Should Pastors Join Unions?

After almost fifty years in the ministry, I've noticed among ministers that the ones who talk most about joining a union are those who view the ministry as a job rather than a calling. When I was at seminary many years ago, our professor gave us this advice: "Never step down from the pulpit to become Prime Minister!" I've never forgotten this wise counsel. After all, a minister's life should result from a summons from God and this puts him into a different category of job than practically anyone else.

Following the great servants of God in the Bible, including Christ Jesus our Lord, a true pastor is convinced that God will take care of him (cf. II Timothy 4: 17, 18).
He has no need for a union to protect him and agitate for what he needs. He takes it to the Lord in prayer believing that God will work out His will in the hearts of His people. If his life and ministry are to be genuine at all, he must reflect that life of faith which God demands from those who give their all to Him in service.

I noticed that some ministers in Canada according to the paper had joined the UAW (United Auto Workers). I mused inwardly, "Is that because they can drive? Or it it because the union has 'united' in it?" What must our people in the pew think when we so crassly put our ministry for God on the line. A good pastoral relationship between pulpit and pew is based on both biblical preaching and on what a pastor exudes from his life. He never has the option to say, "Do what I say but not what I do!" His ministry, for better or worse, is tied up with the way he lives (cf. I Tim. 3:1-7).

If you knew me more intimately, you would know that I bear the inward marks for horrendous battles for the Lord. The ministry, I am sad to say, has left indelible marks on my soul and mind which cannot be erased. Some have purposely tied to derail me and my family spiritually simply because they disagreed with me on some issue.
Others just haven't liked my personality. In spite of all this negative input, with the help of prayer and God's Spirit as well as many who have gone out of their way to show love and kindness to their pastor and even defend him in time of need, I have survived and come through earth's spiritual battlegrounds with a deeper and more profound love for my Saviour and His service than ever. As a lad I wanted to be nothing other than a pastor. Today, I feel the same way. To serve the Lord as His anointed servant is life's greatest calling and challenge.

So, then, what about pastors and unions. I fear that ministers joining unions will only further muddy the waters as to what God's work and service are all about. And, as an interesting aside, I have noticed that those who desire and feel the need to join a union are usually from church groups that have half emptied their churches because of downgrading the Bible on moral issues and true doctrine. We can only speculate, "False doctrine and the teaching of moral values contrary to the Bible have half emptied these churches. Will the craze to join unions by their ministers finish the job?"

Should Yasser Arafat be Buried In Jerusalem?

Yasser Arafat lies somewhere between life and death in a French military hospital near Paris. Whether he is braindead and just being kept barely alive by machines is anyone's guess. It is certain that the Palestinian territories are full of anxiety as to what will happen when he dies. Factions like: the AlAqsa Brigade, Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad are all vying for power along with the Palestinian Authority Leadership itself.

Unfortunately, Arafat has done little to assure a successor. Generally speaking, too suspicious and fearful of someone ousting him as leader of the Palestinians, he has been unable to share power with others and groom them for the day when they would take over the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). His motto seems to have been, "Divide and conquer". Many very gifted Palestinian leaders have resigned because of their frustration with Arafat.

Yasser Arafat won the Nobel Peace prize along with then Israeli Prime Minister Rabin (later unfortunately assassinated by one of his own). Those were the days when the Camp David accord was crafted with the help of President Bill Clinton and Madeline Albright. In perhaps the most stunning reversal, however, Arafat put the welfare of his people in jeopardy when he later refused to sign the Camp David accord. Such an acceptance would have guaranteed the Palestinians their own homeland adjacent to Israel and created a new country for them living at peace with Israel. Instead, Arafat and his Palestinian cronies chose the path of violence and bloodshed by initiating the infamous Intefadeh. One of his compatriots revealed the PLO leaderships' true intentions when she blurted out "We'll give them Hell!" So vitriolic has been their hatred of Israel that at the international conference on racism (buoycotted by the U.S. and Israel) held in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Palestinian representatives were handing out pamphlets showing Israelis with hooked noses and Palestinian blood pouring from them as well as a swastika on their jackets. This had to be the ultimate insult to Israel. You see, Arafat, in his heart, could not turn away from his hatred of Jews and desire to annihilate the state of Israel.

Where Chairman Arafat totally lost it was in his inability to change and modify in order to become a great leader and statesman for his people. Like many Israelis, Arafat fought a guerilla war to put his people on the map. His bloody machinations verged on terrorism. When he became the elected leader of his people, however, he had a unique opportunity to transition to a peacetime head of state. This he never quite seemed able to do as revealed by the fact that he did very little (except talk) to curb the militant groups which were rising up in his land. He installed a government that was based on cronyism and graft. It was a known scandal that he siphoned off money in the millions, donated to help his people living in squalid conditions in the territories so he could bankroll his young wife in Paris so she could live the life of the rich and famous. He even took money donated by Sadam Hussein and distributed it as reward money to the families of suicide bombers! Many are the executions of Palestinians he has publicly presided over for treason and collaborating with the Israelis. As a result of his ill-conceived manoeuvres, he incurred the never-ending hatred of General Ariel Sharon, who later became the present Prime Minister of Israel.

Israeli leaders who have the power in Palestine have overhwelmingly stated publicly that under no circumstances would Israel allow Arafat to be buried in Jerusalem, the city of peace, which has belonged to the Jew since the time of King David and which God decreed would be their's forever. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is anything but a pushover. His nickname, "the bulldozer", is well chosen. He has flatly said that Arafat cannot be buried in the Holy City. Perhaps the Israeli Justice Minister, Yosef Lapid, put it best when he went on record in the international press as saying "Jerusalem is the city where Jewish kings are buried, not terrorists!"

Values To The Core!

Apparently one overarching issure emerged in the recent American elections. What the American people were most concerned about was not the economy or the war in Iraq or even social issues. Instead, they were preoccupied with moral values as they went to the polling stations to vote. What was the result? President George W. Bush, a born again conservative, was reelected with the largest popular vote in American history. The Republicans, champions of morality, were also elected overwhelmingly and now have a firm grip on Congress. In contrast, the Democrats are still reeling from the lashing the electorate gave them. Hopefully they have learned a few lessons about the way America thinks!
I for one am glad to see this "return" to morality. Surely we have gone too far to the left with twisted Hollywood leading the charge to unseat old-fashioned values. The people have finally clearly said, "Enough! It is time to return to morality!" It amazes me that our politicians would be taken by surprise in this return to basics! After all, whenever people feel threatened (as we do right now with the war on terrorism and Iraq) they return to values which have emerged as tried and proven in time of crisis.
So, we congratulate President Bush on his timely victory. We say to our senators and congressmen, "God bless you; our prayers are with you!" It is to be hoped that President Bush will soon be called upon to appoint one or two outstanding jurists to the Supreme Court. Then perhaps America will lead the way in protectingthe rights of the unborn and modifying laws on abortion. Can a nationwide ban on same-sex marriage not be far off as well?
Jesus' words echo in our minds, do they not. He said, "Are you still so dull? Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean'. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 5:16-20).
Wise is the people who pay attention to what is going on in the heart (inner self). For this reason, Americans are now turning to Jesus in droves so that they may be remade inwardly through His saving power. Herein lies America's greatest strength! Didn't our forefathers seek to impress this upon us by putting on our money the slogan, "In God we trust". In other words, "Render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God!" There is no other hope for America and the electorate discerned this in thew way they voted November 2nd. Values to the core!