Is it Right to Alert Pastors When You See Problems and Divisions Arising? - Clint Leiter

Do members of a church
have responsibility

to alert the pastors when they see

divisions arising in the church?

How important is communication

of the sheep with the shepherds

in order to maintain unity in the church?

Clint: Well, when there's a report

given to a pastor,

it's very much different than one person

reporting to another person
in the congregation.

And I'm thinking along the
lines of gossip or slander -

things like that that are not good.

But nonetheless, there are times

when a pastor may be
oblivious to something

that's going on in the church

and it could be very helpful

in heading it off at the pass

or dealing with it before
it becomes a major issue,

for him to know that.

I think of the Apostle Paul.

1 Corinthians 1 -

we've been informed by Chloe's people

that divisions exist he said there.

I think that's how he worded it.

So here was a case where someone -

Chloe's people - came to the apostle

and alerted him something was going on.

In another place, "it's been reported

that there's immorality among you,"

he said in 1 Corinthians 5.

In another place, 1 Corinthians 11,

he speaks about another
report of division.

So there are occasions when that's helpful

and I think maybe a duty.

Someone might be duty-bound

to say something to the pastor.

But there's a fine line
between tattle-telling

or being a gossip there.

So we have to definitely
be on guard against that.