Why Pastors CENSOR Themselves | This Will SHOCK You! | Pastor Reacts

And you know the saying whatever you do to get them is what you're gonna have to do to keep them, you know.

You got to think where do these teachers come from. What school is dishing out. Teachers who teach to suit their own.

Passions. And so now if people want to you know. Celebrate the overturn of Roe v. Wade. All you have to do is say white Christian nationalism.

Why Pastors Censor Themselves and the Power of Cultural Narratives

The reason why we have to as Christians go to Christian YouTube to find people talking about cultural issues because we just cannot find a lot of pastors doing the same thing in churches is because. Welcome back.

It's a new week in time for a brand new video here at wise disciple. My name is Nate Sala and I'm here because of Jesus marching orders to all his disciples. In Matthew 10 16. He said behold, I'm sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.

So be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. That means here at wise disciple We are seeking to become the effective Christians that we were meant to be. If you're brand new welcome I'm so glad that you are here.

Huge huge. Thank you and huge shout out to Ruslan for sending some folks my way. I had no idea that was gonna happen when I made a little video talking about aliens last week, but praise God Praise God appreciate you all being here.

Voddie Baucham, Ben Shapiro, and Why Pastors Avoid Cultural Issues

Well today. Let's look at a fascinating conversation between Vodie Bakam and Ben Shapiro. Why are pastors appearing to censor themselves? Why do they appear to be running far away from current cultural issues that all of us Christians really need to become familiar with?

And understand so we can live our lives according to God's Word. Well Vodie is going to give us some of his thoughts and so am I so without further ado?

Let's jump right in let's talk about why it seems that Religious leadership has kind of abandoned the playing field. It really is an amazing thing. It used to be that Religious leaders would make very strong statements on behalf of the values that we're talking about right now.

And now it seems as though if you do you're immediately labeled a bigot or terrible. And so religious leaders seem to have almost abandoned the field. They instead Talk about vague ideas about tolerance and niceness and and they'll talk about human dignity.

But not in any sort of deep and abiding way. They use buzzwords rather than than actual hard-nosed rules, and you know what do you think happened? Why is that happening?

I think there are a couple of things happening number one.

I think something's happening too, and I wonder if my answer is Vodie's answer, so let's find out.

I think the people pointing the cameras. Like to point the cameras at those people right there there there are you know? Many out there who have not bowed the knee to bail. But but people don't like to point the cameras at them.

I think that's number one.

I think number two that's completely true by the way. My friend Greg Cokel says it like this. The one who controls the microphone controls the conversation. Just saying the same thing using different words here, but totally agree with Vodie.

There are a lot of people out there who are enamored with success.

They which by the way I'll try not to step on him too much. But those who control the microphone only give it to those who share their narrative right. So if you're like me well. Then the next question becomes is that more of an unconscious decision or a conscious decision?

You know by the microphone controller and the answer is very murky. Like if you're if you're a mainstream media figure giving the microphone only to those who further your narrative. Well, maybe you do that because you believe the lie that other competing narratives actually cause damage and violence to society.

Which by the way, that's total woke garbage, and we've discussed this in previous videos the the idea that wards cause violence it stems from the underlying philosophy that Everything is a power grab and so that means then that people with voices have power and.

So giving voice to competing narratives is giving power to narratives that you believe should not have it. But I mean like how do you figure out whether this is a concerted effort to silence competing narratives or not?

I don't know you know, but the end result is we end up getting silenced. They read their own fan mail.

They like to be liked. I mean we all like to be liked right. And so you just sort of start carving off the edges of the truth at first until eventually. You're doing things for clicks and for likes and not for your your calling.

I think another thing is Jesus had something to say about this. Didn't he in Matthew chapter 6 verse 1 Jesus said beware of practicing your righteousness before other people. In order to be seen by them for then you will have no reward from your father who is in heaven.

I think we read that and we miss the real consequences. To the notion of doing things in order to be seen by others. That's what vote he's talking about. Shaping your words to get likes and clicks. It's connected to the same thing and Jesus says beware of that.

