Whose faith do modern pastors profess?

Pastors are chosen and called among many to serve and save mankind from sin.

Their nature of call requires one to fully dedicate and commit themselves to the will of the caller—God.

The Bible records a number of accounts of first apostles such as Paul and Peter who—times without number—suffered persecution for their faith and calling.

Yet, they remained steadfast in their faith to God until they accomplished their tasks.

They understood that their call implied sacrificing one’s own leisure, hobbies and posh lifestyles to deliver mankind from sin.

These first apostles never allowed anything to separate them from their call.

“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation or distress or persecution or hunger or nakedness or danger or sword? Just as it is written: ‘For your sake we are being put to death all day long, we have been accounted as sheep for slaughtering’,” they would say.

A serious meditation on this verse leaves one wondering whether it is the same God that called apostles such as Peter and Paul that also anointed and sent modern pastors.

Take, for instance, the wrangles that surface after some pastors refuse to be transferred to some places for one reason or the other, with most of them wanting to stay in urban areas.

They argue that it is unfair of the authorities to transfer them to areas where they cannot use their electrical gadgets for their enjoyment.

Principal pastor of the Chipangano Church in Mzimba, Mjeruzge Nyirenda, admits that there are many pastors and apostles who refuse to serve in remote areas.

Nyirenda also says this could be a sign that such pastors and apostles were motivated by something else other than service to the Lord.

He cites Apostle Paul who in one of his epistles challenged that there is nothing in the world that could separate him from his call to service.

Paul says in his epistle: “To the contrary, in all these things we are coming off completely victorious through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death or life nor angels nor governments nor things now here nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other creation will be able to separate us from God’s love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.

“From this scripture, Paul proved to be a pastor who had accepted to go anywhere in the world—including areas which have no electricity and entertainment joints and halls—as long as the spirit of the Lord sent him there. But how many of the modern apostles and pastors accept to minister in rural areas just like Jesus and His disciples did?” asks Nyirenda.

He says drawing from the two parallels; one is bound to conclude that modern pastors and apostles are motivated by earthly wealth when venturing into spiritual ministries.

Pastor Robins Zimba of the Last Church of God believes the majority of the modern and urban-based pastors and apostles are not genuine and do not profess the faith that Jesus Christ preached.

Zimba argues that genuine pastors and apostles are those that accept to serve their God anywhere, including the most risky areas.

“After all, the ultimate goal of a pastor or apostle is to receive the kingdom of God after spreading the gospel. A pastor or apostle should not start creating boundaries. Otherwise, such a pastor or apostle does not profess the true faith of Jesus Christ,” he says. n