Also, a failure of polity

I've been following this story over at Get Religion for the last couple of days because the principle character in the story was on staff at a church I attended for a short while back in 1990-1991.  While living in Columbia SC during that time I attended Columbia Biblical Seminary and went to church at Gateway Baptist Church where Steve Flockhart was on staff.  I can't remember his exact role, it might have been with youth or something like that.

The trail I followed on this actually began at Common Grounds Online.  My good buddy Glenn Lucke did a post yesterday on a Baptist minister in Texas who had resigned over a shady real estate deal.  His post mentioned Flockhart so I followed the trail from there.  Glenn has updated the post today.

In the last 15 years, through a combination of personal charisma, outstanding preaching abilities, the patronage of Johnny Hunt, and God's blessings, Flcokhart has led several churches to enormous growth and has apparently become a budding superstar in the SBC, as is evidence by his call to pastor the prestigious First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach, FL.

But, as his star has risen, controversies have dogged Flockhart's steps.  He apparently "misappropriated" several hundred thousand dollars from a prior church through using the church credit card for personal expenses and writing checks to himself.  He has repaid the "misappropriated" amounts but now has resigned from First Baptist of West Palm as lies were uncovered on his resume.

To his credit, Flockhart seems to have confessed his sin and has taken responsibility for his actions.   And he is still loved by many, even those at the former church where the funds were "misappropriated." All of the proper qualifiers and kind words are appropriate at this point to the effect that he is certainly no greater sinner than any of us and we should all hope and pray for his welfare and the welfare of his family.

But I think there is a bigger story here, it's not just the story of one man's failures, it's a story of systemic failure.  This is not to sidestep his responsibility for his own sins, just to say that this story reveals more widespread issues, and I believe this has mostly to do with failures of church polity, or church government.

First of all, I suggest this illustrates the perils of celebrity culture.  From what I read in the Get Religion article and the links included, there seems to be no doubt that Flockhart possessed unusual charisma and had an unusual ability to move people.  Plus, he operated under the patronage of one of the SBC's biggest celebrities - Johnny Hunt.  When someone achieves this level of celebrity others tend to fawn over them and see them through the lens of their giftedness while forgetting their depravity.

This is not to deny that some excel in gifts in a way that is a great blessing.  But it is to say that the current celebrity culture can create leaders who become larger than life, larger than the congregations they serve.  And I don't think a nefarious motive is always or necessarily involved.  It's just that when the perks of celebrity keep coming it's hard not to use them

This leads to my second point, which is that ecclesiastical authority in the NT is a joint and several thing, not an individual thing.  This is why it is essential that a church be run by a plurality of elders, each of whom are accountable to one another.  This not only provides accountability but it provides protection.  As I mentioned above, when a leader becomes larger than life, perks follow.  I am quite certain I could go down the same road as Steve Flockhart if I were as gifted and talented as he and if I had access to the perks that he had. A plurlaity of elders provides protection to the church in that one person is not able to run the show and it provides protection to the pastor or elders themselves, as a check of their own depravity.

I am aware that just having a plurality of elders does not guarantee this.  There are some who are so charismatic or have such a forceful personality that they can override their equals on the board.  But, having a plurality of elders at least provides a structure which can assist in preventing some of these problems.

Thirdly, I want to put a plug in here for connectionalism and graduated spheres of authority.  In the PCA we are governed by three "courts," the session, or ruling body of a local church, the presbytery, which is made up of the elders in a given geographical area and the General Assembly which is composed of elders from all the churches of the denomination.

Whether you buy into our way of doing it or not, there is something to be said for having a structure where pastors and elders are accountable to some group beyond the local church.  This provides necessary checks and balances.  A man's colleagues in ministry have access to things the local church doesn't.  The social networks of ministry alone provide checks, as fellow ministers have easy access to verification of credentials and other things.

I may do another post here in a day or so on what I would call "the man of God" syndrome, which is a belief that some people are uniquely gifted and authoritative in our day such that they are owed a special kind of deference.  It's the old "thou shalt not touch the Lord's anointed" syndrome which I think is dangerous in some ways.

But for now I'll just comment that preachers like myself and Steve Flockhart are still depraved.  Whle Hebrews 13 and other places do say that leaders are to be honored, it does not dishonor us to have systems in place which can protect us and the body from our own sinful tendencies.