A Lesson Learned

Steven R. Cook

10-15-2002

www.christonly.com

As a Christian I realize there are situations that come my way which God uses to teach me, and cause me to grow. During my first semester at seminary (summer of 2002) I sent my resume to various churches hoping to find a place of ministry, and after a few months received a call to interview for a pastoral position in a newly constituted Baptist Church. I have some pastoral experience and thought this would be an excellent opportunity to grow. The church interviewed me, heard me preach a few times, and decided I was their man. I accepted the position and was very excited about the new post. My fault was that I moved too quickly in accepting the position without investigating the church, its leadership, and where they stood doctrinally. My enthusiasm for ministry clouded my thinking, and without much doctrinal investigation, I accepted the first pastoral position that came my way. I blindly took the position as pastor because I was anxious to serve.

Prior to being constituted, the church had been a mission for several years and had a small group of believers who were acting as the governing body. I did not inquire about the background of the church before I came in, nor did I consider who was currently leading the church, and that was my mistake. There were many questions I should have asked. After being the new pastor for two weeks I made some proposals regarding ideas for spiritual growth and outreach. At first, some seemed to be curious about my ideas, but little discussion pursued. As the Pastor, I assumed leadership and expected support from all involved. As I began to teach from the Scriptures every time we gathered, it became apparent to all that my main interest was in teaching the Bible. Though the gospel was consistently made clear at the end of each service (John 3:16, 36; 20:31; Acts 4:12; 16:31; Eph. 2:8-9), my focus was on teaching the content of Scripture (II Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 4:1-5) . Many were pleased with the teaching and were bringing visitors. In fact, the church had gone from nearly forty-five to about sixty-five visitors within a month as numerous people seemed curious and positive to the teaching.

After six weeks of being the new Pastor—and with several new people coming and joining—I thought everything was going great. Early, on a Wednesday morning, I received a call from one of the members of the Pastor-Search committee who originally interviewed me, and there was to be a surprise meeting between me, the man who called, and three other members of the church. I thought this was a little strange, but agreed to meet with the four of them. For nearly four hours I sat in the church and was verbally attacked by these men who made it clear they felt threatened by me. The main instigator stated he was afraid I was going to develop a popular following and then subvert the church. I asked him what he was talking about, but he did not have a clear answer. I assured him his fears were unwarranted, but for some reason he was bent on accusing me of things that were either not true or were magnified out of proportion. I explained to them I had the gift of Teacher, and that the primary responsibility of a Pastor is to study and teach the Scripture, followed by exhortation to live the Christian life. One of the men then said “we would prefer to have someone with the gift of preacher.” I staggered at the statement and told them I had never heard of such a gift. I think what they wanted was someone who was going to stir the congregation emotionally with fiery rhetoric. I explained to them that emotional theatrics should never come from the pulpit, and that I was willing to accommodate them as far as I believed I could without compromising Scripture.

One of the main issues on which I was attacked was my unwillingness to give an alter call. I do not like alter calls because I understand them to be an emotional appeal that urge people to do something that the Bible does not necessitate. The alter call is simply not found in the Bible, and to make it synonymous with salvation is misleading. It’s my understanding that the alter call was invented by Charles Finney sometime around 1830 during the Second Great Awakening. Finney’s alter call sprang from a warped theological view in which he saw mankind as not completely fallen in Adam and where each man could contribute to his coming to Christ; hence the invention of the “anxious bench” where those who came forward were pressured to believe in Christ and join the church. Finney’s practices have become common place in the church today where ministers are expected to do alter calls even though the Bible commands no such action. Many in the church today fail to realize that the alter call is nothing more than a man made religious tradition that stems from a faulty view of sin and salvation. It has become so entrenched in many churches that if a minister does not practice it (as most did not do for over eighteen hundred years), then he is viewed by some as contradicting the very Word of God. Such gross misunderstanding of the Bible has eventuated into a Pharisaism and the elevation of traditions on par with Scripture.

As I tried to discuss these matters with the men present at the meeting that afternoon, I realized soon enough that I was dealing with a religious mob that was more concerned with their traditions than the teaching of Scripture. For example, after I explained that the alter call was no where found in the Bible, the main instigator realized I was right and in a moment of desperation stated “Billy Graham does an alter call; are you going to contradict Billy Graham!?” I was utterly stunned at the statement! Billy Graham is not God and his words and actions are not the final authority on matters pertaining to the Christian life. Billy Graham and his actions are not the measure of Christian truth, the infallible Bible alone holds that place of honor. What struck me was that the main instigator (who is himself a seminary graduate) was seeking to obtain a point of leverage in the conversation and lashed out with words that demonstrated his desperation. Apparently for him, if Billy Graham practiced an alter call then it must surely be Christian, and if a minister does not perform an alter call, then how can he function in Christian ministry? I did not answer his question because he sought to attack me using a source other than the Bible.

