Pickpocket Prognosticators or Principled Pastors

I never cease to be amazed at the psychics, the soothsayers, and the prognosticators who shamelessly publish their predictions each New Year. This year’s clairvoyants are forecasting such things as the capture of Osama bin Ladin, the winner of the Super Bowl, the winner of the November presidential election, and the fate of such folks as Martha Stewart, Kobe Bryant, Scott Peterson, and Michael Jackson, who all await the United States system of jurisprudence to determine their destiny.

Actually, the list of prognostications is endless, because people have a natural curiosity about the future and want to know what looms beyond the distant horizon. Unfortunately, millions of Americans resort to horoscopes, crystal balls, tarot cards, fortunetellers, and psychics to unveil the mysteries of life and provide information about the future.

Jeanne Dixon became America’s best-known psychic and practiced her profession for 50 years. During her lifetime this country experienced unparalleled growth in the interest and acceptance of psychics and the paranormal. Just before her death in January of 1997, Dixon announced plans to join the popular and profitable 900 psychic telephone network industry with her own Jeanne Dixon Psychic Network.

The Psychic Friend’s Network, which had been launched in 1990, was already enjoying enormous success and had revived Dionne Warwick’s faltering career as a recording artist by inviting her to become its spokesperson.

At its zenith the Psychic Friend’s Network employed 1,500 "psychics" logging an estimated 3 million minutes a month at approximately $4 a minute. At that time Inphomation Communications, Inc., the parent company of the PFN, estimated that nearly half of the pay-per-call entertainment services in America were psychic hotlines.

The overwhelming percentage of calls was from people who were having financial problems and wanting some supernatural solution to their plight. In order to insure additional calls the "psychic" would basically tell the caller what he/she wanted to hear. The PFN was padding their pockets with cash by exploiting the poor; and they were obviously more concerned with the quantity of their profits than the quality of their prophets.

Ironically, the Baltimore-based Inphomation Communications, Inc. filed for bankruptcy on February 2, 1998. Although they filed for financial bankruptcy, they should have declared moral and spiritual bankruptcy as well.

One modern day psychic boasted that 78% of his 2001 predictions came true. When I went to school 78 was a passing grade, but nothing to brag about, so I am not particularly impressed with his degree of accuracy.

`Lao Tzu, a sixth-century B.C. Chinese philosopher, did not make predictions. But he did note that "those who have knowledge don’t predict; and those who predict don’t have knowledge."

In the Old Testament the punishment for prophesying falsely was severe. In Deuteronomy 13:1-5 it is clearly stated that a false prophet should be put to death. Consider the prophets of Baal in I Kings 18. Elijah exposed the fallacy of their message and they were slain by the brook of Kishon.

Jesus cautioned his followers to beware of false prophets who would arise during the last days: "And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many ... For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (Matthew 24:11, 24).

In our Baptists churches we call pastors — modern day prophets — to feed the flock of God. We believe that pastors have an infallible textbook as their source of soul food for the people of God. Therefore, do not call a pastor who does not have an uncompromising allegiance to the impeccable Word of God. But once you call that pastor he has a divine mandate to responsibly and authoritatively instruct the church in the things of God from the Word of God. To do less than that or other than that is to disavow the divine calling and live in rebellion to the will of God.

The church members also have a responsibility and that is to submit to the teachings of their pastor and support his ministry. Don’t be guilty of becoming a sermon sampler and a taster of the theology of every new teacher’s that blows into town.

We have too many church folks who are more committed to the ministry of some charismatic preacher or some flamboyant orator than their own pastor. Support your pastor. Pray for him. Love him. He has the responsibility of caring for your souls as one who must give an account to God (see Hebrews 13: 7, 17).