Lost in Translation

Last week a number of missionaries and national pastors received an anonymous letter with a number of accusations against the pastor in our church here in Colombia. As discouraging as that fact may be, God has turned the sin of one person into blessings for the church.

As we sat down to evaluate our response to this letter, we were impressed by how trials like this can be used for good. The honest fact is that the church has not really functioned like a Baptist church in a number of ways. This letter really brought this clearly to light. We haven´t really had a well-defined membership and the congregation hasn´t been fully involved in some decisions that were made in the past.

When we follow the precepts laid out by the Word of God for church polity, we see less tension, more unity, and difficulties can bring us together. For example, how do we make decisions as a church? If the congregation has weighed in on every major decision and has voted on each one, they will be behind the ministry more. I think of Acts 6, where a controversy arose over the caring for widows. A controversy? In the early church? Yes, and God used it so that the church grew, precisely because the problem was handled biblically with the help of the whole congregation.

This type of controversy can become a vicious cycle. Each person begins to focus on the negative side of the problem, instead of seeing how God can use it to polish us and mold us into the image of his Son. For this reason, open communication is so vital in the local church. We´ve learned that it´s better to openly communicate with the congregation when something may appear doubtful. We´ve also learned that being in the minstry means constantly learning and constantly growing.