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"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
1 Peter 5:8
Satan will do anything he can to destroy you! He will use anybody to do it. He will even use people within the church to cause you to fall. If you are a church leader, these "warning signs" are here for you to help warn you that either you are in danger of falling or that you have someone in your ministry who is dangerous and needs to be removed from your ministry. Beware of your enemy. He is stronger than you can even imagine.
Beware of inappropriate signs that come your way.
- Too much texting or instant messaging.
- A member of the opposite sex constantly seeking counseling from you.
- Constant slandering of their spouse to you or others in your presence.
- Public evidence of coarse jesting or cutting others down.
- Inappropriate content during private conversations.
- Hearing the words, "This will be our little secret" or "This would be a secret worth keeping." about such inapparropriate content.
Beware of others lurking in your ministry.
- Make sure you have
an ongoing way of keeping your volunteers accountable.
If your volunteers are not growing personally or spiritually, neither is your ministry. Make sure your team is actively growing in the Lord. It is imperative that each person on your ministry team is actively seeking and growing in the Lord. Have devotions with your team and be proactive making sure your members are indeed growing and producing fruit.
- Give your team members a break if they are going through crisis.
- Keep an eye out for inappropriate behavior toward other members of your ministry team or people within your church.
- Have no personal contact with any member of the opposite sex.
If you are in worship, you may have a member on your singing team who is having trouble with their marriage. Often, they will bring their own grief and anguish to the platform that will hinder corporate worship and prevent God from moving within the hearts of His people. You may feel that you are doing them a favor if you allow them to work on their crisis while continuing to sing. Give them the time off to take care of their own marriage so they can heal and work out their own trouble and then slowly return them back to a position of service.
A word of warning to all worship leaders: If a person is going through a separation or having marital problems while continuing to sing, they are likely to develop inappropriate feelings toward you or someone else on your team. A person will get so desperate, they fall into the trap where they are willing to do anything to ruin another marriage so they are not alone in their suffering. They will then pursue that other someone. They feel they deserve a better marriage and will nurture an inappropriate relationship if not checked. We have found that it is just better to give your volunteer time off to take care of their own troubles. Be supportive of them and show grace while they are off but they certainly need time to allow God to heal their lives.
As we continue in our research, we learn that where leaders have fallen, there was someone on the team who makes others feel uncomfortable. Do not take this warning lightly. This is truly a case of, "Where there is smoke, there is fire." We have found a worship team where an individual had made others feel so uncomfortable, other musicians began leaving the band. Others said this person is, "A little too friendly", or "This person spends too much time with those other than her husband." Look out for these phrases when someone on your team is being described. If this goes unchecked, certain trouble will develop.
Keep your communications to 'business or ministry only". If a member of your team needs counsel, or asks you for counsel, refer them to trained professionals or to someone of similar sex. Pastors by nature are sympathetic to hurting people and we often try to comfort those who are hurting.