A Sad Commentary

W. Carl Ketcherside

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     Derrel Starling is the local minister of Westside Church in Phoenix, Arizona. As such, he is the publisher of the bulletin which is titled "The Perk-Up." In the May 12 issue is a quotation from John T. Lewis, on the topic "The Modern Pastor System." It is good, and we want you to read it.

     "It does not take a Solomon to see that the 'modern pastor system' is fastening itself upon the churches today. And when the system is fully developed, the preacher will look upon the pulpit as his personal property, and he will talk to other preachers about trading pulpits as they would talk about trading any other chattel, and

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all the elders will be expected to do, will be to ratify the deal, and if they should hesitate, the chances are they would be voted out, and new elders appointed. And the elders themselves will be responsible for this unscriptural and unfortunate condition.

     "The most glaring evidence of this evil today, is when the 'local preacher' goes out for meetings through the summer months, he has to procure, or help the elders procure, some young preacher from one of 'our' Bible colleges, to take over and carry on, in his absence. If this is not an admission upon the part of the elders that they cannot 'feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood' even for a short time, then I do not know what it is. And where this is practiced, what idea can the rank and file of the membership have other than the preacher is 'the pastor'? It is a sad commentary upon the work of preachers and elders, when they labor together and cannot build up a congregation strong enough spiritually to stand alone without the help of a preacher."

     Read that again! That is "Ketcherside doctrine"! It is for this that I have been branded a hobbyist in Birmingham where Bro. Lewis lives. Now he has joined the ranks of the "hobbyists" on the relationship of the evangelist and elders to the congregation of saints! What will the Gospel Guardian do? Bro. Lewis is their chief prosecutor of Guy N. Woods at present. Will they repudiate him on this? I want you to note some of the things in the published statement.

1. "The modern pastor system" is fastening itself upon the churches today! Will Bro. Lewis name the congregations where such is happening? He might not dare to do so, but we will name every congregation he has planted in Birmingham! When I was in his home and made this charge personally, he informed me that it was none of my business and none of his! Apparently he has changed his mind! I asked him why he did not oppose the system among the churches which he had planted and he said that was the business of the elders. I asked if he would say anything if those elders wheeled a piano in for worship. He answered in the affirmative. I asked what difference there was in corrupting the worship of the body and its government; and if it was any more sinful to add something to the worship than to add another officer to the ones the Lord ordained. He did not reply. But I deny that the elders are to blame for the "modern pastor system." The preachers, like Bro. Lewis, are the ones to blame! They developed and appointed these men to the eldership, and they played along with the "modern pastor system" while doing it. The elders deserve pity, not censure! They are not qualified for the task of feeding the flock, and never were. They have turned to the unscriptural method out of sheer desperation!
2. Bro. Lewis labels this an "evil." The most glaring evidence to his mind is that when the local preacher leaves for a meeting he has to get a substitute to take his place. That isn't the most glaring evidence! It is the presence of "the local preacher" in the first place. If the elders are to feed the flock through the summer months, why not through the fall and winter months? Has Bro. Lewis been developing "summer elders"? His idea is that the time when the elders should feed is when the "local preacher" goes out for meetings through the summer months. We had the idea that being an elder was kind of a year around job! If it is all right for the elders to have a substitute for eleven months in the year, why cannot the local preacher have one for four weeks?
3. Bro. Lewis thinks it is a sad commentary upon the work of preachers and elders when they cannot build a congregation strong enough to stand alone without the help of a preacher. Well, he has written a sad commentary in Birmingham, for every congregation he has started and worked with has a hireling to feed, and "the modern pastor system" has fastened itself upon the churches he has built. We hope that Derrel will publish some more sad commentaries. Perhaps brethren will listen to them if not to us.