The Tribune

By MINISTER KEITH EVANS

I write this article with the intent and objective to inform and educate my readers concerning the gross misconduct of false clergymen.

It is incumbent upon the true men and women of God to reveal to the inheritance of the Lord, the deception that is promulgating through false preachers masquerading as authentic servants of Jehovah.

The Bahamas has on record about 4,000 churches and congregations – that number could be significantly higher if the unregistered churches are counted. I for one am not against the Kingdom of God expanding, but we must be at least sensible enough to know that not all ministries were ordained by the Lord Jesus.

We’ve become so mired in the unscrupulous lifestyles of pastors that preach the gospel but live like demons that we have become so accustomed to it. Pastors caught in adultery, or having inappropriate interactions with minors, whether it be little girls or boys.

So many Bahamians are staying away from churches because we’ve been advertising Jesus, but selling emotional messages that cater to the flesh. We are losing millennials by large numbers due to the hypocritical lifestyles of the men who preach holiness while partaking in adulterous relationships and other sins.

1 John 4:1 says: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”

John forewarned us of the danger of falsified ministers. We have so many in churches, but not in the Church; in ministry, but not in God. My sense of consternation comes from Bahamian people have become so religious and churchy in this hour.

As much as I respect our pastors, we must come to grips with the reality that not all are called to ministry. Jeremiah 23:1-2: “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.”

The problem here is that many who attend church are perturbed and dismayed by the unscrupulous and opulent lifestyles of their pastors. We’ve spent too much time watching ‘The Preachers Of LA’, salivating over the fortunes of the televangelists in American Christian TV, and being titillated by the scandals of sexual misconduct involving the most grotesque acts by pastors.

The average church has a ratio of seven women to three men, which is disconcerting and troubling. Why is that?

Now, we do have some great men of God who love God and are living holy lives before the public and in private. Pastors, we must live right!

The majority of agnostics and unbelievers stay away from the church because of our lives, our sins, on display. Your greatest platform isn’t the podium or the pulpit, but your life as a role model. We must live right and walk right! It is as simple as that, my brothers and sisters in Christ.

John 10:13: “The hireling flees, because he is an hireling, and cares not for the sheep.” Again, it is not my intention to malign any particular preacher, but simply to shed light on what is revealed by Jesus and the Apostles in Scripture. Let us get it right and seek God for what He is saying to us in His word, and pray for the true men of God to rise up at this hour. We are losing a generation to the philosophical ideologies of secular humanism, which is a diabolical belief in atheism. Many are turning away from Christianity due to the pimps in the pulpit, bold with an apathy and a nonchalant spirit.

How can any human being grace God’s holy pulpit with dirty hands and a corrupt heart? How can you love the crowd, but hate the people? How can you consult the number bookies, yet preach trusting in God? How can you say that you love God, but hate a brother or sister?

• For questions and comments, e-mail keithevans242@gmail.com or kenazevans242@gmail.com