The Courts of the Church, the Courts of the Church, the Courts of the Church

The Courts of the Church, the Courts of the Church, the Courts of the Church

Why this title? Did I hit a special repeat bar on my computer keyboard? No, it was my emphasis. Rather, this repeat shows my emphasis and my sorrow that much of today’s Church does not understand, embrace, or establish the courts of the Church. I use the term “church” to include Messianic Jewish congregations, but I use the term because I am speaking to the larger Body of the Messiah. Proverbs 119:136 says, “Stream of water runs down from my eyes because they do not observe your Torah.”

The Torah provides us with a constitution for ancient Israel and principles for all societies. Fair and true courts to adjudicate disputes were foundational to ancient Israel. There was no distinction between religious courts and civil courts. It was one body politic and one court system for all important issues. In the Roman period, Jewish courts were limited and could no longer exact the death penalty. There were categories that could be heard in the religious courts (divorce and remarriage, inheritance, heresy, etc.) and categories that had to be dealt with in Roman civil courts, such as all capital crimes. Jewish courts were still very important, and Yeshua taught that the scribes and Pharisees of the synagogue were a legitimate court sitting in the seat of Moses. The elders of the gate formed Israel’s ancient local judiciary, and then there was appeal to the high priesthood in Jerusalem or their supreme court. In New Testament times, the high court was the Sanhedrin, but courts of the synagogues replaced the elders of the gate. Here are just some of the texts that speak to the issue of courts. You can read as many as you desire.

Bible Justice Texts

You are to do no injustice In judgment. You are not to be partial toward the poor nor show favoritism toward the great, but you are to judge your neighbor with fairness. Lev. 19:15

Deut. 1:16, 17. I commanded your judges at that time, saying ‘hear cases between your brothers and judge fairly between a man and his brother and the outsider with him. You must not show partiality in judgment—you must hear the small and the great alike. Fear no man for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me and I will hear it.

Deut. 17:6. By the mouth of two or three witnesses, the one who is to die is to be put to death. No one is to be put to death by the word of one witness.

Deut. 17:8 Suppose a case is too hard for you to judge, – – over bloodshed, legal claims or assault, matters of controversy within your gates. Then you should go up to the place Adonai your God chooses and come to the Levitical kohanim and the judge in charge at that time.

V.10. “You are to act according to the sentence they tell you from that place Adonai chooses and take care to do all that they instruct you. . . You must not turn aside from the sentence they tell you, to the right or the left. The man who acts presumptuously by not listening to the kohen who stands to serve there before Adonai hour God, or to the judge, that man must die.

Ex. 23. 2, 3. Do not spread a false report. Do not join hands with the wicked by becoming a malicious witness. Do not follow a crowd to do evil. Nor are you to testify in a case, to follow a crowd and pervert justice. On the other hand, nor should you take sides with a poor man in his case.

Deut. 19: 15-21. A single witness shall not rise up; against a person for any offense or sin that he commits. By the word of two or three witnesses is a case to be established. Suppose a hostile witness rises up against someone to accuse him of wrongdoing. Then both people who have the dispute will stand before ADOANI, before the kohanim and judges in charge at that time. The judges are to investigate thoroughly, and if indeed the witness is a false witness and has testified falsely against his brother, then you are do to do him just as he had plotted to do to his brother. So, you will purge the evil from your midst. Those who remain will hear and be afraid, and they will no longer do such an evil thing as this.”

Deut. 25:1 Suppose there is a dispute between people, and they approach the court, the judges hear their case and declare one righteous and the other guilty. You are to justify the righteous and condemn the wicked

Proverbs 18:17 The first to present his case seems right until another comes and cross examines him.

The context for the warning against gossip is to spread accusations and judgments, destroying reputations, and not having recourse to the courts to settle disputes. “You are not to go up and down as a talebearer among your people. You are not to endanger the life of your neighbor. I am Adonai.” Lev. 19:16. Note that the Torah presents mobs agreeing on false testimony together and this is strictly forbidden.

Roman law sometimes was right in its standards for justice and is commended. Festus says, “It is not Roman practice to turn over anyone before the accused meets his accusers face to face and has opportunity to make his defense concerning the charges.” Acts 25:16

Parallel to this is the statement of Nicodemus, “Our Torah doesn’t judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he’s doing.

The New Covenant Scriptures present the same orientation to courts, but now they are the courts of the Church. Few realize the context of Matthew 16 where Peter is given the keys. The keys of the Kingdom is the right of judicial decision making. Binding and loosing in Matthew 18 is judicial language. The court binds or forbids and disciplines or looses from penalty. In these two texts, Yeshua is transferring judicial authority from the synagogues and the Sanhedrin to the Apostles and the elders that will be appointed after them.

In the epistles of the New Testament, we see this judicial principle. When elders are appointed, it is understood that they have a foundational judicial function. By the early second century each city had its elders of the city that functioned with a head elder (bishop) as the court of the city for believers.

