Identifying the Spirit of Slavery©

The Signs of a Plantation Church Structure

By: Derrick P. Rodgers

Part 2

 

3. THE LEADERSHIP WORKS THE PEOPLE EXTREMELY HARD, TO BUILD PHARAOH’S PERSONAL KINGDOMS:

So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king.

-Exodus 1:11(NLT)

Because of the ambitious pursuit of many spiritual slave masters, the pressure and demand to work and build their personal kingdoms is an essential ingredient to the success of fulfilling the desires of the slave master. Under this type of church structure the saints are worked extremely long hours and often encouraged to deny other necessary responsibilities such as tending to their own personal family. Children are neglected, spouses are ignored and as a result of this unhealthy activity which is motivated by demon spirits, separates and divides homes and marriages. Many Christian marriages are strained due to the participation in plantation type church structures. The slave masters which govern these types of structures often communicate the importance to forsake all other responsibilities and solely dedicate and submit to the building of their personal kingdoms. They don’t quite say it that way. They may cloak it with nice terms like “this must be done to build the vision of the house”. Of course, it’s absolutely nothing wrong with building authorized vision. However, taskmasters choose to be clever when dealing with the saints. “Come let us deal wisely or shrewdly with them” -Exodus 1:10

Meanwhile, the Egyptian slave drivers continued to push hard. “Meet your daily quota of bricks, just as you did when we provided you with straw!” they demanded. Then they whipped the Israelite foremen they had put in charge of the work crews. “Why haven’t you met your quotas either yesterday or today?” they demanded.

 –Exodus 5:13,14 (NLT)

Remember that these particular rounds of whippings were directly connected to the possibility of disconnecting from the controlling system. Anytime the system is challenged with the possibility of people leaving, will produce the cruel wrath of the taskmaster. The spiritual whippings and beatings are designed to break the will of the people that make humans naturally resist abuse. These acts are meant to install fear in the individual perpetrator and in the presence of the assembly of the congregation. 

4. CONTINUAL EPISODES OF RUNAWAYS, A HIGH TURNOVER IN MEMBERSHIP:

Within the context of what we are discussing, runaways are individuals that leave their local church without the blessing of the leadership. They breakout and take flight from the oppression seeking green pastures and clean water in hopes of obtaining relief. Many desire a house of refuge to rest from the constant mental warfare and tyranny of a persistent taskmaster. Let it be noted that everyone that leaves a church without the blessing of the leadership is not trying to escape from an oppressive regime. People desire to leave churches for many different reasons. It may be because they despise accountability or they just don’t fit into the equation of the vision or they may simple desire to live a life of sin. In fact, people leave churches that are ordained by God and the leader is not a task master. However, because of immaturity, incorrect perception, seductive counsel along with outside influences; has and will cause people to disconnect from God ordained local churches.

During the era of slavery within the US, slaves “constantly talked about the possibility of escape: there arose in some an irrepressible desire for freedom which no danger or power could restrain, no hardship deterred, and no bloodhound could alarm. This desire haunted them night and day: they talked about it to each other in confidence: they knew that the system which bound them was as unjust as it was cruel and that they ought to strive, as a duty to themselves and their children to escape from it”. –Spartacus Educational under the section runaways: according to Walter Hawkins”

Go back to Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, and tell him to let the people of Israel leave his country.

-Exodus 6:11 (NLT)

 Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.

-Exodus 3:7 (NLT)

The desire to be free from systems of spiritual slavery is in the hearts and minds of many. The continual abuse and mind control takes its toll upon people and is often the factor that produces runaways from such a system. It’s been my experience to witness individuals routinely subject themselves to endure years of such a system all in the name of misplaced loyalty. To much amazement, they are clearly aware of what’s taking place, which includes different streams of manipulation and acts of cruelty at best. Nonetheless; they stay within these systems because of the impartations and systematic strategies of fear released overtime. The participation and interaction with spiritual slavery formulates mindsets that “it’s better to stay on the plantation and submit to the structures of a slave system, rather than become the object of focus and discussion that is executed by the taskmaster themselves”.

