Offended? good. there is much to be offended by.
With word that the Texas shooter was raised in the Greek Orthodox church, by both parents, and made bombs and stole his father;s guns... what do we say? Every"privilege" in the world and in a church has not changed policies or opened their arms to societal change.No excuses. No one saw it coming. now we will pick apart his life, his family, his church, ask about psychiatric drugs.. too often involved in such horrors. and blame guns. Guns are just a tool, the real problem is the human heart. What has been the response of the average church in America to our current social conditions? Protestant churches mostly , though the changes seen in the last generation have now swept into the Roman Catholic Church..so we point fingers and scream about the False Prophet. But we were there first, oh my yes. Take the concept of Pastor.from Merrium Webster Definition of pastor: a spiritual overseer; especially : a clergyman serving a local church or parish — pastorship play \ˈpa-stər-ˌship\ nounOrigin and Etymology of pastor Middle English pastour, from Anglo-French, from Latin pastor herdsman, from pascereto feed — more at food One who feeds the sheep! a sheperd. What were the roles within the Church ( the Body of Christ expressed as individual churches through the middle east and Greece.? 1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it. 28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets,third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?… Only 14 Apostles. ever. Prophets..that would be preachers.teachers and all the other gifts to equip the whole Body. Bishops, deacons, elders... although these now have professional ties, they were originally, men in the church, of good repute, called to help run the church.Stephen was a deacon,one of those called to administer to the poor, etc, though he also preached.Paul was a fabulous teacher though he was also an Apostle.( Apostles were eye witnesses to the ministry of Jesus, personally empowered by Him to carry on His Church.) John and Paul were also prophets ( in the sense of expanding on future events) These men entrusted the Church to go forward, by men trained by them, Timothy, Polycarp. Nicholas, in Turkey. ( bishop) Always men, highly trained, led the congregations But other men were also to do good works,, feed the widows and the fatherless ,Some contributed much to the Church. Ok. that sounds fairly modern. what's the beef? Peter, Paul, John, and the rest, did not carry the entire burden of a local congregation alone.They trained leaders, who were in charge of day to day operations. Paul refused to do baptisms, so none could say they got Paul's baptism (not baptism as a symbol of a new life in Christ) Our modern churches have boards and overseeing bodies, who hire or assign a "pastor" and restrict what he can do and teach. Mustn't offend...anyone, emasculation at its best. We accepted donations as tax write offs, Johnson Act and were to keep our noses out of politics. this idea of Christians not participating in society has become a full blown nightmare.and has led to legislation limiting preaching against evil, and even counseling... those afforded special status by the government, Many churches participate in same sex weddings, bless abortion clinics, hire women and those in sexual sin as leaders.(women can preach, women can pray women can bless, but we always to remember that Christ is the head of the church, and men are to be heads of the Church.we are to reflect God's plan for redemption.it's not an ability thing, its a model for the world... right order) We further insist that our pastors have university degrees.(where their very belief in Jesus is questioned,) Trained social workers, "doing good" not Christians leaders on fire for the Lord. some definitions of pastor include the term....professional clergy. So in the average church, you have a minister reverend or pastor, who is required to preach, visit the sick, run various committees, counsel parishioners, perform marriages, and make those altar calls....take classes or go to conferences on how to build church membership... and the rest, unless they are in the choir,( run by a professional music minister). or teaching Sunday school do.....nothing. They sit, they pray they listen to the message, and go on with their lives.oh, and give money. their duties are done. they can get on with the rest of their lives. Where is the rest for a pastor? If he struggles with an out of marriage attraction, or the church needs a new roof. Who will run the home bible studies? ( teachers hopefully) Who will visit the sick or grieving, even if he is sick? We have in this environment also fallen for the cult of personality.Charisma is everything, not correct teaching. Though every one of these folks says they make their money from speaking and books, not the church itself.Without a pulpit , or support, would anyone buy their books? And when did we accept the very New age model of getting our bone fides, about our walk with God... in a conference,, 3 to 5 days...the conference or weekend course is very popular with business leaders and new agers. so christian conferences are in fact, a business. What has happened to traveling preachers, who go where the Spirit leads them, and may have to pay their own expenses to get there?( Paul, early on, went to the tentmakers and worked, so as not to add to the burden of the new church body,) Even missions work is often carried out in a conference style setting, not in the streets.so...training, not preaching. ever learning and never divining the truth.... The church has abandoned any personal responsibility among members.We need bible study we need corporate prayer, and private prayer. We need to learn to spread the gospel. (and yes, many of you do, this is about church structure not individuals who wholeheartedly embrace Jesus as their Lord and Savior,and do their walk in the world accordingly.) Who exactly is leading people to Christ?big revivals, or people...lovingly praying for and teaching their neighbors, their families... 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul. 12 Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us. Churches are to equip believers, Believers were not meant to build churches empty of the Holy Spirit, but full of the ways of men. In this atmosphere of.. you leave your beliefs inside the church doors... don;t you dare profess such beliefs in public..many "pastors" are left to twist in the wind... scramble for enough money to feed their families.. which is absolutely shameful...If you have a church board, you had better decide if you can afford a full time pastor or instead, have various elders speak, teach, and visit the sick.enslaving a man to do YOUR spiritual walk it just.. evil.and as a matter of fact, many of these "professionals only" tasks can indeed be handled by your average church member. don;t leave them out. I'm pro pastors I'm pro evangelists. I'm definitely a member of the Body of Christ, and it is a sick, feeble version of itself.So worried about the world, about money, about lawsuits, it cannot function as Christ intended. This body extends across times and cultures. we began on Pentecost, We are citizens of Heaven. Oh the day when we are reunited! Will we, in this era, have anything to share with those of the past? or will we be ashamed? |
Faith and ReasonA grandma's perspective on a few things.. Archives
May 2020
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