I, Shelby Hughes, would never want to cause discord among the church. Speaking the truth is not what causes discord. God is not the author of confusion and I believe Jesus when He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6
So I will now be honest with you even if I'm swimming upstream against the crowd based on recent experience. I will not, out of love and compassion, name a specific place, for it's not only one place I speak of anyway.
1. If your pastor does not believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross as fully God and fully man, he's not preaching the same Jesus represented in the Bible. If you don't know what he believes when it comes to Christ on the cross, ask him. Ask questions even if you think you know what his response would be.
2. If your pastor believes the believer has authority to claim financial blessings and health, that sounds well and good and super exciting, but it's not biblical no matter how much he tries to reinforce the belief.
3. If your pastor says we are "little gods," we're not.
4. If your pastor tells the congregation to pray for someone's healing and that person is miraculously healed, but then the pastor backpedals and says in so many words that it wasn't actually a miracle, this may be a dead church as Jesus spoke of in Revelation. Pay attention.
5. If your pastor or church doesn't allow the body of Christ to be the body of Christ for whatever reason and/or doesn't allow for any of the gifts of the Spirit especially over the course of many, many years as defined in 1 Corinthians 12, find another church. (Sometimes it's not the pastor as much as it is the church operating as an organization instead of a church.)
6. If your pastor isn't doing ministry within the walls of his/her own home, that's problematic. As a friend said recently, your own home comes first. Get your home in order.
As a pastor's daughter, I understand that pastors are only human; however, pastors have a HUGE responsibility within the church to lead others and should be held to a standard. That standard should be this: "preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." 2 Timothy 4:2
All who are believers, in some way or another, have a role to play when it comes to preaching the word. While I am not a pastor, and while the title "pastor's daughter" does nothing when it comes to my salvation and my faith, I believe it is my responsibility and privilege to use this God-given gift of discernment as a ready scribe who isn't going to be silent so that the church or pastors can stay comfortable. There are times when we need to be quiet and pray. There are times when we need to speak up. As much as I'd rather stay quiet, I'm called to speak through the written word after many months of prayer. Humbly, I ask you to consider what I'm saying, not as someone who has it all together or has it figured out, but as someone who is sensitive to matters of the heart, who cares about the church, and who loves even when it hurts.
Every day that goes by is one day closer to Christ's return. I don't know everything. I'm just a sheep listening to her Shepherd's voice and I want you to be next to me as we journey along.
Sincerely,
Shelby L. Hughes
