Loyalty and Disloyalty
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Transcript of Loyalty and Disloyalty
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Loyalty and Disloyalty by Dag Heward-MillsWhy Loyalty?Why teach on the subject "Loyalty and Disloyalty"? I believe the Lord has laid on my heart this practicalsubject for various reasons. First of all, I have seen the relevance of this subject in the Word of God. Thescriptures are littered with accounts of faithful and treacherous people. There is a lot to learn from theseaccounts in the Bible. My few years in the ministry have also made me very aware of loyal and disloyal people.I have noticed the impact that it has on churches and ministries. In the next few pages I will share with you afew reasons why the subject of loyalty is such an important one.Why the Subject of Loyalty is Important1. Loyalty is the principal qualification for every minister.An inexperienced person is likely to think that the more gifted you are, the more qualified you are for theministry. My little experience has shown me that it is the faithful and loyal people in church who are mostqualified to be leaders. An inexperienced person would think that a friendly brother would make a good pastor.He may also think that someone with good oratory skills would make the best preacher. Do not make thatmistake. The Bible teaches us that the cardinal requirement for leadership is faithfulness and not anything else.“ ...it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful ” . 1 Corinthians 4:2
I have many wonderful pastors who work with me.
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Many of them are not overly friendly, flashy or particularlygifted. But time has proven that they are the best gifts
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that God has given to His church and me.2. To fight the 5th column
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Very early in my ministry I realized that the devil is an expert at destroying the church from within. If you are agood
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minister, called of God and doing the right things, the devil will have very little opportunity to fightagainst
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you from outside. Like Jesus said...the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. John 14:30
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You will realize that Satan often does not have the occasion to launch deadly attacks against you
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from outside.Jesus was saying that though the enemy was coming after Him, he did not have any grounds
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to destroy Him.There are many anointed preachers in this same category. Satan has no basis for
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which to overcome them so hehas to use someone from within. In the case of Jesus it was a traitor (Judas)
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whom Satan used.I recall reading the story of an army general who surrounded a large city with the aim of
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conquering it. This citywas heavily fortified with a high and imposing wall and gate. The army general surrounded
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the city in readinessto attack. One friend of the general came along and asked him, "Sir, how do you think you
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are going toovercome the defences of this city? No one in recent history has been able to conquer this great
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city."The army general smiled and said, "It's my 5th column. I'm depending on them to do the trick." The general'sfrien
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d was very interested and asked, "What is this 5th column? I thought you only had four columns."
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The army general replied, "I do have a 5th column." "Oh, I see. Is it a special commando unit or are
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theyairborne paratroopers?" the man asked. The general laughed, "No, it's none of these. My 5th column
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consists of my spies, agents, friends and supporters who are already within the city. You just wait. They will
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open thosebig gates from within and my armies will rush in."This is the only way the enemy can destroy a
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successful and powerful ministry that is doing all the rightthings. It has to come from within. The 5th column
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comprises the disloyal, double-faced, double-tongued anddiscontented people within every ministry. If
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these people are allowed to wreak havoc as they so very well can,they will destroy the church.
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I Had a Disloyal AssociateI remember years ago when I started out in the ministry, I experienced
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the effect of having a disloyalassociate. This person although officially standing on my right hand
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side, did not believe in me and wasmurmuring against me all the time. His home was the meeting place for all
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the discontented people in thechurch. Every time they gathered, they would discuss and
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criticize me. At times, they would talk about the wayI preached. At other times, it was the way I sipped water
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in the middle of my sermons. Yet again, some felt Iwas not friendly enough. But the Lord revealed all
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these things to me. I prayed about it and asked the Lord whatto do.God told me, "Get rid of that guy." I
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said, "Lord, do you mean he must leave the church?" And the Lord said, "Imean exactly that! Dismiss him otherwise you
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will never have peace and your church will never grow." So Icalled for a meeting of the elders of the church. At
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the meeting I said. "I realize that Brother X is not in supportof me. He's constantly full of bitter criticisms." I
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said to Brother X, "I know that you do not believe in myleadership anymore. I trained you. I brought you
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up. And today you are too big to remain under my authority." Iasked, "What do you think we should do?" Then the
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brother said, "Let's work things out." But the scripture thatthe Lord had shown me came
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floating up to my mind.Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
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Proverbs 22:10I spoke up, pointed to my assistant and said, "You know as well as I do that it's not going
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to work. You don'tbelieve in me anymore." I went on, "From today, I have relieved you of all your duties in this
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church." Hesputtered, "What!" Then he said, "I will continue corning to church even though I may not have
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certainresponsibilities." But I said to him, "No! You must leave! You are not part of us. Your presence in the
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churchwill only be destructive."I tell you, it was no easy thing to dismiss a friend and associate of
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many years. But it had to be done. TheBible tells us that when Abraham was in conflict with Lot he directed Lot
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to go somewhere else! Abraham wassaying, "If we are apart there will be peace and the work of God
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can go on." A disloyal person breeds strife,hatred and murmuring. These disloyal sentiments are like
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smoke that fills an entire house. The only way to getrid of the smoke is to get rid of the fire. If we want to have
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a large church, we need to minister with love andwith oneness. If we cannot be one, let's stop pretending.
