Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church

Gal. 1:11-24, Psalm 23

On May 15, 1912 Clarence Darrow gave a closing argument in his own defense. His brilliant closing argument is included in a book titled Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury.

He had been accused of bribing a juror in Los Angeles. He argued that the real issue was an attempt to hurt his reputation since he consistently had defended the oppressed, poor, and weak of our society. His battles against manipulation and wealth had alienated some powerful business owners.

Clarence Darrow, one of the great orators and attorneys in our nation's history, reminded the jury that it is not an embarrassment to have enemies. Let me quote him. "If you haven't made three or four enemies, gentlemen, you have lived a very weak and useless life. A man who can go through life as far as you twelve men have gone, and not make three or four enemies, is not worthwhile." Darrow was acquitted.

Do you have enemies? Join the club. One measure of the effectiveness of our lives involves not only counting those who love us, but also those who despise us. King David had enemies. Psalm 23 tells us that God sets a table before us in the presence of our enemies. Jesus warned his followers that taking a stand for God would alienate some people. The Apostle Paul had enemies.

In the case of the Apostle Paul, most of his enemies were people of his former faith. Some religious fanatics were so upset that he had converted to following Jesus that they vowed to see him dead (Acts 23). I wish I could say that his only enemies were outside the church. Unfortunately, some were within the church.

This message is the beginning of a new series of messages on Paul's letter to the Galatians. As we study through this book of the Bible, we need to be aware that Paul wrote it as a self-defense against his enemies within the church. His enemies told the congregation that Paul was not really an apostle. They claimed he was deceiving them by making Christianity too easy. They believed that Christians must fulfill the Old Testament laws in order to follow Christ. Paul saw them as legalistic false teachers.

The tone of this New Testament letter is earthy and defensive. Paul reached the point in his exasperation where he said he wished they would go all the way and castrate themselves instead of simply stopping at circumcision (Galatians 5:12). Paul was deeply hurt over the way this church doubted his credentials as an apostle. Thus, the early part of the letter struggled with clarifying the credentials of a genuine apostle.

This month, as we elect our new elders and deacons as leaders of our congregation, what credentials do we seek? Must a church leader be without any enemies? That would have eliminated Paul. What, then, are the credentials of church leadership? Given the debates taking place in the Presbyterian denomination over the credentials required for the ordination of pastors, elders, and deacons, Paul's letter is surprisingly relevant. What do we expect in our church leaders?

For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus.

Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him for fifteen days; but I did not see any other apostle except James the Lord's brother. In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie! Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; they only heard it said, 'The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy.' And they glorified God because of me.

- Gal. 1:11-24

Saint Peter was making assignments of housing for the ministers who had recently arrived in heaven. In order to determine which mansion they would have, Saint Peter asked the same question of each pastor. Saint Peter explained the reasoning behind the question. "Many of you pastors were such workaholics that you barely spent any time with your wife. This is the question, 'Do you remember your wife's name?'" Then Peter reminded the wives standing in line that they could not help their husband.

The first minister stepped forward. He was an Episcopalian priest and he looked at his wife and said, "My wife's name is Sherry." The wife nodded her assent. As Saint Peter prepared the assignment of a mansion he began chuckling to himself. "It figures that an Episcopalian would be married to a wife named Sherry. You loved that communion wine didn't you? Marrying a wife with the name of a wine tells a lot about what was always on your mind."

The second minister stepped forward. He was a Baptist pastor. He said, "My wife's name is Penny." The wife nodded that he had it correct. Saint Peter again began chuckling to himself. "Doesn't it figure that a Baptist would marry a woman named Penny? It says a lot about what was always on your mind. You were always preaching about tithing and worrying about money. You thought so much about money that you even married a woman named Penny."

Just then the Presbyterian pastor turned to his wife and said, "I don't want to face this. Let's go Fanny."

Our Presbyterian denomination has been debating for nearly thirty years the sexual lifestyle credentials of pastors and church leaders. The debate revolves around the question of what is considered a faithful sexual lifestyle for church leadership. Not only are pastors required to have a Master of Divinity degree from an approved seminary, but they also are required to live a sexually faithful lifestyle either of fidelity in marriage or celibacy in singleness. There has been a great deal of emotion in the debates over the years. Unfortunately there has often been more heat than light.

