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Are we, as Christians, so mesmerized at our little corner of the Christian world that anything that passes as Christian is immediately embraced without “testing the spirits”? Has Satan made us so numb that we are not able to discern the spiritual? Have we surrendered our priesthood for a seat in the pew? Have we been conditioned to “shut up and put up” rather than be truly one.

I am afraid that we have equated the institutional commercialized church with the real assembly of the saints called out by God from the world to be His own possession. We have made a church in the image of man and has asked God to bless it, as if it was the one that He gave His only Son for.

Have we so blurred the lines between the authentic and the synthetic? Are we ready to face our God and explain all that we did in His name was really worth it and not just wood, hay and stubble?

Are our little temples testifying to the unity of believers or to the McDonaldization of the faith? Are we not bought with a price? Have we so trampled the blood of Christ that going to church and tithing are the only requirements of those in the faith?

Where are the prophets of God? Where is the defense of the gospel? What have we done with His song, Ma?

A Short List of things that the traditional plan of the church STEALS…
(http://www.visionofthechurch.com)

1. MONEY
If you pay money (especially “tithe”) to the pastor or leaders of the church–(which is usually used mostly to support a building which is used largely for Christian use–and pay the “full-time” ministers/pastors of the church–who spend most of their time serving YOU instead of spreading the Gospel) you are loosing much of the resource that God has given you to carry out your own ministry.
Imagine if—-you took the money you give to your church and used it directly as the Lord leads you to spread the Gospel directly.

Questions: Which would please God more?—Which is more Biblically correct?

Within the system of church operation–MONEY–is stolen from the believer.

2. TIME
Think of the time you invest in “going” to church. When you go to church every Sunday (and perhaps another day of the week)–you spend time in a system which does not witness the Gospel directly–but rather in worship and teaching–which are things that benefit YOU—and not reach out to the world around you. Think of how much time you spend, organizing your life so you can attend church and……
Imagine if…….you took that time, prayed for the direct leading of God, and worked together with other believers to directly further the Gospel as He lead you. You could spend time feeding people who are hungry–or praying for the sick–or helping the homeless–or visiting people in prison. There are endless ways that you might accomplish these Gospel goals that the Bible outlines for us………BUT, if some of your time is stolen by the tradition that says you must spend hours and hours each week in a system that only benefits YOU?

Then within the system of church operation–TIME–is stolen from the believer.

3. EFFORT
How much effort do you put into the system of church? Are you involved in the “ministry of the church”? Do you spend much effort working within the church (being an usher–a “deacon” working within the music ministry or the cleaning ministry–etc.). Now, the Bible does tell us that some of us are called to do ministry within the church—but the ministries that the Bible describes within the church are teaching and pastoring. The Bible describes these “in-church ministries” in the plural sense. The church in the Bible had groups of pastors and groups of teachers who operated together to carry out these ministries. Probably you are NOT a “pastor” or a “teacher” within the church–instead you spend effort (and perhaps an awful lot of effort) “serving” the “pastor”.
This is Biblically incorrect–the focus of the church is meant to be toward the furthering of the Gospel. Biblical pastoring and teaching are meant to lead others to (quickly) become ministers of the Gospel themselves–not “hold under authority”.
Imagine if……You spent the same effort you spend within the system of church, but your focus was to teach and personally guide others to find their ministry. Many of us within the church have these gifts–they are extremely valuable to God–and very important. The ministry of pastors and teachers is much needed. Imagine if you worked together in a church with others who pastored and taught new believers–leading them quickly to work with you, and become servants of God with you as brothers and sisters in the Lord (not “under” you!)

Question: If we spent more of our effort working together to release people to ministry–do you think the Gospel would be spread more quickly?

Within the system of church operation–EFFORT–is stolen from the believer.

4. MINISTRY
Within the system of church operation that tradition has handed us, your ministry is stolen. Your priesthood is stolen. If you pay money to the ministry of another priest (the “pastor”)—then YOU are not a priest. Your ministry is stolen–robbed—”run-over” by the ministry of someone who is supposedly “greater” than you. You can listen to and receive from the ministry of the leaders—but you do not spend much time, effort or money DOING ministry—WITH your brothers and sisters if Christ–which is what the assembling of the church is meant to be.
The Bible describes all the church as a priesthood (1Peter) and calls all believers in the new covenant “priests” (Acts). Your priesthood is your ministry. The Bible says that ministry is NOT authority over other believers—but the people who established the functioning of the church (in the Dark Ages!) believed strongly in a system of “ministerial authority and rule”. They established the format of church operation which focused on teaching and worship (and little else) as a format which would rule over people.
If another “minister” “rules over” you—your ministry is subverted. The “pastor” of your church may stand in the pulpit each week and honestly encourage you to minister—but he is still standing in the pulpit—”ruling over” you to some degree. And so the ministry time we have together is stolen.
In the Bible they broke bread together as equals (Acts 2, Acts 4) operating in small groups usually in their homes. They prayed in the Spirit and received Gods’ direct instructions for how they should minister. They did this all the time—as a group–on a daily basis (not “everyone everyday”–but someone was ministering the Gospel ALL THE TIME—since they were obedient to work in small groups–as Jesus had demonstrated).
Imagine if……We operated our ministry in small groups together, instead of “under the authority” of one “minister”–in a large group.

