A good test for a good church is to find out the way in which it is governed.  The subject of church governance has been on my mind due to a mild controversy surrounding a podcast by a rising pastor and podcaster who made some controversial statements in a recent podcast about preparing your church for ‘wartime.’ He has been called out by other podcasters, and I didn’t arrive in the mix until after many had already weighed in.

But I do have strong opinions on this.  A pastor needs accountability.  A church needs a plurality of leadership.  And a pastor who is disparaging his fellow elders or seeking to elevate his own authority should be placed under added scrutiny.

As a church planter and lead pastor for over 17 years, I am grateful for the church leadership structures and accountability at this local church.  I am grateful for a biblically qualified team of elders who lead the church and hold me accountable.  I am glad to NOT be at the top of an org chart with nothing but dark sky above me.

So below are five warning flags that a church might be operating in dangerous territory, regarding leadership.

1. The Organization Chart Has No One Above the Pastor

I already mentioned this above, but this one is low-hanging fruit.  Who has the right to correct the pastor?  He is a human, and as a human, he will be wrong, he will be prone to sin, and he will need correction at some point.  Who has the authority to speak into his life?  Note this is not asking, “does your pastor have accountability”, but it is stronger than that.  Does the organization RECOGNIZE any authority over your pastor?  A church that has no authority over the pastor is an accident waiting to happen.

2. Is There Plurality Among the Leadership?

The Word Elders as used in Scripture is plural.  And when Paul left Titus in Crete to minister to the church there, he left him to appoint elders (plural) in each town (singular). [Titus 1:5]. Each church (and at this early stage of the church, a town would have ONE) was to have multiple elders. There is great comfort to me as a pastor in having a plurality in those who oversee the church.  I am one, but there are several OTHERS.  And we have different personalities, different strengths, but a common love for Christ and His Church.

A church without plurality shouldn’t be surprised when one man rises up as an authoritarian leader.  Human nature and history show a common slide into consolidating power.  And the church is at no less risk for this than any of the many institutions of society.

3.  Does the Lead Pastor Disparage His Elders?

I was shocked to hear the banter between the two lead pastors on the podcast that caused me to write this blog.  They were saying that an elder who seeks to hold the pastor accountable wouldn’t last long on their board.  And it was further stated that they preferred elders who are so busy in their work life that they don’t have time to interfere with the work of the pastor in church ministry.

This type of denigration of the role of eldership is a huge red flag.  A pastor who is seeking to mitigate the influence of his fellow elders cannot be doing so out of any good motives.  The implications in the podcast were that a rubber stamp board is the ideal.  It was stated that “God anoints a leader and never a group.”  When one of my sons heard this quote, he laughed and said, “Did these guys ever read the book of Acts!? The first anointing was a room full of people in the upper room!”

I am so incredibly grateful for the elders that God has raised up at ReCAST.  They are a grace to me.  We are not all the same.  And they don’t always tell me, “Yes”.  And God uses them in my life to sharpen me and to steer ReCAST!

4.  Is the Pastor Open to Criticism?

In some churches, especially those of the New Apostolic Reformation stripe, criticizing a pastor is considered sinful.  This would be so convenient as a pastor.  This would make my job so much easier.  And it would be so wrong for me to tell people that I am above criticism and that it is a sin to accuse me.

A pastor or any church leader who tells you that it is a sin to criticize them is dangerous.  Interestingly, a plurality of leaders is a great HELP on this front.  When I receive a criticism I disagree with, I can go to my elders and ask them what they are seeing in my life in that area.  But as a public leader, I MUST remain open to being wrong.  A good leader is a humble leader.  A humble leader can take criticism and grow stronger because of it.

Closely related to this is to beware of any indication that the elders exist to protect the reputation of the pastor.  This was outright stated in the podcast above, and I find it reprehensible.  The elders are mutually accountable to each other and to the Word of God.  We must take any criticism seriously.

5.  Is the Pastor Claiming to be God’s Mouthpiece?

I read, study, and preach God’s Word most Sundays at ReCAST Church.  I try to make His Word clear and applicable to our daily lives.  But I would NOT proclaim for myself some anointing that is NOT available to others.  While I think that Teaching and Pastoring is a high calling, it is high in responsibility but NOT high in authority.

I understand the pull to make my position more elevated than it should be, but that is only because I am a sinful human.  Pastors who make grandiose claims about their authority based on anointing, calling, or elevated position are dangerous.  My appeal to authority will always be an appeal to the Word.  And you can read that yourself.  You have access to His Word too.  I am glad to be used by God to make sense of His Word, but I am dispensable.  The fact that He uses me doesn’t mean that He MUST use me or that He ONLY uses me.

I sense a movement among evangelicalism that is increasing the clergy/laity divide.  And I see that trend as dangerous.  Beware of the above warning flags regarding church leadership.  And feel free to add any other warning signs you’ve identified.

I am so thankful for ReCAST Church and the amazing work of the elders here over the past 17 years!