Keep the pattern of sound teaching

 . . . these institutions are founded by a pastor-visionary-entrepreneur. That is, somebody with a real grasp of the Gospel, and who's got entrepreneurial smarts - they know how to get things done, and plant something. So it's driven by a certain Gospel vision. But eventually the thing is successful enough, with enough people, that you've really got to get some good managers involved, and eventually the Board appoints a President who is not a visionary, who is entirely orthodox, but not a visionary, and who really does know the mechanics of administrative leadership and that is perceived to be just what is necessary at this stage in the institution's development, and in some sense that's right.

But when you ask, 'Who is orthodox?', you are always asking that as measured by debates in the past. Orthodoxy is measured according to the debates that have been worked out in times past. Whereas the confrontations that we face today are never exactly the same, such that unless a person is theologically-equipped, biblically-informed, discerning and so on, he or she may really not see today's dangers even though they're entirely orthodox by yesterday's dangers.

So that today for example, in Christian seminaries and Christian colleges, I don't think that there is much chance of a Board coming along and appointing as President somebody who's a flat-out liberal . . . . But does that mean that the contemporary leaders today are well equipped to handle any number of things that are on the agenda today that are argued over . . . And most of them aren't - they're going to appeal to unity . . . . Which means that it becomes institutionally wise to preserve in the top slots, people who are pastorally, theologically driven, and under them hire all the administrative smart people . . . But don't give the top slots to people who are not driven by biblical, theological, discerning comprehension so as to be able to keep the pattern of sound teaching.

from D.A.Carson, "'What is the Ministry and Mission of the Local Church?' Foundations from the Pastoral Epistles" from 40:44