Smoky
Mountain Reflections #183
“The needs
of the many outweigh the needs of the few” is a famous line from the second
Star Trek movie “The Wrath of Kahn”. (Probably the best of all the Star Trek
movies in the opinion of this Trekkie.) Hollywood, however, is not a good place
to go when seeking advice on how to love God and your neighbor. So, while “The
needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” seems a very logical
statement, it is not very biblical.
Before you
get all up in arms with your American democratic logic and congregational
polity, however, give me a chance to explain. There is nothing wrong with
deciding things using the democratic process, but there are some exceptions.
First, we
do not decide doctrine by popular vote, we decide doctrine based on scripture.
In our particular church body, when a question of doctrine or practice is
raised at our triennial synod convention, typically resolutions are made and
passed democratically to send the question to our CTCR (Commission On Theology
and Church Relations). This is a body of trusted experts and theologians who
address the question put to them by producing a report which explains in detail
what scripture has to say in answer to the issue at hand. For example, in 1985
the CTCR published a report on “Women in the Church”. In this 48-page document
they clearly and biblically answered questions with regard to: headship,
authority, the pastoral office, and women’s suffrage. No process is perfect but
it is the best way we have at present to address questions of doctrine and
practice within our congregational framework.
Second,
sometimes the many may defer to the few in the interest of Christian love. In
issues that are not doctrinal, ie. facilities, policies, guidelines, and
community involvement, sometimes the majority will choose to do or not do
something in order to avoid causing offense or troubling the conscience of
fellow members of the body of Christ. Here are a couple of examples:
1.
I know of a congregation that chose not to have beer at
their Octoberfest one year to avoid harming the conscience of just a few of
their members even though the majority were in favor of having beer at the
event.
2.
The second example is from here at Saint Paul. For a
number of years some of our members have had to miss Easter Sunday because of a
sensitivity to Easter lilies, so our elders and our council unanimously decided
that we would no longer have Easter lilies in our sanctuary.
I love Easter lilies and the people who made
the above decision love them as well. However, in Christian love they chose to
make it possible for the small number of our members to attend Easter services
who otherwise would be unable to. In addition, they asked me to work with our
altar guild to find another God-pleasing way to decorate our sanctuary for
Easter.
Now, you might ask what the biblical
basis is for such a decision? Well, first, deference in Christian love over
non-doctrinal issues seems to me to be a fulfillment of treating your neighbor
as you would like to be treated (Mark 12:31 and many other texts).
Besides that, however, there are
biblical examples of needs being sacrificed for the benefit of many, right from
the mouth of the high priest Caiaphas, in John 11:50b. “…it is better for you that one man
die for the people than that the whole nation perish." He did not
realize that he was in essence speaking a prophecy that Jesus would fulfill,
but in this case the one Christ would suffer death for all mankind, not just
the nation of Israel. So, in like fashion we follow Christ’s sacrificial
example when loving our neighbor, and we give deference (let them have things
their way) as long as their way is in keeping with God’s will. If it is not, we
speak the truth in love and pray God’s blessing of enlightenment and faith to
light the path of righteousness for us all.
Have
a blessed summer,
In
Christ, Pastor Portier
