The Dark Side (7/20/15)

The Tactics post I am looking at today was written on July 20, 2015, and is titled The Dark Side.

Eleven years have passed since this was written, and almost nineteen years have passed since I left Calvary Temple in December 2007. Yet as I read this post today, I am struck by how much of it still applies to what I experienced at Calvary Temple—and, from what I have observed and continue to hear, to what is still taking place there.

There are still unsuspecting people walking through those doors believing they have found a place where they can know God, grow in their faith, and serve Him.

I know because I was once one of those people.

Tactics begins this post by quoting Wayne Jacobsen:

“On the darker side are those congregations that are simply fiefdoms for bullies or insecure leaders that take people captive to their will by manipulating them with fear and guilt…These groups often use the language of radical Christianity and attract passionate people, but that passion is soon twisted into legalism as everyone is told to follow the leader’s vision exclusively, to view other groups with disdain, and to abuse others by overtly or covertly marking and shaming people who do not conform. Sadly, some people enjoy abusive congregations, either because it makes them feel superior to ‘less-committed’ believers or because they think their personal spiritual failures merit a weekly berating from the pulpit.”

Wayne Jacobsen is a Christian author and former pastor. The quotation Tactics used here comes from Jacobsen’s book Finding Church: What If There Really Is Something More?

I agree with Jacobsen.

And I agree with Tactics.

Why?

Because what Jacobsen describes is what I experienced at Calvary Temple.

Look at what he says:

“Manipulating them with fear and guilt.”

“Passion…twisted into legalism.”

“Follow the leader’s vision exclusively.”

“View other groups with disdain.”

“Marking and shaming people who do not conform.”

I lived this.

And there is something else that I think is important about this post.

Tactics titled it The Dark Side and included a Star Wars video showing the struggle between light and darkness. Star Wars is a movie, not Scripture, but I think the illustration is useful here because it shows how easily someone can move from one side to the other.

People don’t necessarily walk into a church intending to become self-righteous, judgmental, legalistic, or controlled by a man.

They may walk in wanting God.

They may want truth.

They may want to serve Jesus.

They may sincerely believe they are in a place where they will grow closer to Him.

I know because I was one of them.

And over time, I became self-righteous and judgmental while believing I was simply obeying God’s Word.

That is something I have had to acknowledge about myself.

But I also need to explain something that I did not fully understand then.

Why were we looking at other people in the first place?

Because that is what we were being taught to do.

Bob Scott taught us to examine other Christians, other churches, and ourselves—but we were taught to do it by the Bob Scott method, according to the standards and teachings he established.

And that created a serious problem.

We were constantly looking at others. We were constantly looking at ourselves and asking whether we measured up to what we had been taught.

But in the process, we were not examining Bob Scott himself.

We were not asking whether he was a faithful shepherd.

We were not asking whether his methods were Biblical.

We were not testing his teachings against the whole counsel of God’s Word.

And we certainly were not considering whether the man we trusted to point out the wolves might himself be acting like a wolf.

Looking back now, I can see how this contributed to my own self-righteousness and judgmentalism. I sincerely believed I was standing for truth and obeying God’s Word. But I had been trained to look through a particular lens, and that lens kept my attention focused everywhere except where it needed to be.

I was looking at others. I was looking at myself. But I wasn’t looking at Bob Scott.

That is a very dangerous place to be.

A shepherd should never be above examination. No pastor, teacher, or spiritual leader should be so highly regarded that his character, his methods, and his teaching cannot be tested against Scripture.

And this is where I believe rogue leaders who misuse spiritual authority are so dangerous.

A good church is not the problem.

Faithful pastors who shepherd people according to God’s Word are not the problem.

The problem is when a man uses the position God has entrusted to him to control, manipulate, shame, or otherwise harm the people he is supposed to shepherd.

Darkness doesn’t always look like darkness.

Sometimes it looks religious.

Sometimes it sounds like obedience.

Sometimes Scripture is used.

And sometimes sincere people can become convinced that what they are doing is pleasing God when it is actually taking them farther away from Him.

Jesus warned us about this:

“Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.”
— Luke 11:35

That is a warning every one of us needs to take seriously.

I certainly do.

Because none of us should assume that simply because we believe we are standing for truth, everything we are doing is necessarily pleasing to God.

We need to allow God to examine us.

We need to examine what we have been taught.

And we need to be willing to ask hard questions—even about the people we trust.

No man should ever become so important to us that we stop testing what he says against the Word of God.

That brings me back to the closing words of the Tactics post:

“Somebody other than you has worthwhile things to say Pastor. It is all about the Light exposing the Dark. Good deeds versus evil deeds. Repent or you will be consumed by the dark side. Repent today.”

Yes.

Repentance matters.

And Bob Scott, that call is for you, too.

You cannot continually call other people to repent while refusing to examine yourself.

If you have harmed people through fear, guilt, shame, manipulation, legalism, or spiritual control, then you need to repent before God and before those you have harmed.

The pastor is not above the Word of God.

The pastor is not above correction.

And the pastor is not above repentance.

Scripture says:

“Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.”
— Luke 12:3

That is a sobering Word.

And it is one reason I continue to write these commentaries.

I also want to say something plainly to anyone reading this who may be considering attending Calvary Temple:

Please do not walk through those doors unsuspecting.

I would not encourage you to attend Calvary Temple or any of their satellite churches.

I know what it is like to walk through those doors wanting God and wanting truth. I know what it is like to believe you have found a place where you can grow in your faith.

And I know what happened to me.

I don’t want someone else to walk into that environment without knowing what I believe they may encounter.

This isn’t about keeping someone from Jesus.

It is about pointing people to Him.

Our answer is not found in following a man.

Our answer is found in following Christ.

John tells us:

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
— 1 John 1:7

So yes, repentance is a call for all of us.

But Bob Scott, that call includes you.

Humble yourself before God. Examine yourself in the Light of His Word. Bow the knee. And true repentance will include admitting what you have done, acknowledging those you have harmed, and asking them for forgiveness.

And for all of us, including me:

Keep your eyes on Jesus.

Don’t put your trust in a man.

Don’t confuse control with spiritual authority.

Don’t confuse legalism with holiness.

Don’t confuse fear with the fear of the Lord.

And don’t allow anyone to become the mediator between you and Jesus Christ.

Walk in the Light.

Not the light of a pastor.

Not the light of a church.

Not the light of a man’s vision.

The Light of Jesus Christ.