One problem I have found in the modern church is that we have made the church a CLERGY run entity. God meant the church to be driven by ALL of the saints. We are a body of BELIEVERS and BELIEVERS are supposed to CAST OUT DEVILS, PREACH THE GOSPEL, and LAY HANDS on the sick. Unfortunately many of our churches have become cults of personality. The pastor has taken center stage, and this is not good for the pastor or the congregation.
(James 5:16 and Mark 16:20) Evangelism, Healing, and Deliverance were not just for the APOSTLES! This is a lie many Seminarians teach and advocate. I too am a college-educated preacher, however I know that the Word of God teaches that ordinary men and women participated in the work of the ministry. Ananias was not an APOSTLE, he was an ordinary Christian, just like you and I, yet he prayed for Paul’s HEALING and that he would receive the BAPTISM in the HOLY GHOST. Healing the sick is NOT just for the Apostles! The signs are designed to follow THEM THAT BELIEVE! Believers are supposed to BELIEVE that Jesus power is yet for today. I am a firm believer that we don’t see the miraculous because we don’t EXPECT the miraculous and we believe ONLY clergy can minister. (Mark 16:20, Luke 1:37, and Phil. 4:13)
We Protestants are just as guilty as the Roman Catholic Church (our sister) of having a church run by professional clergy. We don’t study hard because we depend on the Pastor to feed us. So many Christians are spiritual babies because they refuse to feed themselves. Catholics are not the only ones that just believe what clergy feeds them. I have heard so many Protestants (to include Pentecostal and Charismatic) quote their Pastor’s like it was the Bible. Often in the Bible Institute I teach in kick over “Sacred Cows” with the Word of God. Even after showing some people sound Bible doctrine they will still say, “But my church doesn’t teach that.” Or “My Pastor teaches different.” I don’t care if your pastor wears a gold robe and floats into the pulpit on wires, if he is teaching something contrary to scripture, HE IS WRONG! I hate to use this as an example but it is true, if Christians were as ministry minded as Jehovah Witnesses, imagine how much of an impact we would make in our communities? Unfortunately we are so clergy driven in our churches that we act like “It’s not my job man.” We forget that Jesus gave 5 types of ministry gifts for the church, not just Pastors! He gave Apostles, Teachers, Pastors, Prophets, and Evangelist for the edification of the local church as well as the body as a whole. We need to have all of those ministry gifts in operation in order for our churches to run effectively. Can you imagine a basketball team with only point guards? It wouldn’t win much because they need other skills and talents in order to be a good team. The local church in many instances functions like the basketball team with all point guards.
God gave FIVE types of ministry gifts for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of ministry, and for the edifying of the Body of Christ. Most people think the only type of minister God sends is Pastors! Thank God for Pastors! Pastors are the main instrument in feeding the new converts (Lambs), but pastors NEED HELP! If there are no evangelist out in the highways and hedges to compel people to believe on Jesus Christ, and no teachers to take people from milk to meat and defend Biblical doctrine, and no prophets to give words in season, and finally no apostles to GO and establish ministries, churches will NOT grow!
Chaplain Stevens
No comments:
Post a Comment