EC: Each Christian has the need to read Holy Scripture, yet each Christian does not also have the authority or ability to teach and interpret the words of Scripture. This privileged authority is reserved for the Church via its holy clergy and theologians, men who are instructed in and knowledgeable of the true faith.
(1) The premise of the elder's statement flies in the face of John's first letter.
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
-- 1 John 2:27 (KJV)
AND... New Living Translation:
But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you all things, and what he teaches is true - it is not a lie. So continue in what he has taught you, and continue to live in Christ.
--1 John 2:27 (NLT)
(2) The "true faith" is our personal relationship with the Lord; NOT the propagation of extraordinary religious rites or rituals for the sake of tradition.
The Lord has called us to the waters of baptism and the table of remembrance. The rest of "orthodoxy" should be cautiously approached and carefullyt examined in light of the whole (Biblical) counsel of God.
(Paul is speaking...) For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. --Acts 20:27
The good Elder missed it on this one. Perhaps in his day, the literacy rate and other cultural propensities brought him to this conclusion -- but his conclusions create a great and unintended tension in the expression of Christian faith and the Lord's clearly stated intention for the life and ministry of the Living Body.
Because God's love has drawn our hearts through Christ; Through to a great commitment to the Great Commandment, we can enthusiastically embrace the Great Commission.
It would indeed be boring here if we didn't have a steady supply of (out-of-context) textproofing.
Of course, here +John also says that he wrote this because of the people who wish to deceive the believers, so he is giving them advice not to believe the deceivers. This puts a somewhat different spin on things. The New Testament is otherwise full of refrences for the believers to hold on to the teachings and traditions of the Church elders.
Bible quotes are dime a dozen if taken out of context. If you take John 14:26, it is "clear" that we don't need anything but the Holy Spirit, not even the Bible, to know all things.
Obviously that is not so.
As for privileged authority in the Church, does not +Paul say
Not everyone in the Church can simply open the book and teach himself, just as God designated that women shall bear children and not men. It may not seem, "fair" but life is the way it is even if liberal Protestants don't understand it. :)