There is no reward in heaven for this kind of thing. There's actually another passage that's connected to this. The Apostle Paul says in 2nd Timothy 4 for the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and Will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

You got to think where do these teachers come from? You know, what school is dishing out teachers who teach to suit their own passions, right? Well, probably the school of practicing your righteousness in order to be seen by other people.

I think it's all connected and social media caters to being seen by others. And it's an extremely dangerous medium even for someone like me. It's dangerous for us all and so we have to be very careful.

Secular Humanism, Public Education, and Seminary Formation

The Academy I Think for you know over a generation now. We've had people, you know people in the ministry people in our churches. It's not like you know, they're they're born and and dropped into a theological training institution.

Right. No, they're born and the overwhelming majority of them are educated by the government all the way through University. And then maybe they'll go to seminary. But the worldview that these guys are taught from you know.

Beginning almost to the end is this, you know, sort of Gramsci and neo-marxist, you know. Worldview and.

It.

Infects the way that they view the scriptures it infects the way that they view their calling and then I think the yeah.

I mean, I think these answers are so great, you know, I agree. I mean even to go to public school right to follow that trajectory that vodie laid out. You're a pastor who grew up in public school. And then you went to seminary.

Public school is shaped by a secular humanistic worldview.

I.

Should know because I taught at public high schools before jumping over to the pastorate if you think about some of the subjects taught. In public schools, particularly at the high school level, right?

Biology psychology. Sociology all of these subjects begin with certain assumptions about the world. But the nature of reality about human beings and all of that excludes God it excludes his word it excludes the fact that there is a Spiritual realm that that we are actually bodies and souls.

None of this is included in public education. This is secular humanism as a matter of fact in the 20th century. There were several well-known philosophers such as John Dewey Julian Huxley. You know later Paul Kurtz Corliss Lamont.

I mean, I just spoke about this at an education conference recently. So this is fresh. They developed a manifesto called the humanist manifesto. It was published in 1933. It was updated again several times since.

It has led several thousands of individuals to form a club called the American Humanist Association. Who by the way, their motto is good without God a lot of the influences on public education. Like if you're sitting there going like where did that come from?

A lot of it can be explained by reading the humanist manifesto. I Know one of the original authors. He is considered to be the father of American education now, don't hear what I'm not saying. I think Christian parents can send their children to public schools as Long as we all are aware of a lot of the education that our children will be exposed to.

But vote is right if you're unintentional and you've been steeped in secular humanism, and then you just jump over to seminary. How do you know that some of that has not become unintentionally part of your worldview?

And now you're maybe going through seminary and hearing woke progressive theology. Which is happening in a lot of seminaries all over this country, right? You're hearing it maybe from a professor that you respect.

How will you know how to challenge your professor?

Fear of Public Pressure and the Seduction of Social Justice Language

The other thing is there's just a lot of there's a lot of pressure out there and a lot of people just. They can't take that pressure. I don't like it. You know, I don't like being good people think that I like being called names or you know, they're like, you know, whatever I I don't like that.

The only reason I do it is.

Because.

There's something that's more important, right? There's a calling that that's more important and I think people are struggling because of this and suffering because of it. Now back to what? We talked about earlier with social justice, you know Christians here things like social justice and you know racial justice and.

It's just like yeah, you know, of course, you know, we're for that. Marriage equality. Well, am I for marriage in equality? And and when you have weak and faulty worldviews and then seductive language and.

Then you have leaders with unclear voices.

You end up in the mess that we're in. I wonder also if religious leadership if you didn't see a video.

That I did on Peter Boghossian you have to see it so I'm gonna include that link in the notes Below but Boghossian not a Christian by the way. Identifies what exactly is going on with this seductive language as Voti calls it.

It's the Mott and Bailey fallacy. This is where academic activists who are woke Would use terms and phrases that have one meaning. And that meaning is usually more benign, right? That's the Mott and then there's the you know, the other definition.

