member B to take it as it is. Don’t get me wrong, I respect and love pastors. But they do not take the place of Christ. If a word is said, and it does not correlate with the Word of God, I’m sorry but I refuse to believe that God said it. God is not an author of confusion. 1 Cor 14:33. He won’t say one thing in the Bible and say another through a vessel.

We do ourselves greater harm feeding on the words and convictions of another. You can get your own personal conviction as well. You can read the bible and understand. If it feels difficult, pray to God to help you, and He will.

I am a person who believes that each and every individual can know God for him/herself. Yes! the pastors/preachers are there to help, but they are not Christ. I’ve heard people say ‘I’ve been hurt by the Church’. I really do empathise with such people. I really do. But I still feel if we took our focus off the ‘humans’ and focused on Christ, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will know that not everyone that ‘waves holy hands’ in church or occupies certain positions indeed is of Christ. It’s a sad truth. I wish it wasn’t so, but it trully is.

I remember being part of a workforce group in church, where my friend and I didn’t like the way our head of unit related with us. He is a married man, and our spirits were not comforable with it. We [my friend and I] prayed about it, strategised on how to deal with the situation [Holy spirit and wisdom] and it worked. We did not leave the church until when we were supposed to. [migration] And we do not go around thinking every head of unit is evil. Before we left, there were signs that he realised, he had done something wrong. His actions aligned appropriately. It was not our place to castigate him and go around telling people; ‘Hmmmm keep off that department, that man is …….’. It was our place to recognise that ‘this is not right, but we are serving God not the head of unit, so we will pray order into this confusion’

The truth is, if half of us prayed, as much as we complained about the anomalies, we won’t have the anomalies at all.

Hebrews 13:17-18 MSG says Be responsive to your pastoral leaders. Listen to their counsel. They are alert to the condition of your lives and work under the strict supervision of God. Contribute to the joy of their leadership, not its drudgery. Why would you want to make things harder for them? Pray for us. We have no doubts about what we are doing or why, but it’s hard going and we need your prayers. All we care about is living well before God….

So you see, that very powerful man/woman of God or head of unit needs your prayers badly. I will be honest with you, you can get into church and it may not go well with your spirit, you do not have to stay there, neither do you have to beat down that ministry. Being led by the Spirit of God to where your spirit is being lifted is the way out, not spreading different news of how ‘the woman of God shook the members leg and you felt it was diabolic’.

It is quite sad that the body of Christ [the church] is so divided. And it has nothing to do with outsiders, the insiders are the dividing agents. And the unbelievers are watching ‘the drama’ and it isn’t an attractive sight for them to be persuaded that ‘indeed, there is something special about being a christian’.

This blame game- ‘it is the pastor’s fault’ is a broken record. But at a time like this, I think we need to wisen up and realise that ‘our pastor’s salvation won’t take us to Heaven’. Neither will the ‘Preacher Z said that….’ statement, be a good enough reason before God, when we account for our lives. ‘Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God’ Roman 14:12 NIV

We have been given the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, to help us discern at a time as this. We do not have an excuse that carries weight anymore. So you ask, ‘What’s the role of a pastor then?’ Yes! They are to lead. But just like Moses, Paul, David, Solomon, Peter and you, they are human, they have flaws and they are also on the same journey like you- to make Heaven.

So what’s your take on the blame game? Do you feel no one else should be blamed except the Leaders? or do you think that the followers, very much have a part to play?

I strongly believe that these related posts will be a good read- Can you give me a title? and What are we testing?

P.S I am not in anyway condoning the acts of some supposed ‘men/women of God’, all I’m saying is, what if we all prayed and be Spirit led…

Chinomnso Precious!