[This booklet was written firstly for printing as hardcopy and later set up in HTML format. It is no longer in print but if you would like the HTML file of the booklet, I will gladly email it to you if you let me have your email address.]
Church Without Churches.
By
Jessop Sutton
A booklet about a global phenomenon perhaps heralding the last and great resurgence of the true Church of Jesus Christ before He returns in glory to reign on earth.
Published by: Southtown Publishers, 8 Churchdown Lane, BERGVLIET, 7945 South Africa.
August 1997
(Hard copy Edition, ISBN 0-620-21893-2, First Printing, 120 copies.)
Acknowledgements and Thanks.
My thanks go to my wife Dorothy who has stood by patiently throughout the years as I have studied, thought about, reviewed and revised, taught and otherwise involved myself with the processes of the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, and who has now faithfully read, reread and edited every word in this booklet.
I acknowledge also the contribution of all with whom I have worked in the Churches and debated these issues – both those who were always at one with me and those who often opposed me. “Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend”, and it is so that without their interaction I could not have clarified these issues in my own mind.
And always, my grateful thanks to our Lord Jesus Chriour Lord Jesus Christ Whose Church it is.
(Quotations from the Bible are from the King James version with modifications of text and substitution of words in keeping with modern translations where this makes the meaning more clear.)
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Contents
(Click on any highlighted section, and your browser will take you there.
At the end of each section, click on “Return To Contents” to come back here.)
Section:
** Introduction
1 A Dream Vision of The Church
2 “Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness!”
3 Where is this Church?
4 Who teaches the Churches?
5 Who ‘ministers’ in the local Church?
6 Who will guard the flock from error?
7 Jesus wants Christians to love one another in sincerity.
8 Where are young (new) ministers trained?
9 What happens to the tithes of the people of God?
10 What TITLES are given to the Ministers in the Church?
11 What about Holy Communion?
12 Who is allowed to baptise new Christians?
13 Who exercises authority over the local assembly?
14 What about Elders and Deacons?
15 Where do we get the right “teaching” if we have no denomination?
16 Who will marry us, and who can bury our dead?
17 How can I become a member of the one Church of Jesus Christ?
18 Church Unity
19 The coming great revival of the Church
20 Freeing up existing structures
** Recommended reading
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Introduction
The Central Message of This Book.
The sentiments expressed in this booklet have been moulded over a long period of time, with much wrestling in my spirit, with the Scriptural interpretation being reinforced and confirmed by dreams, visions, prophecies as well as by discoveries made by others as they also wrestled with these matters. Holding to these truths has often lead to my being estranged from fellow-Christians and leaders i and leaders in Churches, but the truth will not let me go. It is as the Prophet Amos said: “The lion has roared, who will not fear? The Lord has spoken, who can but prophesy?”. [Amos 3:8]. So it is with me also – the truth burns inside me and I cannot keep silent. The message is always very clear: The Church of The Lord Jesus Christ is a spiritual entity which will not be constrained by the organisations of man. The Church indwelt by the Spirit of God must be fluid and free. It cannot be contained in church or denominational structures with rules, teachings and traditions of men. Leadership there is, but it is not that which men approve, but that which The Spirit supplies and approves.
If there is any ‘fighting talk’ in this book (and there is!), it is towards ‘rulers of the Church’ rather than ‘ordinary’ people of God. Actually, as you read Scripture you find that most times God’s controversy is with ‘leaders’ of the people when they are acting falsely, and seldom with the people themselves. Of course, ‘ordinary’ people do make themselves guilty when they blindly follow where they should not go, even if it is just carelessness on their part. Carelessness does not excuse any action. Ignorance does but, then again, ignorance which is due to carelessness (‘not caring’) is also not excusable. When there is light and people choose not to use it, their guilt remains. The world has had light, ever since Jesus came the first timee, so there can be no excuse – particularly for those who are of the household of faith. But the ‘leaders’ are still subject to greater judgement, so this book is as much an appeal to them to ‘think again’ as it is an encouragement to those people of God who have seen the error in the Church Systems and have ‘made their escape’.
