Church Abuse, Part 3
Diotrephes
10th August 2013
Diotrephes was and is our brother in Christ. If, in my attempt to understand John's letter about him, I accidentally misrepresent him, then I ask for his forgiveness.
Biblical examples of church abuse are not only found in the Old Testament; here's a New Testament example. It comes in John's third letter, which he wrote to his friend Gaius. In that letter, John said:
3 John 9-11a
I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us.
So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossipping maliciously about us. Not
satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and
puts them out of the church.
Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.
John's first charge against Diotrephes is that he loves to be first. Unfortunately, many of us have encountered Christians who love to be leaders. And there are many who want to be not only a leader, but the leader. We should ask ourselves, why do they love to be leaders? What's their motivation? And what's their agenda? Beware any Christian who craves power or position. Jesus taught us different:
Matthew 23:5-11
-Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their
garments long;
tey love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;
they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called -Rabbi- by others.
-But you are not to be called -Rabbi,- for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.
And do not call anyone on earth -father,- for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.
Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah.
The greatest among you will be your servant.
If a leader is in that position for his own sake - because that's what he wants, then his motivation will be to protect and enhance his own well-being, his own position and his own reputation, not to serve the people under his care. Not for nothing have some church leaders been called "empire-builders". Such people can do great harm.
Diotrephes refused to have anything to do with John and his team of workers, and refused to welcome them. Why?
My guess it's for the reason John just gave- Diotrephes loves to be first. Perhaps he saw John's greater experience and wisdom as a threat to his position, and would rather refuse the help of John's team (probably evangelists) than acknowledge that his church needed help from John or anyone. If this guess is correct, then Diotrephes was not just harming the Christians in his church, he was preventing the gospel reaching people in his town.
Diotrephes was also gossipping maliciously about John and his team. Presumably, this malice and gossip was designed to weaken John's influence in Diotrephes's church. Whether Diotrephes was infected more by ambition, or self-importance, or insecurity, or whether he was just making money from the church, we don't know. But whatever his motivation was, he was willing to lie about other Christians - some of them more mature than himself - in order to preserve his power.
And Diotrephes abused his position further by preventing those who wanted to give John's team a Christian welcome in their town. He was even prepared to put these hospitable, well-meaning Christians out of the church. No leader should ever discipline a Christian for doing something that is not sin.
This is is no way for a leader to behave. As John wrote to Gaius, Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.
And, fellow-Christian, if your leader or leaders exhibit motivation and behaviour like Diotrephes, they should be confronted. If you can't do that, or if they won't accept correction, then leave.
And if your leaders are gentle, caring and humble, then give thanks to God for them, and pray for them, so they'll remain so.