Through a series of interesting works of providence I recently sat down for coffee with a local pastor of a very large evangelical church. His church is very much a proponent of the popular church-growth philosophy. As one who is opposed to much of what this movement is based on, I was hoping to learn more about where he was coming from and hopefully, since he is a professing Christian, learn from and be edified by him.
Some Good Things
I learned right away that he loves Jesus. He talked a lot about him and his desire to see him known. He spoke with passionate clarity about how Christ has saved him. This is was very moving. I was blessed to hear his testimony of grace.
I also learned that he wants people to know Jesus. He talked a lot about his history in ministry and it really came down to this bottom line. He had worked with many of the national leaders in the church growth culture and spoke of their heart for this bottom line.
So I liked these things. I could get behind them in principle. They made sense. And it was encouraging.
Some Not-So Good Things
I was then surprised by a number of things. I’ll highlight one big one:
He told me that he often sends people who want more teaching and doctrine to our church. I was puzzled by this. He relayed that sometimes people come to him requesting more doctrine, more meat but that it is outside the scope of trying to help people know and experience Jesus. He said he usually sends them our way for teaching since that would be a better fit.
I really didn’t know how to process this. Why would preaching and teaching doctrine have to be opposed to people meeting and knowing Jesus? Isn’t doctrine just the teaching of Christianity? Don’t we need that to know what we believe? Without knowing who God really is it is tough to “know and experience” him.
Furthermore, I was surprised that he sent them our way. In one sense I was glad that he did. But at the same time, why not see this as an opportunity to think through philosophy?
I reminded him that Paul uses doctrine and its several synonyms as positive terms and even essential characteristics of what a pastor should be giving his people. In 2 Timothy we see these synonyms as we read of the inspiration of the Scripture (3.16), the priority of preaching the word (4.2), persevering in teaching…or doctrine (4.3), maintaining the truth (4.3-4).
I don’t know how to biblically rationalize a ministry that overtly avoids the teaching of doctrine. What is Christianity about if it is not about teaching its doctrine?
This is where it became clear that it seemed more about experiencing Jesus than knowing Jesus. Because I said it, I know he and others would take issue with this because it sounds so drastic. But, isn’t that exactly what is being done? If you downplay teaching and elevate experience then what are the experiences tied to? By default, they become your doctrine. They are the authority. It is painfully ironic that this is exactly the type of thing that Paul was warning against and aiming to prevent as he charged Timothy to be a faithful pastor who teaches his people the Bible.
To be honest, I don’t really know how to harmonize everything from the meeting. This is a pastor that seems to really love Jesus but not really love to teach the Bible, at least not with any intentional depth. There is no way I can question his motives or even his sincerity. However, I can, in light of Scriptures, question faithfulness. It doesn’t line up with passages like Ephesians 4 and books like 1 and 2 Timothy.
Some Help for Me
I am thankful to God for the meeting. It was convicting and clarifying at times. I found myself refastening my grip upon my philosophy of ministry. What do we do and why? Are we supposed to preach and teach doctrine? How can we reach unbelievers? How can you communicate doctrine in an understandable way? This was a good exercise.
It also reminded me that the church-growth paradigm for ministry is really, really different from what I believe.
It also helped me to meet this pastor and give opportunity to pray more specifically for him and the ministry there. After all, there is substantial influence in our city through this church. I can pray for gospel-growth and faithfulness in ministry.