Ecclesial Courts

While there were different forms in Church history, ecclesial courts were universal in Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant associations. In the early second century the courts were under the Presbytery of the elders of the city and the bishop. The level of authority between these ecclesial courts and the civil courts varied over the centuries, but in the democratic West the distinction because quite defined. Ecclesial courts had authority over morals and doctrine. They could not weld the sword but could ex-communicate. They could remove from Church leadership and enforce penalties and standards for restoration and inclusion. Crimes were punished by the civil courts. This leaves a large area for church courts. The synagogue maintained the Rabbinic courts or the system of bet din.

As we read in Deut. 25:1, those with a serous dispute were to approach the court and have the dispute settled in the court. The court was to be revered and not reversed by public rebellion. The same standard is presented in I Cor. 6.1-8 where we are told to settle disputes in the community and to choose judges (this would normally be elders) to hear the dispute so that civil courts in non-capital cases would not need to be involved.

I was ordained in the Presbyterian Church over 50 years ago. I was so deeply moved and inspired by the righteous application of these texts. Every local congregation had is eldership that formed a court. Then there was an appeal court in the elders of the city (the Presbytery), and another level of appeal in the Synod (regional representation body) and finally an appeal to the national Permanent Judicial Commission of the General Assembly. We had to learn the judicial processes of the Church for our ordination. When I was elected President of the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations in 1979, we established that every local eldership was a court for the congregation but there was an appeal to the Judicial Board of the UMJC. As in civil courts, appeal courts decide if there is sufficient grounds for them to hear an appeal.

The Present Chaos

Having abandoned the courts of the Church, especially in independent churches, what do we have? A mess, chaos. There is divorce and remarriage without elders issuing certificates on the grounds for divorce and the right to remarry. One case in Israel involved a former leader who was living with his future second wife before his divorce went through. There was no determination of the legitimacy of his divorce. Now he has divorced the second wife and is in his third marriage “Tell it not in Gath.” Another leader has had a problem with multiple adulteries but is still invited to teach. Another who is very prominent in media teaching is divorced but no determination was made on the legitimacy of his divorce.

Social Media Prosecutions

Finally, we have the huge problem of social media prosecutions. This is a problem for all accusations of gross sin for which there is no civil law violation. The problem is especially bad for accusations of sexual abuse. One is declared a victim prejudging the case, who should be called the accuser. The “Me Too” movement in the secular world now is rampant in the Church, and we are told like in the secular world of a few years back to believe all women. It is true that the overwhelming percent of women who accuse men of abuse are telling the truth, but the Bible says we are not to favor the poor in judgment, and the one claiming abuse may well look like the poor one. But we are not to favor the rich or the poor. And for those who are innocent, it is a terrible advice to believe all women. And we know of cases where false accusation of abuse were made as way of revenge. Media prosecution is bad for the abused who are telling the truth and for the abuser because without witnesses and cross examination, we can never be sure. So, a cloud hangs over both.

We have seen the media prosecution of innocent people. Think of the Duke Lacrosse players that were found innocent or Supreme Court Justice Judge Kavanaugh. What can look so true in social media presentations is later found to be false. But meanwhile reputation are ruined.

But there is another side. The accused can be viscous in response and in some cases the accused has presented testimony on social media to discredit the accuser. A social media battle takes place. Without the courts of the Church, we only have a handful of sand that slips through our fingers. In addition, if there is to be an investigation, it should be subject to the elders’ court to weigh it. The investigator is not the judge but rather the court judges. This is another mistake some make..

Appealing to the Courts

When there is a serious dispute and serious accusations, it is crucial to have recourse to the court. It is best if the people are in an association or denomination that has such courts in place. But if not, a court can be assembled of quality people. For claims of sexual abuse there needs to be an advocate to protect the accuser for it can be traumatic for her to face an abuser. Going privately according to Matthew 18 does not apply in abuse cases. Rather, it has to be brought immediately to elders or in some cases to civil authority (Rape, pedophilia). When a head leader of a congregation or ministry is accused of gross sin, it is too difficult for local elders to handle and such accusations should be handled in a higher court of appeal in the Church (or in civil court if the crime is as stated above).

We are now especially seeing a terrible destruction through media prosecutions of for sexual abuse. We cannot just believe all women, but we have brought shame and injustice on ourselves because we do not insist always that we handle such things in the courts, crimes in the civil courts and all other serious allegations in the courts of the Church. Social media prosecution is sin, the sins of gossip and slander even if the accusations are true. Social media should be limited to naming the accusation and calling for a fair court either in civil or ecclesial authority. This is only when no fair court is offered.

Authority to make the Judicial Determination

The authority to bind and loose, to make the judicial determination, is in the eldership court and once their job is done, their decisions are to be respected. As Torah teaches, there is to be reverence for the court unless there is proof of terrible corruption, bribery etc. The fear of God is connected to the proper fear of his courts.

