When you are accused the people around you are accused as well. If a pastor is accused, the whole church is polluted with that accusation. If one church is accused in a network, then the whole network can be polluted with that accusation. Let me say it like this: accusations quickly spread to those associated with you.
Want to be my associate pastor? Part of the job description will be to be accused of the same things I am. Don’t expect to be the clean, holy one in the network! We all get accused, and it’s generally the same thing. You aren’t greater than us, you aren’t greater than Jesus – if he was accused, you will be too!
So whenever you associate with a group, realize you will be accused with the same things they are. When a Word of Faith guest speaker comes to Tree of Life, I get the same horrible emails all the word of faith guys get. When a grace speaker comes to Tree of Life, I get the same vicious letters all the grace guys get. Dave Duell, my dearest mentor for many years had his own unique set of accusers, and trust me they aimed some of their lies at me.
I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, it’s just a thing, and I am just telling you to get used to it. It’s part of the price you pay to be part of something bigger than yourself.
I had some vicious accusations a few years ago, real nasty stuff. There was no truth behind them at all, but a couple of pastors I was mentoring distanced themselves for me. They couldn’t handle the association of accusation. They said their churches wouldn’t grow if they were tied to me. Now, we are running in 7 locations, with hundreds of people, one of the largest TV ministries in the United Kingdom, and their churches are still the same size. They missed out on a powerful association because the price was too much. I know people who would come and meet Dave Duell when he came to England, but they wanted me to keep it a secret, they didn’t want to deal with the accusations. I believe the theological term is wimp!
You have to realize that to be part of something bigger than yourself, to have a great mentor, to gain great wisdom, you must always be prepared to be accused the way they are.
How was Peter accused – you’ve been with Jesus haven’t you Peter. You are one of them (Luke 22.58). And Peter couldn’t handle that and lied like a dog – No, I am not one of them! Sometimes that pressure is intense, but stand up to your accusers, stand up for your church, your network, your friends!
I respect ministers who while under the pressure of accusation, stand up and still minister the Word and the Spirit and bring grace and wisdom and inspiration to people. Peter quit because a young girl accused him of being with Jesus! Just the accusations Jesus endured for years and Peter didn’t last 24 hours.
Perhaps some people have avoided being my disciple because of the accusations against me don’t know how strong I am to handle them, perhaps they wouldn’t last 24 hours under the same accusation. Perhaps God is calling you to a certain church or ministry and you know that you will be accused going there, but you maybe need to develop a backbone?
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