An abuse of authority????

[kingdomapostle]

UPDATES:

The Pastor has continued to write status messages that generally address sin issues in the church that keep the saints entangled. They have always used their fb page for edification and for fellowship purposes, so this is not mean spirited or to poke at anyone.

The Christian has publically and privately gone on an all out character assassination attempt to disrespect the Pastor by calling Him a false prophet, and those that follow him stupid (insert profanity).

The amount of disrespect this "Christian has shown is shocking" from someone who takes pride in being "saved, sanctified, and Holy Ghost filled."

IMO--
I know BOTH individuals very well. The Pastor has been in ministry for years and is respected in his community and nationally. He does not go around "picking" on people. However, he is also the overseer of other ministries, so it’s not a "stick to your flock only" situation. Usually, this Pastor is right on target when dealing with issues concerning the church and not just churches in their fellowship- we are talking national influence.

The Christian, while growing up in holiness, now attends a larger "mega church" that is very liberal when it comes to what Christians can/can not do and "still be saved." Yet he is a popular figure in the community and is very well liked by many. Therefore, he knows that his influence carries a certain amount of weight even if he is not a preacher.

While the Pastor moved on, the Christian invited "whosoever will" to come and make comments that mocked the Pastor throughout the night. It was sad scene.

My thoughts are that the Pastor's comments were pointed somewhat at the behavior of the Christian, however, they were said with concern and love for their soul and those that would see that behavior thinking “well they do it, it must be ok.” Usually Christian leaders ARE called to speak up about issues in the church so I don’t see much difference in this. No names were called, so why did the Christian have to take it so directly and so personally anyway?

God does not call us to care for those who are just a part of “our church.” What about THE BODY OF CHRIST? Leaders are not just called to watch their flock although that is their priority. Leaders are examples in the EARTH of what Why should someone be a part of our church to care about their souls. If they came to the Pastor's page, saw the comment, and was convicted/offended by it then they should change their behavior, not blast the Pastor, ESPECIALLY if they are wrong.

Even if the Pastor was out of line or crossed the lines of his authority in speaking so directly about the issue, WHY would a Christian go to those extremes to "right the wrong." You can't "right a wrong" with more wrong anyway. More damage was done on the part of the Christian for opening up the Pastor to that kind of scrutiny and judgment among those who are NOT saved or those that were commenting without really knowing who the comments were pointed at. The Christian bordered on harassment even, when he publically cursed out other Pastors/congregation that saw his comments and asked the purpose for them (X rated stuff)!

I don’t see abuse of the Pastor’s authority at all, although the status could have been handled more discretely. There is a way to address issues that do not blast others, but knowing the heart of the leader, I don’t think that was His motive at all.