HOW IS THE PASTOR TO LEAD THE CHURCH

I often hear how the pastor controls the life of the church.

SELF DESTRUCT IN THE CHURCH BODY

Part One

How sad how some preachers believe they control the life and ministries of the church. They believe they control the temperature of the auditorium, to the type of coffee they serve at a Sunday dinner. They believe you need their permission to sing a special, and to teach a Sunday School lesson. They believe they control the spending of the money, and who drives the church bus. I am amazed how pastors believe they can control people's opinion and work and spiritual gifts. They believe they control the kind of food that is going to be served at a Sunday Night fellowship, to the way the tables are set up.

PREACHERS LIKE CONTROL, AS WELL AS THEIR WIVES. Wives are not co pastors. Really.

Of course I was trained that as Pastor I was the in control of church life, I was in total control of every phase of the church life. That was hard work. I believed I should "run" the ministries of the church.

Far too many misunderstood their roll in the church. I misunderstood Leadership verses Control. Giving direction is one idea but to demand control is not the right idea.

Of course there are churches where the Deacons believe they are in control, some believe the church membership is in control, and then others there are committees who are in control. And in some churches a group of people believe they control the direction of the church.

When you are in a large church such as Thomas Road Baptist, or even First Baptist Church in Hammond, Ind, where Jack Hyles was the pastor, 20,000 people do not control the church.

THERE IS A BIBLICAL GUIDELINE TO CHURCH LEADERSHIP

• Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:25-28; cf. Mark 10:42-45 and Luke 22:25-27)

Leadership, Servanthood, and Submission

How and why churches self destruct

and its not all the pastor's fault

• "People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."2 Timothy 3:2-5

Here are some excerpts from Francis A. Schaeffer lectures and conversations:

• …As a people who follow Christ, we are in and a relationship to the One who is here and to others who are here. Our right ecclesiastical position is important, but only as a starting point to go on into loving and living relationships, these things we do are not as ends in themselves, they are to know and grow in Him. He becomes more, we become less, then we become more in our relations and opportunities to be personally transformed, renewed and be impacting to one another to our culture and societies at large. It starts in our hearts and must follow us to here in these halls…


• …Because of the Fall we all became abnormal and dysfunctional. It is not just that us as individuals are separated from God by our true moral guilt, but each of us is not what God intended to make or us to be, what He wanted us to be more of Him and less of ourselves. Beyond each of us as individuals, human relationships is sin and pride, desires that feed upon ours and others sin and desires, all of which is not what God meant us to be or behave as His Fruitful Bride. In our interpersonal dealings we have to be aware of our sin nature, we are abnormal, our wholeality, our cause and effect is from sin and the choices we make, even the entirety of history shows us this as significant, as we are now abnormal. To say it another way: there is much more which we should be and not be as a Fruitful Bride of Christ… How do you display this?
  
• …In saying that God is there, here with us now, saying we are saying God exists, but are we showing that God exists in our being and not just talking about the Word God, or the idea God, but exercising His Word in our being so it shows in our dealings with one another. Have any of you read any of the “one another” passages, love one another… a glimpse in a Bible reference or concordance may give you convection or at the very least awareness, insights into this sin and how to become His Fruitful Bride. You say God is here not by mere mouths and words written down but by continual actions said and done. This is what transforms a church and influences a society, our reality in Christ acted upon into others…

• …In order to understand the problems of our church or our families or our societal breakdowns, we should be very wise to sin so to be alive to His distinction. Arguments may make up the heart of your church world, but it does not have to be. Through the Christian call and life of true spirituality one can rise above to such things, as forgiveness, by accepting Christ's precepts, study, not just as a philosophy, rather as a life to be well lived in the here and now, in this very room and up the steps I see outside that go to the worship place, the alter, that beautiful display of wood and cross of crucifixion, as we rise to go to Him. There is no reason why this cannot happen in us and through us, less we take in more sin or ignore Him. Should we not be glad for the concept that kind words reflects our kind Savior, we need to be defined in Jesus Christ as Lord before we can be used in communication and connection. As Christians, we must understand that we have a call, we have a responsibility, we have a mission, we have a Lord a God who is there as in He is here. Here we are called in this church “All Saints,” do these word's mean meaningless? …Live your lives to know this and reflect this. We have no meaningless "god,”? How do you live? How should you live? How will you live? In this place and through this place?

