An Open Letter to Pastors (Part 3 of 4)

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These are my own words and AI is not used. Have grace. I’m not great at writing and grammar is like kryptonite.

The kitchen table is a familiar place, a safe place, where we fellowship with other members of the Watchmen community and more broadly the Body of Christ. Today, I want to help bridge the gap between people in your congregation that have a “good enough” understanding of eschatology to correlate what they read in the Bible with what they see in the world. In this post we are going to talk about these Watchmen (men and women collectively) and backfill some of their attributes so that you can more fully appreciate why it is important to recognize them more fully in the season we are in. Then, my goal is to provide you and your ministry team with “ground rules” for how to engage with these strange people, and in so doing narrow any distance for the benefit of your congregation. I am known for being quite direct in the Kitchen Table Series, but you should see evidence of my care and concern for how to carefully speak into the situation with love, grace, and some humor.

What all Believers need to avoid

Before we go further, it’s on my heart to discuss a fascinating personal insight into what Jesus was thinking as He walked around in His ministry interacting with every level of society. In this particular example, He rebuked the religious hierarchy of His day for now knowing the “signs of the times” regarding His (first) coming. I don’t think the rebuke is what is important here, but the last part of v4 is quite concerning. It says that “…an evil and adulterous generation…” followed by “…He left them and went away.” This response is in the context of the Pharisees and Sadducees not being ready as prophesied (to the exact day) of His triumphal entry! A date that was mentioned in the Book of Daniel. It predicted the promised arrival of the Messiah.

Matthew 16:1-4 “The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 But He replied to them, "When it is evening, you say, '[It will be] fair weather, for the sky is red.' 3 "And in the morning, '[There will be] a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot [discern] the signs of the times? 4 "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah." And He left them and went away.”

I promised you that we are flying at 10,000 feet in this series. We are not going to cover “the 10 signs that we are in the End Times”, or unpack the significant convergence of signs that are unlike anything previously seen in human history. Things that are unique to our generation and place in history. The Watchmen in your congregation can help you understand. They can support your emerging desire to see the evidence. There are unparalleled indications that all the prophetic pieces that are predicted to characterize the End Times are here. In fact, I don’t think the word “convergence” of signs (watch this movie here) is strong enough anymore. I prefer to say “We can smell the Tribulation…”

Dear Pastor,

Let me ask a very simple question: “Are we about to make the SAME MISTAKE the Pharisees made?” Or, do we see and acknowledge that the Lord is right at the door? Is our understanding of the fullness of our redemption so lacking that we don’t believe Jesus is even coming back? He promised…didn’t He? Is the Church’s indifference to the Rapture and the shortness of the hour a reflection of its lack of Biblical literacy? Do they even know what the Bible says? What it promises to us? Do they know they are the Bride of Christ? Do they know this broken world is not our home? Do they realize that 27% of the Bible was prophetic at the time it was written? Each fulfilled prophecy was fulfilled exactly as foretold with great specificity.

If we are not helping our congregations understand the full plan of redemption, and that what we are seeing validates the nearness of the Rapture, that must be a difficult thing to reconcile. What about your pastoral team, or board of directors, and department heads? Under any other circumstances, if you witnessed someone physically ripping 27% of the pages out of a Bible, wouldn’t that make you sad? Perhaps outraged? Remember, the Bible is the only source of Truth that explains WHY we see what we see today. Yes, this is emotional for me to write. Because my own accountability stands as a witness against me.

I don’t want someone to come up to me and say “Scott, if you knew, why didn’t you say something? I didn’t know and you didn’t instruct. I could have earned rewards for all eternity, but now I’m empty handed…I don’t have a crown to cast before my Savior, Lord and King.” Sobering and heartbreaking to imagine a conversation like that. To the very best of my ability, I want to share what I know and help people understand. Right now, that includes you and your team.