We had a saying when I was a child growing up among the Zulu people in Natal, that if you want to obtain a bend in a stick to make a bow, you have to bend it much further than the required bend knowing that it will spring back to a lesser curve. In the matter of the ‘abused’ Church, we also have to highlight the abuses as starkly as possible in the hope that even small corrections will take place. Our joy, obviously would be without bounds if all sincere ‘leaders’ of Churches and Denominations would ‘see the light’ and act positively to bring about change for the sake of all the people of God.
When the ‘Church’ of Israel of old was running full tilt with Priests and Prophets, Princes and Leaders, God had reason to sound a warning through His true prophet Ezekiel: “they have put no difference between the holy and profane”. [Ezekiel 22:26]
I think we are guilty of the same things today in the Church because we have taken that which is holy, the spiritual Kingdom of Heaven, and we have clothed it with that which is profane, the systems and organisations of human control. Each disciple of Jesus Christ has his or her ‘gift’ from God which he or she must ‘manage’. This is holy. For some one else to attempt to ‘manage’ it is to profane it, and in the end to kill it. Misguided ‘leaders’ become ‘controllers’ when they impose their over lordship on other people’s gift of ministry in the Body of Christ .
The message and plea in this book is therefore: “Let’s abandon this folly and let’s allow the people of God to truly become the Church of Jesus Christ”.
In the world itself, while some governments still want to hold centralised power, more and more are turning to decentralisation and community-level democracy. In the world of business also, more and more ‘fundis’ are preaching the message of devolving decision-making to the lowest possible levels in the staffing hierarchy. A recent book title, for instance, is: “Managing without Management” (by Richard Koch and Ian Godden, published by Nicholas Brealy Publishing Limited in 1997) and a blurb on the back cover says: “Managing Without Managers might well be to business orthodoxy today what Luther’s ’95 theses’ were to the established religious hierarchy of Christendom”. And another says: “Large corporations invented management as a necessary means of control and co-ordination. But today management, in aggregate, subtracts far more value than it adds. —- Six more powerful forces can be mobilised to dispense with mamanagement – power from customers, information, investors, global markets, simplicity and leaders. The authors see the emergence of a totally 21st century supercorporation, with no headquarters, standardised operations throughout the globe, and very simple structures. The supercorporation will be controlled by customers, information technology and anew breed of superleaders, but not any managers”.
Is it strange that Jesus comments that: “The children of this age are in their generation wiser than the children of light”? [Luke 16:8]. What the world and business are moving away from is something that the Church should never have got involved in the first place. So, come on, ‘controllers’ of the Church, let’s arise and get going!
Even while I urge this view of the Church upon Ministers of all denominations, I do not overlook the fact that many of such are dependent upon the Pulpit for their livelihood and are not trained for any other sort of career. It would be irresponsible to suggest that such as these must resign their posts and come out just like that. I have never for one moment suggested that Ministers and people in the denominations are not Christians and are not loved by God. There is also no suggestion that God does not know where they are. All I ask of those who are locked into those positions is that they should in all honesty acknowledge the truth in what I write and not oppose the free association of Christians in their meetings outside of the denominations. But, if some in this position see the opportunity to take their freedom, then they should use that opportunity.
To those not in the ministry but who are aspiring to positions of leadership, and to those denominational servants who are at loggerheads with their leaders. and are contemplating breaking away to ‘start their own church’, I say “Please think again. Don’t start a new denomination, it will add to the confusion. The Church (intended Church) is out there waiting for you and for your God-given ministry, only don’t come thinking you can ‘own’ it. It is a free association of one soul linked to Jesus with other souls linked to Jesus”.
As soon as one person says to himself, “This meeting is very ‘Corinthian’, it needs the control that I can give it”, that meeting is on the way to becoming a man-made organisation and, if more of the same are formed under the same discipline, it becomes yet another denomination to add to the several thousand already operating in the world. The only way for this process to be stopped is for every genuine Christian leader (leader as opposed to controller) to do what Jesus did: “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take Him by force, to make Him a King, He departed again into a mountain himself alone”. [John 6:15]
Dreams, visions and prophesyings.