That's usually what the activist really means when they use the word and that's the Bailey. These two terms or phrases are typically conflated so yeah, you'll hear a phrase start to be used in culture like social justice and Having had no context for it before you go.

Oh, yeah. Sure. I mean justice, right? I'm for just everyone should be for justice. You know, the definition of justice is basically People should be treated fairly right. People Should be treated impartially people should be treated justly right and if it's at the social level Well, then we're just talking about fair treatment of all in society.

And so the phrase becomes this regular aspect of our social language except hold on a second. That's not what the activists mean. Social justice is a phrase that typically points to woke concepts like Diversity equity and inclusion right de I that's not equal opportunity for everyone.

That's equal outcome. And how is this accomplished? Redistribution of wealth a complete reordering of society around the notion of equal outcome. Then all of a sudden we see like these, you know, de I bureaus pop up and we see de I boards, you know.

Appearing everywhere. Everyone's like what's going on? It's the Mott and Bailey. It was a deception game played by folks who recognized that Orwellian language is useful.

Which I mean there you go or well warned us. Did he not. I wonder also if religious leadership and this is something I've been thinking about a lot recently if what religious leadership started off by doing was worrying because there were kind of Members of the flock who are on the fringes of the flock and they started wandering away.

And so they followed those members of the flock into the mountains and they worried so much About making sure that they bring those people back in that they decided the only way to actually keep these people Members of the flock is to broaden essentially the fence like keep expanding the fence.

And then but if you definitionally change the fence then even though this member of the flock is way the hell away They're still part of the flock because the fence is now five miles wide. Right. So the idea is that they're so focused on the exceptions of the rules.

They forget about the maintenance of the rules, right? And in the process what they end up with is being able to titularly say we have lots of people who adhere to Our version of the church, but nobody who actually goes to church.

Nobody actually follows any rules. No actual interior coherence to the ideology. I see so much focus in the religious leadership community on what in Hebrew is called key roots or the outreach and so little.

Yeah, exactly. So little so little focus on yeah, here's the rule and we stand by the wrong. Listen, we want to help you understand the rule and understand why the rule is not changing for you. And why maybe you'd be better off conforming to the rule and we understand everybody sins.

We understand we all fall short of the grace of God and and all of that. But the rule doesn't change just for you. But we're so concerned with if we say that to somebody the person may run right and we forget that if you get rid of The rule everybody runs and then there's nothing to adhere to in the right exactly and eventually I.

Certainly think that explains some churches that explains The behavior of some church leadership. So for example, you know seeker friendly churches, right? Are usually criticized for focusing too much on expanding the church on this evangelistic scale and not about actually maturing the congregation and when that becomes your you know, your overarching goal.

What happens when you have same-sex attracted people who want to attend your church potentially serve in the church? But they do not want to repent of their sin. Well, I mean the answer must be Whatever we do we can't stop expanding.

And so now we start to avoid discussing certain biblical passages like Leviticus 18 for example. Or you know first Corinthians chapter 6 right and then you tell yourself whatever you want to to justify it as a church leader.

Oh, you know what? We're just we're just gonna focus on the simple gospel at our church, right? Except you forgot the mission of the pastor teacher and leader in the church structure. Which is found in Ephesians 4 and it's to equip the Saints for the work of ministry.

There was a an elephant room discussion that I reacted to between Stephen Furtick and Matt Chandler. That hits this dichotomy pretty hard, right? Should you seek to build your attendance in church or should you seek to build the attendees?

I think you should check that out as well. You know, I'll leave a link to that as you know as as something to look at after this video. So again, I love this discussion. I think more folks should be having this discussion, but I have an answer to this question and so far it's not what I've heard votey say or Ben Shapiro either so stick with me because I'm about to give it to you.

Also, if you have not done it yet, please punch that like button and subscribe to the channel. So you don't miss out on what I've got for you coming up. I think you're gonna love it.

Church Growth, White Christian Nationalism, and Seeing the Big Picture

We have nothing that we're standing on right? We're just on shifting sand. And again, I I just I want to say that there's there's thousands who have not bowed the knee to bail and and there are You know good solid folks out there.

