the one man show
I don’t know what could be more arrogant than to think that a group of people would want to pay you to stand in front of them and tell them what is right and what is wrong. The sad thing is that this is exactly what a pastor does and is. They say the right stuff like, “challenge what I say” and “I struggle with this stuff too” but the fact is that they think that they are more qualified to speak than you which is why they are doing it and you are not.
Why are they more qualified? Because they have the answers. If they didn’t think they had the answers then they would stand in front of the church and say something like, “I don’t know why you are looking at me, like I know anything more than anybody else” and then they would sit down and be done with it. Of course this would result in those pastors losing their jobs, which wouldn’t be really great for them financially.
Why can’t other people stand up and speak in church? Because they might say something heretical. Here’s a question: how do you know the pastor isn’t preaching heresy? If you are able to discern heresy from truth from the pastor then why can’t you do the same with anyone who speaks? This whole one dude speaking at a gathering of believers is completely contrary to Scripture which explains that when the body gathered the body ministered to each other.
So what do we have in the modern pastor? We have a guy who thinks that he alone can fulfill the calling of the body to minister to one another. We have a guy who thinks he has something more important to say than everyone else. We have a guy who thinks that his words are so valuable that he has to get paid by the church so he can spend all his time formulating them.
Seriously, how arrogant can you be? How self-important can you get? If you don’t have all the answers, then sit down and shut up and make room for others to speak. If you don’t do that then your words of “I don’t know everything” ring false and empty. You really think that it is better for the body for you alone to speak? You think your words are that valuable? they aren’t.
Dan,
I thought about this post when I read “Interactive Teaching in the New Testament.” It’s a very interesting study, and I thought you might like the post.
-Alan
Great link Alan. Thanks for sharing it.
This whole “priesthood/laity” thing is part of the doctrine of the Nicolaitans which Jesus says he HATES.
The distinction between clergy and laymen is at the very core of this problem. What did Orwell’s pigs say in Animal Farm? “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Sounds like those pigs would have made good clergy!
This all seems reasonable but one thing has been entirely omitted: The Holy Spirit. Who will tell Him that he had no right to call say Charles Stanley or Billy Graham and many others to the pulpit to preach Christ?. It is true that many are false prophets. Many big churches flourish today and make money hand over fist I see Christians stand outside their doors pleading for folks not to enter in and be deceived. But God has and will expose them as liars. I just ask we not throw the rest under the bus because of false teachers. Again, it is the HOLY SPIRIT who bears witness with our spirit granting us insight as to the preaching of the truth.
Phil
I agree, this system omits the Holy Spirit, or certainly functions the same without his presence. By setting men up in authority we remove the necessity to depend on the Holy Spirit. It is tragic.
The fact that God can use us, even in our sin, has no relevance to whether we are right or wrong. God has used sin for his purposes throughout history. A great example would be his use of Israel’s enemies to defeat them in battle. Were these men right in denying the true God? Of course not, but God used their evil actions to his glory against his adulterous people.
There is only one Head to the Church. It isn’t you or me or Pastor Billy Bob. It is Christ. He will not share His throne and anyone who sets themselves up will be torn down. The first shall be last, the last first, and the weak and lowly will be blessed in the strength of Christ. There is no room for human authority in that. There is no room for the professional minister or preacher man with all the answers.
This is one reason the Family of God is so dysfunctional. By having one person do all the talking we never learn how to think or how to discern, only to parrot the party line. I can’t think of a better way so set someone up to follow a cult then to teach them to sit down, be quiet and listen. On the other hand, a person who has wrestled with the truth of the Gospel through dialog, will not be easily moved from the truth.