Lost Shepherds.

This morning city harvest report (20 August) borders on insanity. Chew accused Pastor Kong Hee of paying salaries, royalties and bonuses to his wife from a fund meant for missionary work. The payment came up to half a million as the evidence revealed.

Chew said, "But there was never actually a deficit in 2009. The deficit came after you stripped out royalties and salaries and bonuses that went to Sun." Chew then claimed that Pastor Kong Hee never revealed to donors that the money was paid to his wife.

To which Pastor Kong Hee replied, "I didn't have the chance to check with my wife if she wants to reveal her salaries and royalties, and we have a culture in City Harvest Church, as in many companies, of keeping our income as confidential as possible." Well, he is right on one point...CHC is no different from many secular companies.

Chew ended his cross examination with this, "You do not love the church, as in its people, and you are not concerned about the church suffering losses."

Lesson? A sad one. Please bear with me. I recall Minister Joe Wright’s prayer when he opened the new sessions of the Kansas Senate.

He prayed, "Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot anti-abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. 

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time- honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today: cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!"

I too have a prayer (sort of) after reading the above article. And it goes like this...

"You have exploited the members and called it sacrifice.

You have rewarded your wife and called it blessings.

You have misled your closest and called it confidentiality.

You have shot honest criticism down and called it rebellion.

You have neglected the true calling of God and called it crossover.

You have misused power and called it God's will.

You have coveted after church funds and called it church growth.

You have polluted the gospel with worldly attraction and called it freedom in Christ.

You have made a mockery of traditional church practices and called it the new covenantal direction.

Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today: cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!"

Please come to your senses, the chosen shepherd of our soul, and save the Church from further spiritual hemorrhaging. Because salvation belongs to the Lord and to Him alone. Cheerz.