Autonomous churches v. Corporations and franchises

He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Eph 1:22-23)

No pretenders need apply. God has already installed the commander-in-chief of His church. There’s no need for a legislative body, either, because all legislation has already been recorded in the word of God. Woe to him who would add to or take away from what is written.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone. (Eph 2:19-20)

The apostles and prophets recorded everything one needs to know to be a Christian. We don’t need any manmade organizations creating laws where God hasn’t. Anyone anywhere can follow the word of God and develop an autonomous church, which is to result in the development of the gift that God gives to each Christian.

And He gave… some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ. (Eph 4:11-12)

The primary role of those who are more mature in the faith is to help each Christian develop the gift that God gave them. These local or itinerant leaders are accountable directly to God, and mutually accountable to all the saints.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. (Heb 13:17)

Our headquarters are in heaven, not on earth. There’s a chapter in The Good Story eBook that briefly tells how we got these modern big businesses that many mistakenly think of as Christianity. These are a light year away from the simple New Testament pattern. Manmade institutions and organizations, even when started with good intentions, have always become corrupt within a few generations.

Here are two modern abominations:

1. Church Corporations
   a. Filing with the state as a corporation makes the church an entity of and accountable to the state. It is unnecessary.
   b. The corporate structure requires an unscriptural board of directors.
   c. If John the Baptist were a member of one of these, his problem would not have been losing his head for exposing Herod’s immorality, it would have been the so called brethren telling him to shut up so they didn’t lose their tax exempt status.
2. Church Franchises
   a. Franchisees submit to the dictates of the franchise. This may include the trademark name, schedule, doctrine, programs, and fellowship with other Christians.
   b. Conformity is enforced and the traditions of men take precedence over the word of God.
   c. The Christians in Corinth were severely rebuked by the apostle Paul for being devoted to various men and creating divisions as a result.

Unless the church is being run like a corporation or franchise, there is no reason to have a trademark name. This may sound radical because many today have never even considered this idea, but New Testament churches didn’t have a trademark name in the sense that we think of.

“For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Matt 18:20)

By definition, church is an assembly. It is a gathering of Christians – people – not a building or an institution. We want to build people, not institutions. That’s the example Jesus and the apostles left for us, and that’s the purpose of assembling in Jesus’ name.

The pattern Christians are supposed to follow is the one found in the New Testament. This was the original intent of the Restoration Movement. Unfortunately, most today seem to be more interested in maintaining the traditions of men than they are in actively pursuing pristine Christianity.

Visit now and get four revolutionary study guides – FREE!

Elders lead by example v. Elders are a board of directors

Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. (1 Peter 5:1-3)

It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. (1 Tim 3:1)

The words overseer (bishop), shepherd (pastor), and elder (presbyter) are used interchangeably by Scripture in different translations to describe one role.

Any man who desires to do the work of an elder can do so. Doing the work is the process by which new elders become evident. Not everyone who does the work gets the title, which is not what it’s about, but everyone who gets the title had better do the work.

Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Matt 20:26-28)

What is the work that elders are supposed to do as an example for the flock to imitate; and is there any part of this work that should not be imitated by mature Christians who don’t have the title?

Elders are supposed to have an impeccable character and hold fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able to teach, exhort in sound doctrine, and refute those who contradict (See 1 Tim 3:1-7 & Tit 1:5-9). This includes what we talked about in Mutual Edification and Each One Has a Teaching.

Paul told the elders at Ephesus to, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” (Acts 20:28)

A model shepherd is one who feeds and guards the flock. He has to be aware of each and every sheep to oversee their spiritual growth. This can only be done through close, personal relationships. We are all to consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds (Heb 10:24), but leaders will give an account for the flock (Heb 13:17). What are some areas that elders should help develop in the life of each Christian?

