And He is the head of the body, the ecclesia, who is sovereign, firstborn from among the dead, that in all He may be becoming first.
Colossians 1: 18, Concordant New Testament
I listened to a local pastor earlier this week as he told of the virtues of the various positions we have in our local churches. We're talking pastors, assistant pastors, elders and the like. This pulpit pounder also laid out what seemed to be biblical qualifications for each of the positions in the church which he mentioned. Indeed, someone would need to be a morally astute person in order to even be considered for such a spot. What was interesting was how the elders were selected at this particular church. For the pastor would seek input from the congregation as to whom the next elder would be. In my thinking, this was more of a popularity contest than something biblical meant to serve the church. But I make the suggestion, is this the church which the Lord intended? A church of multiple layers of leadership, modern rock praise and worship sessions and a church dependent on the weekly tithe for its very survival? I would say no to that question. I commented to a good friend of mine some time ago that one of the best examples of church that we can find is the description of the early church of the followers of Jesus which we find in Acts 2: 44-47. In this passage, we see the early church meeting in the homes of friends sharing and worshipping Christ Jesus. We've all seen or been part of different home groups in our local churches, but this was something completely different. This was what I refer to as authentic fellowship. The Greeks had a word describing this, which the modern church has also adopted...koinonia. Loosely translated from the Greek, koinonia is described as Christian fellowship or communion with God. I can see why the modern church seeks to hijack this term in order to put a positive spin on what we've made of Gods church. But let's define the word church for the purpose of this moment. I refer to the church as its body of believers, of which Christ Jesus is the head {Colossians 1:18}. I don't refer to the church as the ornate buildings which we all too often see as the focal points of the modern church. I've known those who base their decisions of which church to attend simply by how nice the building looks. I'm not that vain. I want to know about the body. Better yet, I want to know about what they're teaching the body of believers.
Now all those who believe also were in the same place and had all things in common. And they disposed of the acquisitions and the properties, and divided them to all, forasmuch as some would have had need. Besides persevering day by day with one accord in the sanctuary, besides breaking bread home by home, they partook of nourishment with exultation and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor for the whole people. Now the Lord added those being saved day by day in the same place.
Acts 2: 44-47, Concordant New Testament
One thing I have noticed from the passage of the lives of the early church we find in Acts is that there is no mention a pastor. There is no mention of an assistant pastor. Nor do I find any mention of a praise and worship orchestra or a church offering. How did this body of believers, with Jesus at the head, manage to pull off doing church without all of the leadership positions we're so accustomed to seeing? I believe that the answer is that the focus of the early church was not one of appearances, but on the teachings of Christ Jesus. We see this in the spirit of community which we see in the early believers. Koinonia, fellowship and communion with the Lord. As they praised God, they developed favor with those around them {Acts 2:47}. It seems that these early believers didn't need the guidance or leadership of various people in their ranks in order to praise and worship the Lord. So, the question I am left posing is this...why is this something we require? Can we not praise the Lord without guidance and leadership? Can we not gather with our neighbors and worship the Lord without the aid of someone telling us how to do so? Now, I'm not downplaying the importance of a devoted pastor in the role of speaking the gospel to the body of believers. However, I am casting doubt as to the importance of a leadership structure within that body. As we have seen all too often, that many positions of leadership all too often lead to popularity contests within the church. Doesn't that sound funny when the main focus of the body is always Jesus? Who would Jesus vote for?
~Scott~
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