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You see, I encourage people to walk out of my churchif their hearts are not with me.
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He that is not with me is against me... Matthew 12:30I will beg you to leave, if I have to. I am serious about
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this. I will even give you money to pay for yourtransportation and snacks as you leave us! So that those of
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us who love one another and are confident abouteach other can stay together and continue working.
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Get Rid of PretendersI don't know how to pretend. I simply don't know how to do it. But there are
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many pretenders in the church.They pretend to love you and support you but in their
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hearts they despise you.
3. For the love of God to fill the churchThe ministry is supposed
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to operate with the power of love, unity and teamwork.By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,
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if ye have love one to another. John 13:35To minister as effective leaders you need to exhibit the
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love that Jesus spoke about. People are attracted bylove. When they see leaders who flow together in genuine
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love they are attracted. You must never forget thatyour church members are not blind. Neither are
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they deaf. They can see and feel disunity and discord when it isthere.Sheep Only Drink from Still Waters
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One thing that every pastor must know about sheep is that they drink from still waters. If the water is
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murkyand rough the sheep will stay away. You see, they are not sure there is no crocodile in the water!
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...he leadeth me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2Whenever there is treachery and distrust your church
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members become scared and wary and stay away.4. To have a large and
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successful ministerial teamOne man can only do so much. One pastor can only be at one
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place at a time. He can only minister until hisstrength (which is limited) is exhausted. Because of
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this, anyone who wants to extend his ministry and bearmuch fruit has to learn to work with many other people.
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These people are the team that I'm talking about.However, it would be better to work alone than with a team of
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disloyal, disgruntled, disunited anddisaffected people.In fact, it is not possible to have an effective
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team with such people. I believe I have onlybeen able to do as much as I have done because of the team
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with whom I work.5. To have a megachurchAs I am writing, there
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are Lighthouse churches all over the world - Ghana, South Africa, New York andSwitzerlan
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d to mention a few. These churches are part of a network that is loyal to the headquarters of thechurch in Ghana.
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People often ask me, "How do you sustain churches in all these different locations? What sortof
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controls do you have?" You see, much of the system depends on loyalty. The churches are pastored
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byministers who are loyal to the Lord, to me and to the Lighthouse vision. Without loyalty every network
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ordenomination of churches constantly undergoes disintegration. They frequently divide into
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splinter groups andsmaller sub churches.Their Church Disintegrated
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I remember the story of a branch church that disintegrated because of disunity. Some
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longstanding seeds of disloyalty manifested shortly after a fundraising event in the local church.
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As a result of this disagreement thepastor decided to resign and start his own church. He
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was so angry that he returned all the monies he had raised.The church members of
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course were very surprised that the money they had given to the church was beingretuned.
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This pastor spread many bad stories about his denomination and its senior ministers. Naturally,
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thischurch virtually disintegrated following the pastor's actions.Dear friend, I can give you story
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after story of why churches (especially branch churches in big cities)constantly divide and
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break off. What I can say for sure is that without principled and loyal pastors the ministryof our Lord will
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always be limited.
6. To have a long-lasting ministry
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One person has only a few years of practical and effective ministry. Jesus only ministered for three and a
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half years but He extended his ministry and his influence through an effective and loyal team. Notice that
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Jesus'ministry has branched out into the whole world and has spanned almost two thousand years. If I die
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now, theLighthouse Chapel is going to live on! It does not depend on me. I have not built a church
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around mypersonality. The church will continue. None of us is indispensable. God can do without us. That is why
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we needto build a team of loyal successors.7. In order to reap our full reward
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Those who benefit from the blessings of success are the faithful and loyal ones. One day we all hope to hearthose
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famous words: Well done, good and faithful servant. Those who stick with you through difficult times
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aredifferent from those who come in when everything is working well.Jesus Himself told His twelve
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disciples that they would be treated differently from any other famous minister.They would have a special
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kingdom and their names would even be written on the foundations of the NewJerusalem.