My book Due Process provides more information

Toward Jerusalem Council II, Daniel Juster

For 30 years, I have been involved in a project, Toward Jerusalem Council II. This was a vision given to Messianic Jewish Rabbi Marty Waldman. The original vision was to gather the leaders of all large denominations and streams of the Body of the Messiah in Jerusalem, to have a council parallel to the Acts 15 council that embraced Gentiles in the Body without their becoming Jews or living a Jewish way of life. The Church of later centuries, largely Gentile, declared that maintaining Jewish life and identity in Yeshua was heresy. The Church had largely embraced replacement theology, that the Church had replaced Israel as God’s elect, and ethnic Jewish people were no longer elect.

Marty’s original vision embraced the importance of official declarations on the continued election of Israel and the importance of the restoration of Messianic Jews as the saved remnant of Israel, as the Jewish members of the Body of the Messiah. To see the importance of this vision, it is crucial not to think in merely empirical, pragmatic ways. Rather, we have to see that the right orientation here is a key to the unity for which Yeshua prayed in John 17:21, that we may be one that the world might believe. The split between the Messianic Jewish communities of the early centuries of this era and the rest of the Church was the beginning of splits, and spiritually, this is the root. To see the completion of God’s work, this split has to be healed. This opens the heavens and will bring new power and revival.

God prepared me to be one of the founding leaders of this effort with John Dawson, the later President of Youth with a Mission, and Fr. Dr. Peter Hocken, who had similar insights about healing this split. We met together in Dallas 29 years ago. We received the wise counsel that we cannot officially call together a council, but can seek to motivate those in official authority in the churches to do so. We thus became Toward Jerusalem Council II.

Since that time, we have traveled on prayer journeys and diplomatic journeys to so many places. I have been to many countries in Europe, South America, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Finally, after 29 years, we have a summit in Jerusalem planned for this October on the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. Leaders will be coming from all over the world, from every continent. Last week, our Executive Committee planned this convocation for 400 to 500 people. We see momentum building and a path for more and more senior leaders to embrace this vision.

Our personal ministry has financed much of my involvement in this: flights, hotels, communication, and so much more, first under the name Tikkun International and today under Restoration From Zion. Imagine the unity of the Church rightly connected to its Jewish roots, to the Jewish people/Israel, and rightly in unity with the Messianic Jewish community. This is hope and quest. We are closer to the goal of the Council than ever before.

To stay up to date about how God is moving through Restoration from Zion, sign-up for our newsletter here.

Positioning Ourselves: Compassion and Social Justice

Followers of Yeshua

The credibility of the leaders of the Body of Believers to speak on social and political issues is greatly compromised if they do not demonstrate the passion of Yeshua in identification and ministry with the poor and marginalized in society.

Yeshua began his ministry quoting from Isaiah saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

This text anticipates the emphasis of the ministry of Yeshua and is in accord with the emphasis of the prophets. When this is rightly our emphasis, we can expect the greatest manifestations of the Spirit in signs and wonders confirming the Gospel. Roland and Heidi Baker in Mozambique is one of our greatest examples of this today.

Some, however, seem to say that Yeshua’s followers should not speak out on other social issues but that demonstrating love is the only legitimate endeavor. However, as I argued in my book Social Justice, we are to seek justice motivated by love. I defined love as, “Passionate identification that seeks the good of others guided by the Law of God.” The good of others is defined as the fulfillment of their good destiny which is God’s will for their lives. Justice in a society is joined to love as an order of righteousness where the greatest number can fulfill their God-intended destiny.

Speaking out on social and political issues and acting to influence policy is to be motivated by love as well. We seek to see a policy that is in accord with the Law of God rightly applied. This does not mean imposing our will on a majority of unwilling people but over time by evangelism and dialogue, the public will be persuaded toward the Law of God as the most loving and just order for human beings. Here are some examples of our day.