We have paid a terrible price to know what’s going on

This may not make sense to you, but think of it like the Lord going before you and the needs of the congregation for this season. I have had discussions with hundreds of Watchmen and Watchwomen over the years. All of them share a very rare trait. A set of attributes that are not particularly normal LOL. They seem to all have above normal intelligence. They can absorb an incredible amount of information. They become obsessive as the Lord gives them areas of interest in their equipping and calling. They know how to dig for truth. Yes—their discernment has been growing to the point that they can distinguish the truth underneath all the propaganda, lies, and narratives in the news cycle. They do not let go…ever. If the Lord puts something on their heart to figure out, they go deep…it’s like a yappy 4-pound dog that bites at your ankle and never let’s go. I have many friends like that! The cost they bear to be informed and ready to serve is unlike anything you’ve probably witnessed before. Often, their best intentions are misunderstood and unfortunately, there are imperfections, bumps, and misfires that make them easy to dismiss. I personally believe that ignoring them is an increasingly unacceptable behavior. You, as the shepherd, must begin to engage and figure out how to get up to speed. It’s possible you don’t see why yet…but it is coming soon. If the Antichrist spirit is rising and if the elites are telling you what they are going to do—and then do it, when will you grasp the moment?

What you need to know

Now, it’s time to get to the meat of this post. There are important things I want you to know about the Watchmen in your congregation that should be helpful. This is not an exhaustive list, but it will inform and give you a starting place.

• Watchmen can help you connect the dots. Dot by dot, as they study God’s Word to understand the prophetic portions of Scripture, we begin to distinguish previously (fulfilled) Bible Prophecy from those not yet fulfilled. Take for instance Ezekiel 36, where the Lord prepares and restores the land of Israel to receive its people—thus reversing the dispersion caused by the Romans in AD 70 (fulfilled). Or, Ezekiel 37, the dry bones of the nation come back to life (fulfilled). But in Ezekiel 38 we read of an alliance of nations that invade Israel from the North (the alliance is fulfilled but the war is not fulfilled). When we read the ancient country names of those nations and overlay today’s names and then look at world news regarding the players (Russia, Iran, and Turkey among lesser players) we realize they are ALREADY in such an alliance (here). These nations have never done this before. This is just one example.

• Watchmen have specialties. You will quickly realize that the End Times subjects are so vast that no single person has all the answers. This is not because of a lack of intellectual capacity, but one of time. It take enormous effort to be a good Berean. Strong Biblical and doctrinal foundation plus worldview plus research is required to validate truth in global news. This is especially true of news, archeology, military threats, technology, developments in Israel and more. Some specialize in tracking the deep state, or understanding occult symbology, or exposing doctrine of demons in contemporary music and media, or the new age and its drug induced deceptions. Not to mention secret societies, cults, aliens, global elites, old families (Rothchild’s), natural disasters, pestilence, famines, wars and conflicts, and more. And for most, it’s a journey from one area of focus to another over a period of time. They have built expertise over years and move from one specialty to another as the Lord leads. Some of my specialties, for example, are technology including AI, quantum computing, digital currency, and blockchain.

• Watchmen will dump. We interpret a slightly open door to share what we know as a cart blanche opportunity to dump ALL we know. This is poor reflex control on behalf of the community. Let me decode what is happening with that. It’s rare to be asked, so seeing an opportunity, they understandably try to stuff “as much information” into those moments as possible. I’m guilty of this! Getting information out of our head is going to lead to an uneven delivery. It’s extremely difficult for a lay person to gather all their thoughts and have it all come out coherently. Give them grace. What you may be told in a 2-minute briefing represents hours if not weeks of effort to learn, research, validate, coalesce, discern, and extract core principles from. You can offer gentle guidance to keep them on track. If something is not clear, signal with your hand. Nod only if you understand. Look bewildered if they’re starting to lose you. Whatever you do, don’t roll your eyes and walk away. Work it out. You cannot ignore your responsibility to your Church because of some behavioral nuances. Yes, there are things coming and we don’t know how much of it we will see before the Rapture. So, it’s on us to be prepared, right?

