Organization or Organism: Which One Will it Be? God’s True Hierarchy! Take a Pyramid turn it upside down, the pastor being the servant of all, and the least of the least. Remember Jesus words, “If you want to be great in His Kingdom you have to be the least. I am among you as One who serves.” Luke 22:26-27 The pastor should be at the tip of the upside down pyramid, which is at the very bottom. The deacons and elders should be occupying the next least place, there to assist the Pastor for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry. And what does this equipping consist of? Is it formal education, elite roles and positions, programs on how to, and sermons on financial planning and behavior modification? No! It’s willingly taking on the role of being His absolute negative. Paul is a symbol of what a Pastor should be. Struck down, but not destroyed, always, always, and IN all ways bearing in our bodies the death of the Lord Jesus, so that His Life might be made manifest, to who? (II Corinthians 4:9-10) The saints. So they also know what it is to bear IN their bodies, and so they can also see life come out of death. It’s being the “chief lamb” to the slaughter, and the One who lays His Life down for the sheep! It’s not some elite position such as a CEO of a major corporation. And it’s certainly not preaching regurgitated pablum week after week, while 99% of the sheep are neglected, starving, and eventually thrown to the wolves, outside of the protection of the sheep fold! It’s a life of brokenness, isolation, and misunderstanding. It’s joyfully realizing we are God’s absolute negative, and it’s exchanging (and willingly doing so) a life of “known” death, so temporal death is manifested once and for all as eternal life. And what is the work of the ministry? It’s knowing the Spirit who lives within us is the only One who can perform the work of the ministry, and apart from Him we can do nothing. (John 15:5) Finally, the congregation is at the top of this upside down pyramid. They are cared for, loved without condition, and without favoritism of any kind. Denominations and division are things of the past, and everyone is together IN one place having all things IN common, and there is NO more need or lack. And what about that upside down pyramid? It starts out as a point, and it has no end to it, because God Himself grows it to infinity, and to “the ends of the earth!” And everyone is aware of the fact; neither the one who plants or the one who waters is anything, only God who causes the growth. (I Corinthians 3:7) “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men IN their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth IN love, we will IN all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up IN love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:14-16 Our churches today have become extensions of corporate America, run by the pastors and his top executives, otherwise known as the elders and deacons. They have become the served rather than the servants of all! (Matthew 20:26) And what about the people of God, and what part is it they play? The congregation has become the bruised and beaten down minimum wage employees, scratching and begging for something more to sustain Life for themselves and their families. Except a grain of wheat falls (and it’s always good to fall) to the ground and dies, it lives only to and for itself. (John 12:24) It has no other choice. “Gracebook” (Facebook Church) is a company of like-minded men and women who have decided minimum wage is not enough, and have by the Faith of the One who is their Life chosen the road less traveled IN order to find the Pearl of Great Price. I for one am proud to be among the chosen lowly, base, and broken, and so like Paul, our message of His POWER perfected IN weakness has a true impact on society today! “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (So much for the god of Christian education) I came to you IN weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and POWER, so that…your Faith might not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the POWER of God. I Corinthians 2:1-5 The mature believers of Gracebook church is that demonstration manifested right here and NOW for every “whosoever” who desires to KNOW Him, and wants to see as He sees! (I John 4:17)
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 17:23:15 +0000
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