"quot;In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters”. [Daniel 7:1].
Something needs to be said about this before we get into the real subject matter of the book. There is a tendency to interpret Scripture in the light of what we know of today’s Church. When theologians and other spokesman for the Church come across dreams, visions and prophesyings in the Bible, they look at the Church practices today and, when they don’t see it happening, they say “That was for that time when the Church was still being formed. The Church doesn’t need it today. The Church is mature now”.
However, surprise! surprise! These things do happen today, among very level-headed, mature Christians! So we do not rationalise and delude ourselves. The very same Jesus Who revealed Himself to Paul and others, is still in the world today. Dreams, visions and prophesyings are part and parcel of the gift of the Holy Spirit, so we do not despise them because if we do so we despise God Who gives them.
So we also have had dreams and visions which we wrote down and now “tell the sum of the matters” in this book.
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Section 1
A Dream Vision of The Church.
The Church of The New Testament as Paul the Apostle knew it is the Church as it is meant to be – the real Church. I know that there have been numerous attempts through the ages to bring the Church back to this purest form, but always doomed to failure, if not immediately then certainly with the passage of years – almost as if there is something which is determined to swallow it up!
This was brought home to me very vividly in a dream which I will relate. It was March 1979. I dreamed that I was running down a steep mountain side, following after a man skimming down the grassy slope on skis. The man was known to me – Faans Klopper, with whom I was (and am) associated in the work of God. With us there was another man whose identity was hidden from me. At the bottom of the slope the land levelled off and continued to the edge of a vast lake whose farther shore I could not see. The ground was rugged and dotted here and there with what we in South Africa call Karoo bushes – small, hardy shrubs of various types. Faans had wandered off a little distance when I bent down and picked up a little creature (an iguana – an ancient species of large lizard) which had come to my feet, presumably from the water’s edge. As Faans returned to me I said: “This little iguana is a very sad little beast because that big beast over there has eaten all the other little ones and this one is the only one left”. I said this as I pointed to a karoo bush on the levell plain from behind which a very much larger iguana leered at me and then quickly hid away. I put the little iguana back on the ground and the dream ended.
I prayed much about the dream, looking to God for the explanation of these things. The revelation was quite explicit straight away, but the impact has grown stronger and stronger over the years. The lake is the world. The little iguana is a manifestation of the Church, the Kingdom of Heaven, in it’s desired form – free, independent, coherent but not over organised, the Body of Christ manifesting itself in the form described by Jesus: “Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them”. [Matthew 18:20]
The large beast is what results when man takes every small manifestation of the vital life of the Kingdom of Heaven and ‘swallows it up’ in his organisations. The beast represents a ‘system’ which is actually larger than the men who operate it, a system which has operated since the foundation of the world (the lake is ‘ancient’), a system which induces man to be in absolute control over every thing he sees. It was the motivating force behind the Tower of Babel, and in the Church it is actually the manifestation of the spirit of ‘Babylon’ usurping the role of the true Spirit of the Church.
We of the Protestant denominations, particularly of the Baptist and Pentecostal persuasions, have for a long time ‘feasted’ upon bn books which identify the Roman Catholic Church with the ‘Babylon the Great’ of Revelation. It is very sobering to realise that the same system or spirit operates in all denominations, wherever a power-hierarchy of men controls it. The only difference is the people who hold the reins of power: the principle is otherwise the same. It is also sobering to realise that all the divisions of the Church, all the infighting among Christians, all strife which is contrary to the prayer of Christ “that they all may be one” [John 17:21]. all this comes about because of the denominations of the Church. It is leaders struggling for control, not the ordinary Christians who are the sources of strife – leaders fighting to “own” what can never be theirs to “own”. The true Church belongs only to God and His Son Jesus Christ. Because God is God, He does not even need men to protect the Church or the Gospel of Jesus Christ – He is more than able to do it Himself.
Not that there is a complete absence of organisation in the Church. There is organisation, but it is that which He brings about by His Holy Spirit. He is the One who supplies everything that holds the Body together.
