Preacher to Preacher: Politics vs. Church

By Bishop John J. Aguilar

When you look up the word politics in a dictionary, the definition states that politics is: The activities associated with the governance of a country. As for the definition of Politician, it is defined as a person who is professionally involved in politics, a person who acts in a manipulative and devious way typically to gain advancement.

Understanding these definitions, one can see in our society today politics are everywhere. In every system that has leadership or a governing body and even in the church you will find politics.

In corporate business today, many learn to play the game called “politics” and climb the corporate ladder, which means recognition, promotion, more money... success. In this process one becomes manipulative and devious for selfish gain and advancement. It becomes a way of life that has infiltrated every other area of our life, even the Church.

This way of life, “politics”, as it has contributed to the destruction and moral decay of our government, in the same manner has contributed to the destruction of the moral fiber of the Church today. Many members of churches today operate in this same worldly way. In the “church world” today you can find: members bucking for a positions or titles, deacons or board members seeking power and control, along with pastors being more concerned about their reputation, building their own kingdom, becoming the next mega ministry, and dressing the part of success.

It has been said, “No bad students, just bad teachers”. The problem is the years ago the students became bad teachers and raised up more students who became bad teachers... this is how our Pastors have become Politicians and why Politicians make the best Pastors. Unless this changes, our up and coming ministers who are called of God, may start as a pastor but end up a politician. God help us.

Consider this, over the last fifty or more years, the Politicians who won elections where the ones who: appeared to be for the people, who said what the people wanted to hear, delivering speeches that where moving and persuasive, promising a better life, making you believe they were all about you and when they were elected to office they continued to smooth talk their way into second term of office.

More often than not, over the last fifty years, the reality of life proved to us that many of the men we voted into office were true politicians, manipulating and devious. Today, America is paying the price with unspeakable amount of moral decay and financial debt.

Can you see... this same history can be said about the Church today.

Pastor’s taking the methods, politics and business practices of the world and using them in the church today. Marketing and operating the Church as a business which grades success by: how many filled the church on Sunday, bigger buildings, self promoting events and how much money they can raise in an offering. All the while, hiding behind terms like “Reaching the World with the Gospel”, “Spirit of Excellent” or “Christianity in the Market Place”, when in reality they spend more time, energy and money on themselves. Millions are spent on land, building, programs, transportation, so they can supposable do what God called them to do. Before they realize it, they have set themselves up “as god” to do the work of God.

At this point the operation of the Church has become a beast that is always hungry and has to be fed. It takes thousands of dollars every month to pay for these big buildings, transportation, programs, not to mention salaries of the pastor and the staff. Now every Sunday becomes a “production” and a push to fill the seats rather than seek and save the lost.

Now the church has become and organization and not the organism that God intended. Now the pastor must rub shoulders with the right people in town. He now has to seek favor of city officials, have dinner with the right circles of power and in some cases even run for city office. Pride has taken over and now it is all about prestige, self appointed titles, reputations, material things and mo money, mo money, mo money.

During the same time, they come up with other meetings and events during the week that is disgust as something for the people, but really just another opportunity to raise another offering in the name of God, to be spent on more efforts to build ones own kingdom rather than the kingdom of God.

We can see this today by the topic of what ministers preach about nationwide. Haven’t you notices: so many preachers today preach about breakthrough, getting your blessings, going to the next level, becoming wealthy, breaking the spirit of poverty, being the head and not the tail... then these sermons will often end with an “opportunity for you to be blessed” by giving in the offering.

Just as in corporate sales, when a sales person does everything to get the most out of a sale, not leaving any money on the table... we now have similar techniques and gimmicks, saying and doing things that manipulate people into giving whatever is in their pocket to placing their gift on a credit card and going in debt for a blessing. There is a beast to be fed.

Side note: If you know a preacher like that, call him to repentance, if he won’t repent, find a new preacher, if he is running for public office in your city, hear from God before you vote him in, because he will do no better in public office then he did as a minister. If there was no accountability in the Church, how can we expect it in public office.

Whatever happened to ministers who would surrender everything for the gospel sake. Ministers who would make great sacrifices to serve others. Today, about the only time you hear preachers preach about surrender, sacrifice or even serving is when they want you to surrender all your cash in the offering, sacrifice by giving your rent money as a seed and serving as long as it is for their ministry, don’t help any other ministry or you will be deemed un-loyal.

Can you see how Preachers, Pastor’s and Ministers have lost their credibility in society today, because they have become Politicians. Many Pastors have started out right but too often, somewhere along life’s road they change from Pastor to Politician. A Politician is blind to who he really is, in some cases, he may not mean to be manipulative and devious, but he has fallen into deception. The beauty about deception is that you do not know that you are being deceived. Likewise a Minister can really believe that he is doing everything for the sake of the Kingdom of God, but actually he has become a politician and cannot see himself for he has fallen into deception.

There was a time in this country when Pastor’s, Ministers were held in high esteem for their high calling, but those pastors were of a different time and philosophy. In times past God would call a man to the ministry and he would give up all to follow that call. As they began, more often than not, they would meet in a home, garage, or any available room. He would preach to his family and often to empty chairs.

For years he would see no salary, no pastor’s appreciation, no special offerings, just more expense as he would make sacrifices in his own life and family, taking from his own table to provide for the ministry. He would not preach with a purpose to fill the Church or its chairs, he would preach for the purpose of seeking to save the lost.

Where are these Pastors! Pastor’s who seek no reputation... who seek no public position of office... who will surrender all... live a life of sacrifice... becoming a true servant of God, serving the people of God... Whatever happened to “the greatest among you will be the servant of all”.

God’s Church deserves Pastor’s not Politicians, you cannot devote your life to both. A politician has to “survive” so he cannot help but become manipulative and devious in the end. We should be more like the apostle Paul. He did not have to survive. He was stoned, beaten, shipwrecked, persecuted, but his message was the same. He did not have television, radio, internet, PowerPoint, live bands... all he had was the Holy Spirit and the Word of God and he preached Christ and Him crucified and along with others like him... turned the world upside down.

We live in a time where people will make commitments but not keep them. There is a difference in the act of making a commitment and surrendering. When we make a commitment, we are still in charge and can decide not to keep that commitment, but when we surrender we give up our choice to choose. Now God is in full control. The apostle Paul did not make a “commitment to Jesus” that he would choose to break later... he surrendered his whole life, becoming a slave to Christ, bought with a price, he was not his own. He made great sacrifices to serve God and others and in this last day in which we live, God is looking for ministers who would do no less.

There is no room in the Church for Politics or Politicians. It is time we as a Church (people of God) examine ourselves. Would you let an auto mechanic who does surgeries on the side, do a triple bypass on your heart? No, that would be crazy, you would want a heart surgeon who has devoted his entire life to the profession, why would you want anything less. In the same manner, why would you let a Minister who is more devoted pleasing everyone, always preaching money and spending more time, programs, events and money on building his own empire then on seeking and saving the lost... be the pastor, guarding of your soul.

Politics and Ministry does not mix. If you’re going to be a Minister of the Gospel, follow Paul’s example and give it all... there is no room for being a politician. Since there are “no bad students, just bad teachers” and since “where the head goes, the body follows”... I call all who are engaged in the five fold ministry: Apostles, Prophets Evangelist, Pastors, Teachers and any other person who holds a position of leadership in the Church to repentance. Let us examine ourselves and see if we be in the faith.

Printed in the November 8th Spirit Paper, Pooler, Georgia