Last updated on 1/1/99

Viewpoint Brief Bible Study #89
		JESUS calls US to be members of His church
The Christian religion is the worship and service of Jesus Christ. It’s not Mary we worship, but her Son. We worship neither saints, angels, a law code, nor even God’s Spirit. It’s JESUS who is to be honored. The Bible is our guide.

Should Any Church Have
Just One "Pastor"?
  On 1/10/98 I read a stirring appeal by Benjamin C. Wong to his fellow clergymen to study the Bible more, preach the Bible more, and seek God's direction in their work rather than follow other
men's advice. He wrote to a Chinese (really Asian)
American Christians list of which he is a part.

To: Cac@emwave.net     Subject: CAC_Mail: Feed the Sheep
From: ben_mel@juno.com (Benjamin C Wong)  
Date sent: Fri, 09 Jan 1998

Hi:   I wanted to share with the pastors on the CAC posting the following by Charles Swindoll on doing it well in feeding the flock. These are just some excerpts.

"I've watched congregations get healthy and grow closer together under the faithful teaching of the Scriptures. I've also watched congregations drift and die as the pulpit became shallow, trendy, and biblically weak.

It was my privilege this summer to preach at a church that was once strong and stable. The pastor worked hard behind the scenes, preparing both heart and mind for the morning and evening messages. Faithfully and carefully, he took the flock into the sacred text. What he lacked in personal creativity, he compensated for in expositional integrity. Not surprisingly, that church became known as 'a place to hear the Word of God.'

Yes, there were other components - good music, a vibrant youth ministry, zealous evangelism in and beyond the community, and strong leadership among the laity. But, bottom line, the pulpit was the secret, always drawing hungry sheep to the trough of Truth..."

"Tragically, the man was suddenly taken from this earth. Ever since his death, the church has struggled ... The place is on a long drift, the flock is borderline lifeless, and the parking lot is less than half full. I know, I know ... there are certainly other reasons. ... But if you will allow me to make a point here ... that flock needs first and foremost a faithful expositor ... a godly leader who will dig deeply into the meat of the Book, worry over it 'as a dog with a bone' (Stott) then deliver the goods with discernment, passion, and love. In my simple opinion, that would do more to bring healing than a dozen other Band-Aids that seem important but fade by comparison.

... Peter's exhortation still rings true, 'Feed the flock of God among you' (I Pet. 5:2)

Glance at the early church. Their top priority is clear: 'They devoted themselves to the apostles's teaching...' (Acts 2:42).... And when a difficulty arose between two different groups in the assembly, those in leadership wisely called for assistance from several qualified men in the church lest they 'neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables' (Acts 6:2)

Times change, no doubt about it. Methods are always in need of being updated and evaluated. How we do what we do must remain relevant; it cannot be static or predictable. But let's not kid ourselves - you can't beat good food served well by a devoted servant of God. Sheep who think otherwise have lost their way.

Amos was right. The 'famine of hearing the words of the Lord' not only will come, but has come. Applying his word picture to today, people now 'stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord' (Amos 8:11-12). Many are seldom rewarded for all their searching. Dallas Seminary exists for various reasons, none more important than training gifted people to handle the Word of God correctly, and then communicate it clearly and carefully on a consistent basis. If ... you are in leadership among a flock of God's people - take an honest look at your ministry. Are you using the skills you learned? Are you engaged in a serious study of some part of the Bible on a regular basis? Are you a part of the solution to the 'famine' that's in the land? Are you a faithful expositor? 'Sheep come,' remember, 'where there's good food.'"

Then BEN continues -- This article focused on the most important ( not the only) ingredient in the local church. If this is lacking, then all the other ingredients and methods will leave the sheep starving or being poisoned. How many of our churches have pastors who are serving "good food?" How many of our pastors are spiritually mature enough to do so? I don't raise these questions to exalt myself. I am fearful for myself and pray that God will take me there. I raise these questions because this problem is basic. Not only do the churches need more leaders, she needs more spiritually matured and equipped leaders. A sincere, devoted, loving, sensitive, spiritual Christian leader is not enough. He must also be "HOLDING FAST the faithful word which is IN ACCORDANCE with the TEACHING, that he may be able both to exhort in SOUND DOCTRINE and to refute those who contradict." (Titus 1:9) Capitals are mine.

This belief has a lot to do with my own strong concern that I have a correct understanding of the Bible. I am not threatened but rather I am greatly appreciative of challenges and corrections to what I teach. I am not trying to discover MY truths. I am trying to understand GOD's truth.

To God be the glory in the church,    --    Ben

Appreciative of this excellent study and appeal, I sent the following note to Ben.

To: ben_mel@juno.com (Benjamin C Wong)   Subject: Re: CAC_Mail: Feed the Sheep
Send reply to: outreach@sofnet.com (Ray Downen)  Date sent: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 06:59:08

<<Ben,   Yours is a thoughtful appeal to all that we should study and speak out truth from God's Word faithfully. You write well. You think straight. Good for you.

<<I disagree a little with parts of what you quote. In the early church there was no "the pastor" who taught publicly as the only voice of the congregation in the way our present clergy do. Each congregation had PASTORS rather than "the pastor." These pastors were for the most part unpaid servants who led the congregation but had not "been to seminary" to learn "how to preach."

<<The earliest church continued steadfastly in "the apostles' doctrine, in fellowship, in shared food, and in prayer." An overemphasis on DOCTRINE overlooks the fact that grammar links EQUAL things with the conjunction AND. You do well to point out that when we rely on GOD we'll not be disappointed, and other things are apt to fall into place. But the early church didn't place such responsibility on a clergyman (they had none) as your article does.

<<Chuck Swindoll is right about many things. But that does not make him right on everything. And this same thing can be said about each of us. It is NOT right that our churches today depend on "the pastor" for all their teaching and leadership. The Biblical method is that church congregations will be led and taught by many rather than by one, and those who teach WILL be constantly learning as well as teaching, but ALL TOGETHER will seek to learn together AND work together for God AND walk together in God's love and grace. The "clergy system" which has been added to the Bible is NOT found exampled or commanded IN the Bible. So the more such "pastors" study the Word, the less they will feel that it's up to THEM to by themselves lead and teach any "flock" of saints of God.

<<Any study we make of Paul's directives to those evangelists who served with him as to how the early churches were to be organized is sure to make clear to the student that our present forms of church government are NOT a match for 1st-century church government. We're not doing things God's way.

<<So your very fine article might also do well to point out that those who feel that they are "the pastor" in a congregation and that everything depends on them should seek to teach the church that leadership in the church is not a one-man show. Should we not seek to use Bible terms to describe Bible things? Then we'll not call a clergyman by the title of "pastor." Unless he indeed is one of the pastor (elder, presbyter) group who have been selected by the congregation (because they, more than others in the congregation, are qualified by age and demonstrated abilities and characteristics as listed by Paul) to lead the congregation.

<<There's little correlation between job descriptions of "the pastor" of our churches and the job that Paul pointed out was needing done in those churches which sprang up where he had preached the gospel in Asia Minor and elsewhere. Paul's methods worked marvelously well. Ours occasionally produce success and often fail. Is there some way we could restore ourselves to doing things God's way?

<<You urge deeper study of the Bible. Good for you. The Bible teaches a different method of church government than we have chosen. Perhaps we COULD change our choices and line up with what the Bible teaches! What do YOU think?>>
  Brief Bible Study #89 from Ray Downen. To go back to Viewpoint's first page, click < here.   Or go on to Viewpoint Study #90.          For Ray's concluding remarks, click HERE.