church autonomy a fundamental doctrine?

Dave Smith (das896s@nic.smsu.edu)
Sat, 10 Aug 1996 09:05:38 -0500


The Pastor has an obligaion to God in regard to the pace in spiritual
 leadership that God has placed him. That obligation includes
 instructing the members of that particular congregation in the
 direction that he is given by Jesus.

This is not where the question seems to lie, but in this it does:
Every congregation is peculiar, and dynamic, in it's own way. The
 Lord, in His divine grace and knowledge, puts people into certain
congregations for the good of the body. The body includes that 
that individual, so it is for their benefit that they are placed where 
God directs, as well.We are not gathered together in the assemblies 
theat we are in by accident, but by God's will.

This being considered, any particular Pastor, *as long as he submits
to God*, will preach and teach what is best for that group that he has 
been divinely ordained to oversee. This includes convictions. If we 
come to a point that we hate the convictions that our Pastor preaches
or teaches, we must remember that we are there to build the kingdom,
and not to accomplish our own agendas. By submitting to our Pastor, 
especially in non-salvational issues, when we don't necessarily feel 
the same way builds unity in the body by showing us and everyone else
that furthering the kingdom is more important than one person's
ideas.

Real Pastor's love the Saints and are not dictators, but stewards of 
God's Heritage. They won't preach with the intention of making all 
members "bend to their will". On the other hand, I also don't feel
that "blind" following of a man is the right way to go.He must be 
in submission to God, and as he is we will hear the teaching that
we, as individuals, need personally for our growth, and the growth 
of the group that we congregate with. Even if a situation comes up
when a Pastor gets "way off" scripturally, we should pray for him
first before quickly casting them out...what would Jesus do?

To sum this up...We are where we are for a reason. We should work in 
harmony with our local assembly, supporting our Pastors. Try walking 
in his shoes before firing off about what a Pastor should/shouldn't 
preach. He is there to build you up in the sight of God, not to be
bound by men's opinions of what he should preach to the congregation,
but to have full liberty in Christ to follow His direction.

The fundamental doctrine is a guideline to help us, and to help 
Pastor's to have something to bounce off of, in order to check our 
selves.

Dave Smith