Pastoral Letter
The Alliance Family of Churches
Franklin Pyles, President
AUTHORITY IN THE CHURCH: The Pastor’s Authority and the Authority of the Word of God
Dear Workers:
The church had a pastor who preached in what the younger elders considered to be an older fashion – holiness from perhaps a legalistic slant, rather hard hitting salvation messages and, well, that was about it. So they told him that they wanted to play a part in the choice of sermon topics. He told them no. When I interviewed an elder said: since we are elders, God speaks to us about what the pastor should preach about. I was asked if I agreed with that. Do you? I didn’t then; I don’t now.
What is the authority of the pastor over his teaching of the Word of God?
Let’s begin by stating the obvious. The Word of God has absolute authority. We are not to ever think that the authority of the Word is overridden by a message of God through another medium. Paul says that if an angel from heaven preaches another gospel let him be accursed[1]. No voice, no revelation trumps the Word. Nor do circumstances of life which might be interpreted as revelation through divine providence. How many have fallen into sin because they convinced themselves that God had arranged for this other man or other woman to come into their life. We should be clear; this is the broad road that leads to destruction.
Further, the Word of God has authority over the church. This is particularly relevant in the light of those who see the surrounding culture as setting forth truth, because truth is not understood as steadfast and eternal. Hence, the culture sets the boundaries for conduct both inside and outside the church, and the Word of God is a source of comment on it.
However, the Bible must always be interpreted, for it is true that there is no such thing as a non-interpreted text. This is where the authority of the pastor comes into play, for the question, who gets to interpret, and according to what standard, rushes to centre stage.
It is true that as Protestants we believe that the priesthood of all believers not only means that every Christian may confess his or her sins to God and receive forgiveness, but that every Christian has access to the Word and can understand the Word directly. This is called the perspicacity of the Word. However, we also recognize that the interpretation of the Bible requires skill. And we recognize that all actions of interpretation begin with some theological and cultural assumptions that the interpreter may not wholly recognize as assumptions. Hence, while every Christian has access to the Word, Christians are best served when they are taught the skills of interpretation, given proper theological assumptions, and to the extent possible have cultural assumptions elucidated..
Enter the pastor. A major part of the ministry of every pastor is to equip the flock so that every person is able to open the Word of God and to eat its sweet honey. While doing that, the pastor must also guard the flock from all the poison that is being set on nearby tables. He does this by growing up the people in wisdom and understanding as he preaches and teaches the Word.[2]
To do this properly, the Pastor must walk a fine line. On the one hand, the possibility of personal error must be admitted. And it must be recognized that the pastor also continues to grow in skill and understanding. Even more, it is frequently the case that one or more people in the congregation know more about the passage than the pastor. At the same time, the pastor must stand firmly on this ground, God has set a teacher in this local church, and that teacher, while fallible, is this pastor.
This means that on the whole, in the aggregate, not all opinions are equal. The pastor’s opinion is the one which is to be respected.
Respected and obeyed. Here, at last, we get to the rub. Authority and obedience. Because the pastor’s ability to interpret the Word is fallible, the pastor must first be very careful about what he claims is a word which must be obeyed. This means two things. The pastor needs to study and the pastor needs to listen to what other teachers in the wider church are saying. As well, the pastor should be doing a reality check, for good interpretations bring forth good, not rotten or hurtful, fruit in real life.
The congregation has a right to do the same thing. This is one of the reasons there are denominations, to hold pastors accountable for their teaching.
Should a pastor begin to teach that which is false, it is right, proper and good for denominational leaders to immediately step in and bring whatever correction is needed, and here there is also real authority. To be forthright, in all teaching our workers are accountable to the wider Alliance family of churches, which authority is embodied in the District Superintendent.
Further, on issues that are currently being discussed, the denomination has a right to take a stand, and instruct its pastors to take the same stand. Thus, as an example, we in the C&MA have just taken a stand on the meaning of marriage.
Having said that, having given these very important disclaimers, it is important to also state that, when the pastor is preaching from the Word and presenting a truthful interpretation, that interpretation is to be obeyed. Jesus said: “teaching them to obey all that I commanded,”[3] not teaching the people to consider what Jesus commanded as one good option among several, or even teaching that what Jesus commanded is in fact the pragmatically best option. No, the pastor is to present teaching that calls forth the kind of obedience that obeys instead of following the lusts of the flesh[4], that obeys when it is painful or costly to obey[5], that obeys in the face of death.
And who decides what teaching is to be presented as a clear call for the congregation to follow? The pastor. The pastor is to seek the Spirit, search the Word, use all solid interpretative methods and consider denominational accountability, then open the book to the people. When the book is opened, the people should be eager to hear, for the things they are hearing are the oracles of God, the message of the Holy Spirit to them in this moment, in this context.
Brothers and sisters in ministry as you open the Bible, preaching and teaching in various program venues, do not look upon it as just your thoughts. Honor the teaching, even though it comes from your mouth. Remember, this moment was ordained by God; it is how Christ determined to defeat Satan and mature these people. It is a holy moment, and the words that you are speaking are holy words. And remember to obey them yourself.
Your very real friend,
Franklin Pyles, President
The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada
Harnessing Chaos 