• A firmly grounded faith
• Loving God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength
• Transformation of character
• Bringing friends, family, neighbors and the world to Christ
• Being aware of and guarding against the schemes of the devil
• Keeping marriages intact and thriving
• Raising children in the instruction and discipline of the Lord
• Managing time and finances Biblically
• Having a godly influence in one’s community
• Developing one’s gift to serve the body of Christ

Scripture teaches authentic relationships. Christianity is about practising righteousness in this life, and in the life to come. Maturing saints look for lost souls to help. Families disciple families and their lives become intertwined. Christians encourage one another day after day.

True elders are mature. They lead by example in all these things, which is easily a full time job worthy of financial support. (See 1 Tim 5:17-20) They don’t do everything themselves. They duplicate themselves.

Contrast this with a modern day board of directors elected to make business decisions for corporations that call themselves churches. They are often given the title of elder, which creates the appearance of following Scripture. But these are businessmen, not spiritual men.

They hire a servant to do their job and call him a preacher. To justify the expense they write up a job description and have him do everything the body should do, thus stunting the spiritual growth of everyone else.

Some guys get into the manmade ‘preaching’ business with a naïve idea about actually reproving, rebuking, and exhorting immature Christians to obedience and maturity, and equipping the saints for works of service, namely, evangelism.

But the board of directors fires their hireling if he starts preaching obedience to all Scripture. Running the church like a business requires that the customers are all happy. In this faulty system, complaints from unrepentant sinners can get the hireling scolded or fired.

But most hirelings aren’t naïve; they’re slick and they quickly learn how to speak out of both sides of their mouth, tickling the ears of as many as possible. They work the system, building their resume so they can move on to bigger churches that pay fatter salaries.

The average amount of time that a ‘pulpit minister’ spends in one pulpit is three years. The church they leave behind is just as helpless as it was before, and the spiritually immature elders-in-name-only scramble to hire another servant.

He gave some as… evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (Eph 4:11-13)

True shepherds equip the saints for the work of service. They send preachers out to preach rather than hiring someone to be their ‘pulpit minister’ (regardless of the title used, who invented that position?). Every Christian is a minister, but their ministry can only be developed by rejecting bogus traditions of men.

Visit now and get four revolutionary study guides – FREE!

Each one has a teaching v. Designated teachers

Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. (James 3:1)

I love contrasting Scripture because it always gives you a better understanding of God’s intended meaning. Teacher is one of the gifts listed in Romans 12:7, 1 Cor 12:28, and Eph 4:11. A measure of authority is implied (See also Acts 13:1, 1 Thess 5:12-13, Heb 13:7).

But the presence of a gifted teacher no more limits others from teaching than the presence of a gifted evangelist limits others from evangelizing. How else can these gifts be developed? One of the main purposes of an assembly is to give everyone who has considered how to stimulate others to love and good deeds an opportunity to do so.

Read Hebrews 10:24-25 and 1 Corinthians 14:26-40. The thrust of 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14 is the various parts of the body working together in love, and no part is any more or any less valuable than any other part. All parts are necessary.

When you assemble, each one has a psalm, a teaching, an exhortation…
This appears to have been standard practice in the first century church.

Things were getting a little chaotic at the church in Corinth, so Paul told them to limit the number of speakers; and not to interrupt each other. You can add it up yourself; but it looks like they were to limit it to around a dozen speakers per assembly. Of course, you could rotate speakers between assemblies so everyone who had considered how to stimulate others to love and good deeds could still do so.

These restrictions were because of a bunch of fleshly, immature Christians at Corinth. For example, look at 1 Cor 3:1-3, or just read the whole book. Within reason, these restrictions don’t entirely apply to every church, but would certainly apply to a bunch of fleshly, immature Christians.

Children need many restrictions. If all goes well, they eventually pass from immaturity to maturity and enter the adult community, just as Christians are supposed to pass from immaturity and become mature Christians. Mature people have different roles, and some have more wisdom than others, but all have equally valid participation.

Imagine a man who should be mature, but who perpetually depends on his parents to run his life. The clergy/laity system is like a dysfunctional parent/child relationship; the kids never grow up and become mature Christians. It produces perpetual immaturity.