Unfortunately, most of them get don't get cameras pointed their way. But there was a movement really in the 80s in the 90s the church growth movement and You just basically described it to a tee. It was all about doing whatever was necessary.

To get people into the doors. To keep people in churches, you know we're growing like gangbusters all of a sudden. You've got churches all over the place, you know that are running thousands and You know the saying whatever you do to get them is what you're gonna have to do to keep them, you know.

And then you to make things more complex right get into these weird subcultures within church where pastors talk to other pastors and. Some of those conversations sound an awful lot like secular businessmen.

Touting their company's profits and achievements, right? You'll start to hear conversation like well, you know, what's your congregation size, right? How many are you running? How many how many of you baptized this month?

How many of you baptized this year. And for some pastors if there's not this sort of directional arrow going up on some kind of graph that measures church size and baptisms and Tithing and all of these things.

Well, then there's a problem, right? Well, and maybe there is and maybe there isn't and I'm not even saying that like, you know. Paying attention to these metrics is wrong. But it gets very very easy to slip into what Shapiro and Bachum are talking about right now.

Which is this church growth mentality, you know.

Even when that mentality does damage to the Saints and so the compromise is just continued. But you know, but I'm hopeful because I I do I know a lot of those guys Who haven't bowed the knee and I run into people all the time who are looking for those guys.

They're saying where are those guys near me, right? And and and a lot of people are Looking at and and listening to and following people online. You know everybody sort of you know bashes social media and you know social media deserves Bashing but the fact of the matter is there are people who are finding those voices, you know.

And then they begin to look for other voices. So I'm encouraged I I don't think this is going to last it can't last because it's built on sand. It's absolutely ridiculous. And then what happened I was gonna say this earlier.

So, you know the social justice movement it was happening. It was blowing it was going everybody sort of running in that direction and then all of a sudden people started screaming about Christian nationalism.

Like you're upset about this. What are you gonna say about Christian nationalism? You know what I had to do? I had to go Wait a minute. See what yeah, I may agree with you, right. Let me let me see what you're talking about.

But this goes to what you were saying earlier about people not wanting to speak up because now there's that label. Oh, you're and it's not just Christian nationalism. It's.

White.

Christian nationalism, right. And you know, I don't know if you've seen I know you've seen these oppression wheels. Right these wheels where they. They have, you know, the various groups and you know on the outside.

There's the oppressed group and the inside.

Oh.

Look at that. So look at so at the center of this wheel is is power. This is what I was talking about earlier with you know, the the power dynamic behind voices and narratives. It's first time I'm seeing this wheel.

But as you it looks like get into the the center of the concentric circles towards power. It looks like power is reserved for those who can travel to the center. Or maybe I suppose they were always there.

You know, so everyone on the outside of these concentric circles are marginalized to some degree in some way, right? But if you happen to be on the inner set of the concentric circle there. You know, then you're closer to the power.

So if you're heterosexual if you're able-bodied, are you seeing this like if you if you are a cisgender man? Well, if you're slim, what is. What like what is how does being slim give you more power than being a cisgender woman?

I I don't I don't get this stuff at all. Well, obviously because it's conjured up in the sick fever dream of activists and the rabid fans who follow them but and of course. None of this is justified either right?

You know the wheel itself or the positioning of the you know, the concentric circles the certain types that we find in here. You know others being closer to power than you know, none of this is explained.

It's just taken for granted as being fact and. Then decisions are being made in society and and you know conversations are shaped because of these kinds of.

Presuppositions. It's amazing. There's the oppressor group and you know, whatever these wheels are and however many oppressed groups they have One of the oppressor groups is always white. One of the oppressor groups is always Christian and one of the oppressor groups is always Nationalist right.

So when you talk about white Christian nationalism, you have a triple oppressor group. Right just in the name. And so now if people want to you know Celebrate the overturn of Roe v. Wade All you have to do is say white Christian nationalism and all of a sudden they back off, right?

And so they're they're they're muted, you know.