We need to respond to the LGBTQ movement and transgenderism. This does not mean that we present ourselves against LGBTQ people who are free as adults to choose the life they prefer. We should not position ourselves to be against the people but must project love for them. However, it is not loving to allow our children to be in schools that indoctrinate them though pro-LGBTQ lessons in elementary school (or other grades as well), or to have drag queen story hours to influence children toward lifestyles that will injure them. And it is wrong to take children from parents who do not affirm their gender confusion. A loving and just order will not be fostering such lifestyles in our education system.
Following #1, we need to prevent the dangers of drugs and surgery for minors for gender change which can leave them maimed for live. We do not know what they will desire as adults. This can irreversibly ruin their lives. The scientific evidence is against this practice. It is loving and just to prevent the transitioning of children in this way.
We need to foster school choice and finance it since it is not loving to keep children in failing school and especially poor children. This is the loving and just thing to do. The great thinker and Dutch Prime Minister, Abraham Kuyper over 100 years ago, argued that it is not just to have children educated in a context that was contrary to the world view of the parents.
We should seek to foster policy that ends the teaching of and fostering of the neo-Marxist diversity, equality and inclusion programs based in Critical Race Theory. It is contrary to the dignity of all people created in God’s image. This includes training for all ages where white people have to condemn themselves for white privilege. This is contrary to the equal worth of all human beings. It fosters false guilt. However, we need to foster a DEI based on biblical values where we work to see every ethnic and social group advance by committing to education, tutoring and financing so all can get ahead and qualify by merit and but not quotas. In this we must oppose all racism. This is the loving and just thing to do.
We need to stop drug and human trafficking. This means controlling the borders of a nation and vetting who comes in. It means going strongly after criminals, cartels and countries that send drugs and the ingredients to make fentanyl. This is killing many people, especially young people. This is loving and just.
We need to see violent criminals taken off the streets and find ways to rehabilitate non violent criminals. We should not think that prison is the answer for non violent criminals. This is the standard of Torah. It is loving and just, for we are to see that we foster policies that protects people.
We need to witness against abortion. Proverbs says to “Rescue those being led away to death.” Does this apply to the unborn? Yes. It is bad for the mother and a terrible injustice. It is the loving thing to do, to witness, teach, proclaim and to persuade the public so there is a change of heart.
We should stand with Israel and against Islamic Fascism. that seeks to destroy Israel. Israel is a key to world redemption and elect of God. We must stand against this version of antisemitism. We are clearly told of Israel’s destiny in the Bible and for the sake of the whole world, blessing Israel is very important. We are to stand with Israel against her enemies and right now that is Iran and its proxies. It may someday be Turkey. In this we are to stand against the pro Hamas protest in universities and cities. This is the loving and just thing to do.
For the sake of all people we must oppose Islamic Fascism that seeks to impose the Islamic dictatorship on all people with its consequent loss of the dignity of people. This violent movement now spreads all over the world and for loves sake it must be opposed.

Most Christians have voted for Donald Trump because on some or most of these policies, they believed he was the only choice for these policies that the U. S. political system offered. There were credible prophecies on his election years before he was even being though of as a candidate. Then so called prophets jumped on the band wagon. I know that some struggle with his behavioral patterns. But in the light of these 9 issues, was there an alternative if we would foster love and justice. Some thought it was the most loving and just thing that could be done under the circumstances. Now we find that our government agencies in the past administration implemented policies internationally against all 8 of these example. Yes, I like to see character, personality and policy match, but when the issues are life and death as they are, I go for whoever will advance the policies.

Palestinianism: An Ideology of Erasure

I was very impressed by an article on Einat Wilf by Herb Kenon, the frequent columnist in the Jerusalem Post. Wilf had been a higher up in the government of Ehud Barak when he sought to bring about a two-state solution with Yasir Arafat with Bill Clinton mediating. Clinton famously said to Arafat that he made him a failure. After this, Arafat called for violent terrorism against Israel in an intifada. Then there was the offer of Olmert, such a generous offer that many were both upset and amazed. Yet Mahmud Abbas refused it. Wilf was on the inside of negotiations on the Barak team and followed closely with the Olmert offer. She also was a keen observer of the results of the withdrawal from Gaza and rather than choose freedom, Gaza was turned into an armed fortress involving almost the whole of the civilian population areas. This was before the Olmert offer. Sharon, the Prime Minister who withdrew from Gaza had died. Now Olmert the withdrawal would motivate Abbas for a peace agreement. He walked away.

Though it was hard for her, she came to the conclusion that the Palestinians do not want a state under any two-state formula but that this is only put forward as propaganda for the world. What they want is one thing, the elimination of Israel. As part of this, she chides both Bibi Netanyahu and Joe Biden for saying that their war was not against the Palestinians but against Hamas. She believes that this is delusional because the Gazans and most of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) choose Hamas and are also dedicated to the elimination of Israel. She calls this Palestinianism an ideology of the necessity of the erasure of Israel. Israel must not be allowed to exist as a nation-state on any part of the Land. (“From the River to the Sea” as the chant goes.”) Only by facing that we are at war with the Palestinians who support Hamas can we begin to face that only overcoming this ideology will bring victory, and fighting the war does mean a more realistic view of the task. I think that it requires an occupation and reeducation, if not by Israel then by other nations together who would be committed to re-education. David Biven, the Foreign Secretary at the end of the British mandate described the problem,

“His Majesty’s Government have thus been faced with an irreconcilable conflict of principles. For the Jews, the essential point of principle is the creation of a sovereign Jewish state. For the Arabs, the essential point of principle is to resist to the last the establishment of Jewish sovereignty in any part of Palestine.”