The message of the little iguana is therefore clear. God WILL re-establish the Church as it should be, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ which “is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I s should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is my Kingdom not from hence”. [John 18:36] God did not say to me by this dream that I was to restore the Church, but that He will do it. All He wants is for me, and Faans, and the other person with us, (who is not one but many), to spread the message of the Return of The Church and allow the Spirit of God to do His work.
Here I prophesy! This little iguana is the last emergence of the true Church before Jesus returns. This time it will not be swallowed by the big one as in the past, but it will swim free, and others like it will be born of it, and still others, and they will all swim free, and they will multiply and fill the world. Churches of ‘two or three’ will spring up everywhere where Christians discover that they are actually free to come together and be the Church in their own communities. Hundreds will catch the vision and will take the message further and further as the Spirit of God moves once more in a mighty way upon the hearts of His willing people wherever they may be found on earth
In the dream, Faans was there with me, and then there was the other one, not identified. I now believe that the ‘other one’ is not one person, but representative of many who are already out there ready to run with this message. If you are one of these, release yourself from all that binds you, and come with us.
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Section 2
“Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness!” [Exodus 7:16].
This is ‘wilderness territory’ for many who read it, but it is exciting territory. The major problem is in shaking off the hold that traditions have over you, such as the belief that you have to belong to one of the Churches of one of the Denominations in order to be a Christian. This is a myth, perpetuated by the denominations themselves. Tied to it is the myth that Holy Communion is only Holy Communion if consecrated by the prayers of an authorised Priest or Minister. And there is also the myth that the Church is only the Church when there is a “Minister” or “Priest”, or “Pastor” in charge who has been “ordained” or “licensed”.
These are myths, and worse than that, they are deceptions. But people believe them. So the purpose of this booklet is to encourage those who are already meeting together in many small gatherings in homes and hired rooms, and also those who feel a stirring in their own spirits but have not yet found the courage to join in. Those who have ‘open’ fellowship like this know that the Church is owned by no-one but themselves, and The Lord Jesus Christ with them. Such is the membership of these churches of the saints, embracing all who want to serve The Lord in the full liberty thy that He gives, fearing no man or organisation as having any mediating position between themselves and God.
I said it is wilderness territory. This was brought home to me by a vision given to some one in a meeting. on Sunday 28 February 1982. Dru ( a sister in Christ) had a vision at a Breaking of Bread meeting in which she saw the courts (of the Temple?) with all of “us” (the congregation?) in the outer court but moving freely between the outer and inner courts. She saw me standing in the outer court, leaning with my back against a wall, calm and relaxed, with my gaze fixed on some point in the inner court. She turned to see what it was and saw The Lord there with a group of people (men? leaders?) around Him. As I kept my gaze on Him, He also lifted His face and looked at me. (What did that look convey? Was He wanting me to come and join the group? Was He encouraging me, approving of my standing where I was? – Dru wasn’t sure what His expression conveyed).
That was the vision. Dru thought that it was a call to me to join the group. To come out of isolation and join the mainstream. But I did not feel in any way ‘judged’ by what she saw. I felt comforted by the vision – not condemned by it.
(Dorothy, my wife, later pointed out that what Dru saw reflected my nature exactly – I was being true to myself entirely. Now this is important. Jesus wants from us only such service as we have to give, not that whichich we do not have. And what we have is what we received – from Him. There is a little episode in John’s Gospel which, for me, throws much light on this. Jesus said to Peter: “Follow me. Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following —; Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith to him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me”). [John 21:20-22]
So, I did not feel ‘judged’ by the vision. I saw it as a revelation of what was and what was to come. This particular fellowship had started off with the full message of the Ministry of all Believers. As the fellowship grew, the leadership was being drawn more and more to the ‘traditional’ view of the Church (they were looking over their shoulders at what other Churches were doing, wanting to be like them).
