Response:

The Bible does not speak about Trustees. Trustees are a man made, legal office, and are not a Scriptural one. Different churches set up their constitutions in different ways, but we set this one up so that the Pastor and Deacons are the trustees, if such an office is needed. I believe this is the safest, and most Biblical way to do things. Why invent offices that the Bible does not have? Again, in my church, all other officers (treasurer, Sunday School superintendent, clerk, etc.) come out of the deacon board. The only way this would not be possible would be if the church was so small that we did not have qualified men to serve as deacons, and therefore would not have a treasurer unless we went to someone who was not a deacon. But think about it: if a man is unqualified to be a deacon, should he be the treasurer, or some other officer? I personally do not think so, although many other good men would disagree with me. I know of one church where the pastor has both deacons and trustees, and the trustees are made up of all the men who weren't qualified to be deacons! Somehow this doesn't seem to be the idea that I see in the Bible concerning church leadership.

As to your second question, deacons and trustees certainly should not "run" the church. Again, many churches are set up so that the trustees handle the "physical" things, the deacons handle the "spiritual" things, and the pastor preaches. This is a far cry from the Biblical norm. In the Bible, trustees don't exist, deacons handle all the things that keep the pastor from being able to give himself to the Word of God and prayer, and the pastor leads the church. The word "deacon" means "servant". I believe the deacon is to serve the Lord, the church, and the pastor. This does not put him in charge of anything, except what the pastor asks him to be in charge of. Again, in Acts 6, the deacons were to take care of the mundane things that robbed the pastors of the time they needed to study, pray, and do the ministry of the Word (teaching, preaching, etc.). The pastor, on the other hand, is an elder, and an overseer. According to I Peter 5:2 he is to take the oversight of the church. Again, the fact that he is to be the leader is shown by Peter's caution in verse 3 that he not be a "lord", but rather an example. In Acts 20:28, Paul calls the elders (pastors) of the Ephesian church overseers. (Note that in Titus 1:5-7, and in Acts 20:17,28, the words "elder" and 'bishop" (overseer), are used synonymously; both refer to the office of the pastor). The qualifications for a pastor which are spelled out in I Tim 3 are said to be the qualifications for a "bishop"; an overseer Clearly, it is the pastor's job to lead the church, and the deacons are to assist him in any way that he wishes.

I am sorry for your situation. I do not believe a person with that type of attitude or behavior should be allowed to continue in a leadership position. However, because the church voted him in (I assume), the church will probably need to remove him unless he resigns.

I believe church discipline will probably be the only way to resolve this issue. The pastor needs to go to the man in accordance with Matt 18:15 and Gal 6:1. If the man does not repent, then the pastor should follow the teaching of Matt 18:16, and take one or two trusted men with him who can hear everything that is said, and render their opinion both to the offender and, if necessary, to the pastor (we pastors are wrong on occasion).

If the man still refuses to repent, then the situation must be taken to the congregation as a whole in a public forum, in accordance with Matt 18:17. The church will get to hear both sides, and they can render a verdict. If they agree with the pastor, then the offender has one last chance to repent, or he must be excommunicated, with the resulting breaking of all church and social ties. This would not be an easy thing to do, but God did establish a means by which to handle these problems, and it is found in Matt 18.

From experience, I might suggest that, if the offender is in violation of the church constitution, that be brought out at the public meeting (if it gets that far). Unfortunately, some church members are more concerned about the constitution than they are about the Bible. They don't care if the pastor's Biblical authority is rejected, but they really get mad if the constitution is violated. Bring it all out, and use the Scriptures, but don't be afraid to show how his behavior violates the constitution.

By Dr Mark Montgomery Ambassador Baptist Church 1926 Babcock Blvd Pittsburgh, PA 15209 (412)477-3210