The Bible Nerd

Let’s face the truth.  Leaders and bosses can be jerks sometimes.  If you go to church long enough, I will almost guarantee that you will have a story about when “my pastor/elder/deacon/minister/small group leader hurt me when he/she said or did…..(fill in the blank with discouraging comments, poor decision, unjust resolution… you get the picture). Jesus talks to the disciples several times about being a servant, and not lording authority over people like the non Christians.  So, why don’t we just get rid of church leaders and just make it a democracy?  It worked for America right? (snicker, snicker)

While Jesus was the suffering servant who modeled humility and love, the New Testament is once again clear on the fact that there should be appointed leaders in every church.  In Titus 1:5, Paul’s command to Titus says, “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.”  Then Paul goes on to list what the qualifications for an elder are (Acts 14:23 has Paul and Barnabas doing the same thing for Galatia).  Before you think that was just localized to Crete, he tells Timothy about church leadership for Ephesus in 1 Timothy 3:1. “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.”  Overseer is often left as “bishop”, and Paul also talks about requirements for deacons in this chapter.

Why in the world would Paul spend so much time in these letters for two different churches talking about what leaders should be like if he didn’t want leaders??? It wasn’t just Paul that spoke of leaders, as Hebrews 13:7, 1 Peter 5:1, and James 5:14 all talk about leaders in individual churches.  I would contend that our problem with church leadership isn’t that we have them, it is that our expectations of them are wrong and that too often too much power ends up in one man’s hands.  Leaders are human, which basically tells us that they are sinners who need the forgiveness of Christ just as much as the members.  While leaders are held to different standards in Scripture, we need to make sure that leaders are there to point us to Jesus, not to replace Him.

The issue which absolutely must be dealt with is how many churches have veered away from group leadership.  No where do New Testament writers allow for one person to be at the “top” of a hierarchical church leadership structure making all the decisions.  There is only one head of the church, and that is Jesus.  Leadership is always discussed in the plural; elderS, deaconS, overseerS.  As the early church grew, it took on the structure of the Roman Empire and other man made organizations having one leader who had the ultimate authority.  Instead of provincial governors, the church appointed bishops (overseers) over an area of churches.  The passages about bishops simply don’t support its use in this way.  Elders and deacons were replaced eventually by a priest over each church.  A priest??? are you kidding me?  How clear is 1 Peter 2:9 on the priesthood of the believers? It only got worse, with more power concentrated in invented roles like cardinals and popes.

The Protestant Reformation addressed the abuse of power and misuse of the title priest.  I can understand why they picked the use of the term pastor, with Jesus Himself discussing His role as the Great Shepherd.  The problem often is that the pastor simply replaced the priest as being one man making all the key decisions for a church.  What I don’t understand is why the reformers didn’t go back to using the terms elders and deacons alone?  There is only one passage in the whole New Testament that uses the term pastor (Ephes. 4:11) and gives no definition of what that role really is.  I can understand wanting to not use bishop due to how it was misused.  The question I am often asked is, “If we don’t use the term pastor, wouldn’t there still need to be one “head elder” of each church?”

I suppose if we agree with the sentiment behind the question, we could even still use the term “pastor” for the head elder.  I don’t have a problem with that.  My question back would be why do we need one head elder? Here is where my experience in ministry kicks in.  What I have seen is that without one person who serves as a “head” of a group/organization/ministry, there are often problems.  Meetings meander on with no clear guidance or mediation, people often keep deferring to each other when no one wants to make a decision, or the group comes to a standstill when there is no clear majority on an issue.  I know there are answers you could give to solving these issues without a leader, but I haven’t seen it work in the last 17 years. There also does seem to be some support for a “head elder” role in passages like Rom. 16:3-5, Philemon 1-2, Acts 15:22, Acts 21:18, Philippians 4:3, and some would say that Timothy acted in this role for the church at Ephesus for a time (1 Timothy).