• Watchmen should have a voice (formal or informal) so that you can receive updates from them in Cliff note fashion because YOU don’t have the time to repeat all the hours, weeks, months, and years of work they have done. You want to leverage that experience and ask for summarized topics that begin a thread and DO NOT jump between threads prematurely. One of the super powers that most Watchmen develop is the instinct to know how one thing relates to ten other things. They flow along rivers of facts, figures, and themes and although it makes perfect sense to them, sometimes they forget to present clear linear thinking. Note: I did not say they will make it more palatable. Some of the things you will hear oppose the Lord in the most God-hating way imaginable. As a Pastor you already see this, but when you move from local community to global actors, it is not easy to listen to it. But it is best that you try.

• Watchmen operate in great faith in their calling, will speak in love, but you will see uneven tone, or exasperation sometimes breaking through. That’s okay. You must understand their journey has been a difficult one. Don’t isolate yourself and end up back where you started. Push through any distractions, side trails, and lack of a polished or professional demeanor. Take the higher road.

• You will hear things that you never knew before. When you hear something conspiratorial, or that you don’t see reflected in the news stream you know and trust, and then you begin to conclude that it’s not real, check yourself. The Watchman has gone before you. Ask yourself (this should be obvious to you) does anything in the news really surprise you anymore? Put another way: what you are NOT being told in the news is the massive iceberg under the surface. Why is that, exactly? Remember, we are under the Rulers and Principalities, the Beast System is being constructed in all its complex moving parts to create the conditions for the Antichrist to come to power. So, I ask you to listen, learn, and give the benefit of the doubt to your own people trying to come alongside you in this season. A final thought on this: how much of what we were told to dismiss as “conspiracy” was actually true? Wasn’t just about all of it? The term “conspiracy” was a term created by the CIA to actually deflect AWAY from the truth. It was a social engineering and manipulation tool. So, yes, you will hear things that will stretch you.

• The Watchman does not expect you to understand everything they know. They know you are busy and subject to many other pressing matters. But that’s where their equipping comes in. You can have a conversation on a specific topic that focuses both of your efforts to communicate. You don’t need to set aside 12-hours on a Saturday. A quick text: “Hey, I need a minute. I have a question…” is all it takes. You can have actionable information in just a few minutes. Rinse and repeat this pattern as often as required.

• A word about women who are Watchmen. I estimate that seventy-percent of the Watchmen I know are women. It’s pointless to speculate why. My gut says it is because they care about the health of relationships far more than men do. When they watch and warn, their focus is missional and with specific people the Lord has laid on their heart. Do not be surprised if Watchwomen step-up in your Church. Take all the normal precautions you would otherwise do. Do not be surprised if their nuanced understanding and deep thinking provide outstanding knowledge transfer opportunities for you and your team. Some of the very best are women.

Guardrails both parties must assert

So, how does a Pastor and his team approach the task of learning enough so they can shepherd, guard, and protect their congregation in today’s environment? It’s on my heart to help, because the relationship between Pastors and Watchmen are historically uneven and strained at times. On both sides of this spectrum is the Lord’s equipping in the Body. The Watchman doesn’t lead the flock or have the pressures and responsibilities that you do. But because they have the time, focus, and interest in the subject matters we’ve discussed above, you can capitalize on that onramp. You have to make that bridge happen. Connect with the right people in your congregation, peer groups, acquaintances, and even other family members. Here’s why this is so important: people are going to get squeezed by the stage setting going on that will progressively build and launch the Tribulation period. The elites, technocrats, puppet masters will get their way. Harmful things are coming, but the Lord’s timing will be perfect. He will take us home at just the right moment. And the exciting thing is that point in time has already been determined. It is not variable. Nothing can stop what is coming. The Lord will have His way, in His timing, for His glory!

So, when (not if) your congregation comes to you in distress, what will you say? There needs to be enough exchange of BACKGROUND and CURRENT EVENTS so that you have just enough information so that you can go before the Lord for direction. Given this delicate balance and need for effective and clear communication, let’s agree to begin a draft of the Rules of Conduct between the parties. Call this version 1.0

The Pastor agrees:

• To open his hand leading to a teachable heart. You lead, the Watchman follows. You have the floor. It’s your willingness, pace, and stamina that controls the process. But you must own this. I urge you to seize the moment.