Questions: Do you think the Gospel would spread faster and more efficiently? Do you think that the ministry of all the church would be used by God to appeal to the lost and needy in the world–if we were obedient to be “sent” as the Bible commands us?

Within the system of church operation–MINISTRY–is stolen from the believer.

BUT MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL…
WHAT IS TRULY STOLEN……
IS THE RESOURCE THAT JESUS NEEDS…..
WHICH IS ALL OF US—WORKING TOGETHER–TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL.

I got to thinking over the last week or so about this thing called “Pastor”…. why is it capitalized? What is a “senior” pastor? What is a “lay” pastor? What is an “executive” pastor? Where in the word of God are these titles… and why are people who serve as such demand to be called (titled) as such (example.. : Pastor Darren, Pastor Laura, ad nauseum)
Paul who served as an apostle never referred to himself as Apostle Paul… but rather as a ‘bond servant called to be an apostle’. Jesus, during his earthly time with his disciples warned about titles… call no man your father for you have but one Father, etc etc. (Matthew 23: 1-12)
But here we are, being trained (some as a condition of church membership) to refer to men who are pastors… as Pastor so and so.
In Matthew 23, Jesus talks about titles for those in the service of God.
From Matthew 23:8, do not call anyone your teacher, for One is your teacher. Want to guess who that one teacher is? John 14:26, Isaiah 54:13.
The word “Rabbi” in Hebrew is translated to the Greek in the New Testament to mean “My Master”. Is your master a man or is it the Lord? There is one thing to teach, which hopefully we all do at some manner.. but then there is being referred to as a teacher, or master. Here Jesus is saying that we have but One Teacher. Him!

If you get a chance, read Ezekiel 34:1-10. It speaks about false shephards and how they fleece the sheep that are under their care. Instead of feeding the sheep, they fed themselves and allowed the sheep to become open prey. In John 10:11-13, Jesus warned about hirelings who, when danger comes, will abandon the sheep. Many of todays professional clergy/pastors would rather live than lay down their life for the sheep under their care. Shooting the wounded and delivering them to the wolf all for the sake of a paycheck.

How much do you think the Lord is going to grieve on the day of judgment for these men, who loved the praise of men and have followed after the error of Balaam, for money. The Lord did not lay down his life in order to provide an income stream for these hirelings. Paul who served as an apostle worked hard with his own hands so as not to burden the church for support. His cause was that to NOT preach the good news was a “woe” to him. His example is mocked in the modern ministry. It should make a person, who is studying God’s word, line the Bible up against the things being taught and practiced in the body of Christ. Let’s get back to the things that the first century lived, breathed and was taught.

We need to return to the basics of the faith.

Just to be a Christian, again. Is all that I ask you to consider.

I have been told on numerous times that church leaders want informed believers, but not believers who know the truth that the bible teaches.
Why?
It’s because of control. If you control access to information, then you control the person or persons who do not have that information.
In my early Christian years (1977-80) I was part of the Church of Christ (Cambellite movement) which (like most denominations) have their little “proof-texts” to justify what they do and practice as a body of believers.
Larry Drake, who led me to Christ, encouraged me to study the bible on my own. Always warning me to accurately divide the Word.
One day I was asking him about the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha are those extra books that the Roman Catholics deem as scripture whereas the Jews and Protestants do not.
He said that knowing about them in useful, but not above knowing Jesus and what He has given us in the New Covenant, and that was only known by reading the Bible, especially the New Testament.
This was early in my walk with Christ (1977) and I have studied the bible on my own, pretty much, ever since.
I love the Word of God, I love talking about it and the one it speaks of. I love sharing what I have learned about the Lord Jesus Christ. I love teaching it. I love when other Christians love to read the Word as well. When I say “read” the Word, I mean…. dive into it. Wash in it. Let it challenge you to seek after the things of God.
And, here is the dangerous part….. knowing the Word will help build into your spirit a sort of “spiritual B. S. detector”. When you are hearing something that just doesn’t seem right or scriptural, you would tend to run to the scriptures, as a Berean, to see if what you were taught is so.
There are a lot of wacky teachings coming out of Christians that, if not put into check, could and may lead you to shipwreck your faith. Watch and pray, but do not be afraid. Many believers have lost their lives for standing up for the truth. Foxes “Book of Martyrs” are full of church history about how churches killed people who dared stand up against false teaching.
Today, you can be asked to leave the church if you stand up against some of their pet doctrines that they love more than the commandments of God. Traditions that were grown in the Old Covenant and laid on New Covenant believers such as circumcision, tithing, and things like that. Grace, all of grace.
Be not ignorant beloved. God’s people perish because of the lack of knowledge.
We are commanded to grown in grace and KNOWLEDGE. But also know that knowledge puffs up, whereas love edifies.
So learn to use your knowledge to love people. Help them come to the knowledge of the truth. Like Larry did for me, set me on a course, trusted me to the Holy Spirit, and now here I am, sharing all of this on a blog.
This week, I encourage you to get to know Jesus on your own. Let Him be the pastor of your heart. The shepherd of your soul. Let Him be all that He wants to be to you. If you do that, He will lead you to places that you may have never imagined.
Be not ignorant!