BZZZT!!!
He is shaking the church even now--re Ted Haggard and others. All we have to do is watch it happen and pray for those men and women in power. They, as we, can be very easily deceived so we need to pray for them, not tear them down at every opportunity.
Wrong answer!
"These men" are not supposed to BE "in power"!
When you have "men in power", look out!
"Church" is NOT about "power", and "ministry" -- the word -- means to serve (as in "servant").
When you see people rising to positions of POWER -- when you see "the church" taking on the structures and characteristics of secular government, you ought to be having all kinds of red flags and alarms going off. Danger, Will Robinson!
And it's even more chilling when secular government itself embraces this kind of "ecclesiastical organization".
Birds of a feather flock together!
The ONLY thing I'm gonna pray for regarding some so-called "minister" who is "in power" is that he get tossed OUT of power -- as summarily, expeditiously. and unceremoniously as possible!
The "Body of Christ" has ONE head. And it ain't bobblin' above any Hawaiian shirt, either!
When "the church" has taken on the trappings of "the world", it ceases to be "the church".
In "the world" -- "the world system", AKA "cosmos" -- "leadership" is "power" -- and power emanates from the top down.
In the view of this system in the Book of Revelation, there's a pyramid view -- a the top, the things that are the most precious, the most valuable, the most rare -- gold, silver, precious gems -- and at the bottom, that commodity that is the most common, the least valuable, the most readily disposable -- "the souls of men", is I believe how it's termed.
In the world "stuff", and "money", and POWER are what matters, and "success" is gauged in the amount of these things one has accumulated.
In "the church", it's the opposite. An upside-down pyramid. A "leader" has the position of the least prestige, power, influence. He is a servant. What is MOST valuable is "the souls of men."
Look at the "leaders" in the New Testament -- or even the Old Testament for that matter. "Types and shadows", you know.
The "leadership type" guys were always major nightmares. Grief on wheels.
God wanted to give Israel David -- but ONLY when they kept demanding a King -- so that they could be like all the other nations of the world.
So, God tried to give them David, a man after his own heart.
Israel said screw that, we want a REAL King -- someone with prestige -- a man who stands head and shoulders above the crowd. We want Saul!
So God says, well, if I do that, your King won't do all those things you think he's gonna do. Nope. He's gonna take your sons and send them into battle to die FOR his prestige. He's gonna take what you've got, and leave yoru lives and land a ruin.
But, they insisted, so God shrugs his shoulders and says fine, have it your way.
The rest, as they say, is history.
By the way, did I mention that I'm paraphrasing??? (I know y'all can't obect to that!)
In the NT, how many "leaders" pranced about in robes, with people falling at their feet treating them as if they were Rick Warren? LOL!
We've come a wrong way, baby!
They ARE in power, in their churches and in their communities, etc. It may not be right, but that's the way it is. I am happy to let God deal with such folk. Most of us here have our own sins to deal with.