“Minister” Creflo Dollar exiting his previous business jet.
Definition (verb form) ~ Minister:
- attend to the wants and needs of others
- to give help to or care for people
- to give aid or service, e.g. minister to the sick
- Etymology: from Latin minister, Meaning: servant
The prosperity preacher Creflo Dollar is notorious for asking his followers to buy him a top-of-the-line 65 million dollar business jet, after his jet pictured above was damaged. You can read about more of his profligate antics at this, Not Safe For Work (NSFW) link: Daily Mail Online ~ Creflo Dollar
In another widely publicized story Dollar was once booked into jail for beating his 15 year old daughter in order to keep the indiscretionate young lady from going out partying. As one commenter amusingly put it: “It sounds like Dollar was trying to knock some cents into the girl.”
Where does the always misapplied concept of Servant-Leadership come from?
Mark 10:41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. 43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: 44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
Jesus was speaking to his twelve disciples, who were to become the first leaders of his “bride” the church. Christ is the Head or Husband of the church, but while the Bridegroom is away, prior to His marriage feast, He has entrusted His bride to the care and ministry of various men. These men are not ordained to be interloping heads over Christ’s bride, but to be servants of Christ’s bride on Christ’s behalf.
Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Clearly Christ is the true Head of the church. Husbands are the image of Christ, and are not to be without lordship in their own homes, while the leaders of the church are not its head, because Christ is the only head of the church. Ministers are to be the servants of the other men of the church, out of love for the brotherhood of faithful men. It is absolutely wrong of church misleaders, those greedy and power hungry charlatans, to forcibly foist their commanded servitude off onto husbands because that clearly reverses God’s word in multiple places, and husband’s need their lordship or families fall apart when wives are not obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. (Titus 2:5) So who do the men of the church report to?
1 Corinthians 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
The men of Christ’s church report directly to Christ, who is returning not to serve them again for another three years, but to rule with a rod of iron as omnipotent Lord for a thousand years. We would do well to notice that Jesus’ earthly ministry will be less than a third of a percent of the time He spends ruling over us here on earth. Although Christ came to serve and sacrifice and woo us to himself, as Christ cried out on the cross, “It is Finished!” He quickly commissioned His church leaders and then ascended into glory. His sacrificial work is done!
So how do churchmen relate to each other within the church since none is the head and ruler, but Christ?
Ephesians 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
So as we have seen from Ephesians 5 Christ and husbands are to be submitted to in everything. So is Christ not now our own personal servant? Our SERVANT-leader?
Revelation 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him:
What! Servants serving! That’s crazy talk! Next you will say that men’s helpers should be helping men, instead of demanding men serve them via misappropriating “servant leadership”. /S
Well, what does Dollar say?
And now we’ll look at this word “Ruleth” because leadership, “Obey them that have the rule over you,” it must be servant type of leadership. It’s the servant leader that God wants to put in the lives of people. It’s the servant leader. … Your house needs leadership. Your children need leadership. But I’m learning that my leadership has increased because I understand that real leadership is serving. When I serve my wife, that’s leadership.
Dollar then goes on to mock men who actually want to rule their families, as God commands, as being insecure control-freaks.
The heart of the matter.
So Creflo Dollar serves his poor congregation from his mansion, his Rolls Royce, his Bentley, his business jet,(Apparently you need a lot of exquisite transportation to get to your needy neighbors these days.) while browbeating husbands into the servitude that God intended for church ministers like himself, and impugning husband’s motives for just wanting enough influence to keep their own daughters from going partying without getting themselves booked into jail like Dollar. I think we can all see that this clown is a hypocrite, and that the people who give money to his prosperity “gospel” gimmickry are duped by their own greedy desire to get rich like their idol, Mr. Dollar.
But! You say: Surely my modest-income minister who preaches that husband’s should be servant-leaders is not as bad as crazy Creflo, right?
