It has been said that there are three things in the world that are most likely to destroy a person: money, power, and sex.
After assuming leadership, a pastor became out of control, but a new leader eventually took his place.
Following the previous article titled "Pastor's Downfall: Money Is Satan's Most Conventional, Powerful Weapon," we share a story about a pastor's downfall due to power.
Many years ago, Pastor Enyi was serving with a large house church network team that used to have hundreds of pastoral staff who served over 100 churches and even more believers.
In the team, there were many factions, each of which was pursuing its own interests, not the interests of God. He once proposed at a meeting, "Some young members are placed in a higher position. We should believe this is not an artificial arrangement; behind it is God's will. Moreover, some seniors are in lower positions, but we also have to believe that it is allowed and guided by God. Maybe God lets us learn about humility in this way. Isn't it a wonderful thing that the older humble themselves to serve the younger?"
But after some effort, Enyi found that the results were not good—they continued to quarrel and even occasionally came to blows. In the end, he had no choice but to leave it alone.
Because there were too many internal disputes, some of the core leaders of the team chose to withdraw voluntarily, and some leaders took some members out of the team and grew independently. At this time, someone suggested that Pastor Enyi be the new leader of the team.
Led by this pastor, the team carried out many reforms. Internally, the team restored its vigor and vitality; externally, it began to regain its influence.
After the big reform, Pastor Enyi changed from being unknown to being a person with great power. He was not fully prepared for this; he was used to the simple, rude, and efficient way of dealing with the chaos before. Since he made all the big decisions, the resolution could be passed as long as he agreed, even if others did not. And even if all the people agreed with one thing but he didn't agree, this thing couldn’t be carried out.
At this time, he was a far cry from what he had said before: "Pastors should be like the Lord, humble, and sacrifice themselves like a grain of wheat." He began to use or squander the power in his hands casually, even seeking benefits for himself, his family, and his relatives.
Finally, when he came up for re-election, within expectations, he lost the election, becoming an ordinary staff worker again, with another one selected as the team leader.
This pastor couldn’t accept the reality, as he thought the new leader was not as qualified as him. The new one was younger, so why should he listen to him? So, no matter what the new one said, Enyi chose not to listen.
The new leader could accommodate him, but the team and the church were fed up with him. They kicked him out and didn’t allow him to continue to work on the team.
Being an ordinary person at first, the pastor sought his own downfall after seizing the power, though he once served as the team leader with vigour and vitality.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
一牧师品尝到权力的滋味以后，从此开始一发不可收拾。
继前面 “牧者衰亡启示录（一）：恩雅牧师的衰亡之路——金钱是撒旦最常规也最强有力的武器”，今天分享一个牧者因为权而走向衰亡的故事。
很多年前，恩义牧师还在一个规模很大的团队服事。这个团队曾经拥有数百名教牧同工，在这些教牧同工后面，有着一百多所教会以及数量更多的信徒。
团队里面派系林立、每个派系背后，都在为了自己的利益而争吵，而不是上帝的利益和主耶稣的利益。他曾经在一些牧者开会的时候提出，“年纪轻但是被放在更高的位置上，我们要相信这样的安排并不是人为的安排，在这背后有着上帝的旨意。而且，有的人年纪比较大，资历比较老但是位置却比较低，这样的情况确实有。可能上帝就是通过这样的方式让我们学习谦卑自己的功课呢？大的人能够谦卑自己去顺从小的人，这难道不是很美好的事情吗？”
但是一番努力下来，恩义牧师发现结果并不理想——该吵的还是吵，该争的继续争，甚至偶尔动手打起来的都有。最终，恩义牧师无奈的选择了暂时放弃。
内部纷争太多，团队原本的几名核心领袖有人选择了主动退出，也有几个领袖带了一些人离开了团队，独立发展去了。这时候有人提出了建议，那就是让恩义牧师成为团队的新领袖。
在恩义牧师的带领之下，团队进行了许多的改革。内在，团队重新恢复了生机与活力；外在，团队也开始重新恢复影响力。