• …Consequently, let us not be confused. There is much "spirituality" about us today that is needed to be built upon, we need to relate our Christian life to the word of God or not just the idea of a god; but this is not what we are talking about. Biblical truth and spirituality is not a relationship to the Word God, it is a forceps to His Way and true Truth that we must know and reflect in our relationships, especially here, in this hall, on these grounds, if not, how can you now live? The idea we have of God will pave the way of our relationship to the One who is here, then to one another's as God's Word declares us to do so...

• …This is our calling. This is part of our richness to be in Christ. the reality of what true spirituality is about, the Christian life in action, in relation to my brethren not my separation from my fellowmen, including those fellow men who are my perceived enemies or distracters, we are brothers and sisters in Christ, in the church as a whole and in the this precious local congregation as in any other Christian group. Our efforts are not to be practiced in sin or in pride or by a dull, ugly way; to be a Fruitful Bride is to be a thing of true beauty, practiced by those within, and observed by those outside. This is an important part in preaching the gospel to the all of humanity who are still in revolution against God; but if we are in revolution to one another what does this say of Christ? More on this in my work, “True Spirituality.” Our confessions in action is the only thing that is right on the basis of the existence of the personal God exhibited in us and on the basis of what Christ did for us in history, on the cross…

…And having come this far, true spirituality is the Christian life that flows on into the total culture from our investment in Christ first and foremost…

FIVE MORE ESSENTIAL ONES FOR WITHSTANDING BETTER THE DIVISIVE WORK OF SATAN

part six

10B BY MAINTAINING UNANIMITY WITHIN THE LEADERSHIP.

• The goal for every aspect of the decision-making process should be unanimity -anything less than unanimity, at every level of leadership, provides fertile ground for friction, discontent, and the sowing of discord among the brethren. I Corinthians 1:10 and Phil 2:2

• Footnote: unanimity means that the leadership has worked out an agreement as to the process. It means that everyone understands the need to come to some agreement as to the issue at hand. Unanimity doesn’t mean forced upon.

11B BY ADMONISHING AND, IF NECESSARY, DISCIPLINING THE WAYWARD SINCE THE CORPORATE WITNESS OF THE BODY CAN BE DAMAGED BY THE INSUBORDINATE OF EVEN ONE MEMBER.

• It is essential that the leadership preserve the credibility of the corporate witness through discipline. Matthew 1*15 and Galatians 6:1

12B BY MAINTAINING AN OPEN ACCESS TO THE LEADERSHIP BY THE CONGREGATION

• The leadership has two primary obligation to the flock:
  Each leader maintaining his own spirituality in an "above reproach" manner (this includes a sincere "servant’s heart" attitude); and
• Never insulating itself from rest of the membership/leadership.

• Leaders must always be available and approachable. Leadership meetings should be open with only appropriate portions closed (personnel, salaries, discipline, etc)

13B BY CONSTANTLY BUILDING UP A BETTER (MORE CREDIBLE) LEADERSHIP IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS.

• Just as every father should have the conscious desire that his children be better Christians than he is, so should church leaders have the conscious desire that the upcoming leadership be better than it is, otherwise, spiritual entropy (decay) takes place in the church.
  
• However, this "better leadership" training must be planned and designed - it demands both individual and group discipleship - it does not happen by accident.

14B BY MAINTAINING FORETHOUGHT IN REGARD TO ANY ANTICIPATED CHANGE.

• Every experienced church leader recognized that one "sure thing" friction harvest is "CHANGE." Unless prudent forethought and wise planning are activated beforehand, change will almost always, if not always, produce friction to one degree or another.
• Wise leadership anticipates and moves to reduce the potential friction by preparing the most vulnerable people for any anticipated change.
  

HOW TO DEAL WITH DISAGREEMENTS IN THE CHURCH

Part Four

2. WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON CAUSES OR SOURCES FRO FRICTION AMONG SAINTS

• Church conflict or friction can arise from any number of sources. It may be the result of conflicting theological, philosophical or ideological points of view between two persons or several.. Breaking it down, however, we can probably categorize the differences into the three following areas:
  


• DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES


• DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES:


• DIFFERENT PURPOSES:]

HOWEVER:

• The ultimate answer to both the prevention and cure of friction and conflict among believers is found in the leadership of the church maintaining a consistent example of Philippians 2:3


• Do nothing from selfish or empty conceit, but with HUMILITY of MIND let EACH of you regard or esteem one another as more important than himself; DO NOT merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."
  

However, two other sources of friction in the fellowship which have solely negative or fractional intent and are not due to honest differences.

• A BELIEVER OUT OF STEP WITH GOD ON A LONG-TERM BASIS AND THUS REBELLIOUS, BITTER AND VINDICTIVE IN HIS HEART.
  


