Pastoral Authority Should be Coupled with Wisdom
If wisdom and fear are the watchwords of a congregation opposing a pastor, then wisdom and understanding should be the watchwords of a pastor who insists on flouting the church’s will. He certainly has the authority to do so (until that authority is revoked by the church itself), but he may not be wise in continually ignoring or overruling its will. Continual disagreements may indicate an unwise pastor, a stiff-necked congregation, or perhaps simply an incompatibility between the two.
There are a nearly infinite number of issues over which a pastor and some sizeable portion of his congregation may disagree. Often churches find themselves divided between a minority of the congregation who oppose both the majority and the pastor. As seen above, the minority has every right to, with fear and trembling, attempt to persuade others of its position. But if this fails, the minority’s next move depends on the nature of the issue in contention.
If the issue is one of preference or taste, the bested-minority should be prepared to handle the disagreement in a Christlike way, reintegrate into the congregation after the dust settles, put themselves under the pastor’s authority and will of the majority peaceably. If, however, the issue(s) is of such a divisive nature, at least to that minority, that it can on longer worship in a Spirit-filled manner under the existent circumstances, reintegration may not be possible; and members of the minority should seriously consider seeking a place of worship elsewhere. But again, this refers to a bested-minority, one that has attempted, and failed, to persuade the church of its case using legitimate methods. Simply deserting a church without attempting to at least diagnose the chances of solving a problem is defeatist and foolish in that such flight does away with an essential layer of accountability for the pastor, administration, and laity.
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