Bullseye: Unsubstantiated Statements

Throughout Hit the Bullseye Borden makes a great many assertions that he fails to substantiate. This post is devoted to listing these assertions. As the fallacy of many of these statements is self-evident we will not bother to respond to every single one of them. We will be addressing the most egregious.

“Seminaries and denominational systems do not teach or train people to do effective ministry or to be leaders. (I do not believe that leadership development should be the job of seminaries, even though most claim to do it while ignoring the reality that they do not.)” (p.50).

“The New Testament speaks of the gift of leadership and most, if not all, of the New Testament epistles were written to leaders. The assumption of the biblical writers is that the leaders would bring about the changes they were addressing in their epistles. If the people are not following then either we are not leading as we are capable, we do not know how to lead, or we simply are not leaders and need to step away from leadership positions. Leadership has at least one simple test: Is anyone following or not?” (p.57).

“The traditional model of leadership that we have held up for pastoral leaders, a perverted model of shepherding, is not only unbiblical but quite ineffective. It produces small inwardly focused congregations that basically give into a consumer mindset of taking care of the blessed before reaching out to those who are spiritually sick and desperate” (p.106).

“We also needed to protect pastors, lay leaders, and even congregations from other pastors, congregations, and denominational leaders” (p.99).

“First, we must get back to honoring leaders and placing a New Testament value on leadership” (p.141).

“I find that all polities inhibit mission and create a conspiracy of smallness that has come to be valued at the expense of effective ministry” (p.140).

“Therefore, I believe we need to look at flexible polities that fit the requirement of biblical principles about mission, rather than trying to prop up idealized structures that reflect agrarian life in past centuries” (p.141).

“In essence we painted a contrast. The choice was the eventual death of both congregations and the region, or a new life that would produce even greater ministry effectiveness than had ever been seen by congregations within the region. When viewed from that perspective the choice was not difficult” (p.69).

Here we come to the statements that need to be examined more closely.

“One [bureaucracy-producing value] was the belief that many people needed to have their say on a number of matters, whether they were equipped or qualified to speak” (p.75).

“These leaders also want to make sure that every voice is heard. There is a failure to understand that, while every person is equal in his or her standing with and before God, not every voice carries equal weight” (p.61).

“Finally, we must get away from the notion in congregational life that everyone has an equal say. Everyone has equal standing before God in Jesus Christ. However, the right to speak and influence congregational life and behavior should be granted in proportion to one’s maturity as a disciple and ministry as a servant” (p.142).

These three statements have a common theme: it’s OK to exclude people from the decisions of the church. This raises the troubling question, “Who should get to decide who has a say and who doesn’t?” The only legitimate answer is, “No one.” Consider the following biblical story.

“After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to make war on Jehoshaphat. …Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

“Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard and said: ‘O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you…

“‘But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, …we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.’

“All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD.

“Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

“He said: ‘Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's…’” (2 Chronicles 20:1-15).

An ordinary guy is God’s chosen messenger. What would have happened if Jehoshaphat had refused to listen because Jahaziel wasn’t important enough to truly have a message to deliver from God? The Bible simply doesn’t support Borden’s exclusionary philosophy. Even further, both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophesy urge believers not to allow their judgment to be subjected to any other individual. “Let no one despise your youth, but set an example in speech and conduct” (1 Tim. 4:12). “My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight” (Prov. 3:21).

“Religious teachers read the Bible in the light of their own understanding and traditions; and the people do not search the Scriptures for themselves, and judge for themselves as to what is truth; but they yield up their judgment, and commit their souls to their leaders. The preaching and teaching of His word is one of the means that God has ordained for diffusing light; but we must bring every man's teaching to the test of Scripture. Whoever will prayerfully study the Bible, desiring to know the truth, that he may obey it, will receive divine enlightenment. He will understand the Scriptures. ‘If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching.’ John 7:17, R. V.” (The Desire of Ages, p.459).

“It is a fact widely ignored, though never without danger, that error rarely appears for what it really is. It is by mingling with or attaching itself to truth that it gains acceptance. …The mind that depends upon the judgment of others is certain, sooner or later, to be misled.

“The power to discriminate between right and wrong we can possess only through individual dependence upon God. Each for himself is to learn from Him through His word. Our reasoning powers were given us for use, and God desires them to be exercised. ‘Come now, and let us reason together’ (Isaiah 1:18), He invites us. In reliance upon Him we may have wisdom to ‘refuse the evil, and choose the good.’ Isaiah 7:15; James 1:5” (Education, pp. 230, 231).

“We cannot, we must not, place blind confidence in any man, however high his profession of faith or his position in the church. We must not follow his guidance, unless the Word of God sustains him. The Lord would have His people individually distinguish between sin and righteousness, between the precious and the vile” (Signs of the Times, Aug. 17, 1882).

This brings us to another of Borden’s unsubstantiated statements.

“We will have the eternal opportunity to sit at the feet of Jesus Christ and be taught. However, our God has only given us one lifetime to make disciples for Jesus Christ” (p.138).

His argument here is that believers should use the time that they have previously spent deepening their knowledge of God to do outreach instead. Outreach is important, certainly, but in order to teach others about God we must first know something of Him ourselves. God is not pleased when we stop studying and growing in our knowledge of and experience with Him.

“Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly” (1 Cor. 3:1-3).

“In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Heb. 5:12-14).

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” (1 Pet. 2:2).

“It is proper and right to read the Bible; but your duty does not end there; for you are to search its pages for yourselves. The knowledge of God is not to be gained without mental effort, without prayer for wisdom in order that you may separate from the pure grain of truth the chaff with which men and Satan have misrepresented the doctrines of truth. Satan and his confederacy of human agents have endeavored to mix the chaff of error with the wheat of truth. We should diligently search for the hidden treasure, and seek wisdom from heaven in order to separate human inventions from the divine commands. The Holy Spirit will aid the seeker for great and precious truths which relate to the plan of redemption. I would impress upon all the fact that a casual reading of the Scriptures is not enough. We must search, and this means the doing of all the word implies. As the miner eagerly explores the earth to discover its veins of gold, so you are to explore the word of God for the hidden treasure that Satan has so long sought to hide from man. The Lord says, ‘If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching.’ John 7:17, Revised Version” (Review and Herald, September 11, 1894 par. 2).

To conclude this subject, we can only say as Jesus did that, “You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone” (Luke 11:42). The believer must be an active participant in both outreach and personal Bible study.