CHAPTER 5

THE GOOD sHEPHERD

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The blind leading the blind

Have you ever wondered what makes a priest or pastor a good shepherd? In modern times many of them are judged by their eloquence or the size of their congregation, and if Jesus Christ were judged by the same standard he would have been long forgotten because there were chief priests of his day that had much larger religious followings, but those priests served themselves and not God and when they heard of his growing popularity their jealousy motivated them to convince Pontius Pilate to arrest Christ and eventually crucify him.

When asked why he stands on the sidewalk, Brother Ian Bordenave (a Dominican priest in Houston) said, Im inspired by our parishioners who come out here and witness in front of the abortion facility. And so Im really following their lead. If theyre out here how can I as their pastor not do the same? As the saying goes we cant only talk the talk, we also have to walk the walk. And so in addition to our preaching about the sanctity of all human life we have to take concrete measures at times to actually show what we mean by being out here and being a presence or doing some concrete measure beyond the actual preaching to help protect these innocent childrens lives.

This would seem like a trivial truth that all leaders of the Christian church would readily understand, but its a very difficult truth because it requires a concrete action. Its like a man telling you every Sunday how great he performed on the basketball court and recounting story after story of his athletic achievements, but then never leading anyone to a basketball court and refusing to attend a basketball game.

If the shepherd never leads the sheep into the field is he truly a shepherd?

For decades I sat in the pews and listened to more orators than I can remember, but not a single man on the pulpit who claimed to serve God ever led me into the mission field. And it wasnt because I was rejecting them it was because I was never asked. When I interviewed Abby Johnson, shortly after she left Planned Parenthood, she stated, Id never heard a pastor preach about abortion from the pulpit. And in that moment I realized Id never heard it either.

Every pastor Id heard was on autopilot. Repeating the same sermons over and over and ignoring their own place in history and the mountains of sin surrounding them.

A willful ignorance.

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Jesus Christ encountered the same hypocrisy during his lifetime, But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.' "But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.- Matt. 23:3-12

Imagine how different the Bible would have been if all Jesus did was preach but never asked the disciples to follow him. It would have been a very short story of confusing teachings without any pupils. Thankfully, Jesus was not only a great orator expounding the truth he was a man of concrete action. He told the disciples to take up your cross and follow me. And later he admonished them to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

If your pastor or priest is not challenging you to follow them into the mission fields then you might not have a shepherd. You might have a theologically trained orator that has all of the trappings of a shepherd, but none of the spiritual gifts.

Or worse you might be following a wolf that seeks to devour the sheep.

When I moved to Charlottesville, VA I was told by Rob Schilling, a local conservative AM talk radio host, that I needed to be careful because there were churches of death in the city. I thought he was exaggerating no church would publicly embrace death.

I could not have been more wrong.

I decided that since it was a small college town I would begin emailing the local pastors and invite them to the sidewalk and share a few of the inspirational stories with them. And that was my first introduction to churches that embrace death and promote it.

Two pastors at a local church emailed me and asked to be removed because they support abortion and one of them served on the board of directors of Planned Parenthood. I later learned that the local Planned Parenthood was started by an ordained minister and that other ministers in the area had been directly involved promoting that altar of human sacrifice.

It was my first correspondence with wolves who dress in the vestments of the Christian Church but who are there to promote sin and sacrifice the sheep to their master, Satan. In my research I discovered that a similar infiltration occurred during slavery with some southern pastors owning slaves and promoting slavery.

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A runaway slave wrote, Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity. I look upon it as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels. Never was there a clearer case of "stealing the livery of the court of heaven to serve the devil in." I am filled with unutterable loathing when I contemplate the religious pomp and show, together with the horrible inconsistencies, which every where surround me. We have men-stealers for ministers, women-whippers for missionaries, and cradle-plunderers for church members. The man who wields the blood-clotted cowskin during the week fills the pulpit on Sunday, and claims to be a minister of the meek and lowly Jesus. The man who robs me of my earnings at the end of each week meets me as a class-leader on Sunday morning, to show me the way of life, and the path of salvation.

