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Is it acceptable for a church member or members to correct their pastor? If so, what are these circumstances and how should it be done?
Open Rebuke?
I do not believe that anyone, pastors included, should be confronted in an antagonistic way by someone who believes there are mistakes or doctrinal errors are being taught in the church. This should be done privately, one on one, to avoid humiliating anyone. As a pastor myself, I have had to go to some church members privately and speak to them about some things that they have said that were scripturally wrong and then to others who were spreading falsehoods by gossiping to others in the church and even to those outside of the church. The Bible proverb that says “Open rebuke is better than secret love” (Prov 27:5) doesn’t mean that the rebuke is done out in the open for everyone to see and hear. Following the Matthew 18 biblical model of church discipline, if there is any matter that is of serious concern in the church between anyone, they should first go to that person privately and not bring others into it in the hopes that the matter can be solved.
The Only Perfect Parts of Sermons
I have made some errors in the verses that I used during sermons and someone came up to me later and told me and then the next week I told the church openly that someone had pointed out a mistake that I made and I gave them the correct verse. I also thanked the person for telling me because I want to be correct, even if it means being corrected. They do me a favor if they point out my mistakes. I have told the congregation more than once that “Part of my sermon today will be perfect.the part where I read out of the Bible.my part, not so much.” There is nothing wrong with approaching the pastor privately to tell him that you believe he made a mistake and especially if it’s a doctrinal error but even if it’s using the wrong chapter and verse. I would hope that most pastors, since they too are capable of making mistakes, would be open to the idea that they gave out wrong information but the church or even church members have the obligation to correct a pastor where he is wrong in doctrinal positions too. No one is above correction because only the Word of God is perfect and no man is nor ever will be (until we are in the kingdom). Jesus alone was the only Man.the God-Man.who never erred. The rest of us have and will because of our fallen nature.
God Resists the Proud
Sometimes it’s hard to be corrected by others for making a mistake but God resists the proud and if a pastor is too proud to be shown he is in error when he truly is, God will resist or oppose that man. James writes that God “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). You may already know the Greek word for “opposes” is stronger than what it’s translated into because opposes, in the Greek, is “antitassō” and literally means “to range in battle against” so if you read James 4:6 in the way in which it was originally written it reads “God ranges in battle against the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” The Apostle Peter says essentially the same thing in 1 Peter 5:5. Think about that; God ranges in battle with anyone, pastors or church leaders like deacons, elders and even Sunday school teachers who are too proud to receive correction and who are also arrogant in their correcting others. This sword cuts both ways. It applies to the person correcting someone as well as to the person who is being corrected. I like to think of it this way; be humble or be humbled. It is better to be humble than to have God do it for you.
No One is Above Correction
I believe that there is no one in the church who is above correction. I once had a graduate seminary professor tell the class (and me who was in this class) that he had made a mistake and apologized to the class. Immediately, that professor had more of my respect than he did before. It wasn’t that I didn’t respect him already but to see how he humbled himself before the class and admitted his mistake showed me more about him as a godly man than he could have ever shown me as a graduate, seminary professor. There are few things more refreshing than transparency. The person who refused to be corrected has lost an opportunity to grow. I know that I have learned more from the mistakes that I’ve made than doing something write over a hundred times. We had a tree that was beginning to lean in one direction and over the years I noticed that it had grown more branches on the other side to compensate. It’s as if that tree was learning from its environment. I saw that the tree finally began to straighten up in the upward parts of the trunk and so in the same way that we learn from mistakes, if we receive corrections, we can grow stronger in the particular areas where we might be weaker. Just like the tree grew out of its tilt and became stronger, so can we. The tendency for a person who accepts correction is that they will make fewer mistakes in the future because they will be more diligent in carefully examining their Scriptures and their doctrinal teachings and beliefs.
Conclusion
I know it’s hard to be corrected and if you do correct a church leader like a pastor, elder, deacon, Sunday school teacher, a board member, church secretary and even a church member, may I suggest you do it privately at first. If the pastor or church leader still refuses to see their error, you may have to bring it up with someone else and then go together to speak with them. Hopefully, this won’t have to go as far as the Matthew 18 biblical model for church discipline, but if it’s necessary, it must be done for the best interests of the church. Besides, Christ will hold us accountable for how His church (not ours) functions. In fact, we will all have to give an account for ourselves before Christ someday. For those who have been born again, we can be thankful that we will not be judged for our sin but we will be held responsible for what we teach and for those we don’t not correct when we know they are wrong. The Proverb is true, “Open rebuke is better than secret love” (Prov 27:5).
Article first appeared at www.patheos.com
