By Ronald Stidham
HOW IS JUSTICE DENIED?
When the scales of Justice are no longer balanced, and the wolf is valued more than the sheep, justice is denied.
Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain. (Ezekiel 22:27, NKJV)
In the Judicial System of the Church of God in Christ, it is almost impossible to receive Justice from the Board of Bishops, unless you are a Bishop, and have not “fought leadership”. If you are a Bishop and have offended the leadership, you are treated worse than an infidel. The fear, and stigma of this treatment, paralyzes and prevents most from speaking out against it.
When you have been wronged, you take comfort when you discover you may file charges against a Bishop if he has committed any of the offenses found in Article VIII, Section D of the Official Manual of the Church of God in Christ. You believe the National Church must not know about this behavior, there is no way it would tolerate this type of behavior, especially when the Word of God calls some of the things sin.
You soon realize the scales of justice are not balanced. There is the appearance of justice, but make no mistake, if the offender has “friend in high places”, the scales of justice are not balanced. The system rewards the Bishop for “obeying leadership” by placing him in something similar to what I will call, the “Bishop Protection Program” in which some of the leaders make the charges go away by ignoring them or intimidating those who file them. That Bishop is then in debt, and because of fear, he will go along to get along.
One man makes the decision to move forward, dismiss, or ignore cases when they are presented. Even when the Grievance Committee recommends sanctions and or trials, his is the final voice, and he has been known to show favoritism. This is a corruption of the process and makes the favored ones almost untouchable. The majority of people become frustrated and say just forget it with many of them leaving, wounded, hurt, and offended.
It is exactly this type of thing, which the Word of GOD condemns, and calls sin;
“As I live,” says the Lord GOD “surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”—therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.” (Ezekiel 34:8–10, NKJV)
IS THERE JUSTICE IN THE CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST? 