You May Have Been Ordered Closed, Not Muted

By Reverend Paul N. Papas II

September 1, 2020

 

 

Since there have been Preachers, there have been local leaders.  Those called to be Preachers know the hours are long and the pay is short and is not the reason for becoming a Preacher. Often times Preachers don’t get to enjoy their days off. Some laugh at the idea of a day off.

The COVID-19 virus has given certain officials an excuse to order churches to shut down or not gather and/or not to sing.  Some churches argue that they must give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and must shut down. Then there are a few, like John MacArthur, who believes that Preachers are called to preach the Gospel to all the world. They believe that they should obey God before man.  I see no written exceptions in the Bible or in history for preaching the Gospel to the world.

If anything, I see that history shows that when times are tough, people need a message of hope delivered by Preachers. During many periods of our history, it was the church which provided community support and it was the church which was the source of information.

The British targeted Preachers, who they called the Black Robe Regiment, during the Revolutionary War to censor the message of Liberty and Freedom.

Over the years, just as today, there are hirelings occupying the position of the Preacher, ready to accommodate Caesar. (1). A true Preacher is a servant of the flock, and a servant leader who is ready to rescue the one in his flock who has needs or goes astray.

The community today may appear be to partially isolated and we’re not, just the opposite: we’re bound in Jesus. “If one member suffers, all the members suffer” (v. 26 nasb). As believers in Jesus, members of God’s family, we move toward one another into the pain and into the sorrow and into those murky places where we would fear to go alone. Thankfully we do not go alone. Preachers are needed now more than ever to help heal the body, and the community, and the country. Hirelings won’t do. They will run in the face of difficulty.  The Gospel supports Law and Order and rebukes chaos. The Gospel teaches that the devil is the author of chaos.

Chaos relies on fear, anxiety, and corruption to control and intimidate people.

No matter what your trouble is, your helps comes from above. The peace that surpasses all understanding comes from above.

Conflict is part of life on earth. Peaceful resolutions come from above. Peacefully resolving conflicts is preferred by most parties.

Unfortunately there are those who have no interest in peaceful resolutions and, in which case, disengagement is warranted and third party assistance may be required. At times self defense may be required.

Let’s all try to be true servant leaders finding peaceful resolutions wherever possible.

 

Reverend Paul N. Papas II is a Pastoral Counselor with Narrow Path Ministries (MA and AZ) and Founder of the Family Renewal Center (AZ) www.narrowpathministries.org and www.familyrenewalcenteraz.org

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(1) https://preacher01704.wordpress.com/on-the-difference-between-a-hireling-and-a-shepherd/

http://www.blackrobereg.org/history.html

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Related

https://narrowpathministries.wordpress.com/2020/09/13/video-california-judge-orders-no-indoor-worship-services-for-john-macarthur-and-grace-community-church/

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/09/13/vatican-urges-catholics-to-return-to-public-sunday-worship/

The Insane Conversation About Guns

By Reverend Paul N. Papas II
1 January 2013

 

Unless you have been vacationing on a far away island somewhere you have heard or read several stories about the recent shooting tragedies involving guns such as Sandy Hook.

When you or I start exhibiting unusual behavior someone in authority starts asking us some very specific questions…such as do you know who the President is? We all know it is Eisenhower, of course.

When those in authority start exhibiting unusual behavior We The People can feel helpless to do anything about it….

Anytime there is a problem that needs fixing it is always best to find the real cause of the problem.

If you want a really high bill from your auto mechanic just drive drop off your keys with a note saying “my car is not acting right”. Your mechanic could just start replacing parts to see if your car will act right. I hope you have an unlimited credit line at your bank to pay for all the parts and labor you’ll see on your bill.

There are many noisy people who are blaming guns for the actions of people.
I have been around guns for a good part of my life and I have yet to see one load itself, change locations, or pull the trigger.

There are a number of people who have driven cars under the influence – of alcohol or drugs or both. We tried banning alcohol which only created a large number of new crimes and led to the IRS being made an enforcer of new crimes. The use of drugs is highly regulated or banned. Does that mean we now ban cars? The car did not drive itself and insert the under the influence driver, so perhaps not. The operative part of this picture is the driver who was under the influence who needs to make internal changes in order to save his and other people’s lives.

Using the under the influence driver above, let’s look at Sandy Hook as an example. The State of Connecticut has strict gun control laws that were in place before the Sandy Hook shooting. The shooter did not own any guns – he stole them from his mother…and killed his mother. The problem is not with the laws, rather the shooter.

There is some talk that the shooter had a medical condition of a mental illness. We have been fighting the Stigma of a medical condition of a mental illness for years. Budget cuts usually start with those who have the smallest voice or who don’t have sexy issues.

The usual gun haters have been using the recent shooting tragedies to advance their goal to take all guns away. The Second Amendment was put in place to protect citizens from government tyranny. Dictators need to take away all citizens’ right to free speech, right to peaceably assemble, right to redress the government with grievances, and the right to defend themselves in order to control the lives of its citizens. See (link removed as it no longer works)

The gun haters succeeded taking away the guns in England in 1997. The London Bobbies did not carry guns until after the ban was put into place. Crime has skyrocketed in England against the defenseless citizens because only the bad guys have guns. The police can not get there fast enough to prevent deaths of citizens at the hands of the bad guys.

As I see it we can ban cars so the under the influence driver does not have anything to drive, hereby saving lives. We know banning alcohol does not work. The war on drugs has not worked…so let’s ban cars. Look at all the fuel we won’t have to buy from countries who don’t like us if we ban cars. You’re right that could be called an insane idea.

Have you noticed that the shooting tragedies all have some things in common…they all happened in gun free zones? How about addressing some real solutions to the problem of mass shooting tragedies, like having citizens with guys nearby. The mass killers believe that they can have their way of basically shooting people in a barrel because no guns are allowed and no one will shoot back. If a citizen had a gun he could return fire while others escaped.

As to another thing the shooting tragedies have in common is some form of a medical condition of a mental illness. Common sense tells me that it is more cost-effective to treat the symptom rather than the result, such as helping the person who may have thoughts of committing a mass murder rather than dealing with the carnage afterward. It should be made very clear that one out of five people are affected by a medical condition of a mental illness and you would not know most of them because they are perfectly capable of navigating normal lives which we all seek.

It is my belief that in order to fix a problem it needs to be properly identified before we can look for a solution. In the case of mass shooters or serial killers the problem may include a medical condition of a mental illness or not. Bad guys can usually find a gun if they want one and I seriously doubt they will bother to try to register it. Banning guns will not stop the use of guns by the bad guys. However, it will ensure that citizens will be more vulnerable to the whims of the bad guys.

Perhaps one focus out of these shooting tragedies can be to fund programs for people with a medical condition of a mental illness.

The operative part of this picture is the shooter who needs to make internal changes in order to save his and other people’s lives and help is available.

Reverend Paul N. Papas II is a Pastoral Counselor with Narrow Path Ministries (MA and AZ) and Founder of the Family Renewal Center (AZ). http://www.narrowpathministries.org and http://www.familyrenewalcenteraz.org

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