By J. Gerald Harris
The Christian Index
FAIRBURN, Ga. — Tom Rush, the ‘indefinite’ pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, recently led the congregation in a process of reconciliation with a former pastor. He said this has led to “a significant difference in the character and disposition of our fellowship.”
Jimmy Kinnaird, Fairburn’s associational mission strategist, interviewed Rush recently to inquire about the health of Bethlehem Baptist Church, and how the people responded to the restoration process designed to mend the relationship with the former pastor who was wrongly terminated.
Rush has a rich history of 28 years of service in the United States military. He began serving seven years in the Navy in Surface Warfare before being transferred to the Navy Chaplain Corps for twelve years, and finally completing his military service with the Air Force Reserve, where he retired as a chaplain with the rank of lieutenant colonel in 2005.
In the early months of Rush’s tenure as interim pastor, he found that Bethlehem had its own Diotrephes (like the one described in 3 John) who created an unhealthy atmosphere in the church due to his spirit of hegemony.
In a sermon entitled “The Diotrephes Disease,” pastor Scott Onque described the hegemony syndrome perfectly. Onque explained, “The Diotrephes Disease is also known as me-ism. Me-ism is a disease that affects the spiritual mind of its victim and makes him believe it is all about me. Many churches have one or perhaps several members afflicted with this disease. There are moments when the patient appears to be cured and goes into remission, but then suddenly it reappears.”
When Kinnaird interviewed Rush, he explained that early in the interim the church was at an impasse. He sensed that the situation was out of his control and announced to some of the men that he was going to resign. They were painfully aware of the unrest in their fellowship and made their plea for him to remain on as their interim pastor and sought his guidance for a resolution to the crisis in their fellowship.
Rush explained, “If you have cancer and do nothing about it, you will die. It will take those of you who love this church to stand up and do the right thing.
“We had about twelve men who wanted to see the church saved and returned to great usefulness. I gave them a plan. They followed the plan. I did not feel like the church was ready to call a pastor at that time, so they asked me to stay. I agreed, however, to no longer consider myself as the interim pastor, but as the ‘indefinite’ pastor.”
One of the things the church did was to change the constitution so that people who never participated in church gatherings or activities could not come to a business meeting and outvote the faithful members who were consistently involved in the life of the church.
“The future of the church was destined to be in jeopardy without exercising the discipline which the revised church constitution provided.”
Bethlehem Baptist Church successfully dealt with the high-profile member, voting that the “Diotrephes” no longer serve as one of the lay spiritual leaders of the church.
“After that decision,” Rush stated, “he eventually removed himself from the membership roll by joining another church.”
According to Rush, the impact was noticeable. “This seemed to create an immediate change in the people’s perspective. One woman stopped me and said, ‘Now, I think I can really worship here,’” he said.
“No one feels like they are walking around on eggshells anymore,” Rush continued. “Everyone is happy about being here. In fact, they often want to linger and fellowship after the worship service is over. They are enjoying the worship and the fellowship. It is amazing to see what God has done.”
One of the most heartening experiences that has come out of this new chapter in the life of the church has been the congregation’s apology to a former pastor.
“Sometimes a church can be hard on pastors, and Bethlehem had a pastor who was terminated for no legitimate reason ten years ago,” Rush explained. “Based on the testimonies I have heard he had a rather successful ministry with the people. There was no doctrinal problem or moral issue. Perhaps his leadership style was different from what the people had expected, but the church was ready to make amends.”
Those amends would not have been possible according to Rush, if the church had not first dealt with the Diotrephes problem.
“The church was corporately responsible for wrongly removing this pastor,” remarked Rush, “and I knew from talking to the former pastor and some of the people in the church there was a lot of hurt that needed to be assuaged. I believe that reconciliation was important. It took a lot of prayer and conversation, particularly with the former pastor.”
The pastor and his family were “deeply hurt,” Rush said. “They did not feel like the church would be a safe place, and I had to convince them that it would be. However, in answer to prayer, God worked, and they did come back.”
Rush noted, “In his heart, he said he had forgiven the church, but I felt like it was very important for the church to offer an apology and ask for his forgiveness and do it in a tangible way. I wanted to teach our people the principle of generosity and how to be a blessing to others. So, we did what we called the ‘Blessing Bucket’ and we collected an offering for the former pastor.”
Rush continued, “I knew that there was nothing we could do that would erase the wrong that was done, but it could be a token to show that we are genuinely sorry for what happened to you.”
One of the deacons told Rush that the former pastor had helped him overcome his addiction to alcohol and positively impacted his life, and there were many in the church who affirmed the former pastor and told him that he had made a profound difference in their lives.
Rush declared, “Because of what we did, I hope people can see the benefits of forgiveness, repentance, and restoration and the healing process that can take place when we respond according to the teachings of God’s Word.
“Bethlehem church’s apology to this former pastor has simply restored to them the joy of their salvation, and made a significant difference in the character and disposition of our fellowship.”
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