Beware of Domineering Pastors

Pastors must not create a culture of fear, and stifle genuine biblical inquiry and discussion.

The following excerpt is found in John Kuyper Liberty, Gospel Theology: God’s Good News for Everything (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2021), 280-281. Used with permission. Pick up the book at Westbow Press or Amazon.

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Pastors guard the church from false teaching. But what does this mean in practice? It does not mean that the church is to be guarded from being exposed to teaching that the elder does not believe is biblical. Cult leaders seek to shelter people in their organization from other viewpoints. Pastors can get tempted to be over-controlling and treat the people of their churches like they are dumb. They can fall into cultish practices and get nervous if people in the church are learning about other viewpoints. Sadly, I have witnessed this too often. Censorship of ideas and discussions is not a biblical position.

Faithful pastors trust that Christ will keep his sheep. They encourage Christians to learn about and interact with other viewpoints and examine them through the lens of Scripture, not ultimately through the lens of the pastor. If a viewpoint is a heresy, pastors should certainly tell Christians he interacts with that it is wrong, explain why it is wrong, and caution them in their studies. And if a pastor believes a theological viewpoint is wrong and it is not heresy, he should still try to convince others as to what he believes is biblical. But Christians in fellowship should be free to talk about all of their viewpoints with one another. That is how sharpening happens, how love and unity around essentials is fostered, how liberty of conscience is maintained, and how the doctrine of sola scriptura is practically upheld. If these discussions are done in humility and love, then they are healthy.[1]

Pastors must not try to guard the flock by creating a culture of fear, in which no one can talk about theology or their views on the Bible because they are scared that the pastors will come after them and bite their heads off if they say something different than what a specific group of pastors in God’s one true church teach. That is ugly, and it happens all too often in certain circles.[2] Pastors ought to aim to create a culture of grace and joy! Pastors guard the church by teaching what is true, warning against and correcting serious error, and guiding and leading healthy, open discussions about non-primary theological issues in love, kindness, humility, and sober-mindedness. Robert H. Thune agrees that

every aspiring elder should learn to distinguish between issues central to the gospel and issues peripheral to the gospel. Issues central to the gospel are worth fighting for; peripheral issues may still engender charitable disagreement and debate, but aren’t always worth fighting over.[3]

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[1] Christians should be able to have honest theological disagreement with fellow Christians and remain united in love. Pastors should model that mature Christianity means recognizing that not every theological viewpoint is on the same level, and should seek to create cultures that encourage everyone to freely express their viewpoints. We know we love others when we can disagree and still remain friends.

[2] See Chapters 17 and 20.

[3] Robert H. Thune, Gospel Eldership: Equipping a New Generation of Servant Leaders (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2016), 86.