Congregational Rule

Though I have only been a pastor for 7 years, I have been in ministry for 18 and I can tell you if someone came in here today and told me all I had to do was preach and pray, I would probably kiss them on the mouth! I guess I just have a higher view of the so called sheep then you do. No, they don't always do things like I want or as fast as I want, but this was their church before I go here and will be if I ever leave. Guide the sheep, teach the sheep but also trust the sheep they have the Holy Spirit as well.

 

No I'm not. The color of the suitcoats and the question of wearing a tie is not a spiritual matter. As Go2 says, there must be a good balance.

 

Think again. When you said, "A fold run by the sheep (even a board of sheep) will end up in the wolves' bellies," you were speaking of the spiritual element, because the Biblical view of the wolf is that of a spiritual false teacher. But you were linking it to the temporal running of the church. So you were mixing the two up, Biblically speaking.

I believe in the pastor having full control of all spiritual matters, though the people may be helpers in that area: SS teachers, etc. That's Biblical. But any pastor who can't delegate temporal matters to sheep is a dictator.

Furthermore, if the so-called "elder rule" model usually advocated (I assume the one you advocate) were Biblical, then a small church like mine, with only one elder possible right now, cannot be Biblical. Or, I'd have to be a dictator, something completely unbiblical (1 Peter 5:3).

 

You sure don't believe in giving much information, do you? I assume you mean Baker's Book House, the publisher, for the dictionary, instead of some man named Baker. Alas, I don't have that nor can I just run out and buy it here in Japan. And I had to look up Davies and Allison on the Internet, since I'd never heard of them. I assume you mean their commentary of Matthew, though you don't say.

If that's all you can give me, yep, it'll have to end there.