It was and so it continues. She even speaks of dialogue with moderate Palestinians who deny that Israel is a people but claim it is a religion and has no right to a state. Of course, Israel is a people with even a very strong genetic unity.

Wilf also presents other very important insights. She describes the antisemitism behind the anti-Israel orientation of the nations. Whatever the problem the world faces, somehow the Jews plug into the equation as foundational to the problem. She notes the words as placards, colonialism, racism, apartheid, imperialism or white supremacy. I add communism (Marx was a Jew). Somehow the Jews are responsible in every case. This is astonishing but is historically true. Whatever the evil is in the discourse of the time the world would be better off without the collective Jew. This is astonishing. Nothing has to be based on real truth or analysis but the propaganda of media reigns. Constant repetition of the lies establish the lies in the mindset of a population. It will require a massive effort to counter this.

For Wilf this is just the way history has developed. However, for those who believe the Bible, this no accident of history. Rather it is a manifestation of dark demonic evil and the opposition to Jewish destiny. That destiny is to be an instrument of the redemption of the World and the return of Yeshua. The Jewish people/Israel are a great proof of the truth of the Bible and all the powers of evil have to oppose the Jewish people, God’s living apologetic for the truth.

Near Death Experiences or Death and Resurrection Experiences

I was taking the plane back from London after a week in Wales to teach at the Bible College of Wales. I decided to take a break from work, in this case, writing my memoirs during the flight. A 2010 movie entitled Hereafter pricked my interest. It was about a woman who had a near-death experience during the tsunami in Thailand. It was also about the paranormal ability of the character played by Matt Damon, who was able to provide amazing information similar to what charismatics would call a “word of knowledge” prophecy. However, he was also a channel for those who died whose loved ones sought contact.

The film was a Clint Eastwood film with the screenplay by Peter Morgan and the executive producer Steven Spielberg. That is quite a team.

One scene was very impacting when the survivor of the tsunami speaks to a scientist who assures her that the evidence from near-death experiences is conclusive and proves that the soul survives the body. I agree with that statement. Materialists/Physicalists are not able to explain the experiences that are so similar where the person leaves the body and accurately describes everything that happens to them in the emergency room, in the operating room, the sequence of interventions, and then leaving the hospital often for a visit to the beyond, whether literally or in part in God-given visions. When a person has been completely out in heart and brain death for a significant period, I call the awakening a death and resurrection experience.

The great book on this that I have reviewed before is by John Burke, Imagine Heaven. He presents the evidence but with a solid biblical and theological framework. The problem with this film is that the theology is not good. It combines paranormal occult ability as showing the same evidence, that there is an afterlife. It does show that there are shysters. One reading from a medium is totally off. But the Matt Damon character is presented as being very accurate. Demon hates having the gift and sees it more as a curse than a blessing and draws too many people to him. It is a responsibility he does not want.

The interesting thing is not that the movie presents accurate theology. Rather it shows that the materialist/physicalist approach to reality is breaking down and people are realizing that there is more. The boyfriend of the tsunami survivor asserts that when you are dead, the lights go out and there is nothing. She does not agree and her own NDE was too compelling for her to accept his atheism. So, while we may take issue with the embrace of both NDEs and the occult, we can see an opening to share the Gospel. This can be a real bridge to present the truth as in the John Burke book.

Passages on Israel’s Restoration to the Land

In December, I engaged in a debate at Wheaton College with a professor who supports replacement theology regarding the Jewish people. We maintained a friendly tone. However, I do think my position came out stronger. Why? The biblical passages on the election of Israel (Romans 9:1-5, 11:11-16 and 25-29) are so clear and strong that the Catholic Church affirms the election of Israel. (Catechism, paragraph 674). Then there are all the passages on the promise of the Land to the Jewish people. I only used some of these in the debate. When the famed and prominent Old Testament professor and President of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, Walter Kaiser, spoke in Israel and then in Korea for us, he made the statement that there are six million reasons to affirm the restoration to the Land. He was saying that every Jewish person living in Israel (six million and now pushing seven million) is proof. For your blessing, I list 18 passages on Israel’s restoration to the Land for your study. There are more than these. Of course, I only used a few of these in the debate, but they were clear enough. I am amazed at how people seek to explain away these passages. They just can not read the Bible in context and believe what it says.

In historical chronological order.

Genesis 12:1-3, 15:7 ff., 17:8 beginning of promises of everlasting possession, 28:13 confired to Jacob

Psalm 105:8-11. The promise of the Land for 1000 generations

Joel 4: 1-6, 9-202. On regathering and final war

Amos 9:9-15 On regathering.

Isaiah 43:5, 6 On regathering

Isaiah 11:1-9 On Messiah and his judgment, last war

Isaiah 11:10-12, On regathering

Isaiah 9:5, 6, The Messiah’s birth and rule

Isaiah 43:5-7. Regathering from all four directions

Jeremiah 16:14, 15 On regathering

Jeremiah 23:3-8. On regathring, and the Messiah (the righteous branch)

Jeremiah 31 whole chatper but especially, 31-40

Jeremiah 33:10-26

Ezekiel 38. Israel regathered and last days war. Some say led by Russia, some say Turkey. This has never happened..

