Dear Editor,
Several people from the church I pastor preach at other churches in our region. I hope and expect that this is a blessing to those churches.
In all my time pastoring this church, none of the churches which our members preach at has ever contacted me or any of our elders to ask whether we are happy to send those preachers or to check whether they are members in good standing with us.
This is missing out on an opportunity to build links between churches. It is also undermining the place of the local church in the sending of preachers. It encourages a mentality of men developing ‘their ministry’ as an individual thing that is disconnected from the local church and not under the authority of any elders.
At its worst, we have had to refuse church membership to a man for lack of repentance, yet other local churches continued to invite him to preach. He used their appreciation of his preaching as an argument that he did not need to repent. If churches do not consult over preachers, they don’t know if they are undermining pastoral concerns in this way.
So, I appeal to elders, please consult with the churches you invite preachers from.
Yours sincerely,
Name & address supplied