The thought I want to leave you with is twofold.  First, we clearly need and are commanded to have leadership to be called a church. This is one of the reasons the two guys on the golf course or buddies at the coffee shop don’t qualify as a church.  They usually never have leaders.  In the next post, I will take us through some Scriptures that explain why we need leaders.  Second, we need to make sure that we return to the Biblical foundation of group leadership of our churches.  I actually don’t care if you use the terms elders, bishops, deacons, presbyters, minister, pastor, etc…, so long as all the power in a church doesn’t end up in one person’s hands.  That is usually a recipe either for disaster at the worst, or a church that never reaches its full potential at the best.

We are the church.  That is what I hear all the time.  Occasionally, that means, “Stop complaining about THE church, because we are THE church.”  Usually though, it means that Christians are the church; it isn’t a building, programs, or an institution.  While there is truth in there, it is being taken to mean that if a few Christians get together and talk about “spiritual” stuff, then that is church.  You don’t need a building, structure, or any of that “other stuff” to be the church.

For example, in books that I have read lately, they said that the following counted as church: 1) two guys meeting to play golf every week, where between putting and chip shots, they discuss the Bible and other spiritual issues; 2) a few people getting together at Starbucks and doing a Bible study together; 3) a picnic at the park where they hand out food to the poor people and talk to them about God.  Now, none of these things are bad things, but NONE of them qualifies as being called church as far as the New Testament is concerned.  Much of this sounds a lot like New Age thought to be honest.  New Age thought focuses on making a spiritual connection, where the “journey” is more important than a book, building, or program.  You don’t need to go to church, a synagogue, or a mosque to connect with God; in fact, those places with all their rules and legalism will probably keep you from truly connecting to God.

How did some of our books about Christianity end up sounding like New Age stuff??? I think that some people are so fed up with problems they see in the churches they have attended, that they like the thought that they can have “church” without all that junk they dealt with before.  No pastors to make them feel guilty for not giving more, no elders telling them not to question church doctrine, and no boring meetings that you have to drag yourself to every Sunday.  Instead, you can order a mocha, sit in comfy, mod looking chairs, and talk about whatever you want with your friends.  Ditch the wooden pew and hymnals and let’s have deep thoughts about the latest, greatest Christian author.

I hate to throw cold water on all this post modern church talk, but “church” in the New Testament contains the following aspects: organized meetings with a group of Christians, appointed group leadership that holds the church accountable, teachers and preachers who disciple others in the truths of Scripture, and a ongoing relationship with the body of Christ as a whole.  I will take us through Scriptures for each of these, but let’s start out with the first one.  It is true that the “church” is used sometimes in the New Testament to mean all Christians together, and not one specific group.

For example, Matthew 16:18, Acts  8:3, and Ephesians 1:22 all use the “church” to mean not just one individual group, but all Christians worldwide or at least in one area.  In 1 Corinthians 15:9, Paul says, “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”  We know that Paul persecuted Christians in many areas, so in this use, he means something closer to “all Christians”, and not just one individual group.  However, most New Testament references are referring to one individual group that is located in one area.  True, the “church of Corinth” might be made up of several house churches, but it is still an organized grouping of Christians in one area.  Christianity is not New Age thought in that it was never meant to be an individualistic experience. 1 Corinthians 16:9 brings it all together, “The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.”

Of course, church would be easier if it was just something you could do by yourself or with a select group of friends.  If you disagree and fight with yourself, you need serious help.  Yes, the location is not the issue, in that you could have a church meeting on a golf course, in a warehouse, or a coffee bar, but the heart of meeting together was fellowship, accountability, discipleship, and evangelism.  That organized body of believers could be contacted by others in different areas, recognized as a group, and held accountable in the larger body of Christ.  In 3 John 1:19, when there is an issue with a believer, John writes, “I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.”  While we may not know what area exactly this church was in, John was able as an apostle of the early church to write to that organized group about an issue with one of its members.

