I DIDN'T SAY IT!!

Look no further than this statement from The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism:

"The privileged task of pastors and teachers is to lead God's people (laos), into maturity and to equip them for ministry. Pastors are not to monopolize ministries, but rather multiply them, by encouraging others to use their gifts and by training disciples to make disciples. The domination of the laity by the clergy has been a great evil in the history of the church. It robs both laity and clergy of their God intended roles, causes clergy breakdowns, weakens the church, and hinders the spread of the Gospel. More than that, it is fundamentally unbiblical."

Now first things first. I didn’t say this. A much more respected body is the one responsible for uttering such a challenging challenge.

So what does it actually say?

First, it says that anyone in leadership is required to mature the body of Christ and equip them for ministry. Most fall down on this one as they seem more interested in getting an audience for their ministry, the bigger the better.

The usual pattern is you start as an associate pastor in a mid size church, then you get promoted to senior pastor of a small church, then you get promoted to an associate pastor of a larger church, and if you have ticked all the right boxes you will end up being “senior pastor” of a large church in the denomination. All this of course never happened in the New Testament Church.

Second, it says that pastors are not to monopolize ministries, but that is exactly what happens. The “pulpit” is the province of the select few who have been credentialed by the denomination. I remember in one large church I was involved in which trained up “student pastors”.

You would have a 25 year old preaching to 50, 60, and 70 year olds in the congregation as part of their training. The 50, 60, and 70 year olds never got a look in because they weren’t credentialed and they weren’t student pastors. Ignore the fact that they might have a lifetime of experience and study of the word of God and could knock the socks of most of the people that were given the right to preach.

Third, they are required to train disciples to make disciples. So what do disciples do? They go into all the world and make disciples. Does that mean that the fact that not many are going into all the world the leadership is not training disciples to train disciples?

Fourth, the domination of the laity by the clergy has been a great evil in the history of the church. Do they care? Probably not because they are dead set in the clergy dominating the laity. How do I know? In every discussion I have had on the topic with clergy, they always defend the status quo, which means they do not support the biblical notion of the priesthood of all believers. Yes I know, they pay lip service to it but in actual fact, whatever crumbs the laity is thrown, they retain the control over everything.

Fifth, the end result is people are not doing what they should be doing, clergy are having breakdowns, and the spread of the gospel is hindered. If that is the case, why is it that denominational leadership is determined to produce more of the same. Are they blind or stupid?

Sixth, the committee says that this situation is fundamentally unbiblical. But I thought that the bible was the rule book for faith and practice? Well it is unless of course it clashed with denominational tradition. When that happens what usually wins? Denominational tradition. What God has made clear in his word is no longer relevant. After all, we know better than God don’t we? We don’t? Then why do we act as though we do?

I suspect that all of the above is sufficient evidence we think we know better than God. We don’t need him anymore because we have a slick and efficient organisation that can work everything out so why do we need God?

Come to think of it. Why would God be interested in a slick and efficient organisation that doesn’t want him? Better that he puts his time in building his church and looking after the needs of those who know that they can’t survive without God and let him know that without him they can’t do a darned thing and they don’t unless they get their instructions from heaven, not like the others who get their instructions from denominational headquarters.