Elders, We MUST Do Better!

"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name." Exodus 20:7

Recently the breaking of this command has been brought to light again.  If you've followed the stories out of Harvest Bible Chapel or the Houston Chronicle's reporting of sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Church (the denomination I grew up in and one of the denominations with which my current church is affiliated) you have felt the grief of this sin.

God's glory is being robbed from Him by the actions of selfish people.  Worse than that, God's name is being defiled and misused by those charged with leading His bride.  This makes me so angry and so sad.  I take no joy in this at all; I lament this totally.  I don't lament that these sins were brought to light; I weep that men and women claiming to represent Jesus did evil and used His name to do it!

"Jesus said to His disciples, 'It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come, but woe to the one through whom they come!  It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.'" Luke 17:1-2

I am one of the elders at Grace Baptist Church in Waverly, Iowa.  I do not claim to speak on behalf of the elders in this blog, but we have sent a letter to our church responding to the horrific news out of the SBC.  I don't claim to have all the answers to these problems in the Church, but I do want to pass on some simple advice that local churches should take.

1) Have a plurality of elders.
One pastor-elder is not a good plan.  Humans are prone to abuse power, especially when it is unchecked.  Pastor-elders need accountability.  Members of churches need to be able to make accusations against pastor-elders if, God forbid, the occasion arises.  Churches must have a plurality of elders (Titus 1:5).

2) Elders are not police.
Elders or deacons or pastors or church boards can handle all sorts of problems in the local church.  However, criminal matters should be dealt with by the authorities (Romans 13).  Too many of these egregious sins were dealt with by elders and not police.  Shame on that!  Elders should never be covering up these sins.  We are not equipped or chosen to be criminal investigators.

3)  Elders mustn't be 'yes men'.
In the case of James MacDonald (or Mark Driscol and others) and in many of these cases of abuse a pastor with a large personality ruled and the elders became nothing more than 'yes men'.  This cannot be.  The senior pastor is a first amongst equals but still an equal.

4) Work hard to be above reproach.
Being above reproach is a basic requirement of an elder (1 Timothy 3:2).  Being above reproach is super-important in guarding against false allegations.  But working to be above reproach will also help the elders, pastors and all in church leadership flee sexual immorality, and all immorality at that (1 Corinthians 6:18).  Better to be made fun of for being prude than to have Jesus tell you it would be better for you to have a millstone tied around your neck and cast into the sea.

5) Do your homework.
Many of these stories from the SBC stemmed from the idiocy of not doing basic background checks.  Many of these stories stemmed from not calling former employers to find out truthfully why he/she left the last place of employment or volunteering.  Jesus told us to be aware of false prophets that come in sheep's clothing but are inwardly ravenous wolves (Matthew 7:15).  Brothers, let us not be ignorant!  We are charged with guarding the flock, we should do our homework at least as good, if not better, than the local daycare does.

"As a fellow elder... I appeal to the elders among you: Be shepherds of God's flock that is among you, watching over them... And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away." 1 Peter 5:1a-2a and 4

Fellow elders, if we teach the Gospel accurately from the Bible but we don't watch carefully over the flock we will not receive this reward.  This is serious business.  I pray that none of you are one of these wolves attacking innocent sheep.  But if you are: confess, repent and face the appropriate consequences.  For those who aren't wolves, and I pray it is all of you, I encourage you to use these tragedies as teaching moments to do a more thorough job of shepherding the people of Christ entrusted to you beginning today.