Jim Hamilton's take is that it "is from within...from well meaning pastors."How could well meaning pastors pose the greatest threat to evangelical churches today?
Do they deny the truth?
No, the pastors who pose the greatest threat to the church today will all confess belief in the right things. They will say they believe in the authority and inerrancy of the Bible, that Jesus saves, and even that Jesus is the only way of salvation.
So how can these guys who mean well and make the good confession pose such a threat to the church?
His advice for our avoiding a psychologyzing shepherd "who will harm the church by turning Christianity into the American religion of self help therapy"...
1. Look at the biblical qualifications for men in the ministry (1 Tim 3:1–7; Tit 1:5–9), and ask pastoral candidates direct questions about whether they meet these qualifications.
2. Since the feature that most distinguishes the qualifications for an elder (pastor) from the qualifications for a deacon is that the elder be “apt to teach” (1 Tim 3:2), pay close attention to his teaching.
3. Based on what you have heard of his preaching, ask yourself these questions:...
4. Ask direct questions about what he understands pastoral ministry to be about:...
- Check out The Greatest Danger Facing the Church
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