Is Your Pastor "The Voice of God" to You?
In a recent video by Julie Roys (julieroys.com), the leaders of Daystar TV ministry said that the voice of the leader (Joni Lamb) was like the voice of God to her son and vice president of the ministry, Jonathan Lamb. In other words, Jonathan didn’t need to seek God for himself or consider what was right for him to do. He merely had to listen to his mother and obey her because she led the ministry.
What do you think about that?
Does God want you to turn over your decision making to a spiritual leader?
That’s an interesting theology and not uncommon in many Christian circles. But it’s a theology that has caused a lot of harm and confusion as evidenced in the lives of Jonathan and his wife.
So with this in mind, let me offer an alternative view of spiritual authority and how one might hear from God today. I hope it brings some clarity and relief.
Don't Be Fooled: Why Pastors Aren't Modern Day Prophets
I think the root of the problem is that some leaders today are too quick to equate themselves with Old Testament prophets.
In the Old Testament, certain individuals were given elite status and the ability to proclaim God’s word because they had literally seen God and heard his voice.* Two quick examples are when Moses met God on Mt. Sinai where he received the Ten Commandments as well as the prophet Isaiah, where he tells of his face-to-face encounter with God in Isaiah chapter 6.
These men were considered prophets because they saw God and heard his voice. They became the “voice of God” to his people. And because of this, God’s people were expected to obey what God spoke through these prophets.
Hearing God's Voice for Yourself: What the Bible Really Says
But the Old Testament looked forward to a day when God would “write his Law on people’s hearts” meaning that God’s word would come directly to people and not just through another person. In the book of Jeremiah, God says this:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, …33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. Jeremiah 31:31-34 (emphasis mine)
And in the book of Ezekiel, God said:
I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. Ezekiel 11:19
A shift was coming where God would work within his people rather than necessitating an outside influence. The author of the book of Hebrews quotes these same verses in Jeremiah and then concludes by saying:
In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Hebrews 8:13
In other words, today's leaders are not equivalent to Old Testament prophets and should therefore be treated differently. God wants to speak to our hearts, individually. He wants us to know him personally.
Whose Voice is God’s Voice to You?
My point here is that for any Christian leader to position themselves as the voice of God to others is working from an old script, if not having an overexalted view of themselves.
It’s dangerous to give any human that kind of authority over you because everyone is fallible and easily misguided by their emotions and desires.
There’s a good example of this in the book of Jeremiah where God warns people to NOT listen to the prophets.
16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, …They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord…18 For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened? Jeremiah 23:16,18 (emphasis mine)
These “prophets” weren’t the voice of the Lord for the people. They were misguided and misguiding others with their “words from God.” If it was true then, it can be true today.
When Submission Goes Too Far: Healthy Boundaries in the Church
Jesus made it clear what the role of a minister should be, and shouldn’t be, when he said this:
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:25-28 (emphasis mine)
To “lord it over” someone means to hold someone in subjection or submission to you or to bring them under your power (Strong’s concordance, a Greek dictionary). To “exercise authority” means to wield one's power over another person. Jesus put it bluntly, “It shall not be so among you.” This is not how to lead others.
No one is supposed to hold sway over another, insisting on obedience, because each believer answers to God alone. God gave us our mind and his Spirit to discern his will for us. We can seek wisdom and guidance from others - in fact, we should - but the final decision lies in our hands. We shouldn't relinquish our agency and let anyone dictate to us how to live our lives.
Obey Your Leaders And Submit? Red Flags of Spiritual Abuse
There is a verse in the letter to the Hebrews that is often misquoted to support submitting to authority, but in reality, it says the opposite.
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. Hebrews 13:17 (emphasis mine)
The word “obey” here (peitho in Greek) literally means “to be persuaded or won over by someone's good will.” In other words, listen to what your leaders have to say. Give them the chance to offer you guidance. But it’s not telling people to blindly obey every whim of the leader, especially if there is no good will involved. You have to be convinced in your own mind - persuaded - of what is right for you.
But doesn’t my pastor have special insight for me? Possibly. But you need to be the judge of that. Take his/her counsel and subject it to scrutiny. What do you think? What does common sense say? What does the Bible say? What do other wise believers say?
God’s word through Jeremiah, that I quoted above, says it best:
For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to see and to hear his word…?
The implied answer is: No one. No one has a direct line to God (except the very select few individuals who saw God face-to-face as mentioned above.)
All other leaders are fallible because all leaders are human. They’re subject to bad days, bad information, prejudice, pride, shame, unforgiveness, and a long list of influences that might alter their advice to you.
The Role of a Pastor
I’ve seen too many people in anguish, feeling like they can’t make a move without the approval of their pastor. But this isn’t what the role of a pastor was meant to be. They’re in your life to teach the faith and set an example on how to follow Jesus. Paul told Timothy:
…in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. 1 Timothy 4:12
And Peter encouraged church leaders this way:
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but …eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 1 Peter 5:2,3
The role of a pastor is to move people towards Jesus, not themselves. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me… I sacrifice my life for the sheep….They will listen to my voice…My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me (John 10:14,15,16,27). So a pastor should help Jesus followers to hear HIS voice.
When a leader tells someone to obey because they are the voice of God to them, it’s an abuse of power and the very opposite of what Jesus told his leaders to do. It not only robs people of a true connection with Jesus but it also robs them of their dignity to think and make decisions for themselves.
Learn More About Spiritual Abuse and Toxic Faith
I hope this has given you some insight and clarity to this issue.
If you are in a high control church or spiritual environment you might want to consider reading my book, Broken Trust, which looks at how to identify and recover from toxic faith and spiritual abuse.
You might also find my videos on YouTube to be helpful. And if you’d like to talk to me about these things, you can set up an appointment with me on my website at readingremy.com.
Finally, here are two articles that I wrote that might help:
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* To learn more about this, read Michael Heiser’s book, The Unseen Realm.