We were recently told that to "fit in" we needed to "conform to the church", that we needed to drop our own beliefs and just accept whatever the church taught.

To a discerning person, this was just code for submitting to "the authority of the pastor".  What had really happened was that we had inadvertently offended the "pastor" and he no longer thought he could control us in the way he wanted to.  He needed an assurance that we would not "rock the boat anymore" and that we would quietly sit back and let him teach whatever he wanted to teach without the fear (on his part) of being contradicted from the Scriptures.

But what do the Scriptures say?

The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ."

Although arguably, one of the greatest preachers of all time, Paul wanted others to follow him in the same way that he followed Jesus Christ.  He did not expect them to follow him because he was an apostle, or because he was a great teacher, or because they thought he was learned or inspiring, but because he had the same message as Jesus and lived his life as a servant of Christ Himself.

One of the greatest things we can teach our children is to have their own faith in Jesus.  Yes, we want them to share our faith, but only in so much as it is the faith of Jesus Himself.  Likewise, as teachers in the church, we want others to follow us, but not at the expense of the Gospel message or of timeless Biblical principles.

For some time there has been a trend in churches to "modernise" or to follow the crowd.  Some teachers (preachers, "pastors", ministers) lose sight of Paul's message.  They expect others to follow them even when they are clearly not following the teachings of the Word.  This is not setting a Godly example.

In reality, Jesus did not build a host of competing churches, nor did he promote the idea that churches could just teach whatever suited themselves.  Matthew 16:18 clearly teaches us that Jesus only intended building one church.  Galatians 1 clearly teaches that there is only one Gospel message and that to change or "pervert" that message is to hurt, or "trouble", the church itself (Galatians 1:7).

The apostle Jude wrote, "Dear friends, although I was eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write to you and urge you to continue your vigorous defense of the faith that was passed down to the saints once and for all" (Jude 1:3).

No preacher, teacher, pastor, religious leader, has authority to take the Gospel away from us or to bring us a different "faith" other than that already given to us by Jesus and his apostles.  Nor can he insist that his congregation or flock simply follow him wherever he chooses to lead, or that we "conform to the church" itself.  If we are to be the people of God, we must follow the example of Paul and others who have faithfully lived their lives as followers of Christ.

As Paul taught the Romans, we ought not to conform to any standard except that of Christ Himself.  "Do not be conformed to this world, but continually be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may be able to determine what God's will is — what is proper, pleasing, and perfect" (Romans 12:2, International Standard Version).

How can a preacher or "pastor" filled with his own ideas ever replace what God has already given us?  Or teach us a better way than "what is proper, pleasing and perfect" in God's sight?

© Bevan Collingwood 2015

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Bevan Collingwood, is an experienced teacher and community leader concerned with social justice issues and committed to following the simple pattern of the New Testament church.