When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables.

  - John 2.15

And I would not have chosen to speak as harshly and sternly as I must; but the zeal of God compels me, and Christ's truth urges me, for love of my neighbours and children on whose behalf I gave up my parents and my homeland, and my very life until death.

  - Patrick, Letter Against the Soldiers of Coroticus, Irish, 5th century[1]

What follows Patrick’s opening explanation is a blistering letter against one Coroticus, a Pictish chieftain who claimed to be a Christian, but whose soldiers had just barged in on a service of baptism, killed a few people in attendance, and hauled off many of the new believers into slavery.

Doubtless, they invoked some “right of kings” or other such familiar justification for their actions, but there was nothing Christian about what they’d done, and Patrick was determined to let them know it and set things right.

Upon hearing of the situation, almost immediately after it occurred, Patrick sent two priests to demand the release of the prisoners. Coroticus’ men laughed them to scorn and continued to make their way back to their homeland.

In response, Patrick wrote a letter of excommunication, condemning the savage act and the heartless men who committed it, consigning them to hell if they did not repent and do what was right before the Lord, and warning all who read his letter to give those wretched false believers no aid, comfort, or assistance of any kind.

He then sent copies of his Letter Against the Soldiers of Coroticus to all the villages in the path of the retreating soldiers. We don’t know what resulted from this bold initiative, except for this:

Patrick has his own holiday, and you never heard of Coroticus until today.

There is a time, in building the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, to stand up to the brutes, buffoons, bullies, braggarts, and bozos who may be posing as leaders in the Church, yet whose works and ways are destroying the life of the Body and the wellbeing of God’s saints.

Whenever church leaders substitute worldly measures for the plain teaching of Scripture, when they fail to cast a vision for the Kingdom or to lead their flocks into it, or when they prefer the status quo to healthy, growing churches, they are as violent against the wellbeing of their churches as Coroticus and his soldiers.

Jesus understood this as well. He was enraged at the way the house of God had become commercialized – money-making, head-counting, and keeping the crowds happy had replaced prayer and humility before the Lord.

Jesus literally beat the hell out of those sorry excuses for church leaders, just as Patrick would do with his words against Coroticus and his thugs.

There is a time for stepping up and speaking out with those who think they are above the plain words of Scripture because their “proven methods” for “growing the church” have led to big congregations and fat budgets – but little in the way of real disciples.

Of course, the whip of cords we must use will be serious and persistent questions about where we’re going, why we do what we do, and why there isn’t more of vital Kingdom living in evidence among us. We will be firm and, yes, critical, but only according to the righteous judgment Jesus commends (Jn. 7.24). But we will speak out, persistently and pointedly, until we begin to witness a turn for the Kingdom in our leaders and our churches.

If such a tone and such language should, on occasion, appear on these pages, know that it is out of love for God’s people and zeal for His house. Entrenched sin sometimes needs a sting on the backside before it will decamp the house of the Lord.

Psalm 74.10, 11, 22, 23 (Rockingham Old: “O Lord Most High, with All My Heart”)
How long, O Lord, must they prevail and mock and spurn Your holy name?
Why stay Your hand? Deploy it now, and bring Your foes to lasting shame!

Arise, O God, and plead Your cause! See how the fools reproach Your name.
Their voices quell, their uproar still, who Your majestic grace defame.

Lord, do not let me blink at blatant sin or balk at speaking out whenever Your ways and Word are being compromised or ignored.

May I ask you a question?
Church leaders should be approachable, and when we approach them we should come with some well-pointed questions, to help us reflect together on the Lord’s calling. If you’ll write to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., I’ll send you a copy of the ReVision study, “Questions for Church Leaders.” This brief study can be a valuable resource for helping church leaders and members make sure they’re following the Lord’s course for building the Church.

Over the next couple of weeks we’ll be announcing some new initiatives. Your prayers and support make it possible for us to keep expanding our work in new ways. Please also refer your friends to our website, www.ailbe.org, and encourage them to sign-up for one or more of our newsletters.

The Lord’s richest blessings be with you all today.

Psalms to Pray for Today and Tuesday
Today
Morning: Psalm 119.89-96; Psalm 3
Evening: Psalm 78

Tuesday
Morning: Psalm 119.97-104; Psalm 4
Evening: Psalm 79

T. M. Moore, Principal
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

All Psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.