Expert: Rev. Stuart Woodward - 1/22/2008

Question
attend a southern baptist church. our pastor of 5 years is killing this assembly. during his tenure he has: misaapropriated $200,000 in church building funds (not stolen, spent outside of designation, lied from the pulpit, let it be known that if you disagreed with him you should leave, manipulated the body to increase spending by 25% to finance anticipated growth, etc, etc, etc... elders are split on what to do. in the meantime church finances are pitiful and people are leaving because they are not getting fed.

Question is: if
you have a bad pastor, based on facts not rumor, what's our duty as christians? pack our bags and go home? i am as called to this church as he believes he is? what to do, what to do?  

Answer
Hello Sean,
Thank you for your question. The situation you outline, if accurate, is very sad. I like the way you phrase your question around the principles at stake rather than the specifics of the case. I minister in England where the situation is somewhat different but the basic principles do not change whatever the country.
First and foremost a Christian should pray for the pastor of their church and ask God to change him should there be perceived wrong doing. This prayer includes demonstrating love, as we are commanded to love each other and even our enemies!
Secondly if we have a problem with a fellow believer our complaint should be addressed to them directly and not gossipped about in the church.
If there is an inadequate response then two or three witnesses (1 Tim 5:20) should take the complaint to the rest of the church leadership and if necessary to the denominational leadership.
At no stage should Christians seek to lead an opposition party or be less than gracious in their behaviour.
If after all is tried a Christian finds that there is no change then there are two options. One is to keep faithfully attending and praying and ride out the storm or to seek fellowship in another local church. It is never an option for a Christian to cease attending worship.
Those appointed to lead have an awesome responsibility and will be judged by God at a higher level. Once all that is possible and Christian has been done the matter has to be left for God to deal with directly.
I have been in ministry for 26 years and I know there are those in ministry who struggle with a desire for power and to control others. They should not be in ministry. However, I also know it is possible for the same actions to be seen very differently by different people. I do not doubt your analysis as I do not know the situation of which you speak but I urge you to give as much credit as you can and only confront that which is clearly wrong.
I hope my answer is of some help and I will pray that God gives to you both wisdom and courage.
Stuart Woodward