DICTATOR

Classic example

"Elder and Mrs. White ran and ruled everything with an iron hand. Not a nomination to office, not a resolution, not an item of business was ever acted upon in business meetings till all had been first submitted to Elder White for his approval. Till years later, we never saw an opposition vote on any question, for no one dared to do it. Hence, all official voting was only a farce. The will of Elder White settled everything. If any one dared to oppose anything, however humbly, Elder White or wife quickly squelched him. Long years of such training taught the people to let their leaders think for them; hence, they are under as complete subjection as are the Catholics!" (D.M. Canright, Seventh-day Adventism Renounced, 1898).

This description was given by a man who was a faithful member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for 28 years and who became one of its top leaders. D.M. Canright knew James and Ellen White intimately. He left the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1884 and became a Baptist pastor in Michigan until his death in 1919.

This description, if not clarified as Seventh Dayers, could have applied to many of our Independent Baptist churches, sad to say.

The main text

1Pe 5:1-3 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock..

What does ‘lording over the flock’ mean? I believe it means treating the precious church of the living God’s as one would a company of soldiers, or as a people group in which a prince reigns over. There is a big difference. A lord will rule without room for question; a lord will rule without room for mercy; a lord will rule without seeking feedback from those he rules over; a lord will rule without love as a motivation; a lord will rule simply in order to get a certain goal accomplished, regardless of the ramifications along the way; a lord does not follow a greater Lord.

But, let me clarify, that a pastor simply exhorting a church, or a member, to do right and to follow the Bible, doesn’t implicate him as being ‘lord over God’s heritage’. No, not at all; he is expected to do this.

The key is to not appear as a lord, but as an ensample.

1Co 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

Various Scriptural principles to follow

Titus 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre.

It often is the ‘selfwillness’ aspect that gets a pastor into trouble; that gets him lording and being abusive. Be Christ willed; be edification and love willed.

1Pe 5:3,5 Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

I believe that this applies to the pastorate as well. We all need to be thinking about the others. We can lead humbly, just like Moses did…the meekest man on earth, but led millions of Israelites for the Lord.

1Th 2:7 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children.

Why not be perfect gentlemen dear pastors?! Lead them on gently, as did Jacob when he met up with Esau. Don’t be a cattle driver. “How much you running?” It should be stated “how much you cherishing”?!

A Diotrephes

3 John 9-11 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them,

receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church. Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.

There are pastors who are not to be followed; the Diotrephes pastors. They are powermongers; they love to be in charge, to be the boss, to order people around, to always be the center of attention, to have the preeminence over all. They typically will try to protect their ‘kingdom’ at all costs; they will ‘church’ anyone that threatens their reign of terror. They typically will use demeaning and mean-spirited words. A church member is not required to follow ‘that which is evil’; i.e. a Diotrephes. If they do ‘evil’, they are not to be followed.

Matt 23:11-12 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

The common dominator?

2 Cor 1:24 Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.

A pastor shouldn’t have the appearance of being a ‘dominator’ over the church; but, rather, a helper. He is there to help, not dominate. A dominating pastor in the area of what one personally believes is where cult leaders are born. Clearly voice to the congregation that they are entitled to, and most assuredly should, believe exactly as their conscience dictates, and not blindly follow what you, the pastor, says about what is right and wrong in life. The church member will be the one standing before the Lord on judgement day, not the pastor, per se.

Master or Mister?

Matt 23:8,10 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

Don’t overinflate the pastor’s authority; he is to be respected, submitted to, obeyed, followed, etc., but he is not your master. It is great to lift up and give accolades to him, but don’t worship him. There have been, and still are, some pastors of famous churches that seem to be worshipped by some (Hyles, Davison, Ruckman, Osteen, Roberson, Spurgeon, Moody). Most will err on the side of too little respect vice too much. There are few who have the problem of being called ‘master’ today; there are many who have the problem of being called ‘mister’.

A member of the Clergy?

The Clergy-Laity model that has been around for centuries has greatly hurt the biblical model for pastoral authority. The Clergy-Laity model teaches that the pastorate is so far superior to spiritual things than the common church members that the church members should not ever question a clergy member; and to do so could result in excommunication! This all rubbed off on Baptists over the centuries and its unscripturalness can be seen today in various churches.

