Monday, January 20, 2020

Pastors Treating Pastors As Adults


PASTORS TREATING PASTORS AS ADULTS

A colleague recently invited me to speak at a preacher’s meeting. Being invited to speak at such meetings is an infrequent occurrence for me. Perhaps these musings will provide you with an idea of why I am not frequently invited to speak to pastors more often, though I have served in my present field of service for thirty-five years.

At the beginning of my time in ministry, I went to a very large gathering of pastors in the upper midwestern part of the United States. It was there that I first noticed the reluctance of the host pastor to treat invited pastors as adults. We (and there were thousands of us) were treated like children, and quite intentionally deprived of the information adults might expect to receive to make pertinent decisions. This happened every time I attended that annual event. I did not appreciate being treated that way, but I guess that most of the others in attendance didn’t mind at all. I stopped attended and most of them continued to attend every year and put up with being treated like children.

I read. I read a great deal. And my selection of material to read is quite wide if discussions with others who read are any guide absent a scientific study. As a result of my reading, I have come to appreciate what was believed in the past and what was practiced in the past. My reading has cultivated my appreciation for Baptist history, Baptist doctrine, and Baptist practice in days gone by. My reading has also led me to cherish Baptist distinctives, with my thoughts while writing this article settling on the Baptist practice of Baptist preachers treating other Baptist preachers as peers, as equals, with respect, and appreciation of our high and holy calling. None of this Protestant denominational hierarchy nonsense for Baptists … in days gone by. Would that it was still so.

Appreciation for past Baptist practices makes me sensitive to those who, in my day, withhold respect and appreciation from others who are similarly called to the Gospel ministry. Therefore, it is with regret that I reflect on the practice of some Baptists (in name, at least) who have the notoriety and resources to cultivate large followings and host large gatherings that allow them to treat grown men, God-called preachers of the Gospel, as anything but peers.

Allow me to illustrate. Decades ago, I was planning a trip related to family matters that I realized would coincide with a large gathering of pastors in the western United States close to my planned destination. Reflecting on the situation at hand, it became apparent to me that I had time to attend a portion of the preachers meeting, but that I would be unable to attend a full day’s schedule. It was necessary for me to make an adult decision about the wisest use of my time.

I called the church where the meeting was scheduled to begin in a couple of days and found myself talking to someone who had access to the information I needed, who would be preaching, and when. I needed this information so I could make the best use of my time. However, when I asked for that information, the person I spoke to refused to inform me who was preaching when following explicit orders from the pastor.

I was stunned. I verified that the schedule had been arranged. I verified that there was no inherent confusion about who was speaking when and on what topic. Yet this information was denied me. When I asked the reason for withholding that information, I was told that it was “pastor’s policy.” Such information was not to be provided for any of the preachers attending the conference. Did the person I was speaking to know the schedule? The answer was yes. Yet the information was a closely guarded secret of such sensitivity that visiting pastors who could not attend an entire day were not allowed the information they might need to exercise wisdom they needed to redeem their time.

It has been more than two decades since that exchange took place, and I still have not yet figured out why certain men of prominence withhold such information — no one in the business world functions in that manner. My own life experience provided me with no insight into the logic employed to establish and maintain such a policy. I used to work on a National Security Agency deep black program, so I have been read in on the need for compartmentalization of classified information. But who preaches at 10:00 AM and who preaches at 11:00 AM is a closely held secret at a Baptist church conference? Really?

I am left to wonder. I have never treated preachers that way. I have never figured out why preachers would be treated that way. Are others as committed to treating Gospel ministers as if they were children like I experienced forty years ago? Is it an ego trip? Is it a demonstration of ecclesiastical superiority?

I am a Baptist pastor. I have read enough history and conducted enough research in preparing to write two of the books that I know how Baptists used to conduct their ministries.[1] I can tell you that there was a day when Baptists not only held to the conviction of local church autonomy and the trustworthiness of the Bible but something commonly referred to as soul liberty, as well.

When Baptist pastors embrace the concept of soul liberty, they stop this nonsense of treating other preachers as children who are incapable of making their own decisions and exercising wisdom concerning the best use of their time.

What think you, pastor? Am I being overly sensitive about this? Or is this symptomatic of a more serious matter, a slide toward some form of Protestant hierarchical conduct that reflects an abandoning of core Baptist convictions?



[1] John S. Waldrip, The Church of Jesus Christ: 28 Truths Every Christian Ought To Learn, (Monrovia, CA: Classical Baptist Press, 2019), John S. Waldrip, The Blight Of Islam - Revised, (Monrovia, CA: Classical Baptist Press, 2018), John S. Waldrip, Suffer The Children (The tragic legacies of Finney & Bushnell), (Monrovia, CA: Classical Baptist Press, 2018)