“Can two walk together”, the Prophet Amos asks, “except they be agreed?” [Amos 3:3]. The answer is that they cannot, so I was finding myself estranged from them as I clung to the ‘first love’ which we had all professed. In all this I felt saddened but not abandoned by The Lord Jesus, because I knew that the VISION OF THE TRUE CHURCH (that is, the little iguana) came from Him and is a message which must be proclaimed. I have since found abundant evidence that I am not alone in this, but all over the world there are people of God proclaiming the same e message. We have confidence that God is going to enlarge the work.
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Section 3
Where is this Church?
The little iguana of the vision speaks of the movement, now gathering momentum world-wide, in which Christians meet in small companies in private homes or in hired halls to worship, study the Scriptures and celebrate The Lord’s Supper together. The groups belong to none of the denominations of the Church although the members come from various church backgrounds. Together, they are taking a fresh look at the Scriptures with a determination to experience the life of the Church of Jesus Christ in the form in which Paul saw it working. Their gatherings are precisely such as those alluded to by Paul when he writes: “The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you much in The Lord, with the church that is in their house”. [1 Corinthians 16:19] and, in another place, “Salute the brethren that are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in their house”. [1 Thessalonians 4:15]
These Churches own no buildings. Jesus laid no claim to any place on earth ‘where He could lay his head’ (although the whole earth is His), and neither should His Church. It actually has no need to. The wealth of His people is the wealth of His Church and nothing more is needs needed. The Church can never be free when it encumbers itself with real estate which immediately dictates that there must be some sort of constitution and a panel of trustees
The vision of the building “not made with hands”, let down from heaven.
That the Church needs no buildings was brought home to me and others at a time when we had a new Church forming and had to vacate the hired hall that we were using. We gathered together early in the mornings during a week of prayer while we addressed this matter with God. I saw a vision of a building being let down from above with a rope threaded through two ‘eyes’ at either end of the roof. The ends of the rope disappeared into the sky above. I related the vision to the company who all said Amen! Amen! and we agreed that our prayers had been heard and God would provide us with a place to assemble.
Not long after we received an offer (I can’t remember how it came) to use the local Congregational Church for our meetings. We took this as the fulfilment of the vision, and I was prepared to leave it at that. Later, when the fellowship grew and money was more readily available, there was a strong desire in some that we should have our own building. When a building plot was identified and the building work commenced, some of our number began to claim this as the real fulfilment of the promise that God had given us.
I felt uncertain about this, afraid that hat we were being carried away from our real commission which was not to grow big but to continuously split and form new assemblies where the size would always allow the practice of the ‘ministry of all believers’ (the ‘open ministry). However, one lacks courage and goes along with the popular view!. Years later, only recently in fact, I read again the story of St. Francis of Assisi and discovered that he had a similar revelation in which God said to him, “Francis, go and repair My house, which you see is falling down.” So he set to work begging for money with which he repaired the local church of St. Damians.
After that he busied himself repairing several other churches until one day while attending a service he realised that what he was required to do was not to build with bricks and mortar but to go out preaching, rebuilding the living Church. He refused ordination as a Priest and resisted those who demanded a more ‘practical organisation’. He protested against the admission of learned brethren into the ‘Order’ because he felt there was no room for a student class in the work. The Rulers of the Church wanted Francis’ Order to be more like the old-established Orders so, while he was away they introduced changes. His last years were spent in protest as things continued to be done without his knowledge or against his wishes. (See Everyman’s Book of Saints, by C.P.S Clarke, published by A.R.Mowbray & Co).
p>Francis was not the first, neither the last man to attempt to get away from a ‘territorial’ concept of the Church and concentrate on building the real Church with living stones. God really has no need for fixed-property held in His Name! (Just imagine what could happen today if the denominations were to “Sell what you have, give to the poor, and come follow Me (Jesus)”!) [Matthew 19:21].
Jesus owns the whole world, but lays claim only to the hearts of people who love Him.
