"The Pastor has No Clothes!": A Modern Religious Allegory

By David Ryser

Nothing is more dangerous than blind people who are certain they see clearly.  (Fil Anderson)

Once upon a time, there was a pastor of a small church who had big dreams.  He ministered in a church made up of good people who loved Jesus and did their best to honor Him. They genuinely cared for one another and actively served in the church.  They listened attentively to the pastor’s sermons and sought to apply these lessons to their lives.

And the little church began to grow.  But the pastor wanted more.

The pastor wanted a big church.  He wanted a big ministry.  Most of all, he wanted to be on television.  In short, he wanted to be noticed.

Because he had been ignored and passed over for most of his life.

So this pastor decided that if his small church was ever going to become a big church…and if his ministry was ever going to be a successful and influential ministry…both the church and his ministry needed to operate as if both were big and successful.

And if he was ever to be on television, he needed to look good.

So the pastor began to dress in expensive clothes.  After all, clothes make the man…or so they say.  Over time, the pastor’s clothes became the centerpiece of his ministry.  They gave him confidence.  Confidence bred charisma.  The pastor’s charisma drew more people to the church.

But it still wasn’t enough for the pastor.

Then one day a tailor came to the church.  After attending a few Sunday morning services, the tailor introduced himself to the pastor.  After complimenting the pastor’s clothing, the tailor offered to make a special suit of clothes for the pastor.  This suit would be a special suit.  A prophetically-made suit.  This spiritual suit would be the most beautiful suit the pastor had ever seen.  Because it was a spiritual suit, only those who were spiritual would be able to see it.

The tailor promised that the suit would be ready to wear on Pentecost Sunday.  And since Pentecost Sunday is a celebration of the Church’s birth, the pastor’s new suit would be known as his Birthday Suit.

The pastor was so excited!

The tailor was soon put on the pastoral staff of the church and given an office.  The office contained a desk, a chair, a work area with a mannequin on which would hang the Birthday Suit while it was being made, and a bookcase containing new and expensive…and unread…Bibles and theological books.

The pastor would visit the tailor every day to check on the progress of the Birthday Suit.  The tailor would point to the mannequin (Also called a tailor’s dummy…ironic, don’t you think?) and describe the beautiful Birthday Suit hanging on it.  The pastor could not see the suit…for none existed…but his insecurity over being thought unspiritual caused him to gush and fawn over the suit as though he saw it clearly.

And then the big day arrived.

As the pastor walked onto the platform wearing his Birthday Suit, the congregation gasped.  They had been told of the suit and eagerly anticipated seeing it.  But this was not exactly what they had expected.  The suit was beautiful!  And very special…since only those who were spiritual could see it.

And the pastor’s Birthday Suit certainly added some jiggle to his wiggle as he began to minister that morning.

But in the middle of his sermon, a small child spoke up and said, “The pastor isn’t wearing any clothes!”  The people looked at the child, and then at the pastor, looked again at the child, and back at the pastor.

Then they began to laugh.

“Silly child,” they said.  “The pastor’s clothes are beautiful!  You just can’t see them because you are too young.”  Other children insisted that the pastor was naked, but were also disregarded because of their immaturity.  Those adults with childlike hearts joined in saying that the pastor was unclothed, but they were ridiculed as unspiritual and rebellious.

Eventually the contention over the pastor’s Birthday Suit grew to the point where it needed to be dealt with.  So the children and those adults who were childlike in heart were asked to leave the church.

Those who remained in the church, clamored for the tailor to make Birthday Suits for them as well.  So he did…beginning with the church elders.  The people marveled at how each Birthday Suit was unique in appearance.

In truth, some of the Birthday Suits looked like they could use a good ironing.

Over time, the tailor made a Birthday Suit for each member of the congregation.  He went on to author a best-selling book entitled The Tailor-Driven Church.  His renown in the Church world increased along with his financial portfolio.  The people in the congregation wore their Birthday Suits to church…with pride…each Sunday.

And the pastor?

Well, the church is still small.  Attendance decreased quite a bit when the children and the childlike in heart left.  The pastor never did get his television ministry.  Something about a stupid FCC rule against wearing your Birthday Suit on broadcast television….

And until the day the church died, the members of the congregation couldn’t understand why no one wanted to join them.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

Guarding Our Hearts: From Whom?

By David Ryser & Arla Speer

In the thirty-three years of Jesus’ life on earth, not one time was He ever controlled or manipulated.  Why? Because He never gave anyone access to the place in His life where someone else had the power to control Him.  (Mike Fehlauer).

Over the last few weeks, our ongoing conversation about whether God guards His heart…and what this means for us…has taken on a life of its own.  We discovered fairly early on that flattery is one big thing that Jesus guarded His heart against.  And in guarding His heart from flattery, Jesus was able to resist the pressures put upon Him to become distracted from walking in intimate relationship with the Father and doing the work He was given to do.