In 1 Corinthians 4:17, Paul says, “That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.”  My point is this, how could Paul visit and teach in “every church” if there were no organized, recognizable group to meet with?  As much as we would like to free ourselves from all the hassle of meeting with other people, we just can’t do what we want and call it “church”.  Of course you can pray and meet with God outside of church.  Even more to the point, you don’t have to be a member of an organized church to go to heaven (that one might rile some feathers).  Playing golf and hanging out with your buddies just isn’t what Jesus had in mind when He talked about His bride the church.  In the next post, we will look at how the New Testament says that churches have leadership.  Maybe that is what we really are trying to escape by redefining church…

I have to be honest to start this whole series of posts on the church.  Yes, I have occasionally complained about “the church”.  Ok, ok, maybe I have complained a bit more than that.  I have read a few of the recent “manifestos” about how the church needs to change, and uttered an amen or two.  There are times when I have to use a whip and a chair to herd my family to church on Sunday mornings.  However, I have to wonder, when did “the church” become a bad word?  With the amount of negativity that is out there today, you would think we were talking about a root canal or a trip to the proctologist.

In the upcoming weeks, we will be discussing what the Bible has to say about the church, talk about all this focus on the New Testament church, and even delve into the deep waters of the Emerging Church movement.  Before we do any of that, I feel we need to step back and remember just what it is that we are talking about.  Too many have an irreverent, careless attitude when discussing something that God seems to care a whole lot about.  On the other hand, we can’t keep sticking our heads in the sand and act like there isn’t something monumental happening right now in the Western church.

The apostle Paul spent most of his life (actually risking his life) in order to see churches planted all over the Roman Empire.  In three passages specifically, he gives us God’s view on the church.  In 1 Timothy 3:15, he says, “… if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” First, Paul calls the church “God’s household”, which means that the church as God sees it isn’t a lifeless institution, but the people He calls His own and that “live” with Him.  Not only that, but He also says that the church functions as the “pillar and foundation of the truth”.  How does it do this?  God uses the church to teach the world truth through the study and teaching of His Word that happens in church, as well as through the behavior of the church members. I don’t work in construction, but I think things like pillars and foundations are pretty important to a building.  Based on this illustration, take out the church, and the whole thing God is building comes crashing down. (Yes, I know Jesus is the foundation and cornerstone in other illustrations)

In Ephesians 3:10-11, Paul blows us away with the following, “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Wow! Paul is saying that God is using the church to make His wisdom known to spiritual powers.  How does He accomplish this?  In the context of chapter 3, the point is that as Jews and Gentiles come together in the church, the world (both natural and supernatural) will see God’s ultimate plan to unite us all in the redemption of Christ. Most people would be thrilled to get a revelation FROM an angel, but do you realize that as a part of the church, you are a revelation TO an angel?

Finally, Ephesians 5:25-27 should give us pause before we speak about the churh, “… just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”  The Old Testament prophets such as Hosea introduced the theme of God’s people as the bride or wife of God.  Paul continues this in presenting the church as the bride of Christ, and this comes to ultimate fulfillment in Revelation 19 where we see the marriage supper of the Lamb.  To those of you who are married, how do you (or would you) feel when someone is bad mouthing your wife?  Warm and fuzzy?  I don’t think so.  Yet, we often speak of the church forgetting the great love that Jesus has for it, even giving his own life to purify her.

Look, the church isn’t a building or a bunch of programs.  The church is the people of God, gathered together to worship, disciple, evangelize, and love this dying world.  Yes, we have to meet somewhere and we will discuss house churches and the lot later.  No, the New Testament never refers to one individual Christian as a/the “church”, so we are talking about a group.  She may be a woman with problems, but she is God’s household making His truth known, a vessel to show God’s wisdom to the heavenly powers, and the bride of Jesus.  Let’s show some respect and fear of God as we discuss the church.