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And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles ...
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Revelation 21:14Even the great men of God we know today will not qualify for this special reward. Jesus
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gave a reason forthis special reward - they had been loyal to Him through the most difficult part of His ministry.
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You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom.. Luke 22:28,29
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You see, loyalty is most appreciated in hard times. In the good times everybody seems loyal. I
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appreciate verymuch the pastors who have stood with me throughout my ministry. They have watched me
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rise and supportedme, even in my mistakes. To me they are different from others. Like Jesus said, they have a
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special reward!
Stages of DisloyaltyDisloyalty doesn't just happen
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overnight. Becoming disloyal is a process! Most people are unaware of the factthat they are becoming
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disloyal. Many leaders do not even notice disloyalty in their associates. In this chapter, Iam going to outline the
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stages a person goes through when he is gradually changing into a rebel.There are two reasons why
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you must know these stages of disloyalty. First of all, it will help you to identify andkill any such
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tendency within you. Secondly, it will help you to detect disloyalty in any person you work with.This
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applies to the ministry and even to businesses, especially smaller companies. The Lord has shown
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meeight important stages that a person goes through when he is becoming disloyal. The first stage is
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when bedevelops what I call an independent spirit.1st Stage - The
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Independent SpiritThe independent stage is so subtle that most people do not
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recognize it for what it actually is - disloyalty.When a person belonging to a group, ministry or company
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develops an independent attitude, he sort of becomesautonomous within the set-up. The rules of the
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organization no longer control him. Such a person is still a partof the church but does what he wants to do, in spite of
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contrary instructions. For instance, the pastor may say,"We are all fasting on Friday." But the person with
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an independent spirit would think, "I've already decided tofast on Wednesday. So that's what
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I'll do." Pastors, watch out for deacons and leaders who have independentspirits. You may call for
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several meetings, but a person with an independent spirit decides to attend only thosehe feels are important.
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Such a person obeys only certaininstructions - the ones he thinks are really important.
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Because Ghana is independent of the USA. whenever there is an American holiday it has no bearing on
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Ghana.Ghana and America are two countries in the same world, but independent of each other. When Ghana
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declares aholiday, America takes no notice of it because America is independent of Ghana.If you are
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unfortunate enough to have choristers who have independent spirits you may
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experience somethinglike this.You would declare prayer meetings, rehearsals, and
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outreaches, but an independent choristerwould decide, "I think I'll just attend the rehearsal."
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Once again this individual is doing exactly what she thinks shouldbe done.There is nothing wrong with
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being independent. I believe in independence and we thank God for independentpeople. However, if
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you are a part of a denomination, group or company you are not independent. When youbegin to
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exhibit a spirit of independence within an organization, be it known onto you that you are
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becomingdisloyal.I Had an Independent SpiritMany years ago, I belonged to a group that
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had branches all over the country. I even founded a branch of thisgroup. But as time went on I began to have
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difficulties with the headquarters of this group. At that time Ithought to myself that my superiors at the
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headquarters were out of step spiritually. You see, the group I wasleading was growing. Many souls
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were being established every week. The overall directors of the organizationwould call for meetings at
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the headquarters. They wanted the whole group to come into town for thesemeetings. But I never
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went for any such meeting; neither did I encourage any of the members to attend.I always said to myself,
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"Those meetings are not important. What I am doing on campus is important. I amwinning souls."
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I Was WrongBut I was wrong. 1 had an independent spirit and didn't even know it. The
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overseers found me to be asuccessful leader in my little branch. But they could not control me
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within the organization. At that time, I justattributed the conflict to lack of vision on the part of my overseers.
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The point I’m making here is; if you belongto an organization, you are not independent of that
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organization. Therefore, you cannot just do what you think is right. You must comply with directives
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that are coming from the head. If you feel you want to be independentthen you should resign.
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Pastor Joab -The Independent KillerWere there independent people in the Bible? The
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answer is yes. Throughout the Second Book of Samuel,Joab is noted as someone who did what he wanted to do.
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He was part of David's army. He was part of David'sministry team, if you like. He was one of David’s managers!