This Church that I am speaking about meets in any home or ‘upper room’ where space is available and it is made welcome. Minimal organisation takes the ‘protection’ (or ‘ownership’?) of Church and gospel out of the hands of men and places it once more under His own control, which is what Jesus intended. Those searching the Scriptures together in this way soon discover that JESUS alone, acting through His word and The Spirit of God, is Lord and King in His Church. Man’s part is to preach and teach the truth as it has been handed down in the Scriptures (and by genuine apostles of all ages), but the organisation and control over the people of God is the responsibility of The Lord Himself. John the Baptist testified of Jesus: “He must increase, but I must decrease”. [John 3:30]. When we have done our bit, we also must draw into the background and allow Him to increase in the eyes of His people.
So, look for this moving of the Se Spirit of God where Christians, “owned” by no one but themselves and Jesus in the midst of them, meet together in any convenient place, remembering Jesus as they share together the bread and wine which He ordained, encouraging one another in the faith. If there is no meeting like this in your neighbourhood, why not set it going yourself?
“Who is your ‘covering’?
One of the recently established buzzwords in Christendom is that ‘you must have a covering’ – meaning that whoever is the ‘top man’ in the local Church must have ‘some one’ somewhere as his ‘spiritual’ overseer! This seemed to have originated with a group of ‘leaders’ in America who seemed to see a world-wide fellowship of churches, with themselves, of course, being the leaders and, presumably, the main ‘covering’. The system obviously leads right back to a new denomination with it’s own hierarchy of leadership with authority to approve and appoint ‘elders in every city’ and even ‘apostles’. Can you see any real difference?
Paul argues that he received his apostleship directly from The Lord and not from Peter, James or John. Paul also did not claim to be the last apostle coming to light in the early church – he takes the term to be applicable to any who are commissioned directly by God to go and establish local Churches. You may be an apostle, and your covering is Jesus. But you will, of course check your ‘doctrine’ out with that ot of other ‘apostles’ so that you do not find at the end that you have laboured in vain, spreading false teaching every where. You get your doctrine from the Scriptures and you check it out by talking to others and (mostly) by reading the writings of other wise men and women of the Church who have gone before.
‘Apostle’, incidentally, simply means one who is sent (in this case, by God). So, if you have the calling (usually synonymous with a strong desire), you can work at setting up local ‘Churches-in-homes’, but just don’t try to ‘own’ them or turn them into a new ‘denomination’. An apostle’s work is to set a Church fellowship going, give it sufficient teaching, and then turn it over to God and the wiser people (elders) present in the local community. In a healthy Church, there should be room for other ‘itinerating’ workers to come and ‘build’ on the foundation that the apostle has laid – people with ministries such as ‘prophet’ and ‘teacher’. Paul placed no bar on the entry of these, just warning the people to be careful and to test what these said in the light of what they had been taught (the ‘foundation’ that had been laid). (See 1 Corinthians 3:1-23 and note that the ‘builders’ are different people who came and ‘built’ on the foundation which Paul had laid).
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Section 4
Who teaches the the Churches?
Of great importance in understanding the Church is knowing that apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, are men and women given by The Lord as gifts to ALL His people – to His WHOLE CHURCH. These emerge from a local Church somewhere, but they cannot be claimed for sole-ownership by this or that denomination or local congregation. When they allow themselves to be so claimed, they limit their ministry and do a disservice to the people of God.
These, by God’s design, move from place to place establishing fellowships and returning to help, encourage and teach, according to the grace given to them, with one purpose in mind – To perfect the saints for the work of ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ.:
“Wherefore He says, When He ascended up on high, He gave gifts to men. And He gave some, apostles; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”. [Ephesians 4:8-16].
Teaching, encouraging, but never seeking to “own” any of the fellowships they serve. They labour following Paul’s example, accepting from the churches only such assistance as is needed to help them on their way to break new ground for the gospel:
“I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. Yes, you yourselves know, that these hands have provided for my necessities, ans, and for them that were with me. I have showed you all things, how that labouring like this you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of The Lord Jesus, how He said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’”. [Acts 20:33-35].
