It strikes me that the kicker here is #1. Personal accountability requires that someone must be able to say something unpleasant to you without receiving the “right boot of fellowship.” If a church sets things up where any negative feedback is interpreted as a personal threat, this mechanism is shut down and the question is when the moral failure will occur and what form it will take, not if it will occur. All of the other characteristics of fallen pastors derive from #1, IMO.
Discussion
NewRight boot of fellowship
It strikes me that the kicker here is #1. Personal accountability requires that someone must be able to say something unpleasant to you without receiving the “right boot of fellowship.” If a church sets things up where any negative feedback is interpreted as a personal threat, this mechanism is shut down and the question is when the moral failure will occur and what form it will take, not if it will occur. All of the other characteristics of fallen pastors derive from #1, IMO.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.