Featured Pastor pledging not to change beliefs

Yes, I did.

First, I am not bound to believe it, just because Spurgeon said so (though I have a great deal of respect for him).

Second, I wrote, "Some people think it is a matter of integrity for this preacher to step down," not whether or not I agreed with it. Ultimately I think it rests on exactly what we are talking about changing (i.e., how fundamental an issue it is). In the case of the preacher who has slunk in under cover and then reveals himself, stepping down might be too good for him to get by with. In the case of a preacher who has served well over many years, I think it should be dealt with differently. But, yes, a fundamental change should be stated honestly and then the preacher should move on.

The latter part of my statement deals with our own inconsistency. If a "Traditionalist" takes a "Calvinist" church, the Calvinist is likely to rail against it. If a "Calvinist" takes a "Traditionalist" church, the Traditionalist is likely to rail against. If a Charismatic takes over a Baptist church we will cry to high heaven, but what if a Baptist takes over a Charismatic church? Not consistent, but we all know it happens.

What about Eddie Lyons leading High Street Baptist Church into the Southern Baptist Convention? Should integrity have caused him to resign long before he led his church in that direction? What about Ronnie Floyd's aggressive strategy to get otherwise-affiliated churches into the Southern Baptist Convention? Should pastors resign their churches rather than lead them into the Convention?

 

SBC Today posted another interesting article about the pledge statement, Pastor Search Team Questions Already Helping. It is a curious read, and not nearly as interesting now that the comments have been closed and removed.

In it the author declares he will give "a brief testimony showing how effective this questionnaire can be" and how "the practical use of the Questionnaire" helped a church avoid calling a "young, label-avoiding Calvinist." Yet the article does not give any testimony of how the questionnaire was used, other than mentioning that the association's Director of Missions shared a download of the file with the pastor search committee. The bulk of the article is the interaction between the DOM and the candidate.