For those accustomed to the rigid clergy/laity format, where the masses pack the pews and the ‘professionals’ tell them what to think, a dozen different speakers per assembly may seem chaotic at first glance. But done properly and in an orderly manner, this is actually rather refreshing. Everyone gets to enjoy the benefits of different perspectives and teaching styles. Those who prepare and deliver an exhortation can tell you that they learn a lot more than they do when just listening.

One of the major motivations for maintaining the clergy/laity format is control. They can’t have people thinking for themselves or they would go out of business.

What if someone says something unorthodox? OK, so now truth seekers have to examine the Scriptures daily to see if these things are so. Is that so bad? Open and honest discussion leads to greater depths of understanding and discovery of the riches contained in the word of God.

Why should anyone allow a man or group of men to do their thinking for them? Entrusting your eternity to ‘the clergy’ is plain foolish. Sadly, spiritual growth is stagnated by organized religion, and multitudes are turned off by this dysfunctional misrepresentation of Christianity.

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits. (Heb 5:12-6:3)

Give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. (1 Tim 4:13)

Visit now and get four revolutionary study guides – FREE!

Each one has a psalm v. Designated song leaders

How many church squabbles and divisions over music could be avoided if people would simply follow the Biblical pattern? Part of the problem is that people put way more emphasis on music than God does; so much that some give the impression that music is what church is all about.

What if nobody in a church knew how sing? Would an assembly be less godly if they didn’t always have music? Some have gone so far in trying to maintain a traditional, professional image that they hire pagans to entertain them?!?!

Let’s look at the New Testament pattern for music:

When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching… Let all things be done for edification. (1 Cor 14:26)

Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord. (Eph 5:18-19)

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (Col 3:16-17)

These three Scriptures are pretty much the extent of New Testament teaching on music. Let’s ask the basic questions:

When: The assembly is mentioned, but music is certainly not limited to the assembly. Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Where: New Testament Christians proclaimed the gospel publicly, but they assembled from house to house. Picture highly relational home churches meeting several times each week.

Who: Each one who had prepared an edifying psalm to deliver did so. This allows much diversity in each church and promotes tolerance. Variety is the spice of life. Contrast this with the modern tradition of a designated style of music led by designated song leaders. Disagreement over the designated style has caused many church splits.

What: We’re not interested in just any music. The Scripture says spiritual songs that teach and admonish one another, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Someone could teach and admonish the assembly with a psalm or lead the assembly in a group song. Let all things be done for edification.

Why: Music fills you’re mind with images, good or bad. Philippians 4:8 can definitely be applied: whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

How: Psalmos, the Greek word for psalms in the Scriptures above, is the same Greek word that the New Testament uses to reference the book of Psalms in the Old Testament. (See Luke 20:42, 24:44; Acts 1:20, 13:33) The book of Psalms describes a tremendous variety of music.

psalmos (psal-mos’); NT:5568 from NT:5567; a set piece of music, i.e. a sacred ode (accompanied with the voice, harp or other instrument; a “psalm”); collectively, the book of the Psalms.

psallo (psal’-lo); NT:5567; probably strengthened from psao (to rub or touch the surface; compare NT:5597); to twitch or twang, i.e. to play on a stringed instrument.

(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

If you’ve never heard, you’ll be surprised to know that some denominations claim that musical instruments are not to be used in the assembly of the saints. How do you think God feels about people creating laws where He hasn’t?

In vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men. Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men. (Mark 7:7-8)

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (Gal 5:1)

If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use) — in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. (Col 2:20-23)

God didn’t have a problem with musical instruments in the Old Testament; He doesn’t have a problem with them in the New Testament; and He doesn’t have a problem with them in heaven. (See Rev 5:8, 15:2) If God doesn’t have a problem with them, why should we?

It is good to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night, with the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, with resounding music upon the lyre. For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands. (Ps 92:1-4)

Visit now and get four revolutionary study guides – FREE!