THE PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS

Until the church comes to terms with the concept of the priesthood of all believers it will not be able to fulfil the great commission as it needs everyone to function in their gifting to make it happen.

You will not find anywhere in scripture where it says that the church is to appoint a pastor, pay him a salary and get him to do all the important things.

In Matthew 28 it says that Jesus told the eleven disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. Now the question is, if that instruction was only for the chosen few, why was it that God sent his spirit to give power to everyone so that they could be witnesses?

If only the clergy are meant to go and make disciples, there is no need for everyone else to get involved in anything. Yet that seems to be the modus operandi of most churches. The pastor/priest is the anointed one and does most of the ministry and he leaves the crumbs for the rest.

What this mentality produces is dormant Christians who tend not to get involved in anything or very little. After all, we have a professionally trained leader who is better than us at doing what needs to be done.

In addition it develops a mentality that you are not expected to be meaningfully engaged in the life and work of the ministry because you are not professionally trained.

This is evident by the fact that if you do want to be in the thick of things, you are sent away to some theological institution to learn this that and the other and when you have a degree to boast about, you are considered as qualified to lead a church.

You then get a title of Pastor, Rector, Vicar, and Reverend or if you make it up the ladder you get to be called the Cannon, Reverend Doctor, Bishop or the Very Reverend.

The New Testament Church however was quite different. It was a vibrant, sharing, accepting, and caring every believer ministering power of God. And not a clergyman in sight. Everyone was expected to carry each others burdens so every one was a shepherd. Everyone was expected to minister according to the gifts given by the Holy Spirit. Everyone was expected to care for each other according to their ability to do so.

Apart from calling for the Elders of the church if someone was sick, everyone was an able minister of the new covenant and ordained to go and bear fruit.

What does the priesthood of all believers mean? Simply this; the senior pastor or head shepherd is Jesus; the oversight of the congregation is the responsibility of the Elders; when you come together everyone is expected to contribute to the spiritual life of the fellowship as they are led to do so by the Spirit; there is not a pulpit or programme in sight; everyone has a direct relationship with God, not through the pastor or the church; the gifts of the spirit are fully operational through whom he chooses, not through whom the pastor chooses.

That is the story of the New Testament Church. Why not make it the story of your church?