He who sells my sister, for purposes of prostitution, stands forth as the pious advocate of purity. He who proclaims it a religious duty to read the Bible denies me the right of learning to read the name of the God who made me. He who is the religious advocate of marriage robs whole millions of its sacred influence, and leaves them to the ravages of wholesale pollution. The warm defender of the sacredness of the family relation is the same that scatters whole families,sundering husbands and wives, parents and children, sisters and brothers,leaving the hut vacant, and the hearth desolate. Frederick Douglas, April 28th, 1845

Frederick Douglas recounted that many of the worst slave owners were southern pastors. History has repeated itself as some of the most egregious offenders in the battle to protect Gods children have been men of the cloth.

During my time in Charlottesville I was invited to listen to a University of Virginia Law School professor discuss a book she had written about Roe v. Wade. It was my assumption that she would defend abortion and that there would be a lively debate, but I never raised my hand because there were no issues to debate.

I was stunned at what this law school professor had to say.

She said that feminism was not an early supporter of abortion, but that they jumped on the bandwagon late in the game. She said she was surprised to learn that it was liberal leaders of the Christian Church that were the champions of abortion. In fact Roe v. Wade was only one of several federal cases appealed to the Supreme Court seeking to legalize abortion. There was another case supported by hundreds of liberal pastors.

That case never came before the court because Roe v. Wade made it moot.

Those liberals pastors were referring their parishioners to abortionists when abortion was illegal. And that explained why I kept finding the fingerprints of pastors on the abortion industry across Virginia. An early business partner of abortionist William Fitzhugh who owned the other abortuary in Charlottesville was also a pastor. And those sinful pastors didnt step down from the pulpit after Roe v. Wade. They continued to preach sin from the pulpit. They bred other snakes in their likeness and today they fill the churches of our country.

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The Church of Death

The rot within our culture has reached a point that servants of God have started church rescues to free the parishioners from their fallen leaders that publicly serve the darkness. I was invited to such a rescue by a pro lifer in Dallas. Id never confronted a pastor of darkness face-to-face in my life. In my mind I didnt believe a pastor would have the courage to defend the murder of innocent babies on the sidewalk.

It is one thing to exchange heated emails with a stranger, but quite another to stand on the street corner and say it out loud for the whole world to hear. These serpents in saintly robes surely did not have the courage to show their true colors in the light of day. And then I showed up with my camera on the sidewalk outside of a Church of Death and could not believe my own ears. Not only did the pastor come out to defend abortion but so did the parishioners. As I listened to the pastor I remember thinking, Surely the folks in the pews cannot be aware that this pastor promotes murder?

And then the parishioners came out to speak and removed any doubt. It was a rare instance where I was not cynical enough!

Why was I so surprised and disappointed? I suppose I didnt want to live in a country where murdering innocent babies was celebrated from the pulpit and cheered on by the parishioners, but that was my America. And now I had to own it and deal with it. And every blind pastor and complacent parishioner who watched the video had to deal with it too.

Here is the video (Church of Death): https://youtu.be/UUvhn59uitw (click link to view video)

The Bible talks about these churches and their members, But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (emphasis mine

A key phrase jumps out at me when I read that scripture is: lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.

Why is there abortion? The answer is simple: Americans want the pleasure of sex without accepting any of the consequences. The immediate response is a call to arms sent out to all persons who claim to love and serve God, but the sidewalks are empty.

And why are the sidewalks empty? Is it because Americans are too busy?

The answer is a resounding YES! Americans are far too busy to serve God. Their priorities are such that its a mathematical impossibility for the average American to serve God there simply are not enough hours in the day.

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But what are they busy doing?

The sad truth is that the Christian Church loves the pleasure of television, the internet, and music more than we love God. Our devotion to entertainment is astounding. According to a March 27th, 2015 Nielsen survey the average American watches 5 hours and 6 minutes of television per day1. After we factor in another 4 hours and 5 minutes per day listening to music2, and another 3 hours and 16 minutes per day online3 there isnt much left over for God.

Wow!

When we set aside in time for eating, working, and sleeping there is literally no time for anything else. Imagine if a Christian said to Jesus, Lord, I am going to give 5 hours and 6 minutes watching videos about the Bible every day for the rest of my life. And then Im going to listen to the Bible on tape for 4 hours and 5 minutes every day. And then I am going to walk onto the sidewalk and preach your word 3 hours and 16 minutes every day.

