MINISTERIAL AUTHORITY

(c)1999, 2000 William R. Cunningham

Why do Christians blindly believe what their pastors or famous TV or radio evangelists tell them? I have found that most Christians that I have talked to base their own belief system on what they were told by a minister that they perceive as having authority over them. The validity of these ministers’ statements and teachings are not established. Instead, Christians reckon that what they are told is true or from God. I have also noticed that many TV evangelists make statements that add a false sense of authority to those who don’t know the truth.

What are the consequences of such practices in the Christian community? What are the consequences of ignorance? First of all the Bible implies that ignorance leads to destruction (Hosea 4:6). We are also admonished to obtain knowledge and told of the importance of knowledge (Proverbs). The following are some practical consequences of the "believe what you are told" theology.

• The truth is never obtained as a matter of fact. It is only relative to the assertion of someone else.
• The word of God cannot be completely secured in the heart and mind because His word is not definitely known.
• Confusion results when another minister in authority teaches a different message. The confusion results from the basic question "who should I believe?"
• Unfulfilled life due to living someone else’s doctrine and not seeking God’s word and purpose for you for yourself.
• Relationships damaged or severed because one party comes with facts and the other argues with only what he/she was told and not the facts.
• Ineffective witness to those outside of your church realm.

The above demonstrates the importance of knowing the word of God for yourself in addition to having a personal relationship with Christ.

Steps To Take Now!

The following are some things that you can do to ensure that the authority in your life is the word of God and not the teachings, dogma, or understandings of ministers and church organizations.

• Begin studying your Bible so that you know the facts of the scriptures
• Educate yourself on Christian and church history as much as you can. This helps you put things into perspective.
• Study what the apostles taught (Peter, Paul, James, etc.)
• Beware of unsubstantiated statements by ministers such as "The Lord wants us to…" Question such statements.
• Beware of scripture that is simply tacked onto a statement. Always understand scripture in the context that it was written. Don’t just look at the words. A consistent question during your personal Bible study should be "What is the author trying to say?"
• Don’t assume that you have to agree with the pastor or else you are going against God. This is far from the truth.
• Do not feel that you are causing trouble or going against God if you question ministry leaders. You may be surprised at the answers you get.

Minister’s Credentials

Christians believe TV evangelists and radio preachers but rarely do these same Christians know what type of credentials these ministers have. I suppose that they believe that since the minister is on TV or radio that he or she must be speaking the truth. This is not always true. Sometimes ministers have their own theology that was passed down to them by those preceding them in a particular movement (the Faith movement for example).  You should also consider that the radio station does not necessarily care about the teachings of the minister.  All that is required is that the ministry pay the radio bill.

We desire to know the credentials and references of people we deal with each day. We want to know that the contractor we are evaluating for work has proper training and does good work. We like to know that our doctors are good ones. We like to ensure as best we can that we have a good mechanic for example. However, when it comes to the word of God, Christians become very apathetic. We don’t care about the credentials of those who are supposedly preaching the word of God. Instead we assume they are telling the truth and begin to live our life according to what they tell us never really knowing the truth for ourselves.

Basically we should know something about the person who is teaching or preaching.  For example you may ask yourself if they have any training in theology or Bible school.  You may also want to know  something about the person.  Now please note that I am not saying that a Bible teacher has to go to a Bible college and get a degree.  However, there must be something to indicate that the person has studied those things that he or she preaches or teaches.  We should know something about the man or woman who is presenting what we believe is the word of God.  Of course this does not negate the fact that we too must study the word of God for ourselves and verify what we have told.  However, we may give a minister the benefit of the doubt if that minister or Bible teacher has proven himself or herself reliable.

Ministry Profile

We listen to ministers on the television, radio, and in churches. What do they believe about Jesus Christ, salvation, God, the Trinity, Christian life, and more? What is the fundamental theme of their ministry?  Most Christians do not know. A minister is acceptable to most Christians if he "preaches" well. Most Christians are satisfied with emotional satisfaction or stimulation and are not concerned with knowing the truth in God’s word or that the minister is telling them the truth. Most Christians would be totally helpless if they found themselves face to face with someone from another religion or denomination. Why? They don’t really know what they believe! Their whole theology is based on the teachings of someone else and is not really established in the word of God-—the truth.

It is dangerous to believe a minister if we don't know their position on certain issues.  This knowledge is not necessary for judging his or her doctrine.   It is foremost useful for determining the perception and therefore "angle" of the minister's teaching.  If a minister believes a certain thing about salvation then their teachings will reflect that basic position.  For example, a minister who believes that salvation is based on works will present that in one way or another in their teaching.

Minister Accountability

I have discovered that ministers generally are not accountable to anyone. This especially applies to the some local church pastors since they are in their own world in a sense. A minister who is unaccountable to someone else is more likely to establish their own beliefs without the benefit of verification. That is, these unaccountable ministers tend to make up their own theology to fit the current needs because they don’t have anyone looking over them and questioning what they are teaching. It is extremely important that a theology is not developed in a vacuum. Express what you believe and are thinking with others, especially those who are more experienced with the word of God. Your actions are not for verification by those you talk to. Instead,   expressing your believes is for the purpose of putting those beliefs to the test by exposing it to contradicting or opposing points of views. What is important is whether or not your views stand against the test or is easily destroyed by other arguments.

This same thing applies to ministers and preachers.  In general they should not mind being questioned about what they teach or preach.  You, however, should not take a challenging posture in the public eye.  Your questions and comments should respectfully be done one-on-one with the minister unless you are in a Bible study with a question or answer session.  In either case the minister or Bible teacher should not be hostilely challenged.  They should have utmost respect because their job is a hard one and a public one.  So a Bible teacher, minister, evangelist, or pastor should welcome questions that you may have of what they teach.  I would find it suspicious if they do not welcome questions.

Bible teachers, ministers, evangelists and others are accountable to God and people.  They are accountable to God because they have to ensure that they are teaching what the Bible actually reveals.  They are accountable to people because people should not let them get away with blind statements on a regular basis.  If a Bible teacher knows that his or her class will ask questions of statements made during a lesson then he or she will ensure that the facts are known before the presentation.   Of course not everyone knows all of the answers though.

What You Can Do Now

Above all know the truth. The truth is revealed in the scriptures of the Holy Bible. God did not inspire the authors of the books in the Bible just so that a Bible would exist. God inspired these men to write so that we could have a written record of the truths from God. The Bible should be the most studied book for all Christians. We would know much more truth if we gave the scriptures as much credence as we give our pastor or TV evangelists. So study the Bible and know the truth. Learn as much about your Christian faith as you can. Read historical and theological texts. Talk to each other about what you have learned. Especially talk to those who are not a member of your church. Soon you will have such knowledge and faith in the word of God that you will be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and other false teachings. You will be able to stand against any representative of any religion (though not necessarily alone). Soon the word of God and the facts of the Christian faith will be so strong in you that you will have no fear. You will be convinced of the truth of the Christian faith and you will live by that steadfastness—that faith.

Your authority is Jesus Christ.  Look to Him for the truth concerning the Christian faith.  Your pastor or the T.V. evangelist cannot be your authority because their authority is also Christ.  These men and women can be great examples and great resources but they should not be our authority in the absolute sense.  Your authority is Christ and the written word of God in the Holy Bible.