When authority is usually discussed, about three sentences later, the word authoritarian will make its entrance. In fact, for some, authority is authoritarian – there is no other kind. Recovering the mangled word authority from all the thought-debris that has been hurled at it requires distinguishing it from authoritarianism. I’m not sure whether dictionaries help or… Continue Reading
The English words authority and author come from the same Latin root, auctor – an originator. Strange how far we’ve come from older ideas, where the concept of authority was connected with authoring, creating, and making. Today, authorities are guilty until proven innocent of being destroyers. English etymology aside, Scripture, in its first chapter, makes… Continue Reading
The popular consciousness has knee-jerk reflexes when it comes to authority. Play the word-association game with the average person, show him the flash-card “Authority” and ask him to blurt out the first word that comes to mind. I’ll wager that if you repeat the experiment across thousands of subjects, you’ll have a top-ten list pretty… Continue Reading
When I was a sophomore in high school my father was a student in Bible college. One Sunday he was sent to preach at a small Reformed Presbyterian church. The church was without a minister, its small denomination was unable to help, and it was appealing to a Baptist college for pulpit supply. The people… Continue Reading
The clear prescription of the New Testament is that pastors are teachers of churches. To put it more precisely, pastors are the teachers of their churches. Granted, in some sense all believers are supposed to teach, edify, and admonish one another. Nevertheless, the actual burden for the instruction of the flock rests upon pastors. The… Continue Reading
Pastors who want to lead biblically find themselves caught in a bit of a paradox. One side of the paradox is that biblical pastors must be gentle. As servants of the Lord, they must not strive: they must not be verbal pugilists or quarrelsome individuals (2 Tim. 2:24). They can be disqualified from office if… Continue Reading
The role of pastor has been recast during the past generation. Some churches envision their pastors as corporate CEOs. Others view their pastors as impresarios. New Testament pastoral ministry, however, does not consist in organizational direction or in stage management. The pastor’s leadership is essentially spiritual leadership. What is spiritual leadership? One might define spiritual… Continue Reading
Pastors have authority—real authority, given to them by the Lord Jesus Christ. They have a duty to exert their authority and to employ it as Scripture requires. Congregations are responsible before God to submit to the legitimate authority of pastors. Any rejection of rightful pastoral authority will be unprofitable for the believer when he stands… Continue Reading
For years I have wondered how certain fundamentalist churchmen could remain so powerful in spite of their shallow, manipulative, arrogant, abusive, and even immoral behavior. In some cases, these men are able to retain a significant following even after being exposed publicly. Often, they are connected with the version of fundamentalism that Jack Hyles once… Continue Reading
There is much to learn from the examples of the Kings in Israelite history. Though 2 Chronicles is not often the book of choice when it comes to our personal devotions, it does offer much to ponder for the life of God’s people today. Here is something God has been teaching me recently, through the… Continue Reading
Dear Les, Somewhere C. S. Lewis notes that friends are people who look at the same things. I first noticed what you were looking at during the mid-1990s when I read your preface to Doug McLachlan’s Reclaiming Authentic Fundamentalism. I was surprised that a fundamentalist insider—the president of a prominent fundamentalist college—would take the risks… Continue Reading
As conservatives, it can be easy to grow discouraged. There are very few of us. It seems that all of American Christianity (sorry, David de Bruyn) is abandoning the way of worship that we understand to be reverent. The good, the true, and the beautiful rarely brings in an audience. Our churches are shrinking. Fundamentalism… Continue Reading
Several days ago, I watched a posted video of a previously streamed chapel service at an independent Baptist school located in the deep woods of Wisconsin. (The video from this chapel seems to have since been removed.) The chapel opened with a word from the president of that school. After a few pleasantries, he proceeded… Continue Reading