Debates over leadership lifestyle and credentials are not new. This was an issue in Paul's day. Paul felt defensive that the congregation at Galatia challenged his credentials as an apostle. Maybe, if we played the role of mediators, we could shed some light and lower the heat in this discussion. The real issue is one of authority. What is the basis of any Christian authority?

We might begin by reminding Paul that it is a good thing for people to question authority. Paul himself encouraged critical thinking. The book of Acts tells about him preaching in a community named Berea. One of the things which impressed his mission team was how these people listened to Paul's messages and then went home and studied their own Bibles to see if what Paul said was really true. Dr. Luke complimented the Bereans because they used their minds to think deeply instead of simply giving knee-jerk reactions to Paul's words (Acts 17:11). There is nothing wrong with challenging authority by searching the scriptures and thinking for ourselves.

How many parents of youth feel the same way Paul felt? As our youth reject our values and challenge our authority, with Paul, we can tend to take it personally and feel hurt as they attack our views. It sometimes feels as though the only way they can break free is by hurting the parents who love them. Perhaps we need to remind ourselves that it is not all bad to challenge authority. It is appropriate to think for yourself. Parents need to have patience to trust that the seeds planted in our children's lives will come to fruition, and that the immediate rebellion is an important step toward independence. If parents can stop taking things so personally, they could appreciate how difficult those transitional years are for youth emerging into adults. I suspect what youth are asking for is integrity and honesty. "Show us your faith by how you live, not just your words."

Ironically, this is exactly Paul's point to the Galatians. Paul's defense really comes down to the question of which credentials count. While he does not have the traditional credentials of the other apostles who learned directly from the Lord's example during his three-year ministry, Paul has comparable credentials, which he argues are just as valid. His credentials are his years of following Jesus.

A modern sociologist would describe Paul's credentials as matching a status community. Sociologists recognize that different types of communities use different credentials to determine leadership. Two examples are status communities and contract communities. Status communities grant trust and leadership to the person who "walks the walk." Contract communities grant leadership to the person who presents the appropriate paper credentials. Status communities rely heavily on subjective standards for determining leadership. Contract communities use more objective standards such as diplomas to evaluate leadership. Status communities tend to be smaller and rely on close-knit relationships. Contract communities tend to be larger and rely on paperwork since not everyone knows everyone else.

Most of our corporate Western World is built on the contract community style. Leaders are selected based on paper credentials. Most Native American cultures are status communities. In fact, when I served on faculty at Sheldon Jackson College in Alaska we were very aware that one of the struggles of many Native students who left their homes to get a college education was that their own people did not respect their diplomas. One's lifestyle was the only credential that counted in a Native village.

The Christian church is a status community, not a contract community‹more Native than Western. No wonder Paul responded to the Galatians by reminding them that his credentials were not based merely on paper and diplomas. Yes, he was a well-educated man. In fact, he had been a respected member of the Jewish priesthood. Yet, his call as an apostle came from his intimate relationship with Jesus Christ as lived out in the local community of faith.

When I was pastoring in Arizona, we had several retired pastors among our regular worshippers. We had pastors from Methodist, Pentecostal, Congregational, and other denominational backgrounds at our church. Most of these pastors had little desire to serve in some active role. Every so often, however, a retired pastor would arrive at our church and expect to step immediately into a position of favored status. At such times I had to defend Paul's view that the church is a status community not a contract community. The fact that the retired pastor had educational credentials from a seminary did not give that person automatic credibility among our people. I explained that the person needed to live among us for a while and earn credibility the old fashioned way, developing relationships and walking the walk.

Paul's leadership credentials were more than his natural abilities in management and scholarship in the Bible. He knew Jesus intimately. He walked with Jesus. We elect our church leaders based more on the credentials of integrity and spiritual wisdom, not merely organizational management techniques. So how do we recognize such credentials?

I am reminded of the way the Reverend George Whitfield once responded to a question. Whitfield was the Billy Graham of the American colonies in the seventeen hundreds. God used this revival preacher to bring thousands of people into the Christian faith. Whitfield was once challenged as to whether all those who responded to his preaching had really become Christians. The doubter challenged whether a particular recent convert was really a Christian. Pointing to the man, the doubter asked, "Is that man a Christian?" Whitfield responded, "I don't know. Ask his wife."

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What credentials do you look for in church leaders?

Do you have any enemies? Why or why not?

What is the basis for Christian authority?

How do you evaluate integrity and spiritual wisdom?