They wouldnt have to quit their job to do it. They would simply have to quit their entertainment addiction and the world would never be the same.

Interestingly, not a single Christian addicted to entertainment needs to be reminded to grab the remote when they come home. There is no sign up sheet, no statement of peace, and no fund raisers. Their dedication and devotion to receive programming written by those who do not serve God would be impressive were it not so tragic.

The Bible tells us, As a man thinketh so is he.

And Im not writing this as a puritan who doesnt understand the temptation. When I walked away from God it was to work in the film industry. Ironically, after reading entertainment trash that was going to be fed into the minds of Americans all day long I began to lose my appetite to watch it at night.

There is nothing about Hollywood that seeks to honor God. In fact, I dont recall God ever being mentioned one time. Its all about self worship and self gratification. Its a very lonely place to live and work.

1 http://www.statisticbrain.com/television-watching-statistics/

2 http://www.spin.com/articles/average-american-listening-habits-four-hours-audio-day/

3 http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4718-weekly-online-social-media-time.html

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Their scripts serve the same God that demands the lives of our unborn children. Their stories celebrate sexual perversion as the new normal. And that is where the Christian Church is spending their time. They have been co-opted by a box on their wall. And they have surrendered completely without the door of the church being cracked opened.

We invited Satan into our homes.

But what happens when a Good Shepherd makes time for God and shows up on the spiritual battlefield? The result is why this chapter was written.

A transformation

We can also imitate Christs self-gift on the cross by doing our best to love him whenever we see him crucified and forsaken in our neighbor. Such a love fosters a spirituality of communion. Brother Ian Bordenave

On a hot summer day in Houston, TX a Lutheran minister showed up to the sidewalk of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic wearing a white clerical collar. He stood 65 and looked more like a defensive lineman for the Houston Texans football team. He was one of the tallest pastors I had ever seen in my life.

We were all very happy to see him and I said to him, Thank you for showing up. Youll be surprised at the ministries youll encounter on the sidewalk.

And then a woman began weeping loudly behind him. We turned and saw a middle aged homeless woman holding a porcelain baby in her arms that a friend of mine always brought with her.

As she rocked the baby in her arms she told the minister that she had aborted two of her own babies in the abortuary behind us. She said she was an alcoholic and to my untrained eye she looked very close to deaths door. She was also missing her front tooth that she had recently lost in a jail fight.

For the next three hours this man ministered to the homeless woman.

And after they had hugged and she left he turned to me and said, Wow you werent kidding about the ministering were you? You barely finished the sentence and it started.

I didnt need to ask him to come back. He became a regular visitor to the sidewalk.

He was eventually called away to a church in California. And I eventually moved away too.

One day I was sitting in my living room thinking back on that day and reflecting on how God had truly worked a miracle in that homeless womans life.

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And then I realized I had forgotten to tell the pastor how the story ended.

Many months later, it might have been as long as a year I was standing on the same sidewalk and a woman in a flower dress came walking toward me. She was smiling brightly as if he she knew me, but Id never seen this woman before or so I thought.

As she got closer she said, Dont you recognize me?

To my amazement it was the homeless woman! Only she wasnt homeless anymore and she wasnt missing any teeth.

She told me that her life had changed on the sidewalk that day. She had given her life to God and she was no longer homeless or an alcoholic. And she had come back to say thank you.

I was stunned at the transformation both physically and spiritually. The Bible says, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2

This beautiful woman was a walking billboard for that scripture verse!

I emailed the pastor that day to tell him how God had blessed his decision to stand on a sidewalk amongst the sinners. He responded and told me hed wept all morning long at the good news.

Tears of joy

And so I share this story with you as example of the blessings that are waiting for Gods people when they show up to the sidewalks where the sinners gather. I believe that if Christ were walking the Earth today one of the places he would frequent are the sidewalks that lead into the temples of darkness to offer hope to the hopeless, and a spiritual home to homeless.

This Lutheran minister didnt abandon his church or his ministerial duties when he decided to join us. He simply found the time to be a good shepherd to the lost.

And its my hope and prayer that many other shepherds will hear Gods call to the sidewalks and partake in the spiritual blessings that are awaiting them.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. John 14:3