Common strategies Used In seducing Pastors And Spiritual leaders Into sexual sin
Brethren, sexual assaults against Pastors and believers are real, especially in this crooked and perverted generation of ours. The devil is raving mad with the determination to turn everyone (including pastors) into sexual objects. Now, who can escape these raging onslaughts? Only those who have made up their mind with the backing of the Holy Spirit not to defile themselves can.
STUMBLING BLOCKS THAT TEMPT CHURCH LEADERS INTO SEXUAL SIN
- Don’t counsel ladies on intimate issues that has to do with their sexual lives. Let your wife or other matured female counselors handle that.
- Private home visits to females should be done in the company of your wife or a male assistant.
- Private visits to hotels to share the gospel to prostitutes should be done in company of male assistant or your wife.
- Avoid giving private gifts to females without your wife’s knowledge, or better still, let her do the giving, when necessary.
- Take heed unto yourselves and the ethics of the ministry, because judgment will begin from the house of God.
- The arms of the flesh will fail you, always pray to overcome temptations. Grow in the discerning of spirits, because Satan himself is often masqueraded as the angel of light. Make up your mind that you won’t defile yourself, and always take heed unto yourself and your doctrines (personal principles of life).
COMMON STRATEGIES USED IN SEDUCING PASTORS INTO SEXUAL SIN
The following are common strategies used to seduce spiritual leaders and pastors into sexual sins.
- Counseling Alone With The Opposite Sex.
It is a no-brainer that a Spiritual Leader should rarely, if ever, conduct a private counseling session with a person who has the potential for a mutual attraction. When alone in such a setting, emotional intimacy develops because of the nature of the conversations.
This easily leads to a strong emotional connection that can result in sinful physical and emotional intimacy. To protect their Spiritual Leaders, Church Boards should have clear guidelines prohibiting this kind of counseling arrangement.
- Praying Alone With The Opposite Sex.
Satan comes as an angel of light and not with a red suit and a pitch fork. I have seen people with a “seductive spirit” attempt to use “religious reasons” for proximity to a spiritual leader. Using religious terminology and/or action to seduce an unsuspecting believer is nothing new, based on the admonition found in Proverbs 7:6-27. The rule of thumb is to never conduct private prayer sessions with a person of the opposite sex as it can lead to “unbiblical” emotional, spiritual, and physical intimacy.
- Working Alone With The Opposite Sex.
It is a common thing to hear that a spiritual leader or pastor fell into sin with their secretary or co-worker. This is because of the commonality of dealing with the same issues together as a spiritual team can easily lead to emotional and physical attachments—way beyond what is normal in the work environment.
The enemy can easily have a foothold when a Spiritual Leader spends an exorbitant amount of time alone with their (attractive) secretary or co-worker. To limit exposure to seduction, spouses of Spiritual Leaders should be part of the vetting process of who works with their spouse, and the Church Board should insist on guidelines that limit their alone time and emphasize team meetings.
- Private Social Media Connections.
Spiritual Leaders who utilize Social Media for their work and Ministry have much exposure to those with “seducing spirits”. One way to limit exposure of this kind is to allow your spouse the ability to view all your Social Media as well as text messages at any point they desire. Also, a Spiritual Leader should allow an assistant access to view all their accounts on a regular basis to make it difficult to hide “unbiblical” relational dynamics.
- Altar Ministry.
During the church service, it is common after the message for people to respond to the teaching by coming to the front for prayer.
- Soul-Tie Attractions.
When in Church Ministry, you are continually in proximity to all kinds of people — including those you can possibly be attracted to spiritually, emotionally, and physically. It is not hard to imagine the potential for dangerous soul ties to develop if the way is made for continual contact with a person with the potential for a soul tie (under the ruse of church activity or Ministry).
At the end of the day—Spiritual Leaders can use and abuse their position of authority and will be held more accountable in the eyes of God if they indulge their desires and pursue such soul ties. Even without physical intimacy, Spiritual Leaders can be guilty of committing “emotional adultery” with a person who is not their spouse. Unfortunately, much of the time these relationships end in full blown sexual intimacy and adultery.
- Marital Conflicts.
All Church Ministry is fraught with tension that can spill over and negatively affect the marriages of spiritual leaders. This coupled with meeting and working with attractive church members (who treat Spiritual Leaders with respect and understanding) can lead to temptation, seduction and adultery.
In closing, if a Spiritual Leader wants to fall into sexual sin, it will be hard to stop them since there are too many opportunities to fall. For those who have a heart for God and walk in the fear of the LORD it is incumbent upon them to cultivate accountable relationships, craft strict guidelines, and be self-aware and honest with themselves regarding their motives when relating to those of the opposite sex.
My prayer is that this message will help lift the standards of holiness in Church Ministry and that church leadership will take whatever steps necessary to protect their Spiritual Leaders from “seducing spirits” and “adultery.“