1 Timothy 5:19-21
Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning. I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
How to deal with it if someone in the church accuse against the preacher? Paul mentions another principle of treating the preachers; basically, it is with respect. The position of the preacher is the most vulnerable to attacks because there are so many ideas and opinions in the church; the bigger the church, the more discord that often put the preacher in an unenviable position, as making any type of decisions for sure will offend some people. So often people talk behind the pastor, saying he cares not about this thing, nor willing to do that thing. In fact, the pastors often can only choose to do certain things instead of covering the bases. So we need to listen carefully when someone criticize the pastor; do they talk about only their own opinions or preferences? Or do they talk about the needs of the church?
On the other hand, we need to understand the pastors should have the rights to enjoy some private life. Some pastors love sports and they cherish the opportunities to play ball; some pastors like fish-keeping and they spend time watching the fish; some pastors like eating out and they are thrilled when visiting the restaurants. These are their preferences that we should not criticize because they have the right to live to their liking, as long as they are not bad habits. By putting ourselves in their shoes, we would not place too many unreasonable demands upon the preachers.
There are several principles here if a preacher is negligent in his conduct or duty: First, if there is an accusation against a preacher, there must be at least two to three witnesses before addressing the issue. In other words, it's not just one incident, it must be at least two to three incidents. Once a sister asked her pastor to help bring her offering to the church, then inadvertently the pastor forgot about it, keeping the offering inside his suit pocket. It created a great uproar as the pastor was accused of loving the money. It would need the wisdom of the church leaders to avoid the conflict arising from a single incident.
Next, this incident would need a special committee to handle it, to avoid taking gossip and rumor as fact. We should move toward sanctions only upon confirmation of negligence after undergoing the special committee's investigation. Paul says in God's family we'll need to confess our sins in public, such that this sin is cut off, no longer in continuance. Ask God to help us to treat the preachers with love and acceptance.
Pray with Pastor Tong
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