Ezekiel 39. A different picture of the Last War. Israel is in the Land

Zechariah 8:22,23. People of the nations turn to Jewish people

Zechariah 12:1-14. Description of fighting in last war

Zechariah 14:1-21. Another description of last war, Messiah’s feet on Mt. of Olives. Destruction of armies coming against Israel.

The Call for a Holy People, a Sexually Pure People

Leadership Failures

In recent years we have been bombarded with terrible leadership failures. Some were involved in adultery, even serial adultery. Some were found to have engaged in sexual harassment. Some are accused of grooming women much younger than them. Some have been found guilty of statutory rape. I can go on and on. How is this possible? Some led mega-churches and ministries.

We have struggled sometimes to know what to believe. Was it all the fault of the leader? However it happened, that leaders are many times more responsible for falling into sin. Was the leader the seducer (groomer is the word used today) or was the woman the seductress? Answering these questions will not solve the problem of why this happens. Prevention is the most important thing, though dealing justly and enforcing discipline is crucial. There must be just eldership courts to deal with all these matters and advocate women for the women who were abused so that they may have the strength to pursue justice and also find ministers who can provide healing ministry.

Narcissism in Leadership and the Solution

The book, The Other Half of Church, by Dr. Jim Wilder and Michael Hendricks, presents the thesis that many come into leadership due to great personal charisma but without solid character formation. Some of them are semi-narcheists with great talent who are able to build mega ministries and congregations. In such congregations and ministries, the leader becomes intimidating and cannot be questioned or challenged. He is untouchable. Two clear axioms are in order. Frist, leaders must be vetted for character and second, leaders must function in a team with a plurality of elders in mutual accountability. Eldership teams should form circles of accountability where confession of sin and prayer is paramount. The organization and movement, Life Model Works, is trying to foster this. Fostering character qualifications must deal with the quality of marriage and family and deal with any narcissistic tendencies due to upbringing and roots. It used to be said that psychiatrists should undergo a psychiatric analysis before they were allowed to practice. I wonder if all senior leaders should undergo a family systems psychological analysis and any trauma issues for healing before assuming leadership. The analysis should also vet attaining holiness in sexuality.

When I was still a young pastor, I was mentored by a senior apostle who tested potential leaders on the quality of their marriage. He especially wanted to know that the wife was really happy about being married to her husband. He could discern that.

The Ocean of Pornography Today

Today, we deal with a flood, an ocean, of easily available pornography. The worst hardcore pornograph is a click away. In the 1960s under the Keating-led commission, it was decided that viewing pornography was not dangerous. This was the early era of Playboy Magazine. One had to go to the counter of the local pharmacy to ask for a copy that was hidden behind the counter. It was wrong but mild compared to what came later. High school boys obtained the copies that their father hid under the bed, and they showed them around. The Keating group chose to see pornography as free speech, though there was no legal finding, and the Supreme Court held that material that was geared primarily to prurient interest could be banned. In Roth vs. The United States (19657) such material was declared not protected speech. But with Keating, the dye was the case nevertheless. During the administration of Ronald Reagan, the Meese Commission found pornography to be dangerous, habit-forming, and leading to destructive social behavior. They called for restrictions But the genie could not be put back in the bottle. Magazines and movies proliferated, and sections of newsstands had to be avoided. But today, the newsstands are largely free of pornography since video availability on computers has become the preferred vehicle for use. Today’s research shows pornography to be more dangerous than the Meese Commission conclusions. We now know that the use of pornography is like heroin and is addictive in the same way. It leads to two terrible results. For some, normal marital relationships and real intimacy become impossible. For others, they pursue in real life what was seen in the videos. The Western nations are pornographic societies. Advertising also sexualizes women and men, but women to a much greater degree and even young girls. I have wondered If the fall of some can be traced to pornography. We must work to see all leaders and members delivered from this plague. One should not be allowed to be a leader unless he is free of pornography.

The Example of Billy Graham

What can be done? In the late 1940s, The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association began. As they met in a hotel in Modesto, California, they shared their concerns about fallen evangelists in their day. They came up with a commitment to standards. One of them was to never be alone with a woman other than one’s spouse. The whole Billy Graham team embraced this, and it continued as they grew into a large organization. They have been scandal-free for 77 years! Billy Graham would not even enter an elevator with one woman in it. He noted that a person who wanted to hurt him could claim he had tried something in the elevator. Today, former Vice President Mike Pence is known for adopting this standard. He was criticized for this since feminists said women officials could not then meet him as an equal like the men. But Pence just held his ground and said another witness had to be in a meeting. These standards need to be passed on to our congregational members and to our youth to guard them against pre-marital sexual relationships.