Wrong! He is just as worthless a false teacher, and he sucks at it too, because Creflo is getting all the perks while your fool “minister” serves Satan for next to nothing because his skills don’t get him the higher pay scale of a sharp con like Dollar. These false teachers who pervert God’s word and destroy God’s patriarchal design for families, their portion is entirely in this life. If they don’t get for themselves the nice things in this life, they’re both evil and lazy.
Where are you from
It’s complicated, but mostly the USA. And I currently reside in the buckle of the Bible belt. I’m not sure if I want to say too much more at this point. Why do you ask?
“When I serve my wife that is leadership. ”
You are right, other pastors are lazy compared with Dollar’s bold declaration.
I think your bolded section will get improved over time as you learn to biblically backup your assertion that pastors are charlatans who teach husbands are to serve their wives. They don’t see it that way and so being called a trickster will only cause them to disregard you and move on. They see their calling to serve as the model for how men are to husband, especially since Paul says marriage is a picture of Christ and the church. That is, since pastors lead the church by prayer, teaching, spending time with us, excommunication if necessary, then that isn’t an authority over husbands but a model for us.
Swanny River, I’m not 100% sure what you meant exactly, but I don’t intend to win over the false teachers, but to warn their audience. If a “Minister” is applying “servant-leadership” to husbands instead of the church leadership, Run, his teaching is False and not from God.
What is “servant leadership”? My understanding of it is the way Jesus taught humility by washing His disciples feet. It’s also what most men do every day – go to work to provide for their family. Put the needs (not wants but genuine needs) of his wife and children first. Taking into account the needs of the entire family when making decisions. Comforting his wife and children when they are in pain. Making sure bills are paid before spending money on his personal leisure/wants. Massaging his wife’s neck and shoulders because her tics are bad and she is in pain.
That, to me, is servant leadership. Taking his role as head of the family seriously and doing what he can reasonably do to make them happy.
Don’t most men do this?
Sharkly,
My comment was unclear. I took your post to have Mark and Ephesians as set-up and Ephesians and I Corinthians as further explaining your conclusion, which was the bolded part that says it’s wrong of church leaders to foist their prescribed servitude onto husbands.
No, you don’t have to write to them, but I want to use this argument with the men in my church and I am confident they will say what I am guessing a pastor would say, which is, the church leaders are stand-ins until Cjrist returns, worth double-honor, and therefore should be the model for the way husbands lead.
OK, now I get what you’re saying, Swanny River. Yeah it might be good to have those same scriptures and ideas presented in such a way as might be more geared to converting the false teachers back to teaching church leadership as a job of service, and home leadership(husbandry/fatherhood) as the lordship that it is. However that is making the assumption that they were just misled, and not willingly misled. “A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.” I tend to think you don’t wind up stretching things where they don’t belong without some motive. I also regularly pray and ask that God’s spirit would protect me from teaching any falsehood. I wonder if they fear God like I do and are as cautious and prayerful before they teach a concept as I try to be? I have a concept I need to look at further before I really teach it, but I suspect at least some parts of the Bible were written to men as the intended audience, and that they make better sense when you read them as if they were written to men, as opposed to both sexes. That the men were then supposed to teach it to their wives as their “spiritual leaders”. Since I’m still working through the concept, I haven’t really taught it, or gone their yet, but it seems to have some evidence. For example:
Ephesians 5:33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Who was that written to? It doesn’t say, a husband should love his wife, it says, every one of you, love his wife. Hermeneutically putting the Bible texts together in harmony to all agree with itself it seems like at least some passages must have been written with men as their implied primary audience, if not the whole of the Bible, and that then changes some passages meanings a bit. Anyhow that is still a work in progress, so I’m not really teaching that yet, but it seems from my reading so far that some parts seem to fit better with other passages if you can assume a male audience. But I’m not really going to teach something as fact until I am convinced that it is undoubtedly true. Let me know if any of you have thoughts about that topic.
Just looking right now I’m seeing a lot of passages where it lets on that the book is speaking to men. I searched for the word brethren and found it hundreds of times:
Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you…
And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken…
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord…
Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren…
Now I beseech you, brethren…
Brethren, let every man…
Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren…
Finally, brethren, farewell.