Like Jesus, we should guard our hearts against being manipulated by flattery.

And it is equally wrong to give flattery as it is to receive it.

Jesus never flattered anyone at any time.  And there were occasions when a little flattery could have helped Him.  It might even have saved His life.  Jesus didn’t make any powerful and influential friends when He called the religious leaders hypocrites, vipers, blind guides, whitewashed tombs, etc.  Do you suppose Herod was pleased when he heard that Jesus had called him a fox?

I think not.

So what have we concluded about flattery?  First, using flattery to control people is wrong.  Second, using flattery in an attempt to influence God is stupid.  Third, allowing ourselves to be flattered is dangerous.

Jesus guarded His heart against flattery…both receiving and giving it.  So should we.

Jesus guarded His heart against the excessive influence of people in a number of other situations as well.  He always guarded His heart from His enemies.  It’s a relatively easy thing to do.  Your enemies do not wish you well…that’s why they’re called enemies.  But what about your friends?  What about those who love you and have your best interests at heart?  What about those who try to influence you to heed their well-meaning advice for your own good?

Jesus had this problem.

Jesus had to guard His heart from His followers.  In John 2:23, for example, the Bible tells us that many believed in His name while He was at the Passover feast in Jerusalem early in His ministry.  Verses 24 and 25 record Jesus’ curious reaction to this newfound popularity.  John tells us that Jesus did not commit Himself to these followers of His because He knew what was in them.  And what was in them was what is in all men (and women)…including us.

Remember, it was Jesus’ followers…not His enemies…who tried to make Him king on more than one occasion.

Jesus had to guard His heart from his friends.  In Mark 8:27-33, we read of an occasion when Peter received a revelation from God concerning the Person of Jesus.  Jesus praised Peter and then proceeded to reveal to His disciples/friends the work that the Father had given Him to do and the things He would suffer in accomplishing that work.  Out of concern for His well-being, Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him.  Jesus’ response was to strongly scold Peter…even calling him an adversary.

Paul had a day like this also (Acts 21:10-14).  He had to rebuke friends who were admonishing him without knowing God’s will for him.

And what about Job?  He not only had to guard his heart from his friends…he had to guard his heart from his own wife!

Jesus also had to guard His heart from His family.  In Mark 8:20-35, we read of a time when Jesus’ family came to speak to Him because they feared He was losing His mind.  When told that His mother and brothers were asking to see Him, He pointed to those listening to Him and called them His family because they were seeking to do God’s will.

How many times did Jesus have to withdraw Himself from the multitudes in order to spend time alone with the Father?  To clear His mind and His soul from the influence of people… people who loved Him?

And why is it that on the (at least three) occasions where Paul commands believers to avoid certain people (Romans 16:17, 18; 1 Corinthians 5:9-11; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 7, 14, 15), the people they are commanded to keep away from are other Christians?

It was because Jesus found His significance (sense of worth & value) and His security (safety & provision) in His relationship with the Father that He was able to guard His heart from the things and people that would distract Him from either His Father or His work.

We would be well-advised to do the same.

By the way, guarding our hearts is not the same as closing or hardening our hearts.  We can guard our hearts from people and yet care very deeply for them.  How else are we going to speak the truth to one another in love?  To do this, we cannot be overly fearful about causing some discomfort at times.

Guarding our hearts…without hardening them…is especially important in parenting.  Good parents discipline their children with guarded hearts.  So does God.

God guards His heart from His children.  And He commands us to do the same.  Loving parents discipline their children (Proverbs 13:24; 19:18; 22:15; 23:13, 14).  And they discipline their children without undue regard to their whining and crying about it (Proverbs 19:18, KJV).  We all know children who have been destroyed by “soft-hearted” parenting.  We call them “spoiled” for a reason.

So we discipline our children…even when it is hard for us to do so…for their own good.  Children do not always understand why we are training them.  We explain as best we can, according to their capacity to comprehend.  But we train them either way.

And so it is with God.

Being transformed into God’s image is not always…or even usually…pleasant.  It involves facing a lot of things about ourselves that we’d rather not face.  And it requires us to die to ourselves and our own desires when they come into conflict with God’s will and His commands.  We are tempted to cry, whine, and complain when being disciplined by God.  I don’t know about you, but God turns a deaf ear to me when I am upset regarding being disciplined by Him.

I know He hears me.  He just chooses to ignore me.

Because He loves me and is doing what is best for me.  Whether or not I understand what He is doing.  Whether or not I appreciate what He is doing.  Whether or not I approve of what He is doing…or how He is doing it.  I imagine He would prefer that I simply trust Him enough to submit to His discipline without turning into a Drama Queen.  But He loves me enough to work in me…and discipline me…without undue regard for my feelings about it.

God loves and values me so much that occasionally…when necessary…He will guard His heart from me for my own good.

Don’t you just love the way He loves us?

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com