• To provide the benefit of the doubt. You still need to exercise critical thinking, but you will hear a lot of unfamiliar and new-to-you information. The Watchman is going to stretch you. But give them some room to unpack what has taken them years to learn. I advise a fair dose of mutual respect and ask you to suspend incredulity. Expect to be shocked in some cases by what you learn. We have been misled and deceived about a lot of things. I know you know that. Things will begin making more sense to you, but it’s a private journey that takes some time. Unfortunately, time is not a luxury anymore. Hold fast and do the best you can.

• To be honest about what you know or don’t know enough of yet. You have to guide the conversation, remember? If a financial collapse is unfolding quickly, and you’ve heard about the term “CBDC” but don’t understand what that is, you should force the conversation to slow down more. For example, hold up your hand and say “I don’t understand, explain that again because I don’t get it yet.” If you have to say that over and over—and I expect you will—know that it’s okay. If you are going to address the people in your congregation from the platform, you want a working understanding of what digital currencies are, why we are going from fiat (paper money) to digital stable coins, what the dangers are (programmable, enforcing control over people’s money), and fears of bank shutdowns and frozen ATMs.

• Commit to go before the Lord for direction. Direct people to Jesus Christ like never before. NO MORE CASUAL CHRISTIANITY. Discard the “Normal Sermon Series” … because it is going to be severely challenged. I have gentle recommendations in Part 4 next week. Have informational meetings to hash out what your Church leadership team is going to do under distress. Bring resources together for your people. You have to delegate more to others as they step up in new ways. If you can’t lead by delegating, it will diminish your throughput and effectiveness.

WATCHMEN AND WATCHWOMEN - I need a moment with you. Your purpose and calling is coming forth right now. You have to put away non-essential things and focus on your DUTY. Nothing is more important right now than loving, respecting, listening and responding to your Pastoral team and serving them. Nothing. To me, this is the whole point of your/mine/our hard won knowledge and experience. PUT DOWN lesser topics, your pet theories, favorite rabbit trails, and gnostic pride and get on your knees before the LORD. If you are not scared or your knees are not trembling that is NOT a good sign. You may not have the right heart attitude yet. Your peers in the community are counting on you to REPRESENT ALL OF US.

DO IT WELL AS UNTO THE LORD!

The Watchman agrees:

• Not to set dates. It directly violates the Pastors understanding of the Word. NO ONE KNOWS the Day or the Hour. That includes you. Don’t go there. The correct way to express your sense urgency of the prophetic timeline is: (a) We are one day closer than when we believed, and (b) No one knows the Day or the Hour. Always, always qualify your instruction, analysis, and experience by saying: “We are in the SEASON…” and then stop there. It’s the Holy Spirit’s role to impress your Pastor about the nearness of the Hour. You literally can’t do it, but He can! Pray for your Pastor and don’t risk your years of effort and reputation by blurting out a date. You don’t need to. There is SO MUCH going on that taking that kind of risk will destroy your credibility. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if you talk about dates, your Pastor will write you off. Brothers and Sisters, you are warned.

• Not to dump what they know. We’ve already talked about the breadth and depth of your typical Watchman and it will be extremely difficult for them to restrain from dumping a fair amount on your front yard. We agree that there is diminishing return, so we pledge to do a better job of controlling our zeal. We agree to keep to a 10,000 foot level unless YOU ask us for more depth.

• To listen first and answer questions. How do I put this gently? We gush our hard won understanding of eschatology, global news, and the nuances thereof in order to maximize value. We agree this is not the most helpful pattern. We agree to LISTEN to you. We agree to ANSWER your questions. We agree not to move forward during awkward moments of silence because you need a moment to process. We agree to NUDGE to help you with next steps. If a Watchman is respectfully nudging you, like if they say “…have you considered what {abc} means?” pause long enough to recognize an invitation. It’s not bait…it’s a loving act of service. We agree that YOU LEAD and we SERVE.