In the light of this, any man who believes he has been sent by God as a messenger of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, has a place ‘out there’ in the wider Church. His ministry should not be anchored to any one ‘pulpit’. In New Testament terms, the only home-based ‘pastors’ of the Churches are ‘elders’, who by very definition are respected members of the local community where they are looked upon (and selectable as) functionary ‘overseers’ in that particular local congregation. Sometimes, but not often, these ‘elders’ are reflected in the New Testament as receiving some payment for their services, but more usually the implication is that they are just members of the community, voluntarily serving their fellow believers. (If any man (or woman) ‘occupying a pulpit’ in any other circumstances reads this and is persuaded of the truth of it, let him take courage and break out – the Church of The Lord is waiting for you in the wide world out here !)
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Section 5
Who ‘ministers’ in the local Church?
·1 All the saints minister to all and to one another: The New Testament makes no suggestion that there should be “Church Services” where one ‘qualified’ person consistently speaks and acts while all others sit still and listen (though this may happen from time to time when one has the attention of all for a while). The whole mode of operation of the Church is intended to be the interaction of the parts a ‘body’ in which each member is permitted to play it’s part, whether in speaking or in action. (Note that we are talking of the fellowship of those who already number themselves among the saints, not of the occasion when one as an evangelist addresses a crowd of ‘outsiders’ as Paul did, say, at Mar’s Hill in Athens, or Peter and John did at the gate of the Temple. That is a different story, and ‘evangelists’ every where should be out there doing that, with the support of their home-fellowships and others. Of course, such meetings could be in a hall or any other suitable place).
Therefore, the ministry in the local church is the responsibility, duty and privilege of every one present when the fellowship comes together in a meeting. Paul really is serious when he says: “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to each one the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness”? [Romans 12:3-8]. Peter also says: “As every man has received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God”. [1 Peter 4:10-11]. Through love of The Lord, and for the sake of the work of The Lord, this is what they do freely and without charge.
When the Church is not gathered together in a meeting, the pastoral care of, and ministry to, those who are normally associated in the fellowship is still the responsibility of all the members individually and jointly. “Pure religion”, says James, “and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world”. [James 1:27].
There are no ‘licensed’ clergy here, only the saints of the Lord in loving fellowship ministering to one another according to the grace given to each of them by God. It is true that those who are ‘elders’ do give a lead, but the privileges and rewards of ministering to the needs of others are not reserved for a select few: they are for all the people of God.
·2 And The Spirit of God ministers in the meeting. The Christians who gather together for fellowship, worship and ministry, are not afraid of the gifts of the Spirit. They heed Paul when he counsels: “Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” [1 Thessalonians 5:19-21]. And in another place: “Covet prophecy, and forbid not to speak in tongues”. [1 Corinthians 14:39].
All the ministry gifts of The Holy Spirit, given to one here and another there, are meant for the benefit of the whole body, and are therefore allowed full expression but with sensitive self-control. [See 1 Corinthians 12:4-11]. Where gifts of tongues are present, these are heard, with interpretation so that all may be edified. Words of knowledge and of wisdom are spoken, and prophecy with discerning of spirits is heard in the meeting. Gifts of healings are brought to the needy by those who faithfully yield to the Spirit of God and minister that which they have been given. Jesus is alive in His Church – the same Jesus who brought to His followers in Galilee the good news from God the Father. His people therefore, using what they know, while letting “all things be done decently and in order”, become strong in the faith and able to teach others. [1 Corinthians 14:40].
But even in meetings where the gifts of the Spirit are not seen and heard, fellowship continues, for the gathering is not around the gifts of the Spirit, but around The Lord, His Word and the Table of The Lord. Did He not say: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them”? [Matthew 18:20]. I often think that a good ‘model’ for the Church meeting is found in the Old Testament book of Malachi: “Then they that feared The Lord spake often one to another: and The Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared The Lord, and thought upon His name, And they shall be mine, saith The Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not.”. [Malachi 3:16-18]. Whether or not the full range of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are known in the congregation, it is the meeting and ‘speaking one to another’ in the context of the Body of Christ which is the important thing. So we urge you, just do it!
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Section 6
Who will guard the flock from error?
In this Church of The Lord Jesus Christ the TRUTH is guarded, not by sectarian teaching and rules, but by the Holy Spirit of God in the hearts of people who know the Scriptures and are able of themselves to sort truth from error. As John writes in his first letter:
“These things I have written to you concerning those that seduce you. But the anointing that you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not require that any man should teach you: but as that same anointing teaches you about all things, and is truth, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you shall abide in Him”. [1 John 2:26-27].
