“Answer to Prayer!” Local Leader Grateful for CapMin Study on Biblical Response to Slander
Picture: Dan Marshall shares the CapMin vision during The Word Orlando’s Pastor Appreciation Brunch
When Dan Marshall, a Local Government Ministries leader, sends the CapMin Bible study to local public servants in his Concord, North Carolina neighborhood every week, he never knows how God’s Word will impact those he hopes to encourage and disciple.
But when the Bible study “Slaying the Sin of Slander” went out via email recently, one of the elected leaders responded immediately with gratitude, saying the study was an “answer to prayer.”
The study, written by Ralph Drollinger, CapMin President and Founder, informs the Christian lawmaker what the Bible says about how he is to respond when lies are spread about him and his reputation is unfairly attacked.
The study reads, in part:
“Slander is rampant in the public servant industry. Not only via the whisper campaigns, hit mail during elections, clandestine blackballing, or all-out assaults on camera by colleagues, but by the media itself. Scripture labels it all as sin.”
“The believer is to form new habits of mental discipline. Simultaneously, the Holy Spirit appropriates and empowers the believer to forgive and forget!”
“Believers are not to be cynical spoilsports who continually dwell on defects in others as a way of life. Rather, forthrightly and clearly, believers are commanded here to put away all bitterness! It follows that to refuse to put away all bitterness is to be disobedient to God’s clear instruction in and for your life; it is a desire to supersede what God’s Word says about how you ought to live your life for your own good and instead wallow in sin! In a practical sense, your obedience to put away your past will lead today to a genuinely better life! Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead! The past is finite; the future is infinite! Spend your energies on things that will benefit you!
“You may have heard the saying that holding a grudge over a past injustice is letting the devil live rent-free in your heart. Paul didn’t do that, nor should you. In contrast, Paul states in Philippians 4:8:
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
“It is only by allowing the above theology to inform your thinking that you will find victory over bitterness, my friend. Consider this Old Testament biblical illustration regarding good theology informing your thinking and emotions: Joseph had concluded in his mind after his brothers had thrown him in a pit and left him to die, that, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” (Genesis 50:20). Wow! Joseph inculcated theology—he was a doer of the Word, not merely a hearer (cf. James 1:22–25). The Word informed and governed his life and emotions! Now that’s spiritual maturity.”
Click here to read the full Bible study which provides a more complete look at slander and the biblical perspective of how a Christian should respond.
Every week Dan, a LGM leader, emails the Bible studies that Ralph teaches to U.S. senators and representatives in Washington, D.C. to local city and county leaders in his community who have requested them.
LGM is an initiative through which CapMin partners with the local church as well as individuals to establish Bible-study based discipleship ministries to city and county local leaders in neighborhoods across America.
The public servant wrote:
Dan,
“Thank you for this study!
“God is so good to know exactly what I need to hear/read.
“I have been going through a difficult time recently, and God just answered my prayer. I’ve been asking Him what I need to learn and how do I respond to people who are slandering me?
“Honestly, I haven’t responded very well recently.
“I read this study and instantly felt convicted. But God is so good to show me exactly how I should be responding too. He doesn’t leave me in my failures. He is teaching me His ways too.
“I really do appreciate you sharing this study! I don’t always respond, but I do appreciate them. Clearly, the Lord is using them. I needed this reminder today.
“Thank you!”
The response is what ministry leaders long to hear – that God’s Word is taking root in hearts and giving comfort and instruction to Christian public servants whom he is discipling.
Dan sent this email to public servants along with the Bible study:
“Elections and serving as a public official can be challenging in many ways. The issues that one must confront are often controversial. Further, those with whom you serve and those you represent can be less than cordial and courteous. For those of us who claim to follow Christ, the challenge is to maintain and manifest a godly demeanor and attitude in the midst of criticism, personal attacks and conflicts with our peers.
“This week’s Bible study unpacks how we should conduct ourselves, in our role as a public official and when we are running for office. Each one of us needs to conduct ourselves with dignity, integrity and humility at all times. However, a public servant is exposed to more scrutiny than a private citizen. Therefore, his or her conduct is under the microscope to a greater degree and hastily spoken words can result in greater damage.
“I pray that this lesson will provoke us to consider our attitudes toward others and the effect that our words – both spoken and written, can have on those around us.
“May God instruct us and mold us as we apply this lesson to our lives.”
Dan also serves as a LGM regional director and mentors other local government Bible teachers in his region. He sent the LGM leaders an email with the public servant’s response and encouraged them to consider forwarding weekly CapMin Bible studies to the elected leaders to whom they minister.