He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 1 Timothy 3:6-8
Who are you looking to for spiritual advice, teaching, and wisdom? Lately we’ve seen some pretty big and well-known individuals who have ‘converted’ to Christianity and now proclaim the name of Jesus. Their conversions have been VERY public on social media. This is wonderful to see, but the institutional Church has been poor in the stewardship and discipleship of new believers / converts and especially with ‘big names / celebrities’ and ‘wealthy’ local individuals to take advantage of their influence and social status hoping that it would increase the money flow into their Church / 501c3 business model, so they could continue their growth / building plans.
Yet, Paul makes it very clear to Timothy to NOT put these individuals into an overseer / leadership role. And Paul goes on to share the danger of why. Does your current leadership understand how dangerous it can be to a local body of believers and to the new convert to put someone like that into an ‘influencer / administrative / leadership / teaching’ role? Who do you think the enemies of God will attack? People who are very new converts. Why? Because they have a very new foundation of faith. Adam and Eve had a very ‘new foundation’ of a relationship with God. Twist it while they’re young is the strategy. This strategy is STILL being used today by those warring against God. Attack the ‘young in the faith’. Get those individuals onto other new ‘paths’. Introduce lies and false narratives EARLY into their lives. Have alternative and multiple methods of swaying their flesh natures. Cater to their ‘pride’ and egos.
I am sad to see these evil strategies happening right before my eyes with some of these new converts. I SO wish there would be mature elder / mentors that would take them under their ‘wing’ for a couple of years. I would hope someone would tell these new converts to NOT take all the new opportunities that are coming their way to become ‘leaders’ and ‘point people’ in the marketing or administration (board advisory positions) of ministries. (So many Churches put these individuals on to their Boards VERY early) These individuals need time to develop their relationship with the Holy Spirit so that He can advise them what to do and what NOT to do. They need time in the scriptures learning both the logos and rhema Word, and how to listen to the Holy Spirit who wants to renew their ‘ways’. So many of these celebrity new Christians are just using their ‘old ways’ in promotion of their ‘new lives’ in Christ. It easy to see that their spiritual discernment is lacking. So many of these wealthy individuals become instant ‘advisors’ to the budding “Pastor” trying so hard to ‘build’ the ‘ministry’. But the new convert’s advice and natural wisdom come from their ‘past’ worldly experience and not from the Spirit of God. It becomes about $ and not about what the Holy Spirit wants to do.
Be wise and actually listen to Paul’s advice here. Don’t be ‘greedy’ looking to see how their ‘influence and wealth’ can be leveraged for your own ‘plans’ now that they are part of the ‘tribe’. Who actually is your ‘Source’? Whom do you actually trust in? Is it your own natural ‘wisdom’ and past experience? Let’s become more protective of the ‘new convert’, and set them into a ‘safe’ elder / mentor / discipleship relationship where the elder actually cares for their soul. This should be the ‘rule’ for ALL new converts no matter their earthly age.
And beware of taking spiritual advice from the new celebrity convert to the faith. Can you discern who is speaking from the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and who is not?