Am I Against Pastors and Elders? No! Only False Pastors and Elders!
I am often misread, misinterpreted and misquoted by people who either want to jump the gun and judge me or who simply do not do their homework and fail to read my writings carefully and correctly, without adding in their own assumptions. This is why we see false accusations on the Internet claiming that I am against all pastors. No I am against FALSE pastors. Big difference. So if you read my writings on pastors / elders and authority in the church, please do so keeping this in mind and please do not jump to the conclusion that I am against all pastors and elders. I am not. In fact, I do not in any way deny these very important roles that God has given to the local church. The problem is the widespread lack of genuine shepherds who do not devour the sheep for their own selfish purposes. That is the main issue.
I think it could be argued that few people support the role of the genuine pastor / elder in the local church more than I do. But while I totally uphold this role, I do not support the idea of the “office” of pastor as some kind of commercial career appointment with all kinds of unauthorized controlling authority over the brethren. I have shown many times how the Bible condemns such behavior through my many writings on the subject.
BTW: the word pastor and elder are basically synonymous in the New Testament – so no, it is not true that elders are subservient to pastors, how could they be? Biblically they are basically one and the same. But this does not stop false control-crazy “pastors” from setting up a hierarchy of importance and then using it to lord over unsuspecting elders.
To help prove my point, here is an excerpt from something I wrote on this subject a few years ago, and which is now archived at: http://www.truthguard.com/Articles/imposters-in-the-pulpit-a63.html
Be Careful Not To Throw The Baby Out With The Bathwater
Christians who come out of an abusive church system and join (or start) a smaller home fellowship often throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to pastors. They sometimes reject the biblical concept of the pastoral role altogether. This is not surprising because bad pastors make even good pastors look suspect. Nevertheless, the answer to a bad pastor is not no pastor, but a good pastor, unless of course no good pastor is available.
Some home groups cater to the wrong mindset here and not only operate without a pastor, they also take an active militant stand against all pastors in general, be they good and bad. This is a wrong and detrimental view. People like this have typically had bad experiences with one or more authoritarian regimes and are rightfully fed up with all the politics and are tired of all the nonsense. But nevertheless, they have gone too far and have over-corrected all the way into a ditch on the other side of the problem.
It is true that having no pastor is certainly better than having a false pastor, but if a true selfless pastor is available, a pastor who has no agenda and who would be a true friend in Christ, then to reject such a person would be very foolish indeed. If God sends such a man your way, hang on to him like the pure gold that he is.
Above all don't fall into the trap of going on a pilgrimage or quest to find such a man. You will most likely be sadly disappointed and tossed from one bad situation to another and constantly being tempted to join yet anther cult of personality in hopes of finding a spiritual “dad”.
Should the opportunity arise, it is very important to do your due diligence and make sure that anyone claiming to be a pastor is in fact a genuine biblical pastor. The Scriptures command us to test and prove all things (and this include the claims of men):
“Prove [test] all things; hold fast to that which is good.” 1Thess 5:21
ChristiansFree.com
I am often misread, misinterpreted and misquoted by people who either want to jump the gun and judge me or who simply do not do their homework and fail to read my writings carefully and correctly, without adding in their own assumptions. This is why we see false accusations on the Internet claiming that I am against all pastors. No I am against FALSE pastors. Big difference. So if you read my writings on pastors / elders and authority in the church, please do so keeping this in mind and please do not jump to the conclusion that I am against all pastors and elders. I am not. In fact, I do not in any way deny these very important roles that God has given to the local church. The problem is the widespread lack of genuine shepherds who do not devour the sheep for their own selfish purposes. That is the main issue.
I think it could be argued that few people support the role of the genuine pastor / elder in the local church more than I do. But while I totally uphold this role, I do not support the idea of the “office” of pastor as some kind of commercial career appointment with all kinds of unauthorized controlling authority over the brethren. I have shown many times how the Bible condemns such behavior through my many writings on the subject.
BTW: the word pastor and elder are basically synonymous in the New Testament – so no, it is not true that elders are subservient to pastors, how could they be? Biblically they are basically one and the same. But this does not stop false control-crazy “pastors” from setting up a hierarchy of importance and then using it to lord over unsuspecting elders.
To help prove my point, here is an excerpt from something I wrote on this subject a few years ago, and which is now archived at: http://www.truthguard.com/Articles/imposters-in-the-pulpit-a63.html
Be Careful Not To Throw The Baby Out With The Bathwater
Christians who come out of an abusive church system and join (or start) a smaller home fellowship often throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to pastors. They sometimes reject the biblical concept of the pastoral role altogether. This is not surprising because bad pastors make even good pastors look suspect. Nevertheless, the answer to a bad pastor is not no pastor, but a good pastor, unless of course no good pastor is available.
Some home groups cater to the wrong mindset here and not only operate without a pastor, they also take an active militant stand against all pastors in general, be they good and bad. This is a wrong and detrimental view. People like this have typically had bad experiences with one or more authoritarian regimes and are rightfully fed up with all the politics and are tired of all the nonsense. But nevertheless, they have gone too far and have over-corrected all the way into a ditch on the other side of the problem.
It is true that having no pastor is certainly better than having a false pastor, but if a true selfless pastor is available, a pastor who has no agenda and who would be a true friend in Christ, then to reject such a person would be very foolish indeed. If God sends such a man your way, hang on to him like the pure gold that he is.
Above all don't fall into the trap of going on a pilgrimage or quest to find such a man. You will most likely be sadly disappointed and tossed from one bad situation to another and constantly being tempted to join yet anther cult of personality in hopes of finding a spiritual “dad”.
Should the opportunity arise, it is very important to do your due diligence and make sure that anyone claiming to be a pastor is in fact a genuine biblical pastor. The Scriptures command us to test and prove all things (and this include the claims of men):
“Prove [test] all things; hold fast to that which is good.” 1Thess 5:21
ChristiansFree.com