Ye Have Not Many Fathers

The Epidemic of Unmentored Preachers

There is an epidemic breaking out. It is not bird flu, Covid or measles, although we must certainly wise up on those as well. The outbreak of which I am speaking is a spiritual one. There is an urgency in the spirit on the consequences of continuing to ignore this outbreak.

1 Cor. 4:15 says this:

For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

In 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Paul is giving correction to the Corinthian church. In this verse he speaks to the need to have more than just instructors. Lately in our news cycle, we are seeing evidence that we need to return to a better model for those who have been called by God to carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please make sure to pay attention to that distinction.

We see today many who have a platform but lack power. We see many preachers operating in ways that do grievous harm to the flocks they pastor. Note the pattern in this verse:

Instructors vs fathers- We collect many teachers throughout our walk in various subjects. However there is a distinct difference in an instructor who merely gives facts and data but doesn’t stick around to make sure that information is understood. A father (or mother) in the faith operates differently. They will not only instruct, but will ensure that what is being taught is not received with confusion. They will also, should they see error, stand up and correct in love.

Begotten in Christ or shot to a platform? Paul shares here according to the AMP translation, that he has through Christ become responsible for the Corinthian church. Too often, the instructors we sit under merely vault those they teach to a platform. We saw evidence of this at the recent inauguration debacle. Lorenzo Sewell Prayer . We see it in action when pastors attempt to operate in spiritual gifts incorrectly. These preachers are often given a platform because they sit in the right halls of power, or they are willing to sign on to egregious schemes and operations in order to gain a platform.

If you are a student of Scripture, you know the history of Paul and Timothy. This is the model most often used when mentoring in the church was still discussed. Unfortunately, the Church has seemingly gone away from mentoring. Mentoring takes time, it takes energy and it takes being vulnerable.

I recently listened to a Pass the Mic episode in which Pastor Tyler Burns and Dr. Jemar Tisby discuss rapid growth in churches and some of the new and upcoming pastors who are experiencing that. While healthy growth is good and should be celebrated when it is handled well, recent scandals we are seeing from these new “stars” of the pulpit (where is that in Scripture?!) give us plenty of caution when we want to hitch our wagons to any movement that has a lot of glimmer. We have been continually warned in Scripture to “try the spirits, to see if they be of God. “( 1 John 4:1). I most certainly am NOT saying that rising young movements are all demonic. I am saying that they need tempering and mentorship.

Having personally come from a faith tradition in the Black church where mentorship was strongly valued, it saddens me to see that much needed tool be so casually tossed aside in recent times. The true Church of the Living God needs to return to the pathways once set before us and exhibited in Scripture.