Living above Reproach Pt. 1

The body of Christ appears to have taken another hit with what appears to be serious sexual abuse charges against Bishop Eddie Long from New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in GA. Let me first make a couple things clear, this bog and writing is NOT to issue judgment or condemn Bishop Long. My prayers are for him and his family as he goes through this and is obedient to whatever God says to do in this situation. I am not one to label and condemn anyone, my destructive lifestyle fueled with infidelity and drug use for also 15 years damaged the body of Christ and hurt many people who knew me and those who looked up to me as a Pastor, mentor and Man of God. My testimony is included in my soon to be published book  "Musings from an Ex-Crackhead".
Many are saying "Don't judge him yet"..or all the information is not in, which certainly is true. Others are saying "How can he (or any other Pastor) preach and have an impact on people and get involved in something like this ?
The apostle Paul gives Timothy some solid advice for the office of a bishop (no intentional reference to Bishop Long) I Tim 3:2 "A bishop then must be above reproach,…. Being above reproach does not mean he is perfect or doesn't sin…or nothing in his/her past, the phrase "above reproach" means to be blameless. Living above reproach means that no one can come and accuse you of being actively involved in sin. As Christians we must be a men and women of integrity and above reproach. One Christian Blog states it this way:
The Scriptures assure us that we can partake of the divine character of Christ, that we can be people of integrity, people who live above reproach. Billy Graham puts it this way, "when we speak of integrity as a moral value, it means that a person is the same on the inside as he is on the outside. There is no discrepancy between what he says and what he does, between his walk and his talk. A person of integrity can be trusted and he is the same person alone a thousand miles away from home as he is in Church or in his home." The Church needs men and women who live above reproach, who are people of integrity. The Church needs men and women who cannot be bought, whose word is their bond, who put character above wealth and who will make no compromise with wrong and who will be honest in small things as in great things.
We put our Pastors and leaders on such high pedestals and don't require that they be accountable and when they fall it is devastating. Satan loves it when we live lives of compromise and we lack integrity. I dont know if Bishop Long is guilty and as I mentioned  certainly would not rush to condem .  However I would question where was the "above reproach" living.   Yes...peopl will talk anyway no matter how you live, but if you are living above reproach and are a Man or Woman of Godly Intergrity...you give them no ammuntion. As we continue in our recovery people will often still suspect we are engaing in destructive behavior but if we "live above reproach" and have a good testimony as Paul instrctions to Timothy in verse 7  ..."lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil"

God- Sybil Paulette Cross-Nelson

God 

There is a greatness about You

That causes no apprehension

No being overwhelmed-

I am amazed at what I have seen

Your doings from beginning to end

I do not expect less of you

than the parting of my red Sea

impelling that which confronts me

from all sides

Prepare my voice for song-to make

Music from Zion-when I am in

my strange land. Cause me to rejoice

in my restrained despairing valley.

Never take Your Spirit away-

I stand in awe of You-remind me

that the coals on my tongue

are for the cleansing of my heart-

in the purity of praise

that captures Your way of holiness.

Forever keep my mind arrested in

the face of love

 

©Sybil Paulette Cross-Nelson 9/27/1998

The Unique Tim Cross

 

Psalms 139:14-17


14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

Are you unique? Do you feel Unique? The word "unique" is from the Latin word "unicus" which means "one" or the only one" Many commentator don't like some dictionaries variants of the word unique, stating that the indication should be either you are unique or you are not. We get so caught up in trying live up to the expectations of others that we often times missed out or delay what God has planned for us.
I have been wrestling with this whole uniqueness thing lately. Many times over the years I have gotten caught up with trying to live up to other people's expectations. . In this Psalm from David he reminds us that we (you) are very much unique. There is not another person in all of time or eternity like you or me. No one can do, act, or say or live like you. God has something planned that only you can do and no one else. Now don't get me wrong, if you don't step up to the plate what he has planned will get done by someone else, but it won't get done the way God planned for you to do it.
We struggle in recovery with self esteem and can't seem to find out where we now fit in. This is difficult if we have allowed our addiction to rob us of a career, goal, prominent job, or told us that we are no longer a good husband, wife, brother, sister. But this is especially tough if we were in ministry and are yearning to get back and join God in what he is doing but Satan's lies keep us bound. Perhaps you were a Pastor, teacher. Minister etc. I'm not talking about listening to God and others when you need to step aside from a ministry position because of being actively involved in sin or you have not dealt honestly with your issues.
Fearfully and wonderfully made! You and I were not made by God haphazardly! Woven together in his love, he put us together in the secret places. Like snowflakes there are no other copies of us!
Who is Tim Cross? Pastor, author, teacher, Husband, Son, Brother, Friend, Grand-Father, Great-Grand Father..yeah all that but most importantly a Child of God
Are you looking at yourself of being unique? Geuss what ? you are
From: Musings from an Ex-Crackhead
Pastor Tim Cross