Pastors Leading the flock???)
Jerry Welch (tlwitness@juno.com)
Fri, 4 Sep 1998 01:51:17 -0500
On Sun, 6 Sep 1998 19:35:41 EDT ReedActs@AOL.com writes:
> Mike:
> Maybe I didn't. And that would irritate me also. However, I don't
>believe that is what is in question here. You, (and others) seem
>to want to make any pastor that establishes extrabiblical
>standards in their local congregations out to be some kind of
>totalitarian monarch.
Not at all, but I WOULD question on what authority they can place their
personal convictions on other people. Would it be EQUALLY right if the
Associate (who is, by definition EQUAL with the Pastor) Pastor ALSO
placed his personal convictions on the Church? What about the Elders,
too? Aren't they Biblically equal to the Pastor?
>That may be the case in some circumstances. The lion share of
>the pastors that I know that have standards such as these don't
>make "their rules [and] God's rules giving both equal sway."
I would hope not.
>Again, it seems you are setting up a strawman to beat down.
Let's also be serious; take a man who has Pastored for a long time, and
you will see a Church that partially revolves a condition of fellowship
over at least one of these standards. Or at least I have seen that to be
the case many times.
>If there are men putting their rules on equal footing with God's rules,
they
>are wrong to do that, but that is a separate issue from pastoral
standards.
Then what is the point of even ISSUING such standards if they are not to
be "obeyed"?
That is what >I< am hearing, anyway; that we should blankly OBEY.
I disagree. I can tell you from personal experience that I obeyed a
DIRECT ORDER from my Pastor when I should not have.
It took years for that wound to heal.
Jerry Welch
www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/2810/
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