You want some truth? Most of what is typically done in a Sunday morning “church service” is a violation of the very scriptures these churches actually claim to love.
The institution of the “clergy” system has grown to become a ginormous business. There are many gifts in the Body of Christ. She (The Bride) is a many membered person (Christ) with arms, legs, eyes, hands, feet, and ears. Nowhere in the New Testament is there any scrap of evidence that the pastor is to be the one person in charge of ministry, nor is there any evidence that states anything about a pulpit and pews (seats). Instead, it should be filled to the brim with mutual sharing and building up.
Not every “clergy” person takes the New Testament seriously, but those who do need to lead the way by personal example to a must needed ultimate paradigm shift. This would better reflect the New Testament revelation of church life. People who withdraw from the traditional “clergy” model out of faithfulness to Christ, unfortunately will have a heavy price to pay. It was hard for me to leave the church system and I did not even get paid.
The New Testament is full of the phrase “one another”. I believe there are 58 “one anothers” if I counted right 🙂 . It is also chock full of examples of mutual edification and sharing. Especially if one reads 1 Corinthians 11-14. Read this and compare it with the modern tradition of one man (or one woman) as the center and spiritual “head” of the church. (You will start to feel your nose run with allergies). These accounts in Scripture should challenge the very use of pulpit/pew and clergy/laity systems that are used today. .
The New Testament should challenge the pastoral role, but it also should challenge and examine how churches should function, and how they should “one-another”. The early church was a place of mutual submission, and edification, not submission to the pastor or elders, or edified-by-one during a sermon each Sunday.
Bringing much more needed attention to the unbiblical role of pastor, as it is used today, may be the impetus to implode the infrastructure of institutional churches. This, I feel, would allow Christ to work in our assemblies as we have never seen before. This way others will actually see Him and not the celebrity pastor up on stage.
Too many players (and gifts) are sidelined. They are a bunch of bench warmers (or pew warmers) (or nice cushioned seat warmers). Get off the bench (or out of the seat), stop going to the show, and get into the game. Stop having the “star” player dictate from the pulpit. Do not get me wrong, I am not against the person, I am against the role they play. I say oust the pastor in his current role, can no one else smell the BS going on here?
Allergic to BS 
Awfully quiet.. I guess everyone agrees with me 🙂
Often, I’ve been a part of churches where the “official” leaders…preachers, pastors, worship leaders, etc….weren’t really fans of being in charge of everything. Every church I’ve been a part of has BEGGED people to become leaders in the church, to take charge of a ministry or help out with a class or program.
Personally, in a lot of evangelical churches, I don’t think the problem is so much leaders with control issues as much as it is lethargic congregations who just don’t want to do anything.
I’ve been on both ends of it. On the one hand, it’s frustrating trying to get the lethargic out of their pews and their own problems in order to help out with other needs of the congregation.
On the other, I know that Life has a tendency to blind-side those who are most on-fire for Christ with incredibly weird and dramatic problems. When that happens, it can be incredibly hard to go back to being totally on-fire again.
Mind you, I’m not using this as an excuse, nor do I believe that this is the problem most of the time. No. I believe the problem is usually that people simply don’t take their Christian life seriously, and don’t feel it’s necessary to be involved in anything beyond showing up once a week for an hour on Sundays…and that’s it.
I’m personally trying to break out of this mentality, while also encouraging my fairly new husband to also get excited. It’s not an easy task, but it’s DEFINITELY one Christ called us towards.
Just a different point of view from a different sort of person. 🙂
BTW, found you via SCL. 🙂 I’m L. A. Howard there.
Lady Tam Li – Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my blog.
Your point a view is interesting. The first thing I thought of when reading it is that the structure and system that is in place promotes and even condones a lethargic community lifestyle.
Do you think if the pastor quit the role of preaching a sermon from a pulpit the people gathering would be less lethargic?
Amen Swanny – I agree with you.