According to the 18^th Century Church historian John Lawrence Mosheim, the pastors in the apostolic churches did not practice "preacher rule" over the churches.

In Mosheim’s "Ecclesiastical History," he states that "A bishop, during the first and second century, was a person who had the care of one Christian assembly . . . In this assembly he acted, not so much with the authority of a master, as with the zeal and diligence of a servant . . . [he] had not the power to decide or enact any thing without the consent of the presbyters and people." (p. 30)

The first proponent of the principle of "preacher rule" was St. Ignatius of Antioch, who, in his Epistle to the Philippians in 107 AD, wrote: "For we ought to receive everyone whom the Master of the house sends to be over His household as we would do Him that sent him. It is manifest, therefore, that we should look upon the bishop even as we would upon the Lord Himself."

Ignatius did not explain the specific nature of the obedience he felt should be rendered to the bishop. His suggestion that the people should render unquestioning obedience to the pastor/bishop planted the seed for what became a system of total control of the people by the popes, priests and bishops of the Roman Catholic Church.

MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY. In 1844, Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormons, declared to his followers in Nauvoo, Illinois that "God made Aaron to be the mouthpiece of the children of Israel, and he will make me to be God to you in His stead, and the elders to be mouth for me; and if you don’t like it you must lump it."

The Mormon magazine Improvement Era restated the principle of unquestioning obedience to the leaders in 1945, stating, "When the leaders speak, the thinking has been done."

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES. Jim Jones, who massacred 950 of his followers at Jonestown, Guyana in 1978, was an ordained minister in good standing with the liberal Christian Church/Disciples of Christ until the day of his death.

There is nothing specifically Baptist about "preacher rule." There is nothing Biblical about it, either. The Apostle Peter exhorted the elders to: "Feed the flock of God which is among you . . . neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock." (1 Peter 5:2-2).

Christ instructed the Apostles that "Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority over them. But it shall not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant." (Matthew 20:25-27)

The New Testament does not give pastors power to demand complete obedience of their members or run their lives for them. Peter told his members in Acts 5:4 concerning their private property, "Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power?"

The reference to "all things common" in Acts 4:32 refers only to a willingness to share with those in need, not an abolition of private property and control over one’s own personal affairs.

THE CONGREGATION RULES! The Apostles involved their congregations in the decision-making process, inviting the church to elect a replacement for Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:15-16) and to choose the first deacons (Acts 6:3-6).

The important doctrinal decree of the Jerusalem Council was the product of "the apostles and elders with the whole church." (Acts 15:22) Church discipline was carried out by the congregation, not the pastor. (2 Corinthians 2:6)

In 2 Corinthians 1:24, Paul told the church at Corinth, "Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy."

In 1 Corinthians 16:12 we see clearly that the Apostle Paul did not consider himself to be the voice of God to his followers, as to the conduct of their personal lives in a non-moral issues. "As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren; but his will was not at all to come at this time; but he will come when he shall have convenient time."

Paul asked if Apollos would go to Corinth. Apollos did not feel like going, so he did not go. That was the end of it. Paul and Apollos had a healthy relationship – Paul was free to make suggestions, and Apollos was free to disregard them if necessary. There was no thought of "preacher rule."

As for the notion that any pastor today is infallible in his doctrinal teaching, this implies that the pastor is inspired by God, violating the principle of the final authority and all-sufficiency of the written Word of God.

Since the Bible was completed in the First Century, God has no longer been speaking as He did through the Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles.

Our Doctrinal Statement teaches that "The Scriptures are God’s inerrant revelation, complete in the Old and New Testaments." If the Bible is "complete," then there is no way that any pastor today can hear or speak the Word of God on the same basis as when the Bible was being inspired.

This does not mean that the pastor is not allowed to run and rule the church. The pastors are chosen to be "overseers," (Acts 20:28), and to "rule," (1 Timothy 5:17, Hebrews 13:17).

They are to have the "oversight," (1 Peter 5:2). This role is given to the pastors, not to the deacons, trustees or prominent families in the church.

However, the Bible does not assign to pastors the power to run the personal lives of their members. Pastors are not given absolute, dictatorial control, nor can they claim infallibility in doctrinal matters.

In this issue, as in all doctrinal and practical matters, we must seek a proper balance. We must allow pastors to exercise their proper Scriptural authority in the church, but they are not to take advantage of their authority and carry it to unscriptural extremes.

Some have supposed that the historic Baptist position is that the pastor is to be a dictator and to hold an unchallenged position of superiority in the church.

However, this notion appears to be a recent development. Over the centuries, Baptists have opposed the idea that pastors are to lord it over their congregations.

For instance, John Quincy Adams (not the 6^th president of the United States, but a Baptist author in the late 18^th Century) wrote the following in his book "Baptists Thorough Reformers:"

Then there is the teaching of church historian D.B. Ray in his book "Baptist Succession – A Handbook of Baptist History," published in 1912: "Thus we find that the elders are to rule by example and by feeding the flock of Christ. Whatever may be the different gifts or offices in the Church of Christ, no member has a right to claim the pre-eminence in the execution of the laws of Christ.

"The only way to become great in the kingdom is to be a great servant. Every minister is equal in point of privilege with every other member of the church; but, as a minister in his official capacity, he is subject to, and inferior to the church. His individual acts or decisions have no more binding force than those of any other member." (pp. 227-228)

The idea that the pastor speaks with divine authority in all matters of doctrine and practice, so that his word cannot be challenged by the membership, is of recent origin and is not in keeping with historic Baptist practice.

However, this does not give church members justification to disobey or oppose their pastors, when the pastors are teaching according to the Word of God, and acting according to Scriptural authority.

For instance, a pastor who asks the congregation to exclude a member for immorality should be obeyed; but a pastor who attempts to regulate the finances of his members, or deny them their Christian liberty in any matter, need not be obeyed.