Again, I I've got no patience for it. You know, it really is. Yeah. Yeah, so good.

I'm gonna leave a link to this to you know for the greater discussion. I think you should definitely check it out. I thought this was a very important conversation. And I think that all of us as Christians should keep this conversation alive.

As a matter of fact, it would be awesome if After this video you talk about this very topic to the brothers and sisters in your life. Why is that Nate? Well, because if we're gonna be effective Christians in the 21st century.

Then we need to understand the moment that we are in and I just think so many of us including pastors do not recognize this moment. Cannot recognize the times for what they are. The the patterns that have already formed over the last number of decades now.

They they can't see the big puzzle. They only see the one piece that's right in front of them. So now I guess I'm kind of getting to my answer. Okay, you ready for this? The reason why pastors are not talking about cultural issues and identifying what's happening and Tying it back to the scriptures in meaningful ways for people like the way that Vodie bockham just did right and Vodie does it extremely?

Well, amen. Nobody can deny that the reason why we have to as Christians go to Christian YouTube to find people talking about cultural issues because we just cannot find a lot of pastors doing the same thing in churches is Because too many pastors don't know how to see the big picture.

Too many pastors don't know how to put the puzzle pieces together in order to see the grander image. They cannot zoom all the way out and see the current events of our culture and the world around us through a Biblical perspective and look I I was a pastor for years.

I say this with much love and affection for my brothers that I know who are pastors. But our field is dying for a reason by the way. Did you know that more pastors are retiring and less able-bodied men are stepping up to take their places especially after kovat and you know all the Weirdness and the stress of navigating everything that we had to navigate in 2020.

You know a lot of pastors came out to the other side and are just resigning left and right. Did you know that they're calling this the great resignation? So I say all of these things with much love but the bottom line is Too many pastors lack the vision necessary to see how what's happening in the world Connects to the gospel and how the Word of God connects to all the issues that we face right now.

Peter, Jesus, and the Biblical Pattern for Interpreting Culture

The Apostle Peter knew this he wrote first Peter to the early Christians near Asia Minor who They were going through suffering and persecution and to close out his letter. He said this she who is at Babylon who is likewise chosen sends you greetings and so does mark my son Greet one another with the kiss of love.

Well Babylon. Why does he mention Babylon. Babylon was no longer in existence when Peter wrote this letter. When Peter uses the word Babylon? He's referring to Rome, but Peter had the wherewithal to recognize the parallels between Rome and Babylon.

He saw the biblical connection between what was going on in Rome at the time and These this ancient story that he grew up learning as a child and he applied it. And by the way, he got this from his rabbi.

Okay, Jesus made these connections all the time. There was a moment directly after Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah in Luke chapter 4 and You know. So he gets up reads from the scroll and then he famously says today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

But then people start saying okay. Wait, isn't this Joseph's son. And Jesus then tells him a story actually he tells them two stories. So he says in truth I tell you there are many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the heavens were shut up three years and six months.

And a great famine came over all the land and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon to a woman who was a widow and there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the Prophet Elisha and none of them was cleansed but only naming the Syrian Notice that's when all the people in the synagogue get very upset, right?

Why did Jesus tell these stories? Well, the answer is why God sent these prophets out of Israel to bless the Gentiles in the first place. It's because Israel was in rebellion they did not believe in God and So God sent his prophets out of their midst to others and that's exactly what Jesus is saying to the people in his own hometown.

You want me to give you a sign? But I will not do it why. Because you are like the Israel of old lost in your own unbelief. That's why they get mad. That's why they literally verse 28 all in the synagogue were filled with wrath, but the point remains, you know Jesus had this grander vision to not only know God's Word so well.

That he could recognize it when it applied to the circumstances in his life in that very moment. That's the kind of vision that I'm talking about. Too many pastors lack this and maybe it's because you know.

They have a lot of congregants, you know suffering with addiction. With mental health issues, maybe it's because they have a lot of financial struggles at the church that requires their attention. I get it, you know church plants, especially I mean.

