The Fear of Man

I want to begin this post by saying that I am not a fan of Perry Noble. For those of you who don't know the name Perry Noble, he is a "celebrity" pastor with a church in South Carolina. Noble is extremely influential and has a passion for leading others, but his inappropriate language makes him difficult for me to tolerate.

After saying that, I will admit that there are times when Noble does have a nugget of truth that I latch on to and learn from. An example of such can be found in the article that he wrote on "The Five Core Values of a Church in Decline". One of the core values that he identified is the "Fear of Man". When a church's decisions are made because of what church members will think, not what God wants, the church is beginning its demise.

I wonder how prevalent this thought process is. I guess to some extent all churches have to keep this in mind. At the same time, though, when how certain members of the church will react becomes the driving force between the things that the church does and does not do, that becomes a real problem. It makes you wonder who is leading the church, the pastor under the direction of Jesus Christ or the well-established members who have been at the church since it began.

I have seen this take place in a number of churches. It often leads to difficult and hazardous territory that can lead to hurt feelings and individuals walking away from the church.

I guess I don't really have a point to what I am writing. I am simply reacting to the article that I read and what I gleaned from my reading.

Any thoughts?