Sermon Tone Analysis

“I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.

So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us.

And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.

“Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good.

Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.

Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself.

We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.”

[1], [2]

One of the most insidious snares to threaten a pastor is the church member who believes himself (or herself) to be superior to the pastor.

This individual is assured that he (or she) is responsible to direct the work of the pastor; this person often believes the pastor is incapable of performing the duties which God assigned, or perhaps he believes that the pastor is callused and uncaring about “his” congregation.

Often, this individual will go so far as to assert his (or her) right to dictate what is preached and even how the message is to be delivered.

It is significant that the individual is almost always male, though he is frequently urged on in his quest to dominate the pulpit by a wife or woman who considers herself to possess superior intellect and spiritual insight to all others who may be in the church.

The goal of the effort is to make the preacher’s message palatable for any outsiders who attend.

Perhaps this condition is the result of importing the concept of democracy into the life of the church, or perhaps it is laziness on the part of the professed people of God, or perhaps it results from a lack of sound instruction provided by those who are appointed as elders.

One thing is abundantly evident—contemporary churches are often seen by church members as an organisation, much like any civic organisation or fraternal order, subject to the same rules specified by governmental bureaucracies that dictate conduct in all registered clubs and organisations.

Thus, elections and a superficial democracy become extremely important in the conduct of modern church life.

However, this was not always the case.

The earliest churches were certainly not organised in this manner—they were theocracies, directed by those whom God appointed to exercise oversight.

Whenever one assumes the position of God-appointed oversight, that individual asserts that they are conscious of the divine operation in their lives.

One detrimental aspect of contemporary church life seems to be the presence of a powerful individual or clique, often working behind the scenes to control the church.

This condition is an entrenched feature of most contemporary churches.

For well over forty years I’ve searched in vain for the verse that directs a group to “control” the church.

The famous verse that designates one individual to control the church has yet to be found.

The elders are to be overseers.

Those appointed by God as elders are designated as overseers with authority conferred by God Himself to protect the flock, to correct the unruly, to rebuke the froward and to instruct all in righteousness.

It is appropriate to call these Sons of Diotrephes, “Preacher Eaters”; they chew up preachers and spit them out.

From the days of the Apostles until this present hour, the Preacher Eater has destroyed many of God’s choice servants, desecrated churches and decimated congregations.

In every era, in every imaginable culture and within every conceivable communion, the Preacher Eater has worked to destroy the work of the Lord.

Almost every servant of God can speak of a church in which he spent twenty miserable years during one three year stint.

Almost inevitably the misery resulted because one individual usurped authority over the heritage of the Lord.

Whenever an individual or a clique usurps responsibility to direct the pastoral ministry to their satisfaction, they act contrary to the Word of God; such people must assume responsibility before God for what they do.

Because God does not immediately rebuke them is no reason to assume that He approves of their destructive work.

THE SPIRITUAL ANATOMY OF A “PREACHER EATER” — “I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.

So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us.

And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.

“Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good.

Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.”

I suspect I’ve witnessed more than my share of such challenges as the ministry God has given me has compelled me frequently to confront such situations.

During my days serving in Canada, I have either started or restarted nine churches.

Of the seven churches that were restarted, all were in a state of dreadful disrepair when I arrived.

I wish I could say that I won every battle I was compelled to wage; however, I’ve learned that in this life sometimes the dragon wins.

I have a few successes; and in several instances I pronounced the eulogy for the congregation, warning the people of the consequences of their choices to disregard the Word.

In almost every one of the churches that slipped beneath the waves of history, a church boss had maintained a stranglehold on the congregation for so long that people thought gasping for breath was normal.

He—or she in one glaring instance—were determined to maintain control at all costs; the Preacher Eater was determined to ensure that the pastor worked for them.

The congregation made a choice—if only by default—to permit the Preacher Eater to serve as de facto overseer, imagining there were no consequences for their choice; and the churches withered and at last died after a lingering illness.

Some might object that it is wrong to characterise all church bosses by the conduct of one individual.

However, God has provided a description of Diotrephes, and the characterisation He has provided seems universally applicable to the Preacher Eater.

Explicitly or implicitly, John makes six statements describing the Preacher Eater.

The Preacher Eater has an exalted opinion of himself or herself.

