I’ve recently heard a report from a congregation situated in the eastern United States. Allegedly, this congregation has:
- Invited an ordained, credentialed minister to share presentations in their local church as a guest speaker but against the wishes of the conference
- This pastor, disagreeing with their decision, told the church board it is no longer valid or recognized
- This pastor unilaterally declared that that local church is in rebellion with the conf
- This pastor threatens that that’s local church will be dissolved
- This pastor threatens that the members will be removed from membership
- This pastor gave an ultimatum from the pulpit at the weekly worship, requiring congregation members to comply with a flawed conference policy or leave the building and the leave membership in the official church. It is reported that almost everyone left, that the Pastor stated he no longer recognizes the leaders as members, and demands that they turn over financial materials within 24 hours.
Is Any of This a Legitimate Exercise of Pastoral Authority?
Let’s start with the Bible. Matthew 28:18-20:
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.”
Who is Jesus speaking to? The apostles or the disciples? Yes, they are the apostles but the Scripture calls them “the eleven disciples” at verse 16. Not every member is called to be an apostle but all members are called to be disciples. The command of Jesus is for them, not particularly as apostles, as church leaders, but as disciples, as regular members.
How much authority does Jesus have? All authority. From Jesus’ position as the holder of all authority, Jesus commands them. If they are His disciples, they are to go and they are to make disciples of all the nations. Disciples are to make more disciples, teaching new believers to be baptized and to follow the teachings of Jesus. Jesus promises that His presence will be with them to the end of the age.
The authority of the church thus comes from God the Father and has been given to Jesus. Jesus grants some of His authority to the disciples, that is, to the membership of His church. The authority rests with the membership. Pastors and presidents do not dole out authority as they will, but God grants authority to the members.
Where does a pastor get His authority? Just as Jesus received authority given to Him from the Father and passes that authority onward to the Church, so too, a pastor receives authority from the church and exercises His authority “in harmony with all the plans and policies of the local church” (Church Manual, p. 79). There is much to say about how limitations on power work in the church, and say it we will as we progress through this series. But consider this crucial piece of information from Church Manual page 28:
The Seventh-day Adventist form of governance is representative, which recognizes that authority rests in the membership and is expressed through duly elected representatives at each level of organization, with executive responsibility delegated to representative bodies and officers for the governing of the church at each separate level.
The way this denomination is governed echoes what Jesus said in Matthew 28. Authority rests in the membership, not because we want it to, or because we have it as a pet theory, or because it looks good on the page. Authority rests in the membership because Jesus places it there. We’ll have more to say about this principle.
But, for the moment, let’s answer the questions posed by the report in the beginning.
Can the pastor determine for himself whether or not the church board is valid or recognized? No. If an officer has been duly elected by the congregation, and is not under church discipline, and if he has not written a letter of resignation which has been acted upon by the church board, then he continues to be an active church board member authorized by the congregation to represent them as a church board member. The pastor has no authority to remove a person from the church board.
Can the pastor declare that a church is in rebellion? No. Not even the conference president, not even the conference executive committee can make such a determination. At most, the conference executive committee can recommend to a regular or specially called conference constituency meeting that a congregation would have its status changed or be dissolved. Such a meeting would require significant preparation and cost the conference thousands of dollars to conduct. Even then there is no guarantee the constituent delegates would vote to follow the recommendation of the conference executive committee. Remember, if present conference leaders can dissolve one church they are unhappy with without fair process, then present conference leadership can dissolve any church it is unhappy with, including the congregation that the delegate belongs to. This fact safeguards individual churches in the conference so that only in the most unusual of situations is a status change forced upon a congregation or a church removed from the sisterhood of churches.
Can the pastor suddenly call for members to decide whether they want to be members or not by standing with him or walking out of the building to choose between remaining members of the conference or leaving it? No. No pastor, conference president, or general conference president has such authority. Such a meeting would have to be a properly called and announced business meeting, with delegates selected and members contacted weeks or months ahead of time. Furthermore, an ultimatum from the pulpit completely denies the right of every member to present a personal defense or to call witnesses before the imposition of church discipline. No one can be forced to renounce their membership by such a method.
But what if all these threatenings have happened and most of the congregation has walked out?
Since the pastor had no authority to do any of these things, his threats are only threats. His actions—declaring the church board invalid, calling for members to suddenly comply with his coercion or to leave the church, and so on, are empty. He has no authority to do any of these things and any actions he has compelled the members to take are null and void and cannot be enforced. Board members are still board members, elders are still elders, members are still members, the church board still has its full authority as the church board, and the pastor still has all the limitations on his power that I have mentioned here, and more limitations besides! Where does authority reside in the Church? In the membership.
Do not submit to spiritual bullies. More harm is done to God’s work when you abandon your post and the local church submits to spiritual bullies, than the Church Manual ever did. The Church Manual actually codifies several ways in which powers and authorities in the Church are limited exactly because authority in the church rests in the membership, not in power-grasping bullies. Love them enough to resist them. Be respectful even if their actions are wrong; pray for them; do not be forced by them. Respect their legitimate exercise of authority but do not comply with their illegitimate exercise of authority, that they might be saved.
I’ll show authority for all that I’ve just shared as we proceed with this series. This presentation is an introduction.
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Larry Kirkpatrick serves as pastor of the Muskegon and Fremont MI Seventh-day Adventist churches. His website is GreatControversy.org and YouTube channel is “Larry the guy from Michigan.” Every morning Larry publishes a new devotional video.