There's a reason why people say church planting is a young man's game. You know. It just requires a lot out of you just to merely get through the week and maybe maybe that's you know, what's going on?

Maybe it's because pastors are wearing too many hats. They're doing too much. They're just struggling through a season of not knowing how to navigate the 5 ,000 things that come up in a week all while trying to plan for Sunday morning's message but the bottom line is.

This creates an environment where the congregation has no idea how to deal with the onslaught of false ideas. Whether it's from the LGBTQ community from woke progressive theology the Mott and the Bailey language related to social justice CRT Marriage the roles of men and women whatever it is these things are missed opportunities to talk about in church and Specifically tie it back to God's Word and what it has to say about all of these things.

The reality is everything we're dealing with right now is not new. It's the same old.

Tired.

Garbage dump of lies from the enemy in the world. That means God's Word has everything we need to step into all these issues with a message. That gets at the heart of each of these issues and when I was a young adults pastor We invited the young adults to come one night and talk about the George Floyd Story, right?

This was directly after George Floyd's death. And all the news and the coverage and everything every young adult that came that night. They walked in super amped to have a discussion and we you know, my co-pastor and I.

We led a very difficult conversation about race relations and the police I recognize not a lot of churches were doing that. Okay, and I praise God for every single pastor that did but I'm just saying like This is not normal what I and my co-pastor did.

It was very difficult to have that discussion. Why. Because not every single young adult thought about it in the same way. But the bottom line is at the end of the night. I asked them one question How do we solve racism in this country and not one person?

Recognized it's the gospel not one person saw that in Jesus Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free all are one in Christ. Jesus everyone either tried to appeal to some kind of governmental policy.

Or they just shrug their shoulders. And so we spent time going back to the gospel message step by step talking about how the gospel of Jesus Not only helps us to diagnose the sin of racism. But it also gives us a picture of the upside-down kingdom of God where the first shall be last and the last shall be first where the you know the the alien orphan and widow are taken care of and where each person's individual heart is redeemed and restored unto a spirit of Reconciliation and peace right as Christians that makes us peacemakers.

Jesus had something to say about that right blessed are the peacemakers We bring in God's Shalom in the midst of the chaos of this world and You know with enough individual hearts redeemed and relationships restored that in turn changes entire cultures.

That's how by simply being a Christian who fulfills the Great Commission We are ending racism one converted heart at a time and man. We have got so many Christians Looking to the government as Savior in this area while at the same time Neglecting the one job Jesus gave us all but the solution is in the job guys go and make disciples.

It's all Interconnected. I hope you can see this. So what are we missing? What are a lot of pastors missing? Vision. Vision to see how things are we need to be able to explain this to other people, right?

How is the transgender movement addressed in the Bible? What does the Bible have to say about abortion and social justice and the core tenets of you know? Progressive and woke theology right. Secular humanism.

Marxist ideology the list goes on and on, you know. Whatever we're facing right now the answer to all of these can be categorized under one word apologetics. To me there is no coincidence between the fact that too many pastors and churches see absolutely no need for apologetics in their circles and Therefore want nothing to do with it and the fact that too many pastors simply do not address current cultural issues.

That we all know their congregants are dying for someone to help them understand think about this. Why is votee so good at explaining these issues?

Apologetics.

The man is clearly trained in it. He even wrote a book about it. That's my answer as to why too many pastors refuse to address these issues. It's because they can't. Because they refuse to see the benefit of being properly trained in apologetics.

But once you are. Something magical happens friends. You begin to see the grander picture you begin to see the forest for the trees and you begin to understand each new issue as it arises and Recognize that it's not new guys.

It's old and then you can start making the connections back to God's Word and back to his design for humanity. All right, that's enough out of me. What do you think? Why do pastors censor themselves. Is votee right?

Am I right? Let me know in the comments below. I would love to interact with you. Also, if you have a an idea for a video that you think I should react to let me know as well in the comments. I would love to collect those down see if I can do any of those.

Listen guys, stay tuned very shortly. Big announcement coming up. I will return soon with more videos. But in the meantime, I'll say bye for now.