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2 Peter 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

Peter warned the early believers to watch out for false teachers who were known for their own self-motivated interests. They would pervert the truth and because of their covetousness, they try to make merchandise of the sheep. To make merchandise of someone is very belittling. To use people for your own personal gain is wicked, and that is what so many false religions and false teachers do. They use God’s people in His church to finance and support their “ministries” by deceiving them and beguiling them with their new doctrines. I recently saw a flier in the mail that is advertising a prophecy conference. When I went to their website, I couldn’t find what they believed. I did some investigation and found out that the people who were involved believed in baptismal regeneration, Saturday Sabbath, and denied the eternality of hell. How did I hear about it? One of our church members alerted me and asked me to check it out.

Now, I have said all of that to apply it a little closer to home. What if you’re in a church where the leadership preaches the gospel, but they’re making merchandise of you? They use you as a means to build their agenda. It’s difficult to impossible to impugn the motives of another Christian, so let’s not try doing that. However, don’t be naive enough to think that it’s spiritual to take abuse. You may be being used and abused without really knowing it. I want to point out several characteristics of an abusive ministry:

1. Control and motivation by use of fear

The “cult” mentality that traps people in a church is the manipulation of fear. Fear of rejection by the leadership, fear of being labled or dis-fellowshipped. Fear of some judgment that God will exercise on you should you not comply with the church’s or the leaders wishes. If you are not inclined to go along with their program fully and willingly, then the use of fear may motivate you to do what they expect you to do. This motivation by fear is a control tactic.

2. Control and motivation by use of guilt

If fear dosn’t work on someone, there is always one vulnerable emotion that will: guilt. Because we are naturally at odds against God and His word, it is easy to manipulate someone’s will by making them to feel a sense of guilt if they are led to believe that by not following the leaders wishes, that the follower is somehow in transgression against God’s will. The best way to keep someone under their control in this manner is to keep them ignorant of Biblical truth. It is so easy to whip someone with scripture, when that poor, ignorant sheep doesn’t know scripture well enough to arm himself with truth and refute the leader’s abuse of the Bible. For example, one can use Acts 20:20 as a weapon against someone who has not been involved in the door to door soul winning program. The abusive leader can turn this DESCRIPTION into a PRESCRIPTION and the ignorant sheep has no knowledge to know the difference, and so under guilt he feels no choice but to either humbly submit, or rebel.

(”And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house,”)

3. Measuring worth by performance

The value that someone has to God or to the church is measured by how they perform: How many do they bring on a bus, how many hours they are out soul winning, how long they’ve been a teacher, etc. This is ungodly and worldly. Does not the world measure the value of people in their orginizations this same way? God has made it clear that we are going to bear fruit some 10-fold, some 30-fold, some 100-fold, but it’s God who brings the increase not, the fruit bearer! Because this worldly mentality is pervasive, then the next problem arises:

4. Clicks are formed

A spirit of elitism can be easily formed in a church when there is a “top performers club” formed. Of course, there won’t be an actual club, but in all practicality, that is what happens. The leaders who set a very high level of performance bestow their blessing on those who are able to meet the standard. They get invited over to eat, they get privileged status with the leaders; and all though it’s unspoken, it’s very obvious to those trying to attain that status, but just don’t quite cut it.

5. Absolute Loyalty to it’s Leader

I guess this one should have been first, because it seems to be the most obvious, but I put it last because all the other manipulations point in this direction. Jesus is not glorified, a man is glorified. I’m not saying that no one SAYS “glory to God” but the reality of it is that the leader or even his mentor is idolized and cannot be questioned. If the leader is questioned about something he has said, or how he has interpreted scripture, or an action he has taken; then any questioning of him is considered to be rebellion as if someone would question the very word of God! The leader is untouchable, and even if he is involved in something where anyone else would be looked upon as very shady, he gets a pass because of his “Man of God” status that he has built for himself among his followers.

We as pastors and church leaders must handle the sheep with care and make sure that their loyalty is first to God and His Word long before it’s ever to us. Let us lead by love and good example rather than manipulation and fear. This is how Jesus led, let us do the same.