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)