I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.
Take heed, brethren…
My brethren, count it all joy…
Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother…
The fact that hundreds of sections of the Bible are clearly addressed to men is now apparent just from searching the word “brethren”. I wonder why I never noticed this before?
I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.
Pastor Sharkly —
I’m glad to see you joining Dalrock in blowing up these false American ministries. Judgment begins in the Church, and now seems a good time to me, and scabs like Crapflo Dullard deserve to be chumped-out beyond the walls, to the dogs. Let the hyenas work the eyeballs as aperitif.
So many ‘Christian leaders’ are eager to make a show of their ‘ministries’, to impress the world with their importance or wealth. And so many sheeple zombie after them, because these things are in their hearts samewise.
God responds to their choice of delusion by . . . adding to it. lol God showed in Eden that you don’t hat him down. Eve rebelled, He ADDED to her propensity to rebel, and added to her dependence upon the man. Ouch! . . . EXACTLY what woman did not want.
Yeah take another swing.
Hunt some others down if the spirit strikes you and give them some boot, Pastor Sharkly. There’s plenty of snakes between those oceans. It is the BEST therapy. :O)
The Greek word for brethren means brothers and sisters, not brothers. That’s why my church has always taught that Brethren means brothers and sisters. That’s why the Brethren religion includes women as well – not just men.
The Bible quite possibly was intended (by the men who wrote it) to be read by men, because until very recently, women weren’t educated, so most of them weren’t able to read. But that doesn’t men God intended for it to be read only by men. EVERYONE, both men and women, can study the Bible and understand it – God made it that way. And women certainly don’t need a believing husband to be able to serve God, which is what you’re suggesting in these posts. If she did, the advice given in Peter would be null and void.
Sadly, even conservative Pastors are falling into this deception. We left a church 7 months ago, family integrated, biblical manhood teaching but the Pastor taught on “mutual submission”. Why? Because culture has more influence than the Word of God.
Welcome Shellie,
I’m glad you are seeking out spiritual guidance that is Biblical. I have really liked your blog and find it a rare presentation of God’s truths. Keep up the good work!
Shellie,
This is sad indeed.
I recently considered switching to a Family Integrated Church in my city, but when I listened to one of the marriage sermons from their website I heard similar teaching on mutual submission and was put off from joining.
I also have considered Orthodox Presbyterian but recently found out that Rachel Green Miller is a member of a church in that denomination. The rot is wide and deep.
Theres another similar scam that has been going around for a long time too
Called the ”cunt-worshipping FOOLS” scam!Alot of cunt worshipping ”fathers”
Figured out the ”market” for their entitled debased& debauched ”princess” daughters is failing like themselves as ”MEN”
So like the feminists who also pretend to be men they are they start blaming men for their own cunt-worshipping that destroyed western civilization&now their spreading their DISEASE to the east too under ”the churchian headship” scam while blaming better men than themselves known as PUAGAMERS like the 3RS of GAME!BUT now they think they have found their false messiah in the form of a ungodly,PROFANE&ANTI-CHRIST
swinger(Thes FOOLS are blaming women too for their own ungodly BETA unmanliness!) who knows how to fully cunt-worship ”men”s princess daughters to their satisfaction while they still claim to be ”christians” instead of generic churchian cunt-worshippers that will fail their goddessess like others before them did!
BUT I guess they’ll blame the PUAGAME men again for their&their ”goddesses” they cun-worship anti-christ sins as usual!They don’t even understand GAME as their itchy ears for cunt-worshipping has blinded them to truth!
Their even trying to convince REAL MEN who actualy have known all about GAME longer than they themselves by their own admission have been what they call ”TRUE” christians but in actuality are just churchians fooling themselves!
BUT they are just following the lust of their father the devil&will
Like others did before them fail their goddesses!They will put all of their PROFANE sins&inquities on the swingers&his apostated apostle heads eventualy though like they did to the more GREATER christians than them theGAMERS they now blame for all of their unmanly churchian failures!