When a Leader Falls

When a leader falls or is accused of sexual abuse, it is crucial that this be brought before the elders, who are the courts of a congregation. If it is a head leader, then an appeal eldership needs to be constituted because this is usually too much for a local eldership to deal fairly with their own leader. Women advocates need to be provided in every congregation to enable the accuser to have the courage to pursue the case. We must enforce standards. For a consensual fall or adultery, a serous period of counseling and help can lead to restoration (2 years). For serious abuse of younger women or minors (which requires reporting to civil authorities), the ban from leadership should be a lifetime, though restoration to fellowship is indeed possible. In a fair court of elders with advocates, the falsely accused can present his evidence as well. A small minority of false accusations of abuse do occur, but the great majority of accusations from women are true. I personally, however, have seen false accusations due to revenge for other reasons. For example, the cases where a woman was denied a promotion or her romantic pursuit was spurned. (Joseph in the Bible). I have also seen accusations from schizophrenics for things that never happened. Their imagination is a reality for them. For the sake of that small minority, the biblical standards of evidence must be followed.

The Tragedy of Today’s Church

The fact that most churches do not have good and safe processes to deal with sexual sin has led to social media prosecution and social media defense. Sometimes a reputation is wrongly destroyed by the accusers and also by the defenders. On the other hand, if there is no good and safe process, the true victims and their supporters often have no recourse but to go public to pressure all involved to seek a fair and just way forward. This empowers the victim. The fact that social media has become necessary is a stain on the Church and its lack of a way for true justice. However, if that pressure leads to a fair way forward with the courts of the Church, then social media should no longer be pursued.

Preventing Abuse

We are in a time of the publication terrible reports of abuse by church leadership, sexual abuse and other forms of leadership abuse: manipulation, domineering leadership, intimidation, control by anger etc. Of course, sexual abuse is at the top of the list in abuse in our day.

It is a good thing to see processes whereby abusers are brought to the bar and that discipline is enforced. However, many churches and ministries have no means for the pursuit of justice/discipline against abuse. However, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I will address the structures that are needed to pursue justice. I first want to speak to the ounce of prevention.

The New Covenant Scriptures give us our first prevention measure. In I Timothy 3 and Titus 1 we read of the standards for elders or overseers in the Body of the Messiah. It is of first importance that those being mentored for leadership prove that they have a happy marriage. Then that the children seem happy, secure, loved and obedient if there are children. One of my mentors some 45 years ago would say, I do not trust the husband alone to answer the question of the marriage and family. I ask the wife, “Do you love being married to this man?” Those who are raising leaders need to know the inside of the marriage and family, spend informal time with them. All of the other criteria of these passages are important: self-controlled, of good reputation, holding the teachings of our faith in solid commitment and clarity and of good reputation. However, note how this does not fit many independent churches. They are planted by someone wildly talented, an organization builder and an entertaining speaker, but often a person who is relationally challenged on a personal level and not able to attain real intimacy in marriage and friendships. I Tim. 3 and Titus 1 assume some system of vetting, in Timothy and Titus an apostolic person vets. Denominations often had such systems of vetting, but our independent churches often do not.

A healthy leader leads with a team, a plurality of leaders that have to come to unity together. It is requires coming to consensus. Of course, this was the way of doing things in the denomination in which I grew up. Plural leaders in covenant love relationships are a great preventative of abuse.

However, what about when a leader falls into sin? This leads us to the issue of structure. Usually, a local board of elders needs outside help to deal with a major fall into sin. Local elders can handle mutual correction for normal level failings. But serous sin? Not usually. Especially if there is a head leader. Every congregation and ministry should have a court of appeal in place to handle major sin issues. In addition, for sexual abuse, there needs to be an advocate system in place where women can hear the accuser and help her walk through the process of confronting the abuser and seeing that the sin is dealt with. Of course, for the abused, there must be an offer of helping pay for sexual abuse trauma healing.

Sadly, without these structures and protocols in place, people expose their accusations on social media. Then the accused does not have due process. But maybe no due process is offered. Then what? Does the accused respond on social media and have a trial by social media with the pubic as judge? Some say the great majority of such accusations are true. But even if there is a minor precent not true, only due process for all protects that minority. Think of Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh, certainly innocent. Think of the Duke Lacrosse players. If you don’t remember, do look it up on your search engine. We have to offer true justice processes to make the terrible social media pursuit unnecessary. There are other examples of revenge and false accusation. Think of the patriarch Joseph in the Bible. Social media accusations become a frenzy and sometimes ruins the reputation of the innocent.

In the wonderful book, The Other Half of Church, by Jim Wilder and Michael Hendricks, they note that much abuse comes through narcissistic talented leaders. How this is prevented is a great study, worthy of the pursuit in by all. But you can see by this why I do not believe in independent congregations but congregations in denominations and networks with courts of appeal.

