PLOTTING AND BETRAYAL

Have you ever been in a situation where others were plotting against you in some way?
Perhaps it was your husband they were plotting against. We were in a church situation where a new preacher had arrived and immediately began criticizing everything the large, long-term staff (which included my husband)had been doing.
Everyone in the church had been so pleased and encouraging to the staff during the time they kept the church going after our long-term pastor has retired. For two years they continued to move forward as much as possible and we even had people joining the church, even without a pastor. Suddenly, with the arrival of this new preacher, things began to change. He began to surround himself with a corp of followers (mostly from the search committee who had recommended him). It was almost like he had some kind of strange power over them. People who had been so supportive of the staff and the vision of the long-range planning committee, suddenly were willing to believe whatever this "stranger" said even if it was not the same as what he had said to a staff member. They would do whateve he wanted them to do. He was deceitful behind closed doors and had members basically blackballed if they questioned him. He was not the person some in the congregation thought he was. He was cruel to the staff and when it finally got so bad that some of them spoke to church leaders they trusted regarding some of the "plotting" going on against them and to change certain things and make it look like some of these changes came from the staff and not from him we got a mixed response. Some were very upset and approached him. He denied it or just stared at them or said the staff member misunderstood. Then they were treated badly by him and others of his followers. Some were upset but didn't want to get involved. Others were totally oblivious to it all. Eventually staff and their families began to feel they were the enemy by his followers and so did anyone who disagreed with him or his treatment of the staff. Close friends no longer spoke or trusted each other. It was one of the most painful times of our lives. We felt betrayed and "stabbed in the back" by some of those who had been closest to us for over 12 years. One by one the staff all left and so did large numbers of church members. A few years later, the preacher who caused all this pain and division was advised he needed to resign or he was soon going to be asked to leave. Some had come to see him for what he really was. Others just saw how the church had declined. Many Ministers' families were hurt and many friendships destroyed and have not been restored years later. This experience gives me an inkling of how Jesus must have felt during his last week on earth. There were those plotting against him. One of his own disciples betrayed him. The crowds that cheered Hosanna as he entered Jerusalem quickly changed to chanting Crucify Him and even chose to let a convicted murderer go and have Jesus killed. I hope you never have to experience the pain we did in that church but if you ever go through something similar, know that your Lord and Savior went through something worse and later gave his life for you because of his Love for you. He knows any pain or suffering or trial you may have gone through or are going through and He will see you through it. Let's all remember the great love that Jesus showed to us by allowing them to crucify him that we may be forgiven. Hosanna to our King!