Friday, August 21, 2009

Pastors

At Stand to Reason Blog, reflecting on another example of sexual scandal involving a pastor, a critique of "The Senior Pastor Model." The main points listed below are expanded upon in the full entry. Baptists as practitioners of congregational polity should be particularly wary of giving too much authority to one person. The potential liabilities of the "senior pastor model":
  1. The senior pastor is looked to primarily for leadership that reflects charisma rather than character.
  2. The body of believers is much more susceptible to the development of an unhealthy co-dependence on the senior pastor.
  3. The personality of the senior pastor begins to dominate church life.
    When there is so much dependence placed upon a single leader, his strengths and weaknesses tend to shape the body life of the church. His strengths become the emphasis of the church, no matter how unbalanced. In addition, his weaknesses, unable to be counter-balanced by other leaders, are likely to become the weaknesses of the church.
  4. The senior pastor model encourages the body of believers to become spectators.
  5. When a senior pastor falls, the damage is immense.
[more]
Every single person in authority, whether sacred or secular, should be under authority.

Stand to Reason Blog: The Senior Pastor Model

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