• There are a number of reasonable concludes for his factional attitude: e.g. reaction to physical illness, stress; loss; sorrow; long-term, unresolved anger; unconfessed sin; drugs; alcohol; bitterness; lack of ambivalence; etc.

• The answer here is to confront the sin problem until it is confessed and dealt with. Deal with the cause rather than the symptom. (Gothard) - seek to find the emotional wound or hurt out of which the rebellion, bitterness and vindictiveness flow, don’t just seek to confront these isolated from their causes

• TARE - TROUBLE:
  Christ tells us in Matthew 13:24-30 that wherever there is a true body of believers, Satan ("the enemy") will plant false believers. These false or pseudo ) counterfeit believers (some might know they are tares and some might not) will work in harmony with Satan’s goal which is to produce greater and greater friction for the purpose of FRACTURE.
  


• 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
  


• Romans 16:17-=18

3 CAN FRICTION IN THE CHURCH EVER BE TOTALLY AVOIDED ? No ! !

• EXCEPTION: Only if everyone in the church is dormant and does nothing - of course that is a description of that which is dead.


• TRUISM: Any action or movement WILL produce resistance, disagreements, dissension.

4 WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST COMMON POSTURES PASTORS/ELDERS TEND TO TAKE IN REGARD TO FRICTION IN THE CHURCH ?


One of the primary keys to coping with friction ( resistance, disagreements
dissension, etc. in a church is the pastor/teacher, who is usually at least part of the problem, and can be a large part of the solution.


Every pastor/teacher at one time or another (and usually on a continuing basis)
is going to have to cope with frictional situations by opting for one of the following three roles postures in regard to the heat being generated by the friction. (At least in my years of experience as a pastor/teacher)


DEFENSIVE POSTURE:

• This posture seeks to defend self and/or others at all costs - it is the to "make sure you come out clean whatever the cost." kind of posture (even at the expense of having to possibly twist the truth, or deal in half-truths, or to shifting the blame to one degree or another, or pleading ignorance, or neglecting to investigate, or.....) You get the point here!


• 
  
• This position is like withholding lubrication from the surfaces which are rubbing together - it simply maintains or increases friction to one degree or another

AGGRESSIVE POSTURE

• This posture primarily tries to find fault rather than to resolve the issue. It seeks to place the blame on someone else by direct or indirect implication. It is a "Let’s pin the blame on someone" attitude - it is vengeance rather than resolution


• Like sand being poured into the machinery of human relationships, this position increases the friction, therefore increasing the long-term damaging effects of any abrasiveness between fellow believers.
  

ACCOMMODATE POSTURE: (to conciliate - to make compatible.)

• This is the only wise option because it is the one in which the unity of though and feeling between those involved is the goal. ("when we are slandered we try to appease... I Corin 4:1`3a)


• In this posture the goal is to pour the oil of the Spirit between the abrasive contacts. (Gal. 5:22, 23) therefore seeking to reduce or even eliminate the friction that has produced the anger and the alienation.

"For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity." Proverbs 2:6,7

Drafted by Charles E. Whisnant

DISAGREEMENTS IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

Part Two

This paper will give some suggested principles, perspectives and practices in answer to the following questions.

IS THERE GOING TO BE FRICTION IN EVERY LOCAL CHURCH?

WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON CAUSES OR SOURCES FOR FRICTION AMONG THE SAINTS

CAN FRICTION IN THE CHURCH EVER BE TOTALLY AVOIDED?

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST COMMON POSTURES PASTORS/LEADERS
TEND TO TAKE IN REGARD TO FRICTION IN THE CHURCH

ARE THERE SPECIFIC PERSPECTIVES AND PRACTICES WHICH CHURCH LEADERS CAN APPLY WHICH CAN MAKE A CHURCH LESS VULNERABLE TO FRACTURE FROM FRICTION, AND IF SO, WHAT ARE THEY.

ARE THERE SOME NEGATIVE OR COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE ATTITUDES AND ACTIONS THAT LEADERS MAY UTILIZE WHICH CAN LEAD TO GREATER POSSIBILITY FOR FRACTURE?

CAN FRICTION HAVE A POSITIVE OR CONSTRUCTIVE EFFECT UPON A CHURCH

Well here we go with this project. In every church I have been the pastor/teacher in four churches and there has been heat and sparks flying in every church. I took this personally. And was discouraged that this was happening in every church I was on staff. But I soon discovered it happens every where in every church. So lets look that these seven questions

Next Time