Guest: Matthew Fletcher, senior pastor, Webster Bible Church (NY)
Last week we discussed the very troubling situation that the new president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Ed Litton, plagiarized sermons for several years from the immediate past president JD Greear. What’s worse is that, as of yet, Litton hasn’t resigned nor has the SBC removed him for a transgression that would result in expulsion for any seminary student.
The only guesses as to why Litton remains as SBC president is that Christian leaders don’t consider repeated plagiarism (a type of lying and deception) to be a disqualifying sin for a pastor or that plagiarism is so widespread amongst pastors that no one wants to “cast the first stone.” Whatever the reason, the state of Evangelical leadership is in dire condition.
But lest we despair, Christ says, “I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matt. 16:18). In other words, no failing of pastors or leaders will hinder God building His church, the body of true believers.
In fact, as our guest Justin Peters mentioned last week, there are many faithful pastors laboring each day in little-known churches across the country. They may not have large social media followings, multi-site churches with thousands in attendance, and best-selling books, but they do understand the purpose of the church and their role as shepherd.
Matthew Fletcher is one such pastor. In pastoral ministry for 30 years (senior pastor of Webster Bible Church near Rochester, NY), Matt joins us this weekend to discuss how a church can follow Christ’s prescription for His body and avoid the kind of mission drift so prevalent today.
