How to Detect Disloyalty

"Now, man who is put in charge as a manager should be faithful." 

(1 Corinthians 4:2, NLT)

Can you imagine raising up someone in the ministry and feeding him with the good word of God, nurturing him and sending him abroad to oversee a branch of your ministry overseas only to have him tell the congregation to beat you up when you come to the Church premises? It sounds diabolic, unimaginable and highly impossible! But this really happened when Bishop Matthew Addae-Mensah sent out a young man he had trained and fathered only for him to "orangulize" the Church. ("Orangulize" is a term coined by Bishop Dag Heward-Mills and is used commonly in Lighthouse Chapel circles. It stems from "orangus" which describes a rebellious person.)

The father of a young video guy in a Church called upon this son of his to be the next pastor of the Church he had laboured decades to establish. With no biblical training or evident external giftings, this son obeyed his father and preached his first sermon to the congregation while his father was on his deathbed. But before going to preach the Word, the son decided to wear his father's shoes in order to fulfil that mission. He figured that he needed all the grace that was available to fulfil this ginormous task. Indeed, the first week, he began to preach and the whole congregation laughed and rolled on the ground, excited by his message. The following week, as he preached, they laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed! The same thing happened in the subsequent weeks. Today, the Church has grown by leaps and bounds, way beyond the level at which the father left the Church! If you have ever heard of Lakewook Church, a megachurch in the United States of America, then you probably know Joel Osteen, the senior pastor of Lakewood and a bestselling author. Joel Osteen is the son who was the video guy. 

Indeed, when God calls you, he is simply interested in your availability and not your ability. At the time Joel was chosen, everyone would have thought that his dad must have made the worst decision in the history of the body of Christ but it turned out to be one of the most fruitful.

But besides being available, what other ingredient is worth having that will set you up for a flourishing ministry? Faithfulness! It is the most important quality that every Christian, Shepherd or leader needs in their lifetime. The soldiers term it as loyalty!

On the penultimate and final days of the Megachurch conference dubbed "From Smaller Church into Mega Church" under the theme "Loyalty & Disloyalty", organized by the man of God, Bishop Matthew Addae-Mensah, powerfully revelatory insights were shared by Bishop Eddy Addy. He shared on the stages of disloyalty on day 4 of the conference, and the signs of disloyalty on day 5. Buckle up as you carefully study this report from the two nights!

"It takes teachings to cure mischief and diabolic work. Be faithful in another man's work. Receive the associate as you would receive the man of God," Bishop Eddy began.

He affirmed that no matter what happens, you must not change. Just as Jesus is faithful, you must also have the characteristic of being the same yesterday, today and forever. You don't have to change based on what is happening around you.

He asserted, "God is looking for people who are faithful to serve Him."

Recounting his transfer from the Qodesh to the Airport branch of the Qodesh family Church, he explained that, "If you are faithful, you can be transferred anywhere."

He chorused together with the congregation, "Gospel Light! We shall shine it!" 

Glory! We shall shine the light of the Gospel in every city and nation we find ourselves until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!

He urged, "Use your life to build at least one Church before you die."

Your faithfulness is your allegiance and your loyalty.

Reading from Acts 20:28-31, the man of God enunciated that when we are loyal, we war against the ravenous wolves who will not spare the flock. Every member is important to us.

Bishop Eddy adumbrated the stages of disloyalty as follows:

# Independent stage

# Stage of offence

# Passive stage

# Critical stage

# Political stage

# Stage of deception

# Stage of open rebellion

The first stage (the independent stage) is very subtle. You must understand that if you are in the Church, you cannot and must not be independent.

The Bible calls us the sheep of God's pasture not the snakes of His pasture (Psalm 95:6) and there's good reason for that. Unlike snakes, sheep are very dependent creatures. On the other hand, snakes are independent, from the day of their birth.

If you are a Christian, you are not a snake. If you are part of the Church, you cannot have an independent mind.

Many branch pastors do not do well because they have an independent spirit.

The truth is that God is the Originator of anointings. He takes the Spirit that is upon the leader and puts it upon those bearing the burden with him. As a burden bearer, you must be there; if you are not there, you are not going to be part of what God is going to do (Numbers 11:2, 13-18).  

He cautioned, "It's a very big spiritual mistake to tap grace from elsewhere when you are under a particular man of God. Be an ambassador and representative of the man of God."

He also emphasized that loyalty is the foundation of Church planting. 

If you submit to authority, you will have authority. It takes the pastoral gift to build a Church. As a chorister, don't be independent. Flow with what is generally accepted from the top. If, for instance, you are instructed to teach your members on faith, and faith is your "weakest point" you MUST make it your strong point.

He intimated, "Be guided by the Holy Spirit not the honour of men. You don't have your freedom, because you are not an independent entity."

The second stage of disloyalty is the stage of offence. Absalom became Absalom because of offence (Study 2 Samuel 15). People who are ignorant and unlearned can easily be swayed. People who are hurt and have not recovered are potential candidates for disloyalty. If you are pastoring a branch there will be many temptations to be disloyal. Bishop Eddy warned, "Don't allow hurt and offended people to be roaming free in the system."

The stage of passivity is when you are not involved in anything. You become mute during meetings! Watch out for people who are quiet and have withdrawn. Watch out for those pastors who come for meetings and don't have anything to say (Jeremiah 48:10)! Many a time, when people get hurt they become quiet. People who are quiet and don't say anything are dangerous!