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You could say he was the Prime Minister orDavid's right-hand-man. He was so powerful, yet he had an independent
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spirit. This independent spiritmanifested itself many times. The first example of the independence of Joab was in
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the murder of Abner. Abnerwas the commander-in-chief of another section of the armies of Israel. David
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as the head of government,decided to make peace with Abner after years of conflict. The King even called for
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celebrations of this peaceagreement by feasting with him.So Abner came to David... And
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David made... him a feast and he went in peace. 2 Samuel 3:20-21But when Joab heard that this man had
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been entertained in the palace, he was furious. He chased him, caughtup with him and requested to
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speak with him privately. But Joab tricked him and killed him...Joab took him [Abner] aside into the
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gateway, as though to speak with him privately. And there…Joab stabbed him in the stomach, and
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he died. 2 Samuel 3:26,27 When the King opted for peace, his right-hand-man decided to do
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otherwise. Although he was supposed tosubmit to the wishes of the king, he went ahead with his own plan. People
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like this are dangerous. Joab couldhave plunged an entire nation into war through his
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independent actions.There are people like that in church. The founder or Head pastor is often the
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vision carrier. He leads the waybecause he is the head. All associate pastors and leaders in the church are
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supposed to flow with his vision. Anindependent ‘Pastor Joab’will only bring confusion and strife to the church. Take
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note of such people in thechurch, because they are only a few stages away from open rebellion.The second
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incident I want you to notice is in Joab's handling of Absalom's coupd’état.
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Rev. Joab Moves Independently AgainAbsalom rebelled and actually ousted his
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father David from the throne. Absalom was now in power andDavid was faced with the bizarre circumstance
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of having to fight against his own son. In the midst of theseextraordinary circumstances, David
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specifically instructed that the army should not kill his son Absalom. Hewanted to spare the life of his son.
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And the king commanded Joab... Deal gently for my sake with ... Absalom ... 2 Samuel 18:5Thankfully, the battle
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turned in the favour of King David and Absalom had to flee. A certain man reportedthat he had seen Absalom
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hanging by his hair on a tree. Joab immediately blurted out, "Why didn't you killhim? I would have rewarded you
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handsomely." But the man said,..But the man replied, "Even if a thousand shekels were weighed out into my
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hands, I would not lift my hand against the king's son. In our hearing the king commanded you and
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Abishai and Ittai, 'Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.'2 Samuel 18:12This unnamed person was
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part of King David's set-up and was obviously loyal to him. But here comes a manwith an independent
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spirit and look at what he did. Independent People Do What They Want to Do...So he [Joab] took three
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javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom's heart... 2 Samuel 18:14Independent people do
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what they want to do in spite of the instructions that are emanating from above.Ironically, Independen
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t People Don't LeaveNotice that Joab never really left David's camp. Such people have not decided to
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leave. They will stay aroundbut will do what they want to do! That is the independent spirit and it is a degree of
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disloyalty. I always noticeindependent people within the congregation. Some of them are leadership material but
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because they areindependent of me and of my vision, I cannot work with them.He Was Spiritual, but
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IndependentI once asked an independent church member, in whom I saw leadership
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potential, to join our Bible school.Quite characteristic of an independent person, he said, "I have been in the
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church since it began many yearsago. I have heard all of your messages." He went on, "Pastor, what
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else am I going to learn in this Bibleschool?" That was the end of the matter. He didn't attend. At another
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time, I asked him to become a fellowship(cell) leader within the church. He told me, "Pastor, I am
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already conducting a fellowship in my home." I asked,"Who are the members of this fellowship?
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Are they members of our church? Do you consider this to be achurch group?" "Oh no!" he answered.
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"They are my personal converts." This brother could not be a cell leaderwithin the church because he
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was building his own private cell group. He had no intention of defecting from thechurch. He was within
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the church but independent of everything going on around him.Branch Pastor Joab
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Threatens a Take-overThe next example of Joab's independence was when he fought against the
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royal city of Rabbah on behalf of King David. When victory was in sight he sent a warning message, "You better
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come and participate in the warotherwise I will get all the credit."Now therefore gather the rest of the
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people together, and encamp against the city, and take it... 2 Samuel 12:28He wanted David to be
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there himself! What he was saying in other words was, I'm no fool to do all the hardwork only for you to take the
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glory. As is said in Ghana, "monkey dey work, baboon dey chop". (In otherwords, the monkey does all the hard work
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whilst the baboon benefits from the reward.)Pastor Threatens to Change
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Church's NameJoab went on to threaten that if the king did not get involved as he was suggesting,
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the city could be namedafter him instead of David....lest I take the city, and it be called after my
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[Joab] name. 2 Samuel 12:28How can you send such a message: "Come quickly otherwise I
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will change the name of the church"? Such apastor can take over a branch church and rename it. Such a person
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can convert a cell group into his personalchurch. This is the reason why some pastors don't believe in cells or
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branches. They fear that they will haveJoabs as leaders. The last example of Joab's independent spirit comes
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at the end of the king's life. David made itvery clear that he wanted Solomon to be the next king.
