Jackie Hill once said, "what has happened to us, church? Why do we do what every person that stands behind a mic says without investigating the fruit first?" Whenever I step into a new church, I make sure to sit as close to the front as I can and I observe. I watch everyone who touches the microphone, anyone who speaks to the congregation, and anyone who comes in the name of Christ. I refuse to be swept away in the music and in the moment. As wonderful and fun as it is to let the moment take over, I make sure that the one we call Pastor/Reverend/Bishop/Etc. is someone worth following. We must not follow any voice behind the microphone. This is not out of paranoia, but out of habit of seeking out the truth of God so that I may be of better use to Him.
I told this to my friend, Juan, yesterday and he said, "so we shouldn't trust our pastor?" I said, "in a way, no. Even you should always double check me." I am not saying that every pastor is a wolf in sheep clothing, or that you should never trust the man behind the mic. What I am saying, though, is check it yourself. Church is time for gathering and learning; but why can we not learn on our own time as well? Why not go back and research what the pastor preached? It will help you remember what the pastor said, it will help you get into a habit of reaching for your Bible when you have questions, and it will get you better associated with the Bible and where things are located within it. Why not check your pastors? Is there something to fear? If you honestly believe that your Pastor will get mad at you for reviewing what He has said, you should double think your Pastor. What man of God would be mad at someone for going into the Bible and seeking truth?
It does not matter if it is a small quiet church with order. Keep your schedule and go over the verses again to make sure that they were in context. If you go to a loud church where the Pastor takes a deep breath in between every word, make sure you walk out of that church remembering what he was saying and not just how you felt. Just because you felt good and you had a moment doesn't mean the Preacher was always right. It just means that you are a human being, a creature that makes decisions based on emotions and is inclined to believe what feels right.
I challenge you, for the rest of the year, to check your church speakers. Whoever goes in front of the mic, have a pen and note pad ready to take notes; then go home and one day in the week, either with someone else or by yourself, go over the notes and read the scripture. It is a great way to make sure that what you've learned is solid and will stay in place. In college, I get a lecture for class. I do not just walk out and never think about it again. I will go back and study what I learned. What is there to fear? Check what you have learned so that you can learn it better! Check it so that you can apply it to your life! Check it so that you may have the word of God in your heart.
2 Peter 3:16 says, "... There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures." No one is perfect, no matter how holy they look. Only Christ is perfect. We do not blindly follow man, but we follow Christ and Him alone. 2 Corinthians 4:2 says, "but we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscious in the sight of God." Let the word speak for itself! There is nothing that needs to be added, for "all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching..." (2 Timothy 3:16)
If you were to go to church, clear the stage of any and all decorations, pull the plug on the music and lights, and sat alone in front of the one speaking, would you still be getting the word? Would the Teacher's teaching still be as moving? Let's be honest. No, probably not. Without the sound and lights to add to the effects and without seeing other people feel the Spirit, it will probably not be as moving. But, that is what we should strive for. "What did he really give me this morning?" "What did I really experience that day?" Even the Apostle Paul said, in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."
We must not assume that everyone behind a mic who can preach well is anointed or directly from God. Do your work and learn yourself. Check your pastor for safety and for learning. Is there any better subject to be double checking? When you listen to your leaders, remember what Paul said. "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)
-D
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