From being passive, the person begins to make utterances but every remark of theirs is critical! All that the person says is criticism. Whether constructive or not, all criticism is destructive. The only reason for criticism is the opposition. When you stand outside, you will always have something negative to say. It is said that, "Your point of view determines your viewpoint." The man of God pointed out, "It's not that something is wrong, it's about where you stand."

From being critical, you begin to draw people aside too. This is the political stage. At this stage, the common statement is, "A lot of people are saying..." then the negative criticism continues. Bishop Eddy admonished, "Don't use sermons and prayer topics to spread criticism about your leader. Don't say negative things; let God use you to build this great Church. Say positive things about the Church."

The sixth stage of disloyalty is the stage of deception. Almost all those who have broken off from a Church have also had theirs broken off. Don't be deceived that you're better than your man of God.

The final stage of disloyalty is the stage of open rebellion. At this stage, you rise up like Lucifer! Beware! Don't sit somewhere and criticise your pastor.

The six disloyal enemies of the Church are those who forget, those who pretend, those who accuse you, those who are dangerous sons, those who are ignorant and those who leave you. There are clear signs that you can use to diagnose disloyalty in yourself or your associates (if you are a senior pastor or leader).

Bishop Eddy shared this concluding message on the final night of the "From smaller Church into Mega Church" conference. Before Bishop Eddy began sharing, Bishop Matthew Addae-Mensah postulated, "When people are moving we should chase them with the Church. We must be wise as serpents. Use the ministry materials to teach your members. If we don't teach you, you become something else."

Reading from Deuteronomy 2:24, Bishop Eddy taught that it takes a battle to take what God has already given to you. Church work is a battle.

Ministry is not only a rollercoaster ride of joy and happiness but it is also a battle (Nehemiah 4:14).

Never rise up to break up that which you have already established. You become a transgressor when you do so (Galatians 2:18). He said, "Many pastors of breakaway Churches will go to hell."

Speaking on those who forget, he reminded attendees to not forget that they were appointed. He poignantly posited, "You must never forget!" Honour your father and your mother. Always remember to show that you are grateful. Remember the good done to you and honour the doer of the good. Forgetting leads to demotion.

He further admonished those seated to not be pretenders. When people pretend, they are very dangerous. Pretence is caused by familiarity (read Mark 6:2-5).

If a pastor stays in a Church for a long time, familiarity can creep into the Church. Familiarity neutralizes the anointing on your life such that you are unable to receive from the man of God.

Bishop Eddy disclosed that sleeping and yawning during meetings are all signs of familiarity. 

Trying to correct the mistakes about your leader is a sign of familiarity. Correcting your leader's style of leadership is also a sign of familiarity. You must train your heart to grow in admiration for your man of God. The fact that you have a prophetic gift does not mean you have the right to undermine your senior pastor (study Matthew 16:13-24).

You can leave opinions in the workplace; don't bring it to the Church. If you can't submit to authority, then don't join the Church planters.

To detect disloyalty, look out for the following signs in yourself and your co-labourers in order to deal with them:

# A leader who disappoints you in times of personal pressures or personal crisis.

# A leader who absents himself when the Church is in crisis (Acts 15:36-38).

# Leaders who have moral weakness (1 Timothy 5:2).

# Leaders who have financial weaknesses (John 12:6).

# Leaders who think they can do what you are doing better (2 Samuel 15:4).

# Anybody who is prepared to attack his or her father. Such people are very dangerous.

# Wounded leaders who have not recovered from their hurts. Whatever the hurt, heal it and if anyone is hurt, deal with it. Pray for your heart, that the wounds do not contaminate it. Let your skin be like a duck's skin.

# Leaders who are not prepared to be trained or retrained. Don't operate with your own agenda and mind. Follow the vision, emphasis, procedures, doctrines, and philosophy of the house.

# Leaders who have persistently stormy marriages.

# Leaders who are irritated and reactionary every time you try to correct them. Learn to take rebuke very quietly.

# Leaders who do not keep their promises. You must keep your word even if it hurts you (Psalm 15:4).

# Leaders who are vying for promotion and recognition. Learn to wait for your turn and season. Don't try to get there by lobbying; allow God to lift you up. Don't force yourself into leadership when God has not elevated you. Listen to your father's messages.

# Leaders who do not say "Amen" or smile or clap their hands when the man of God is ministering.

# People who sleep in meetings. Don't spoil the Church with hypocritical attitudes.

# People who do not take notes when you are preaching. Instrumentalists often backslide in their hearts. When you take notes, you become more studious.

# People who do not pay tithes or give offerings. Senior pastors, have a record of all leaders' tithes. If you don't pay tithes, you can't give an opinion. If you are a leader and you don't pay tithe, your leadership must be restricted.

# Leaders who do not attend certain meetings. When you are not at certain meetings, you are different; look at Thomas (John 20:24)! Don't use excuses as cover-up for not coming to Church. Force and fight to be present. If Bishop is conducting a meeting, every pastor and member must be present. Don't sow seeds that you will not enjoy reaping.

# Leaders who do not contribute in a joint effort intended to honour and appreciate the man of God (Galatians 6:6). When you don't join, you are "some way".

Bishop Matthew Addae-Mensah encouraged all resident pastors to obtain the Makarios (a set of 40 books by Bishop Dag Heward-Mills) and to teach from it. He challenged the congregation that by the end of December, we must have 100 new Churches, explaining, "The only way to spread the Kingdom is to plant Churches." 

Gloryyyyyyy!!!

Turn your faith loose at www.gospellightint.org/nu