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Independent Pastor Helps the OppositionThere was another son named Adonijah who
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wanted to be king in the stead of Solomon. To do this he neededthe help of some perfidious characters.
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Once again Joab, who knew David's wishes went contrary to it andhelped Adonijah.Then Adonijah...
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exalted himself, saying, I will be king... And he [Adonijah] conferred with Joab ..[who] helped
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him. 1 Kings 1:5,7 2nd Stage - OffenceThe second stage of disloyalty is
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offence. Jesus said,And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
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Matthew 24:10From this scripture you can see that people begin to betray and hate one another when
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they are offended. TheBible says folks will betray you when they are offended. I have always been wary of
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wounded people because Iknow that they can turn against me. The spirit of offence opens the door to
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the spirit of treachery. Dear leader,look around you and observe those who have been wounded by
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one event or another. If these people have notgenuinely overcome their hurts, hear the voice of the Spirit
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today. They are potential separatists, and they caneasily become your enemies.I believe that Absalom was
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grievously hurt by two important events. First of all, his half-brother’s rape of hissister. He probably
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decided to kill his brother from the very day it happened. Secondly, his father King Daviddid not take the
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appropriate action against Amnon for raping Tamar. The Bible says King David was very angrywith
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Amnon. However, he was under obligation to do more than just being angry. If he had done his duty, hewould
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have fulfilled the law of Moses.And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter ... and see her
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nakedness... [he] shall be cut off.. Leviticus 20:17 The penalty for incest in those days was death.
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But David failed to implement it. Never forget this, hurts andoffences usher people down the
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road of disloyalty.
3rd Stage - PassivityAfter being offended by one thing or the other,
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people become passive. When a person is in the passive stage of the disloyalty process he does not
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involve himself in much. He sits and watches unconcerned and uninvolved.Pastors, look out for people
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in the congregation who are indifferent and unconcerned. They are potentialdeserters of the
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ship. For instance, I consider members to be passive if they don't get involved in prayermeetings or smaller
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group activities. If all businessmen were called for a meeting, he is not likely to attend,even
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though he is a businessman. Such people may have been hurt in the recent past. They say things like, "Idon't
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want any more trouble in this church. Let me just keep to myself."Cursed be he that doeth the work of the
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Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood. Jeremiah 48:10
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You can see from the above scripture that God expects you to get involved when you have
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something tocontribute. This verse is actually teaching us that it is a curse to be uninvolved when you
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have something topitch in. Passivity is dangerous because you move rapidly into the critical stage
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of disloyalty. In order tobecome critical you must be uninvolved. You must have enough time to
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scrutinize and despise the church andits leaders. Don't you know that an uninvolved person more readily sees the faults
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around him?As they say, it is the bystander who sees that the worker is digging a crooked trench. All
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leaders must learnto look for this important sign of passivity among their workers. The uninterested
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leader is uninvolved for areason.Why Was He So Quiet?Remember the story of Absalom who
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went through this stage of passivity. Amnon had raped and disgracedAbsalom's sister, Tamar. Absalom was
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doubtlessly angry with his half-brother but said nothing for two wholeyears. That is passivity!
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Doing nothing and saying nothing! I do not overlook silent and detached people whohave
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nothing to say or contribute.Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad.. 2 Samuel 13:22
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But notice again that this indifferent person (Absalom) quickly degenerated into a
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murderer and tergiversatorwhen the opportunity presented itself...Absalom had commanded
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his servants... when Amnon's heart is merry with wine… then kill him... 2 Samuel 13:28
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When I talk about being quiet, I am not talking about someone who has a naturally subdued
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personality. I amtalking about someone who is normally outgoing but is consciously subdued and detached.
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One of the commonquestions I ask those around me is, "Are you happy?" I want everybody around me to
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be happy. I am concernedwhen someone is unusually calm and cool. Every good leader must ensure
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that those around him are secure andcontent. If King David had noticed Absalom's nonchalant attitude, he
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might have been able to prevent his sonfrom becoming a full-fledged anarchist.
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4th Stage - The Critical StageA disloyal person is not passive forever; he
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progresses into the next step of being critical. This is the stage of noticing and magnifying faults. In church, he
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finds faults with the preaching of the Word and with the order of service. He analyses the building and notices all the
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deficiencies of the surroundings.Miriam had become critical of Moses. She had followed his leadership
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all the way out of Egypt, but now shebegan to see his faults and humanness. And she spoke about
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his marital problems.Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses.. Numbers 12:1Handout - Loyalty and DisloyaltyDownload this Document for FreePrintMobileCollectionsReport Document
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