Dealing With Goats in the Church
Churches are filled with both sheep and goats. The sheep belong to Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd of the sheep (Ps 23; Jn 10). The goats do not belong to Him (Jn 10:26), and serve as troublemakers in the assembly.
The typical American pastor loves to count the goats, and his sense of success in the ministry is determined by the total number in attendance. Does the average pastor even know the state of his flock? The larger the congregation, the less intimate is the knowledge of each soul in the pastor’s care. He, of course, will give an account before God for each one. You probably will not want to be a mega church pastor on the Day of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Judgment Day is of little concern to most pastors, who are deluded by the American notion of “bigger is blessed.” Alluring greater numbers of people is typically reserved for gimmick departments of the local church. Employing entertaining events, productive programs, and socially correct outreaches invites the participation of goats. It is sage advice to say, “You keep them with that which you won them.”
Goat-friendly theology must also be promoted in order to create an offense-free environment. This is crucial, while maintaining the façade that the church actually remains a church. The God of the Bible is replaced by the cultural god of love. Indefinable love is anything you might like it to be. Thus, you become like the god you worship. For most people that god is love, defined and explained in one’s own terms. Love (god) is therefore controlled by what one feels, rather than what the Bible reveals.
Goat-led churches are sometimes pastored by crafty wolves. These hirelings and false teachers are unbelievers. Goat leaders are typically narcissists, but wolves are full-blown destroyers. Neither employs sound doctrine from the Bible, but the doctrine of demons is mere humanism (human potential movement). The impetus of humanism is for people to trust in themselves, rather than Christ Jesus, the only Savior of sinners (Jn 14:6; Titus 2:11–14).
Humanism is dominated by anthropology disciplines. The neuro-scientist and popular psychologist are quoted experts in the Sunday sermon. Man-centered Universalism and Arminianism are the preferred theology because these are intimately agreeable with humanism. Throw in a little “exemplary Jesus” and everyone goes home happy. Against the teaching of Scripture, people are told they can choose to follow Jesus or not.
The thrust of therapeutic ministries is always a man-centered moralism that quests to make you a better person, by human wisdom and power. God is relegated to the subservient role of divine enabler. God helps those who are working hard to become kinder and gentler people. Jesus, always meek and mild (and a bit hipster!), serves as the best example and the goal for human development in the church.
Who can deliver the church of Jesus Christ from domination by the goat invasion? The answer to such a question is never surprising to the born again. The Spirit of Christ is the catalyst, for purifying the assembly of God’s people, always in accordance with God’s will for that congregation. Stated another way, the agent to drive the goats out of the church is the Holy Spirit employing the Word of God, which is the Word of truth (Ps 119:160; Jn 17:17). In this, the angels are restrained from outright harvest, so to avoid plucking the wheat along with the tares before the Day of Harvest. God is preserving His elect, even as they are coming to Christ in a less than ideal environment.
The truth of God is like a rod, even a sword (Eph 6:17; Heb 4:12). The sword of the Spirit is the Word, as seen in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word (Jn 1:14). In His zeal for God’s house, the Temple at Jerusalem, our Lord drove out the money changers (Larry Burkett; Dave Ramsey; etc.?), who were profiting off the people of God (Mt 21:12; Mk 11:15).
The prophet Ezekiel also called out the wicked shepherds of Israel, the prosperity preachers, who got rich off of God’s people (Ezek 34). Mammon desires for God’s people to get rich, in theory or practice, so they might forget God (Prv 30:8). Nobody is more forgetfully exemplary than the prosperity gospel preacher.
The goat enterprise, when a local church or denomination is infiltrated and overtaken, is to make a name and make money. Flying under the radar of the scrutinizing spirit is essential, to further the economics of the enterprise. The message must appeal to the flesh, while appearing to be from God.
The appearance of godliness (a goat imitating a sheep) lacks the power of God because the goat is void of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom 8:9, 11). The things of the Spirit are appealing to the sheep, the spiritual man (1 Cor 2:15), but the natural man’s mind is set on the flesh (Rom 8:5–7).
An American pastor, unwilling to preach the Bible, for fear of being sacked by a goat-dominated congregation, either proves he is a mere hireling, or he fights the spiritual war to drive out the goats from Christ’s church (Eph 6:10–20). You will know the pastor by his sermons. If no one is offended by the truth of Christ, you are not in a good place. This is because Christ and Him crucified is not preached (or the Word has already done its good work and you are in the best place!).
The fairy tales, clever sayings of men, psychological principles and quotations, along with sociological surveys (Pew Research and Barna Group) will expose the goat preacher. His penchant is church growth and personal fame, which drives him, “to do great things for Jesus.” His frenetic energy to, “Do, Do, Do and Go, Go, Go,” will be complemented by the dearth of good books in his library.
Christian, you suffer being in the goat pen of imposters. You must have spiritual discernment, derived exclusively from prayerful study of God’s Word, in order to know if you are in an assembly of sheep or goats. Your option is to leave the goat pen, or join the fight to reform your apostate church. Let the Spirit be your guide, but this may be remedied by a look at your pastor.
Pastors who are unbelieving goats are not worth the effort. Your attempted evangelism toward your pastor will no doubt fall on deaf ears. These are men who are ever-learning, but never coming to the knowledge of the truth (2 Tim 3:7). They are blind guides (Mt 15:14; 23:16, 24). You are welcome to test them, but they expose themselves most Sundays, so do not be surprised when they do not welcome your approach with the Word to teach, correct, reprove, or rebuke them (2 Tim 3:16).
In contrast, if your pastor is a believer, who may be fearful for the loss of his job, especially if he expositionally preaches the Bible, then you need to assure him that you will stand with him in the war for truth.
Pastor, examine yourself to see if you are in the faith (2 Cor 13:5). If you are an imposter, a bored psychologist, high-minded philosopher, narcissistic entertainer, or social justice warrior, then please leave the church. Your judgment on the Day of Judgment will be beyond your comprehension. The terror of the Lord Himself should haunt you, today, for starving and leaving vulnerable the flock of God.
If you are convicted by this effort to call you out, you may wish to repent of your sin of unbelief and false teaching. Go before the Lord, and then before the church, and confess your being unfaithful to preach the word (2 Tim 4:2).
Finally, your task, along with feeding Christ’s sheep, in order to present them complete in Christ (Col 1:28), is to drive the goats out by the faithful exegesis, interpretation, and exposition of the Bible. In this calling, I pray you hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful slave,” from Jesus on that day.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
September 7, 2022
