Great points at 5:45 and 7:00 and 11:30 and 14:35. Appreciate your wisdom in these matters. Heartily agree.
1. Sometimes we can end up with two-tier elderships (staff and non-staff elders/pastors) where the elders on staff end up processing things much quicker as they have more time, but can race ahead and so the eldership does not lead as a body with leaders among it; those with regular jobs end up simply rubber stamping the full time elder’s vision or letting him and / or staff do all the shepherding on the ground, and just turn up for elders meetings. You can end up with a CEO type leader + their subordinates or ‘their staff’ (or a so-called ‘senior pastor’ plus people on an ‘elder board’ who are not actually elders proper, yet they have authority to hire staff etc).
2. The back drop is that most of our churches in the West have ended up being so complex and centralised that things are a. programmed by staff around b. a single [church] building, less around people and their homes. Like a temple, the church building and staff is still central. Just follow the money. As with Epaphroditus in Philippi 2, where are the Aquila’s and Priscilla’s mentioned today who have jobs and host churches in their homes and lay down their lives for the gospel? In one sense there is no such thing as small groups in the Bible: you’ve only got church, big and small.
Great points at 5:45 and 7:00 and 11:30 and 14:35. Appreciate your wisdom in these matters. Heartily agree.
1. Sometimes we can end up with two-tier elderships (staff and non-staff elders/pastors) where the elders on staff end up processing things much quicker as they have more time, but can race ahead and so the eldership does not lead as a body with leaders among it; those with regular jobs end up simply rubber stamping the full time elder’s vision or letting him and / or staff do all the shepherding on the ground, and just turn up for elders meetings. You can end up with a CEO type leader + their subordinates or ‘their staff’ (or a so-called ‘senior pastor’ plus people on an ‘elder board’ who are not actually elders proper, yet they have authority to hire staff etc).
2. The back drop is that most of our churches in the West have ended up being so complex and centralised that things are a. programmed by staff around b. a single [church] building, less around people and their homes. Like a temple, the church building and staff is still central. Just follow the money. As with Epaphroditus in Philippi 2, where are the Aquila’s and Priscilla’s mentioned today who have jobs and host churches in their homes and lay down their lives for the gospel? In one sense there is no such thing as small groups in the Bible: you’ve only got church, big and small.