恩义牧师顺利走过了之前很长时间的艰难之路，现在幸福的生活终于来到了，幸福敲开了他的房门，与此同时，权力也静悄悄地撬开了他的心门。
在大改革后，恩义牧师从此前的默默无闻一下子变成了手握重权，拥有了许多权力。对此恩义牧师并没有作好足够的准备，他已经习惯了之前混乱时期简单粗暴高效率的处理方式。一切大事都是他说了算。一件事情就算别人都不同意，只要他同意的话，那么这件事情就可以通过。而一件事情就算所有人都同意，但是他却不同意的话，那么这件事情也办不成。
此时的恩义牧师，跟之前说出来”牧者要效法主，像一粒麦子一样的卑微自己、牺牲自己“的恩义牧师已经相差甚远了。恩义牧师开始越来越随意的使用或者说是挥霍自己手中的权力，甚至为自己和家人、亲人谋取利益和好处。
终于，几年以后到了要换届选举的时候。结果没有任何意外，同工们选择了恩义牧师之外的一位同工做他们的新领袖。而恩义牧师则落选了，从团队领袖重新成为了一名普通同工。
恩义牧师不能接受现在的状况——新领袖的资历没有恩义牧师老，年龄也更加年轻，凭什么听他的？于是，不论新领袖说什么，恩义牧师都选择不听。
新领袖能够容得下他，可是团队和教会却受够了这样的恩义牧师，他们的选择就是把恩义牧师赶出去，不让他继续在这个团队里面服事。
起于微末，生于草莽，掌握权力而后又亡于权力，这就是恩义牧师在团队服事前后所经历的一切。
故事：牧师因为权力而败坏
It has been said that there are three things in the world that are most likely to destroy a person: money, power, and sex.
After assuming leadership, a pastor became out of control, but a new leader eventually took his place.
Following the previous article titled "Pastor's Downfall: Money Is Satan's Most Conventional, Powerful Weapon," we share a story about a pastor's downfall due to power.
Many years ago, Pastor Enyi was serving with a large house church network team that used to have hundreds of pastoral staff who served over 100 churches and even more believers.
In the team, there were many factions, each of which was pursuing its own interests, not the interests of God. He once proposed at a meeting, "Some young members are placed in a higher position. We should believe this is not an artificial arrangement; behind it is God's will. Moreover, some seniors are in lower positions, but we also have to believe that it is allowed and guided by God. Maybe God lets us learn about humility in this way. Isn't it a wonderful thing that the older humble themselves to serve the younger?"
But after some effort, Enyi found that the results were not good—they continued to quarrel and even occasionally came to blows. In the end, he had no choice but to leave it alone.
Because there were too many internal disputes, some of the core leaders of the team chose to withdraw voluntarily, and some leaders took some members out of the team and grew independently. At this time, someone suggested that Pastor Enyi be the new leader of the team.
Led by this pastor, the team carried out many reforms. Internally, the team restored its vigor and vitality; externally, it began to regain its influence.
After the big reform, Pastor Enyi changed from being unknown to being a person with great power. He was not fully prepared for this; he was used to the simple, rude, and efficient way of dealing with the chaos before. Since he made all the big decisions, the resolution could be passed as long as he agreed, even if others did not. And even if all the people agreed with one thing but he didn't agree, this thing couldn’t be carried out.
At this time, he was a far cry from what he had said before: "Pastors should be like the Lord, humble, and sacrifice themselves like a grain of wheat." He began to use or squander the power in his hands casually, even seeking benefits for himself, his family, and his relatives.
Finally, when he came up for re-election, within expectations, he lost the election, becoming an ordinary staff worker again, with another one selected as the team leader.
This pastor couldn’t accept the reality, as he thought the new leader was not as qualified as him. The new one was younger, so why should he listen to him? So, no matter what the new one said, Enyi chose not to listen.
The new leader could accommodate him, but the team and the church were fed up with him. They kicked him out and didn’t allow him to continue to work on the team.
Being an ordinary person at first, the pastor sought his own downfall after seizing the power, though he once served as the team leader with vigour and vitality.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Pastor's Downfall: Power Corruption
