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The myth of Catholic Unity:
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Re: The myth of Catholic Unity:
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xof129
Re: Shepherds & Elders 3
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Jul 31 03 8:42 PM
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I rejoice with others where they have Pastors who are truly Biblical, who love their congregations and who are actively teaching them the Word of God.
THOSE leaders whatever we call them, are not my concern. I only pray that we have more like them.
Those leaders CAN call themselves almost anything they want and I will not have a problem with that....most of the time.
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We know that the Jehovah's Witness call themselves -obviously the Witness of Jehovah. As they will tell you, this not only implies that this is who they are (and they are mistaken in this assertion), it also implies who others are Not !
Does this mean that true CHristian Protestant Believers are in fact not witnesses of Jehovah ?
No, of course not, since this is the GOD whom Christians serve and worship. What the use of the term Jehovah's Witness does - however - is convey that those who hold to the use of that term...will be identified with the Watchtower Society and the organizations and teachings of the Jehovah Witnesses, (which are different from those of Historic Christianity).
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Now what if the term "Shepherd" did the same thing ? Most protestants use the term of Leader, or Pastor, or Reverend or even occasionally Bishop.
But most Protestant denominations do NOT use the term SHEPHERD for their pastors. One reason is that this has not been done much historically, and the term Pastor has been the preference.
Perhaps I am wrong or mistaken. Maybe I can be shown which Protestant Group, which major mainline Protestant denomination will call its Pastors "Shepherds". Maybe someone can show me the stationary where it will identify a pastor as such, or maybe I will see a catechism or a directory or a church manual or some other official church document that identifies the use of the term "Shepherd" with standard historical protestant teachings.
Now, that does not mean - for the record - that the use of the term itself is unscriptural. The term is found in the New Testament ( 14 times I think), and it is clear that those who wrote the New Testament DID use the term Shepherd in the same sense that we often use the term "Pastor" today. So I do recognize this.
The Problem in the use of the term Shepherd is that there is a rather Large Cult movement in the U.S. that also uses the term "Shepherd". They do not mean merely a guide or an overseer of the flock.
THey believe that the will of God can only be indicated for the life of a person STRICTLY and under all circumstances by asking a "Shepherd" for every decision that a member of the congregation makes. THe effect of this is that it shifts the control of family decision-making processes to the Church Leader rather than leaving it with the family leaders and heads of households as God intended it.
Several of these shepherds have mandated that families turn over their entire salaries to those Shepherds who would then decide how much the original income earner should retain. These Shepherds have attempted to excercise control over aspects of decision making in the lives of the members of the congregation...under the guise of "guidance". Most of the congregation, after about 6 months in this environment, cease to think for themselves and refuse to make decisions without the direct and explicit approval of their "Shepherd". This is accountability taken to an unbiblical level. This cult has a name. It is formally known within Cult and Law Enforcement groups as "SHEPHERDING".
In essense, it substitutes the Human "SHEPHERD" for GOD, and it follows a Catholic Structure. But it takes it even farther than the catholics. Many of these shepherds also establish "accountability sessions" that bears a strong resemblance to the confessional, where Shepherds have insisted in knowing the most intimate details of the lives of the congregation, details that those other than married couples should not have been privy to. It appears to be the counterpart to the Catholic Cursillo movement, only worse.
Originally started in the 1950s, Shepherding began as a movement started by 5 ministers in charge of 5 separate ministries. Eventually these ministries merged. The impact of the Shepherding movement grew with thousand of Churches under their direct control, along with the money that went with it.
One of the 5 leaders claimed to repent, but has not changed his doctrines and some of the others are deceased. But the Shepherding movement itself continues to this day. YWAM and Maranatha Ministries (BOB Weiner) and the magazine New Covenant continued as part of the Shepherding movement.
Still other Junior "SHEPHERDS" from this movement broke away to form their own shepherding groups.
Another Shepherding group is known as the Boston Church of Christ. THis material is readily verifiable. I will be happy to post names, and sources, and court documents and additional books.
The point is that since "Shepherding" is now its own official name, since it points to a doctrine which is clearly unscriptural and since it involves activities that are far beyond the scope of scripture, those who go around either seeking or accepting to be called "Shepherds" will eventually become identified with the movement of "Shepherding", whether they themselves know about this or not.
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For that reason, in order to have a clear conscience, in order not to offend others, in order that the Gospel of Jesus Christ not be associated with a term that now conjures up concepts and leaders that are hardly Christian, it seems that it would be the better part of wisdom to 1) stick to the use of the term Pastor instead of Shepherd and 2) not use the term Shepherd anymore, unless it is an extremely private context where there is absolutely no doubt that anyone will misunderstand.
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Food for thought ?
xof
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