Mudslinging In The Church Is Real

In short, most mudslinging in church is really about shaming people into compliance to the demands of these unscrupulous people who even dare to publicly address themselves as pastors. And shaming believers into forced obedience is not uncommon here and they come in many forms, shapes and sizes.

This article is written in reference to churches in Malaysia in particular. In the States, the topic and title would have been more widely known as “church hurt”. If you are from another country, please continue reading but doing so with a pinch of salt.

First and foremost I have to make it clear to the writer of the attached Facebook post below, that I do not personally know you, neither do you know me and we have both never met in life. However, one or more of the pastors who interacted with your post, knows who I am and their sub-sharing of your post on their own pages, made to drive the same points you are making, is what resulted in me using your post as the basis to show the world that mudslinging in churches is a real issue, and it is not always originating from disgruntled church members.

The purpose of this post is not to degrade anyone but to use the facts of the case to demonstrate what is unfair church shaming and that it is often the pastors themselves, in their own organizations, despite possessing authority to mitigate and resolve disputes, they choose to use various unethical means to compel members to toe in to their demands, including the example we shall see clearly here in this post.

And not only the originator of the Facebook post below is himself a pastor, but in the lineup of commentators of the post, some are themselves pastors from other prominent churches in Malaysia, who chose to join in the feud, by agreeing and attesting to the shaming of believers, as though what is stated by the authoring pastor, is dead on faultless and cannot be questioned.

I have personally had my own fair share of facing such issues, with similar mudslinging in the church done on different platforms, WhatsApp chat groups, mouth-to-mouth gossiping and being outright denounced at the pulpit, without being given opportunity to defend myself. And I have not only been wrongly chastened and shamed by one church, but by multiple churches across the town where I am residing, not for doing what is wrong but for doing what is right to call out against corruption. And none of the people who called themselves pastors, not one, ever gave me an opportunity or platform to explain myself. Therefore, I’m fully qualified to comment on this subject, to provide the story from the other side of the coin, as opposed to where pastors and preachers are standing.

Sometimes, the exchange of conversation becomes so heated up, that other people having access to my blog and Instagram thought I am talking about all Christians in general, because due to the reason being I try not to name anyone openly, unless I am absolutely compelled to do so. And in the process, because I generalized most of my statements, many others misunderstood the meanings of what I am saying, that were originally only targeted at certain people that are not being named. For this, I do apologize to my readers (especially to non-Malaysians) for not being specific and for any misunderstanding that might have occurred in the past. So, if you read any contentious material from any of my channels, kindly be informed that the information do not necessarily refer to you, most of the time.

Coming to back to this mudslinging in the church. The post on Facebook above is a classic example of how uncivilized pastors themselves could sometimes become. It starts off with the pastor complaining about disgruntled members having lost interest to serve in his church. It ends with the claim that his church is “the gate to heaven” and the veil threat that “God is watching”.

And this pastor even had the audacity to suggest that entering heaven is related to how members help him with free cleaning services. Seriously, I certainly sympathize with those who follow this pastor and what he teaches them concerning salvation. Enough drama for all to see? Sure it does. You read for yourself what is printed in between, the details of it in the post itself above.

In the first place, if churches do not have the financial capability to hire cleaners to keep their premises clean, it must be stressed that this is not a church member issue but a problem with the people who manage or maintain the premise of the church. People go to church to worship God and to learn about God. Nobody goes to a church to dedicate free services to its pastors and at the same commit to contribute money to it as well. If you want people to work for you, pay them and don’t treat members like slaves that are supposed to live by your threats that “God is watching” them if they do not do the works.

Doing this is no different from practicing forced labor and doing it in the Name of God. If anyone wish to serve by doing cleaning work in the church, let them come freely and do so willingly without the strain of being shamed into doing it.

Secondly, this pastor is assuming that his church is the “House of God” or the “Gate To Heaven”. Now, pastors take note of this, and note this very carefully; if you claim your premise is the House of God, then it is a matter of your own opinion and a statement that originates from you. Whether your statement is true or false, is another matter altogether, and it is up to every individual who decides to attend your church to determine whether your church is a true church representing the Church of Christ in the Bible or a false church. It is not in the power of you pastors, who gets to decide what others think or perceive the true nature of your church is. But if a pastor has to shame his own members on Facebook in order to persuade cleaners to work for him for free, then common sense would probably tell us that something is amiss here and not fitting of the characteristic of a true Church of Christ.

This is just one fine example I could put together to expose the inner conducts of some of our churches in Malaysia, that are deplorable and just plain disgusting. Perhaps, when I have the opportunity to do so in the future, I’ll show you more, once I have the right sets of examples and evidences.

In short, most mudslinging in church is really about shaming people into compliance to the demands of these unscrupulous people who even dare to publicly address themselves as pastors. And shaming believers into forced obedience is not uncommon here, and they come in many forms, shapes and sizes.

In my ex-church, the Sunday school services no longer exist today because people left for the same reasons. The leaders themselves have been quietly grooming forced labor, training kids and children to become obedient to pastors instead of being obedient to God. They are prepped to do all kinds of works including teaching, to serve as musicians, giving away their money and performing all kinds of services in the interest and favor of the church leadership. Instead of teaching people to fear God and training men and women in righteousness as commanded by Scripture, these leaders groom our kids instead to serve them and their ulterior motives.

I hope the people who read this, get my point. It is not a right thing for church leaders to bully believers into submission of any kind. And if you are a pastor of a church who practices all this abhorrence, you better hope that none of your members will come to me directly with evidence against you. I don’t just write about unethical forced labor inside churches. Thank you and have a nice day.

Click here to read the update – The Mudslinging Continues.