There is a reason most of us learned, somewhere between recess and adulthood, that “he started it” is not a complete legal defense, moral defense, or grown-man life strategy.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!It may explain how the mess began.
It does not always explain why the mess ended with somebody getting punched in the head repeatedly while a camera rolled.
According to The Christian Post, Pastor Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge was arrested and charged with second-degree battery after a confrontation with a 20-year-old neighbor who allegedly swung first. Spell says the man had repeatedly threatened to rape and murder his family and harm his congregation. The video, according to the report, shows Spell landing multiple blows and at least one kick.
Now, let’s be clear. A man has the right to defend his wife. He has the right to defend his grandchildren. A pastor has the responsibility to protect his congregation from real threats. Nobody serious should pretend otherwise.
If the threats happened as described, they were vile. If the authorities ignored repeated pleas for help, that is a serious failure. There is nothing holy about letting predators, bullies, or neighborhood terrorists make decent people live under constant fear.
But that is not where this story goes off the road.
The wheels come off the church bus when a pastor takes an ugly street fight, drapes it in Bible language, and turns “I lost control” into “thus saith the Lord.”
After his release, Spell told his congregation he had fulfilled Mark 16:18 by laying hands on the sick. He joked that he did not know how much recovery there would be.
That is not courage.
That is spin with a hymnbook.
There is a difference between defending your family and baptizing your temper. There is a difference between standing between your sheep and a wolf, and then holding a victory service for the footage.
In normal-person English: self-defense may be necessary. Self-glorification is not.
And Christians, of all people, ought to know the difference.
Pastors are still men. They get angry. They get scared. They get pushed too far. Anyone who has ever loved a family can understand the fire that comes up when someone threatens them. I am old enough to know I would rather have my character tested in theory than on a Tuesday morning with my wife and grandchildren being threatened.
But leadership is not proven by never feeling rage.
Leadership is proven by what you do with it afterward.
A pastor can say, “I protected my family, and I regret where it went.” He can say, “The authorities failed us, and I still need God’s mercy.” He can say, “I am a shepherd, but I am also a sinner.”
That would be powerful. That would be honest. That would sound a lot more like a man under the authority of Scripture instead of a man using Scripture as a courtroom exhibit.
The church does not need pastors who pretend every punch was prophetic. It needs pastors who can tell the truth, even when the truth makes them look less heroic.
Defend your family? Yes.
Protect your congregation? Absolutely.
But don’t turn a battery charge into a revival testimony.
The Lord can forgive a man who loses his temper.
The rest of us should be careful when that man starts calling it ministry.
Source: The Christian Post