We have sought to practice this for all 53 years of our ministry. In our congregations in our associations and networks these problems are very rare. We know of other healthy network where they just do not have problems of abuse.

Culture Formation and Social Media

As we come into the New Year, may we see a great cultural shift.

We have seen in the last years that when cultural influences and the culture formation elite use the levers of social media they can radically change the morals and change the direction of the culture. From abortion to critical race theology, to transgenderism, the LGBTQ agenda, to rejecting lifelong marriage is a key to society, the society changed in ways that could not have been anticipated 50 years ago. But it was rapid. A rock song in the early 60s “Band of Gold” sang of lifelong love and fidelity. Some years later the Rolling Stones sang, “Let’s spend the night together.” The people did not come against this change and condemn it. (Yes, of course, some preachers did but they were not forming the culture)

Israel, as well, has been subject to a terrible onslaught of lies in social media and fuels anti-Semitism. Lies about the war in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran have been ubiquitous.

The recent election gives hope that some of those empowering these trends have lost power, whatever people may or may not think of Donald Trump. What is needed is an army of social media influencers for conservative social values. Social media creates massive change quickly whereas flyers, tracts. and print media of yesteryear took lots of time to build support and influence. Let’s hope for an army of social media culture formation people.

And may we learn to present the Gospel in social media. Let’s promote the wonderful miracle stories of transformed lives, miracles, physical healing and so much more.

My Flight with an Israeli Jewish Atheist

On my recent flight from Israel to the United States, I sat next to an Israeli Jewish atheist who grew up on a kibbutz. As we talked about Israel, the war, and Israeli and American politics, he noted that he was planning to move with his family to the United States. His wife is a U. S. citizen. She is a medical doctor. He is in hi-tech. Why does he want to move? Because life in Israel is too expensive, and too difficult in other ways, and there is too much war and terrorism. As an Israeli, I sought to encourage him and persuade him that Israel needs him. No doubt they are a successful couple that has made it. I got the impression that he does not own his own home and being a Tel Avivian, this is unusual.

It is true that the Israel government and the developers have mismanaged real estate in Israel so there is not an adequate supply. This drives up costs and hurts young families. But education and health care are good and very inexpensive in Israel. But overall, costs are way too high.

However, I sought to share a more divine-purpose perspective. He professed his belief in evolution, and I sought to show that the naturalistic atheist version of evolution was systematically incoherent. He was not convinced but was quite indoctrinated.

A generation ago, the majority of Israelis were atheists who did want to build a model society, especially those from the kibbutz movement. However, I think my new friend proves the point that over the long haul, atheism will not sustain Israel if Israel is not elect of God and has no divine purpose for the sake of humanity, why sacrifice for Israel? Why not assimilate and escape antisemitism? Ethnic pride? When push comes to shove, either due to war or economic pressures, too many of the atheists and agnostics will abandon Israel and the Zionist vision of having our own state. This new acquaintance strongly argued for his atheism, pointing to evil and suffering to disprove the existence of a good God. He does not represent the trend in Israel today. They are discovering belief in God and even see his protection in the present war.

I noted not long ago in a Facebook post that one modern Rabbi argued that faith in God was necessary to sustain Israel. Israel will not be sustained because Israel has a great economy in the world and people can live a nice life, but Israel has a divine purpose in the world. Most Jews who now believe in God in Israel might celebrate the Feasts or have a Passover celebration but do not want to be under the yoke of Rabbinic Judaism and its focus on keeping the miniate of Rabbinic laws. Such Jews in Israel are open to reading the Bible and the promises in the prophets of our return to the Land (Isaiah 43, Jeremiah16, 23, Amos 9, Joel 3, and many more passages)

Though not yet becoming Messianic Jews are Israeli Jews coming to a faith that I have envisioned as a step in the right direction and toward Yeshua. Yes, this is right now a weak faith, and some may also embrace superstition, some aspects of Eastern religion, and some aspects of paganism, but the God that is being embraced is a personal God who effected the exodus. Could we persuade them to be Biblical Jews and be committed to believing the Bible and the Laws of God from the Torah that are applicable today without the heavy yoke of Rabbinic Judaism? Could they also read about God’s grace and forgiveness as taught in the Hebrew Bible? Could they really become Hebrew Bible Jews? Could they be interested in the teaching of Yeshua without yet fully embracing the teaching of the New Covenant Scriptures about him and his deity? Some Christians like Francis Schaeffer used to talk about pre-evangelism. I wonder if belief in God and the Hebrew Bible could be due to a move of God’s Spirit in preparing people for the Good News of Yeshua. I think Messianic Jews can have a very fruitful dialogue with the Jewish people of Israel in returning to faith in God. Sometimes our way into dialogue with secular atheist Jews is to show them the supernatural fulfillments in Israel’s regathering to the Land in our day.