Touch NOT the Lord's Anointed!
The phrase, “Touch not the Lord’s Anointed”, is often tossed around when there is a leadership crisis in a church. Challengers of the leadership would be reminded to keep their hands off the ‘anointed’ or else... (face the consequences of God’s judgment?). How did this phrase arise and how does it square with the rest of God’s Word?
Berita NECF invites LOW CHAI HOK to touch on this thorny issue.
Because the ministry of the church calls for the fulfillment of an infinite mission by the painfully finite means of broken people who seem always short on resources and shorter still on the time and commitment, church leadership is tough.
It is inevitable, therefore, that differences of opinion often arise. Caught in such laboriously difficult situations, church leaders have often been tempted to shout down 'the opposition' with the demand to "touch not the Lord's anointed!"
What are we to think of this "Do not touch the Lord's anointed management approach" (let's call it Dontlama, for short)?
Firstly, Dontlama reads Scriptures the wrong way round. The foundational text for the idea of not 'touching the Lord's anointed' is the Saul-David narrative (1 Sam 24-26). In this text, it expresses David's free and voluntary decision not to kill Saul. Motivated by his personal sense of right and wrong, he saw Saul - despite his bloodthirsty advances - as the Lord's anointed.
Dontlama turns a free and voluntary decision into an injunction motivated either by the leader's need for recognition as the Lord's anointed, or by the presumption that he is the Lord's anointed. Instead of reading the Scriptures, Dontlama reads the Scriptures to others.
Secondly, Dontlama draws a parallel between two conflicts: the leader-vs-his dissenting member and Saul-vs-David. Since the demand is made upon the dissenting member to act like David, that leaves the leader paralleled by Saul.
Yes, Saul was the Lord's anointed. He was also wrong. Rejected. And, in the end, decapitated. Now, why would any leader want to be so equated?
Thirdly, and fundamentally, Dontlama is spiritual ransom, falsely holding the threat of divine punishment over the heads of the dissenting members as the price for compliance.
True leadership envisions, enables, and persuades. It does not manipulate. Nothing demonstrates our lack of true leadership and the absence of the Holy Spirit and grace in our life and ministry more than our descent into machination and coercion.
Finally, Dontlama is hubris (excessive pride, arrogance and ambition), and a demonstration of our lack of faith. Dontlama says, in effect, "Look, I am the Lord's anointed."
If we are, truly, the Lord's anointed, will not others recognise it, and will not the Lord open the way for us, without our egging for it? And is not our Lord Jesus Christ our only "the Lord's anointed," and the rest of us mere servants? Where is the servanthood if we lord it over our brethren with such presumption of being the Lord's anointed?
Effective church leadership is an act of grace, plus a lot of miracles. "You, you shall not touch me, me - the Lord's anointed, OK?" is not one of them. Quite definitely so.
Formerly a pastor, Low Chai Hok is now an itinerant preacher and expositor of God’s Word. Presently, he and his wife, Lilian, are building a home for Christians who need a place of quiet to find healing for a wounded heart, to reflect, to be alone with God or to write.
A pastor’s response to Dontlama
If the anointed does not want to be touched, then he should live and lead in such a way that no member will want to 'touch' him, Chan Theam Lai, pastor of the Ipoh Canning Garden Baptist Church.
And to be 'untouchable', the anointed (that is, pastors and leaders) must first recognise their fallibility - that they are as easily tempted, if not more, as any ordinary member, he adds. This demands humility and a constant dependence on God.
Next, pastors and leaders should create an environment where they can be protected from the temptation of power abuse or corruption.
"Pastors and leaders who have absolute power are on dangerous terrain. As a pastor, I have a check and balance system in the administration of my church that makes it difficult for me to commit malpractices or fall into temptation.
"I also recognise that I have room for errors and that not all my decisions are the right ones. That's why I have a team of leaders who work with me and keep me in check. Furthermore, I believe that the pastor is not the only anointed one in the church. The elders and leaders also carry God's anointing," he points out.
However, Pr Chan's church practises dontlama (Don't touch the Lord's anointed) in that the congregation accepts that their pastor and leaders, once put in their position by the church members, are God's anointed and appointed.
If and when situations arise where the leadership is challenged, the leaders will journey with the disgruntled to work out the issues of discontent. Pr Chan recalls two such cases in his church.
"On both cases, we journey with them to work out the issues. We focused on honoring God and looking after the welfare of the sheep. Decisions were difficult in both circumstances but God's wisdom prevailed when we sought Him," he shares.
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