BURNT OUT, WASHED UP

For the second time I am reading the book “Experience the Blessing” by John Arnott of the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, the church where the “Toronto Blessing” was birthed by the Holy Spirit.

It contains the testimonies of people who have visited the church and encountered God in a life changing way.

Throughout the testimonies and many others I have read, there seems to be a common theme. Those in leadership who visited the church were washed up, exhausted and burnt out.

I asked the Lord why this was so common and He said it was due in most cases to the fact that they were doing the work of five men and without the power of the Holy Spirit.

The one pastor was expected to be the churches apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. Such a scenario is guaranteed to produce burnout. Despite this fact, the church persists in this failed and unscriptural model.

I guess if you ignore the word of God, you have to accept the consequences. In Australia alone, there are 10,000 ex pastors who were burnt out and disillusioned.

Whilst I do accept that some have ended up that way because they should never have gone into ministry in the first place, we are foolish if we turn a blind eye to the obvious.

I believe with all my heart that God’s design for the operation of His church is very clearly stated in the scriptures.

The local congregation is the responsibility of a plurality of home grown local Elders. They are not brought in from outside.

Deacons assist the Elders taking responsibility for the practical matters of the fellowship.

Working alongside these two bodies, but not in charge, are the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. The apostle is in authority along with the prophet at the founding of a church but in time they will hand over to local Elders chosen by the congregation.

A congregation with that governance structure should be effective and prevent burnout as every joint is operating according to its calling and anointing.

When this happens, the church grows effective ministries and into maturity. How do I know? Because that is what the scripture says will happen and God doesn’t lie.

The idea that there is a select few professionals who are paid to be Christians and the rest are their cheer squad is not to be found in scripture. The life of the New Testament Church was very interactive with everyone encouraged to take part and be part of whatever was happening. Because there was no distinction and everyone was one in Christ, everyone’s contribution was valid. The idea of professional clergy and unprofessional laity did not exist and would have been a denial of the concept of the body of Christ.