The swift rejection and ridicule of the taskmaster creates an illusion that it’s “safer to stay in Egypt and defer the experience of freedom to a later and more palatable time to transition. The common practice of plantation structures is that anytime a person rebels or run-away from the system, they are ostracized, blacklisted and demonized to the point where the remaining people are so afraid they dare not arise and cross through the red sea and flee Egypt. Due to the pressure of being ostracized, rejected and blacklisted, some stay with the system and make excuses as to why they must stay in Egypt. They apply Kingdom principals of honor and commitment to an unauthorized pattern of ministry, thereby binding themselves to a place of limitation. This particular mindset perpetuates generations of the same chaotic activity.

The truth of the matter is; competent yet simple decisions must be made although turbulence may occur while transitioning. Embracing God’s grace, wisdom, and apostolic counsel can navigate you through such a time as this. The decision is simple in the sense that one can clearly see and identify with the working of a taskmaster and experience the so-real activation of a potent slave system. This cycle must be broken to experience freedom and liberty to operate with the ability to advance forward.

5. THE LEADER IS OBSESSED WITH THE NEED TO BE RECOGNIZED ALL THE TIME:

Pharaoh motivated by his desire to promote and advance his own personal agenda concluded the best strategy to build his empire and neutralize the children of Israel was to enact the system of slavery. Likewise, today some local churches have come under attack from the powers of darkness to engage in such activity. The two driving forces of this spirit is one; to enforce the building of mans empire, and second; to stop the authorized authority and growth of the church. Therefore, the spirit of slavery has been released against some local church structures to systematically enslave a people without them realizing they are being enslaved. The administration of a pyramid structure is when there is an extreme emphasis and demand placed on continual acknowledgement and meeting the needs of the senior leader solely. Within the operational structure of a pyramid system there tends to be a warped and strange emphasis placed on the senior leader to the point of direct and indirect worship being rendered to the person. The culture within this type of system is built where the members of the church must constantly echo, acknowledge, and pay alms to the leader by name in lite of them being the great one and infallible spiritual leader with implications that “without them they are lost for all eternity”. Individuals outside of the system often conclude that something is wrong with this picture, which displays more than often that the leader is severely challenged with a deficit of acceptance, thereby requiring the members to constantly acknowledge them.

Having said that, there is nothing wrong with acknowledging your leader and speaking blessings over them, in-fact it should be encouraged to honor and recognize God fearing leaders. However, the problem or perversion enters in when the name of the bishop or pastor takes the place of Jesus. No longer do the members thank God for Jesus, instead they thank God for their leader, no longer do they look to the Lord for deliverance, but they look to their leader to deliver them. The name of the leader becomes synonymous or greater than the name of Jesus. Again I’m not against acknowledging your leader and blessing him or her, please look at this within the context I’m expressing. I’m talking about extreme notoriety, accolades, and obsession with a human man.

6. THE LEADERSHIP TEAM IS COMPROMISED OF “FIGURE HEADS” OR “PUPPET CONTROLLED GROUP”:

Within this form of ministry; raising up or developing leadership teams to help build and advance Gods purposes are rare to non-existed. However, we are to observe genuine leadership teams vs. established figure heads. Authentic leadership teams operate within accountability one with another, whereas figure heads are just a form of leadership which operates with a “yes man” mentality which means to slavishly obey. Figure head leadership is often established to give the appearance of team ministry.

 A “Puppet Controlled Group” can be defined as elders that are manipulated and controlled with the hand of constant fear of termination, blacklisting, and intimidation. A puppet is a small figure of a person operated from above with strings by a puppeteer. A person who is controlled by others and is used to perform unpleasant or dishonest tasks for someone else. A doll with a hollow head of a person or animal and a cloth body; intended to fit over the hand and be manipulated with the fingers.

If you find yourself contending with the spirit of slavery, I pray that the father will provide you with wisdom and strength to break free.