View From The Pew, Letter Ten
Pastors, we need you!
I sit in your pew, seeking God's Truth, not man's. As you speak the only good and holy Truth from the Word, our Father's Word, you are watering a plant in the desert. The world is a barren wasteland of false promises: promises of wealth, health, and happiness.
The Truth that you speak doesn't need elaborate stories, embellishment, or any form of dilution. I can handle raw truth. But as you speak it, remember, I come from a place of pain and confusion. The world tells me that fame, wealth, and entertainment will bring me satisfaction, yet I've only found myself in deeper sorrow by pursuing these things.
In my season of hurt, I sought what I believed to be godly advice, only to discover that even from the pulpit some were preaching peace through prosperity and compromise as the path to victory. Because I had not reached this earthly treasure, I wondered if I had somehow missed the mark, that my past sins had deprived me of the reward I sought in the present.
Troubled, I sought godly wisdom from men in the pulpit only to discover that many of them appeared to live in accordance with societal bliss, while emphasizing obedience, self-denial, and claiming to renounce worldly desires. However, I couldn't help but notice that they seemed to enjoy the earthly prosperity that escaped me.
I often wonder if earthly success is a band-aid on a broken arm. Does it mask the real broken heart? I wonder if wealthy and successful men of God in the pulpit ever feel the void that I do. If so, why don’t we teach the truth that while prosperity can be a blessing, it can never heal, replace, save, or satisfy? Have we substituted the redeemed with worldly success stories, turning them into the church's trophies? It seems we've traded the testimonies of the redeemed for motivational speeches.
Are we chasing something in this world that we can never catch? Is there something that we’re prioritizing in place of a God that constantly pursues us?
Have we replaced being accepted by Christ with the acceptance of man? These are things that I wonder from your pew. I wonder if men of great wealth long for truth as much as the broken sinners do. Are they like me? Battered, tired, and beaten? Do they long to hear from a Good Father who says, 'Lean on me. I’m your only option!' Have earthly desires crept into the pulpit, and if so, how many pastors are just like me, hurting as they stand giving their message?
Maybe we all need redemption and truth! Maybe you need a hug, like I do. Give me the Truth that my heart longs for, the Truth that only comes from God, not from man. Your platform is one of a high calling. You are speaking from a special place given to you by the One on the Throne with purpose and authority for a flock that often seeks the world to no avail. Even the ones with earthly trophies must come to grasp the Truth, for they've unwittingly crossed a finish line that remains elusive and ever-receding. When you convey the Truth, both your heart and mine will be uplifted!
Redemption in your soul and mine can only happen if it is founded in Truth! And if by some chance you have been tricked by the great deceiver and replaced Redemption with the world's pipe dream, then pause, get on your knees, and ask your Good, Good Father for forgiveness. And when you stand, I’ll be beside you lifting you up with a hug. Remember the work isn’t finished until we are both in Heaven together.
Pastor, we all need redemption, even you! Thank you for all you do!
Founder of Billy’s Home Place, Stephen L. Thomas