• We will ONLY go as fast as you permit. But what I’m really saying here is we will go slow, because these are difficult and complex things to absorb. We agree not to overwhelm you and drive the conversation in a way that leads to disengagement. We agree that NONE of us win if that happens. We agree that we can “park” a topic if you want to move on to something else. No judgement and no reason is required. We agree to respect the limits of your attention span and schedule. We honor any interruptions as they occur because that is an important part of your job. We agree to treat our time together as a half marathon and not a sprint. We know that sometimes we need to go at the right pace over multiple meetings. We agree to submit to your capacity. But in so doing, Dear Pastor, know that we, the Watchman community are praying for you to absorb. The reason is simple. Both sides love the Church, affirm our respective roles, and want to obey the Lord to the best of our ability—all for the benefit of the congregation.

• We will stay centered on Scripture-First, not YouTube-First. In our enthusiasm, sometimes we make it seem like the foundation of our knowledge is news and then we “force fit” what we see into Scripture. To illustrate, if we present II Timothy 3 and then say “do we see evidence of this today?” The answer is yes. But notice Scripture came first because that is the context we can both agree on. We agree to resist the kneejerk or poorly controlled impulse we often have to start a conversation with news. Because news begets more news ad infinitum…and before you know it, we’re not bringing in the Word at all. We agree to elevate NOTHING above the Word of God. Sola Scriptura!

• Finally, we agree that you are not a Watchman. Shocker! You have not been called to be a Watchman, and therefore it’s enough to highlight only key things as it unfolds. The term “convergence” has been used to describe the parallelism of prophetic events that have never before occurred concurrently in history. We agree to express our opinion about the resulting urgency we feel. We agree to express our great concern about the lost and that includes the cultural Christian in our Church that does not yet put their faith, hope, and trust in Jesus during the critical times we live in. We agree to help others understand that the fullness of our redemption is approaching.

Summary

Dear Pastor, a few minutes ago, I was watching my normal news stream and there is so much noise in the world right now. We don’t know what person, organization, corporation, or news source to trust. This makes it tough to evaluate the significance and timing of potential disruptions to the health of your congregation. Many of us believe the increasing intensity and frequency we see is getting much clearer now. Does that include you, I wonder? Do you feel it coming?

The normalcy bias and maintaining a “positive Church experience” is going to have less traction going forward if my observations are correct. The Church that begins to wrestle with realigning its purpose is going to be a beacon of hope for their community in profound new ways. Those that speak in truth about what is happening will see growth. This is what I and others pray for you and your team. We need to help the Bride of Christ get ready. To look up. Because our redemption is one day closer. The role that you will play to help people grasp their next steps of maturity is incalculable. I can’t imagine a more loving emphasis from your platform (to your congregation, peer group, and community) than to begin introducing key themes that will steward your faithfulness to others than in this next season.

And this is where we are going to head in next week’s Part 4. For now, know that I am praying for the Lord to meet you where you are. For you to understand that you are not alone. That the Lord has specifically equipped people in your Church—which of course need to be vetted carefully—to help you with the complexity that we see. The mega-trends of national and global changes are sometimes overwhelming even for me. That’s why Pastor Tom Hughes of Hope for Our Times (here) did me a big favor a couple of months ago. He boiled a lot of it down to watching only two things at this point. What is happening in Israel, and what is happening with Technology. And in my opinion, he’s right on the money. That’s where I focus now.

Just because it’s top of mind right now and the timing worked out, you might consider watching Pastor John Haller’s (Fellowship Bible Chapel, Ohio) next Prophecy Roundtable. It is a tremendous privilege to be among these men. Joining me are trusted colleagues like

Patrick Wood

,

Britt Gillette

, and

Pete

Garcia. But fair warning, this is a Watchmen to Watchmen series, so you’ll see some deep things being discussed. It’s likely that there is an assumption of baseline familiarity with the assortment of topics we discuss. If you don’t yet have the baseline, some of it will sound strange initially. The live recording goes for about 2 hours 10 minutes will be this Wednesday from 4:30PM to 6:45PM Pacific on August 13th. I hope you can join us!

Godspeed to you and yours,

#Maranatha

YBIC,
Scott