It became apparent throughout the discussion that these men felt threatened about something. The kept asking me all sorts of questions in an attempt to trap me, but I was not sure why. Accusations were made against me from one other church member who was not present, but who conveyed her concerns on paper to the men who were attacking me. Though I asked to see it, I was never allowed to look at the questions on the paper. In addition to the list, they kept throwing questions at me like machine gun fire. As soon as I would answer one question, they hurriedly hit me with another. Several times I thought about walking out and just telling them they could have their church back; but I thought I’d better stick it out and see what happens. I thought it would be better for me to maintain poise rather than give in to my attackers. Several times I asked the men to speak plainly and let me know what their intentions were. They would not answer me, but kept going back to their list of questions. Finally, the meeting came to an end, and the main instigator and his company ran out of questions. I think they were tired. After the meeting they talked with me and made me think everything was OK and that we could work out our differences. I made every attempt to let them know we could work together as Christians and that I was willing to offer an apology to the church where I might have unnecessarily offended. They said that was acceptable and that everything was going to be alright. I offered to close with prayer, and they hesitantly complied. They made me think everything was alright. I realized later that everything was not alright, and that after our meeting they moved to conspire against me in order to protect their place of power in the church.

As Sunday came my wife and I arrived early at the church and were getting ready for the morning service. Most of the members seemed a little different. People were not looking me directly in the eye, or they would quickly look away if they did. As the service began, we opened with two hymns, which were followed by a rather long prayer. Then, the four men who challenged me a few days earlier, gathered on the platform and stated that they were going to hold an “emergency business meeting” right then. One of the men then stated that after much consideration, the group thought I was not what the church wanted in a Pastor and they recommended that I be “removed immediately.” Before the words were completely out of his mouth, another person from the congregation jumped up and seconded the motion. Then there was a request for all in favor to stand up. About two thirds of the church jumped to their feet as though they had springs in their seats. It immediately became apparent that what was happening had been carefully orchestrated behind my back. In less than two minutes everything had turned topsy-turvy. The other third of the church was in complete shock at what was happening and stood up with me against those who were asking for my removal. The fact that part of the church did not know what was happening implies that the orchestrators carefully selected companions who would follow their recommended course of action. After the majority voted against me, they then asked that I “leave the church grounds immediately.” When I went to address the church, all of my opponents broke into a hymn and the pianist began to play her electric piano in order to drown out my voice. I tried to talk louder, but the pianist turned up the volume in opposition to my words. The music minister stood waving his arms frantically as he looked about nervously, singing loudly. Several of the members of the church ran out crying, others stormed out mad. My wife and I were in complete shock over the whole event. I was never asked to defend my position before the church, the Bible was never consulted, and I was never given a chance to explain anything publicly. I am sure several in the church spread rumors, and most everyone accepted them without question. While everyone was singing hymns I gathered my things and left the church. The members who did this continued to sing hymns until after I was gone.

I went to the church parking lot and found about ten members distraught and angry. None of those in the parking lot saw the coup d’état coming, and were wondering what had happened. A few were ready to go back in and challenge the whole event. I assured them that God was aware of what was going on, that He was present, and that He was still in control. We talked for a few minutes and I gathered everyone around for a word of prayer, thanking God for His grace and to offer forgiveness to those still inside singing hymns. As I left the church grounds, my head was swimming with all that had transpired.

I believe in Church discipline (1 Cor. 5:1-13; Matt. 18:17-18; Titus 3:10-11; 2 Thess. 3:6-15; 1 Tim. 5:20; Gal. 6:1); however, the Bible was not followed and the actions expressed that Sunday morning were not Christian. Church discipline should serve the church as a whole to protect it from false teachers and evildoers, not to serve the power lust of a few misguided leaders.

I am home now, in my house near the seminary, and have had a few weeks to reflect on that Sunday morning’s fiasco. In one sense, I understand I was treated unjustly by many possessed with religious arrogance; on the other hand, I realize I had rushed headlong into a church without making sure it was grounded doctrinally, and I did not make sure the church was headed in the right direction. Like many seminarians, I am learning some things the hard way. I often wonder how much God protects me from my own ignorance and arrogance.

I do not hold any bitterness against my attackers. I have walked away from this event a little scuffed up emotionally and realize that religious arrogance is alive and well today. I understand that I would be naïve ever to think that I could serve the Lord and not find myself under occasional attack. I do believe that those who attacked me were Christians, and that what they did was very wrong. Of course, I have never met a perfect Christian and I do not think I ever will; this keeps me thinking in terms of grace. I pray for them and hope that God may still use them to further the gospel message as well as offer correct Bible teaching. Deep inside I hope there might come a day when they would offer an apology for what they did to me. However, the pride of some Christians runs too deep and such an action may be more than I can ever hope for. I have decided to place the matter in the Lord’s hands and leave room for Him to deal with His own children in the way He sees fit.

Romans 12:17-21 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

I realize life is full of challenges and tests designed to provide opportunity for Christian growth (James 1:2-4). Too many times I have read the above verses in Romans and wondered if I could obey the commands given to me. I am convinced God has not given me commands beyond my ability to comply, nor has He placed me in situations beyond His ability to sustain (I Cor. 10:13). Even though I realize the sinful actions of others against me, I must ultimately accept responsibility for the decisions I make and for the events that come into my life. At the end of the day, I must be willing to learn from the difficulties I encounter; even the ones into which I blindly walk.