Don’t be like the government

Mt 20:25-27 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.

Where does a pastor learn about exercising authority? From their father. From their employer. From the government. From the military. Often, they don’t really get much from the Bible on this.

2Co 13:10 Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.

A pastor needs to be very careful that he is using the great power (authority) that Jesus Christ gave him correctly. He needs to use it for edification purposes, not to destruction. How many times has a pastor gotten in the flesh and did or said something that was unto destruction?!... Everything that is said needs to bring about edification, even if it is in a corrective format.

You big brute!

Jer 10:21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

Jer 12:10 Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

Jer 23:1-2 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

They get overconfident, powermongering, demanding, mean-spirited….

They treat them like cattle when they are only sheep. Those pastors that run off the members he doesn’t like (which is most of them) will have the hand of the Lord against them.

It’s amazing to watch what happens to a man after he has been a pastor for many years; he often slowly changes into a big brute. He started off loving, friendly, happy; ends up mean, grouchy, frowing, brutish.

Don’t be a simpleton

Pv 14:15 The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.

Don’t be a simpleton; be like the Bereans; prove all things; make sure what the leader is saying matches up with Scripture. If it clearly ‘does not’, then respectfully excuse yourself from it. This is why the cults are growing so fast; there are so many simpletons. How did Jim Jones get all those hundreds of followers to do sexual exploits and then take Cyanide and commit suicide?!

Don’t stick around

It is extremely dangerous to stay in a church that has a pastor who is abusive and does not follow the Biblical pattern for pastoral leadership. The problem is that they are often very clever and manipulative, and they can manipulate people into staying in situations that they know are not right. The solution is to stand upon the clear teaching of the Word of God and stay away from them and not feel guilty about rejecting their unscriptural authority; and to get into a good church that is pastored by a compassionate man of God.
Not only is it crucial to get out of such a church for the sake of you and your husband, but for your children as well. One of two things often happen when children are raised in a church environment that is controlled by an unspiritual pastor. First, there is a danger that they will reject the Word of God because of the carnality that they witness. Second, there is a danger they will fall under the control of the abusive pastoral authority and they will become addicted to having a man control their lives rather than develop the proper relationship directly with the Lord Jesus Christ. Some people like to be mistreated and abused! That is why cults are often so successful. Just how many divorced wives end up with a man again that is just as abusive as the first!?! This happens the same way with pastors.

Two wrongs don’t make a right

Abuses of Pastoral authority do not give a church member permission to not respect and esteem highly the office of the pastorate; and, technically, the abusive pastor himself. You do not, however, have to follow an abusive pastor when his leading (commands) are clearly against scripture. Though, you are to follow an abusive pastor if they line up with scripture; i.e., if he yells at you to go soulwinning, or to read your bible, etc.!

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.

Know your limits

It is important to understand that when a pastor tries to become the head of the home, he has exceeded his authority. He is an undershepherd in the church, and though he has the obligation and authority to watch over every soul in the church, he is not the head of the home. The pastor can deal strongly with the head of a family, but he needs to not jump on into their home, their family, and try and take over things.

A pastor needs to not try and take control over one’s finances; or over one’s free time; or over one’s food; or over one’s fun. He can hold the member accountable to the Bible, and specifically the church’s Covenant; but he shouldn’t demand things from them beyond this scope. In fact, every member has full liberty to do what they want to; they will just face the consequences with the church and with their God for such action.

Can a pastor demand that a certain member is out soulwinning on the coming Saturday?

Can a pastor demand that all of the teachers tithe?

Can a pastor demand that all of the lady members wear dresses/skirts?

Can a pastor demand that any man that stands behind the pulpit must wear a tie?

Can a pastor demand that you give him your bank statement and paycheck stub?

DOORMAT

One hour a week

The classic line is “Hey preacher, you’ve got an easy job; all you have to do is say a few words once a week and then go fishing the rest of it!” For some, sad to say, that is exactly what they try and do. They are instrumental in getting rid of the Wednesday night service, the Sunday evening service, soulwinning, etc.. They turn over the adult S.S. class to a man in the church. They turn over any Bible Study classes to the men of the church. They are down to just that one hour on Sunday morning! These are glad to be a ‘doormat’; just as long as they don’t have to work hard and they still get the paycheck the same either way.