"The Lord Was With Samuel"

This is Part 11 of a 12-Part Series on Church Hurt

For the sake of simplicity, in this series, I am typically going to refer to any place of worship as a "church" and any type of leader as a "pastor" and/or "priest".

The vast majority of priests, pastors, and church leaders have good intentions and are doing their very best to do a very difficult, challenging, and sometimes thankless job with completely unrealistic and unattainable expectations. People expect them to be a dynamic speaker and preacher who keeps everyone interested and entertained and draws new people in. But they also want them to be a well-educated and discerning teacher who "rightly divides the word". But they should also be a good shepherd and counselor - their people skills should be off the charts. They need the gift of Helps and should be a servant leader; they should be "on call" and available 24/7/365. If they are married, they should be a perfect spouse and parent so that they and their families will be good role models. They should have business acumen because they need to be able to run a church, which is essentially a non-profit organization. They will need to be an effective CEO, COO, and CFO ... not to mention a good Marketing Director and the best Human Resources Director. And let's not even get into their management style - because there are as many opinions about what their management style should be like as there are people in their congregation!

Unfortunately, though, the small percentage of pastors and leaders who really have a disregard for God frequently dominate the headlines, and it leaves a lingering negative perception and a distrust. So in addition to all of the other expectations, they will also have to overcome the negative perceptions and church hurt that so many have experienced in the past.

In this story, we see several types of leaders within the church.

Hophni and Phinehas were born into their positions, but had no fear or reverence for God. As a result, they abused their power and authority, and God imposed severe supernatural consequences for them.

Eli was a good man; He loved the Lord, was clearly called to serve, did many things well, and served God to the best of his ability, but with one very major exception. He had an area of his life (a "stronghold") that he was giving higher priority to than God, and it was causing significant harm to other people. He, too, experienced some supernatural consequences as a result, though not as severe as what his sons endured.

Samuel was a prophet, and "the Lord was with Samuel". Everyone knew it. And his words were powerful and influential. (1 Samuel 3:19-21) Let's be careful not to put him up on a pedastal either though; he was only human, and he certainly wasn't perfect! I think one of the reasons Samuel was so effective was because he followed God by "staying in his lane". He was called to be a prophet and a judge; he didn't aspire to be a priest or a king!

Churches will have those who are imperfect, but who are honestly serving to the best of their ability; they are gifted, anointed, and love the Lord. And churches will also have some who are disrespectful of God and abuse their power and authority.

There is a tendency to judge a church and/or its pastor based upon the size of the congregation. If you are a small church, people may judge the church or the pastor because the church doesn't appear to be "growing". On the other hand, if you are a "mega church", the church or the pastor will definitely receive some judgement because the assumption is that clearly they must be doing unethical things that other mega-churches have done in the past to have so many members and so much money. I guess a church is supposed to be "growing" ... but only to a point! There is also a tendency amongst Christians to judge other Christians because of which church they attend or which pastor they follow - especially if they attend a "mega-church".

Just like "church hurt", this is a problem that seems to have been around as long as churches have. In the church in Corinth, people were having these types of issues and the apostle, Paul, reminds them that we are all one Church and we all follow One Leader.

"My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, 'I follow Paul'; another, 'I follow Apollos'; another, 'I follow Cephas [Peter]'; still another, 'I follow Christ'. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?" - 1 Corinthians 1:11-13

"So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas [Peter] or the world or life or death or the present or the future - all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed." - 1 Corinthians 3:21-24

It's interesting to note that at one point, Peter and Paul very openly and publicly disagreed over doctrine - over how to interpret Scripture under the guidance of the Holy Spirit - and yet, in these passages, Paul is still preaching and teaching that they are both servants of Christ, and that we are all one body of believers - regardless of who's preaching and teaching we are presently following.

There are mega-churches with exemplary pastors; to judge them simply because they lead a huge church or because they are a very dynamic public speaker is not Biblical. Likewise, to assume that smaller churches aren't "growing" just because their numbers aren't isn't Biblical either; "growing" isn't just breadth, it's also depth - something which is not easily quantifiable. Some of the deepest spiritual growth occurs in small group Bible studies or "home churches" of 20 people or less!

Occasionally, it is uncovered that a church leader has privately been abusing their power, position, and authority much as Hophni and Phinehas did. It can leave many who followed their preaching and teaching at a loss for what to make of it all; were the positive things they learned from these leaders or the positive experiences they had while attending these churches not real or genuine?

In Philippians 1:15-18, the apostle Paul is addressing the fact that some people who preach and teach do so for the wrong reasons, but he stresses that the Holy Spirit can still work in and through it:

"The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice."

In other words, God can still work in and through pastors and teachers even when they have the wrong heart or motives, so if someone's preaching and teaching led someone to Christ or to a deeper relationship with Him, we can celebrate that! (That doesn't mean we fail to acknowledge or grieve the harm they may have caused though!)

Hophni and Phinehas had been born into their positions of power and influence, and God replaced them with people who had been called to the position. (1 Samuel 2:35)

Later in the Book of 1 Samuel, the people were frustrated with their current system of government, so they started demanding a King; they thought a King, who had more power and authority, would act on their behalf and be more effective at getting things done.

Samuel, who was a judge at this point, was very concerned about this and sought wisdom from the Lord. The Lord, through Samuel, warned them repeatedly that they were asking for trouble, but the people wouldn't listen, and Samuel was called to anoint the first king, King Saul. Saul had all of the outward qualities that people might think would make a good King; he was from a wealthy, influential family and outwardly appeared strong and attractive. (" ... You [Saul] and your family are the focus of all Israel's hopes" - 1 Samuel 9:20) But Saul didn't have the character required for the position, and eventually, God replaced Saul with David, "a man after God's own heart". While David may not have outwardly "fit the part", and while he certainly was not a perfect man (power and position creates all sorts of temptations), he was a man who inwardly had the character and integrity for the role.

When it comes to good leadership, whether inside the church or outside the church, the primary thing we should be asking ourselves is, "Does this person possess the right character and integrity for the job? ... Do they have the underlying character traits that will make a good leader?" ... Because, I guarantee, the expectations, the responsibilites, and the temptations will be off the charts.

© I Lift My Voice, 2025

Click Here to Read Part 12 in This 12-Part Series on Church Hurt