Letting the public decide

I just read an interesting article in today's paper about the Art Prize contest that is being held in Grand Rapids right now. The over 1,200 entries are going to be judged by the votes of the public and cash awards given out to the winners. The article stated that some art bloggers have taken offense at the notion that the public would know anything about art, that we aren't trusting to the critics to tell us what good art is and what is not. Needless to say, I'm no fan of such snobbish behavior (I'm not usually a fan of what the art critics love anyway; Crucifix in a jar of urine remind anyone of something? The critics loved that one).

How does this art debate end up in my blog? There is a similar amount of snobbery amongst some Christian leaders when the people are allowed to read and understand the Bible for themselves. "What do lay people know about the complexities of theology anyway?" they wonder. The primary problem with this line of thought is that it places far too much confidence in the hands of the fallible men who've been called to shepherd God's flock. Yes, we have training and education, but no, we are far from always right. The worst theological notions and decisions in Church history came from the leadership of the Church (some of which we're still dealing with the legacies of). The second problem with reserving interpretation for a class of Church leaders is that the Bible clearly tells us that ALL Christians are equal believers before Christ, indeed we are a royal priesthood (see I Peter 2:9-10; in the past a select few were priests by birth; Peter declares us all to be priest set apart by God).

So, what then is the purpose of Christian leaders? Remember that we are shepherd; ours is not the job of telling each and every sheep what to do all the time; we must look for the stray, for those who have wandered from safety and bring them back home. As a pastor, it is my responsibility to be on guard for doctrine that threatens the faith, to set for the Gospel clearly and preach the Word, but NOT to be an authority and every little thing (we have a final authority, the Word, not any man).

The best thing a pastor can do is teach his people to think Biblically for themselves. Any pastor who wants more control than that is on an ego trip; we're the shepherds of the flock, we're not its masters. Teach the people to think Biblically for themselves.