“Diotrephes … likes to put himself first.”

Let me read this ninth verse from some other current translations.

“Diotrephes … loves to be in charge.…”

[3] Here’s another recent translation of what John wrote.

“Diotrephes … loves to be their leader…” [4] He likes to “put himself first”; he “loves to be in charge”; he “loves to be their leader.”

In short, the Preacher Eater has a high opinion of himself, or of herself.

Diotrephes has a love affair with himself, and he loves the sense of power over God’s people.

The Preacher Eater imagines that God is dependent upon his expertise if the church is to prosper.

In most instances, this individual will have come into the fellowship of a congregation that at one time thrived and prospered.

A preacher once held forth in power, declaring the glories of the Living God.

The Preacher Eater came into the congregation and gradually assumed a position of authority.

Perhaps the Preacher Eater began as a serious disciple of the Master, rising to leadership on his merit.

Perhaps the Preacher Eater stepped in during a time of crisis for the congregation, and his leadership saved the church from disaster.

The congregation in this instance would quite naturally be grateful; and the gratitude of the congregation would induce them to continue to look to this individual for leadership long after the crisis is past.

Others who grow into Preacher Eaters are ungodly individuals who assume their roles by virtue of wealth, political influence or community stature.

The individual is used to deference during the week, and he expects—and is accorded—the same deference within the assembly of the righteous.

If he is regular in attendance and generous, he will be “elected” to a position of power.

In either of these instances that the Preacher Eater assumes power by default because the sheep are unwilling to oppose what is happening.

Tragically, most Christians don’t want to be bothered by questions of policy or the minutiae of caring for the church.

With few restraints on his influence, the Preacher Eater begins to think of himself as a saviour of the church.

What is worse, the congregation permits him to continue in his role as saviour, continually looking to see what he will do before making any decision.

In time, the Preacher Eater thinks of himself as the legitimate decision maker for the congregation.

As McKeever notes, “Whether he is godly and humble—Spirit-filled and mission-minded, with a servant spirit and a heart for God—or not, rarely comes into play in the typical church.”

[5]

The Preacher Eater rejects God-appointed authority.

“Diotrephes … does not acknowledge our authority.”

Imagine!

The Preacher Eater rejected John’s authority!

Appointment as one of the Twelve Apostles failed to impress Diotrephes; he considered himself God’s appointed emissary for the church over which he assumed power.

I recall a Preacher Eater taking me aside on one occasion to inform me, “There are five people in this church, if we want something, we get it.

If we don’t want it, it ain’t gonna’ happen.”

It was a warning; the gauntlet had been thrown down and the challenge issued.

What arrogance!

That particular congregation no longer exists; it has long since faded into a distant sad memory for the few people who attended there in the final days.

Let me say with confidence born of study of the Word that God appoints whom He chooses to pastoral leadership.

A church does not elect elders, nor does God condone anyone promoting himself or herself to such a position.

God appoints and the congregation receives him whom God appoints.

Moreover, the elders of the congregation direct the decision making process.

The church is not a democracy—it is the Body of Christ, seeking His will in all things and endeavouring to please Him in every activity and in every decision.

The Preacher Eater resorts to speaking nonsense against God’s authority.

“Diotrephes [is] talking wicked nonsense against us.”

What is said is nonsense; but because it is nonsense, it is wicked.

The word John uses speaks of statements that make no sense, primarily because of ignorance, though it is possible that no one actually understands what is being said.

Really, the Preacher Eater speaks ignorantly because he (or she) has chosen to ignore God’s Word and will.

Should the Preacher Eater actually think, considering what God has said in His Word, he would not act so ignorantly.

However, having rejected God-appointed authority and enamoured of his own person, he is unprepared to hear what God has to say on any issue.

I well remember a man who referred to himself as “Chairman of the Church.”

He did this without opposition from the other six members of the board.

As an aside of considerable importance, the only board found in the New Testament results from a shipwreck.

Where is that famous verse that instructs a church to set up a board to “run the church?”

During one particularly contentious meeting shortly after I had arrived, this self-important dictator was arguing some fine point of church polity.

I referred to the constitution of the church, a copy of which I had received when I arrived, only to have my reference summarily rejected.

“That’s not the constitution we use,” he sneered.