This is a guest post from Assemblies of God sectional presbyter Rev. Scott Oswnbaugh. I liked his article so much I got his permission to share it with all of you. Enjoy!

“One of the laws of the sea is sharks smell blood. A recent study by National Geographic demonstrated sharks can pick up blood in the water from up to a mile away. It seems to be a law of the church that shark-like people smell the blood of a hurting minister and are quick to zero in on the kill. A book I am currently reading, “Handbook for Battered Leaders” by Janis and Wesley Braga, points out how easy it is for those who consider themselves Christians to find their baser side when making attacks on someone in ministerial or pastoral leadership, and they draw their examples from 2 Corinthians, showing how the church there went after Paul like a shark after a wounded fish. 

There is no quick and easy formula for removing the sharks from the church. Paul faced them and many of you reading this have either faced them in the past or have a few circling around you right now. Scripture  does give this guidance from Hebrews 12 — “Looking unto Jesus”.  Certainly our Savior faced blood-thirsty sharks who got their wish and had Him crucified. His resurrection from the dead showed the sharks do not have the last word!  When facing any kind of opposition in ministry, whether from sharks with skin on or the emissaries from the shark named Satan, the key is simple: look to Jesus. Don’t try to swim out of the attack on your own; wait for Jesus. As the old chorus says, “He is able to deliver thee!”

Thanks for all you do to advance the Kingdom of God! 

Blessings,

 

Scott Osenbaugh

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