Could Associationalism actually encourage a de facto Bishopric?
• Dr. Renihan’s booklet informs us of Thomas Collier who was ordained by The Western Association to plant churches in 1654. Dr. Renihan quotes Joseph Ivimey; “The office to which Mr. Collier… had been ordained, was that of a messenger of the churches, exercising a kind of general superindendency over all the associated churches.” Dr. Renihan agrees: “Collier was the recognized leader of the Western Association, and was ordained by the association.” (p.16) What does “the recognized leader” mean? To what office was he “ordained”? Dr. Renihan then quotes a letter which Collier wrote to the associated churches and observes, “and at the end of the same letter, he sounds apostolic”! This observation concerns me. No doubt Collier was exemplary in his character and service, and on that basis he certainly deserved recognition by his fellow ministers. But if an associational ordination made him start to sound like an apostle…?! Dr. Renihan simply observes: “Whatever he was, it was not simply
