I have been a member of the church since 1956 and in full time work as a minister of the gospel for more than 38 years. In the past twenty of those years I have witnessed a growing dangerous trend evolve among some within the Lord’s church.  There are those who have set themselves up to be the “policemen and problem solvers” of the entire brotherhood. Sadly, many times, they have magnified and spread the error or the problem throughout the brotherhood, rather than correct it.

     Let me make it clear that I do not uphold any Biblical error taught, any preacher or Bible teacher who teaches error or any eldership that upholds any error or refuses to scripturally deal with any problem in their congregation whether it be doctrinal error, moral impurity, or factious trouble makers. I am of a strong conviction that all of these errors ought to be dealt within the congregation (or on rare occasions, local congregations that might be directly involved in the particular problem) where the problem is, not broadcast through the whole brotherhood.

     One of the shortcomings of these “policemen and problem solvers” is that many of them have problems of a varying longevity within their own congregations!  It amazes me that one or two events can suddenly give these individuals the wisdom, experience and expertise to be able to tell the brotherhood how to solve all its problems!   They want to tell some other congregation how to solve its growth problem when the congregation where they are is also declining in numbers. They have all the answers for every problem, before they know the question or the facts.

     Another difficulty some of these problem solvers have is that they violate the scriptures and infringe on the autonomy of other congregations and the leadership of the elders in those congregations.  It again amazes me that according to a majority of these “policemen and problem solvers” of the brotherhood ALL of the problems in the church are the fault either of bad elders or bad preachers. It seems that all the members are perfect innocents caught in a bad situation.  They would have us believe that if a congregation has problems, the elders automatically failed in their responsibility, or that the elders were never qualified to serve.  Or they would say the preacher did not have enough training, etc. etc. They have us believe that if the elders were truly qualified they would never have let the problem arise. Some problems arise without any warning. Some members were never truly converted. Any number of circumstances could prevent the elders from solving the problem before it became an issue to all. It may well be that some cantankerous brother (or sister) was so determined to either teach error or have his or her way in regard to some decision or they would split the church. They would go behind the elders’ backs and behind the scene to drum up support for their error or “pet project.”  Thus, they put their will and personal interest above the scriptures and the well being of the church.  The elders may well have done all they could to prevent the incident from happening.  Sometimes another congregation in the area will add to the problem by encouraging members from other congregations to leave their present congregation and come to that congregation.  All is not always as it appears on the surface. Some times elders have to make decisions on facts the public are not aware of and don’t  really need to know.

     As I stated above I do not support any eldership or preacher that is unscriptural or neglects or refuses to do the work that God has given them to do. Any unscriptural elder (or qualified but don’t to the work) who loves the Lord, for his own benefit and that of the congregation would/should graciously resign. Any preacher who is not willing to work for the good of the church and teach the whole truth should get out of the pulpit.  I will also readily admit that many problems are caused in the church by elderships that do not fulfill their scriptural obligations (which is primarily to tend and feed the flock) and by preachers who teach error and/or are self-willed, some seeking a “personal following” to get things done as he wishes rather than working with the eldership and members of the congregation as a whole. Preachers teaching error or are self-serving should be fired and marked if they will not repent.