The people of God meeting in local fellowships do not fear that they will be lead astray. They trust in the Spirit of God to lead them and in the wisdom of the ‘elders’ whom God has placed there to protect them. There is really little danger of error while the meetings remain ‘open’ for contribution from all. But when one ‘strong leader’one ‘strong leader’ starts to dominate, see the sign and resist him right away – even if he takes a huff and departs.
So I am definitely not saying that Christians in a fellowship, or even an entire fellowship, cannot be lead astray. To say that would be to fly in the face of Scripture where Paul clearly says: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He has purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them”. [Acts 20:28-30].
That is the danger that Paul foresees, but his answer is not to erect a wall around them to keep out all other ‘apostles’ or ‘teachers’. He did not tell them to lock themselves in a ‘Church Of Paul’, allowing entry only to those who had ‘credentials’ from the ‘Bible School of Paul’. He knew that the Church was not Paul’s, and that the same wall which would keep error out would also lock error in. So Paul did what he had to do, he commended them to God Who owns the Church: “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified”. [Acts 20:32].
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Section 7
Jesus wants Christians to love one another in sincerity.
In the close fellowship provided by the smaller group (how many can squeeze into a sitting room?) the disciples have good opportunity to learn to do the will of Jesus when He says: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you”. [John 15:12]. To love in His sense is to desire and work for the good of another. This they do as they learn to trust one another and to: “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ”. [Galatians 6:2].
The boldness to love (it can take courage!) comes with the opportunity to serve and minister the Word of Christ because love thrives on being spent on acts of love – the more you love, the more you will love. And your loving is what carries the approval of God. So gatherings are small but the saints get to know one another.
Love is not nurtured in a highly competitive environment, not even if the competition is over the exercise of spiritual gifts and ministries. This is why Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthian Church, puts his wonderful teaching on Love right in the middle of his explanation of the gifts of the Spirit. (Chapter 13 sandwiched between chapters 12 and 14)
A vision of the need to gather round Jesus Himself when we meet.
Love is mediated through actively ministering one-to-another in the meetings of the saints (and outside). Acts of worship with one another have their place, but not to the detriment of ministry to one another. This was made very clear a vision given at a gathering round The Lord’s Table. I saw in the vision a broad road leading downhill and ending in an orchard of fruit trees in full fruit. The orchard lay in the valley and beyond were the rugged slopes of a rocky mountain. As we neared the orchard someone or something said to me: ‘The truth is not in the orchard but there on the hill where the shepherd sits’. I looked and saw a man with a shepherd’s staff in his hand sitting on a rock looking towards us. I knew it was Jesus. This came at a time when ‘chorus leaders’ and ‘worship leaders’ were just starting to become prominent in meetings of the churches and their contributions were taking up more and more of the available time. The warning was not against the gifts of the Holy Spirit or any valid Scriptural aspects in the meetings, but against the excesses of anything and everything at the cost of time spent in ministering the ‘word of Christ’. [Colossians 3:16]. Simply, the balance must not be lost. I told the vision to the meeting and everyone said Amen! Amen!
So, when we meet, let us allow time for the real ‘conversation’ to take place, remembering that the purpose of any form of ministering is the expression of ‘love’ one to another – love which ‘builds’ the other up. You will readily understand that these things are really only possible in smaller gatherings such as each local ‘fellowship’ of the saints is meant to be.
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Section 8
Where are young (new) ministers trained?
The fellowship itself is the “Seminary” of the Holy Spirit where ministries are developed. Through use, ministries grow in new people as the call of God dawns upon them and they take the opportunity, given by the openness of the church meeting, to exercise such gift and ministry as they have received from God for the benefit of His Church. Because the people are open and free, bound together only by the love of The Lord, the fumblings of the young in ministry are accepted with graciousness as the fledgling tests his or her wings. The people of Jesus know that today’s stammerer can become tomorrow’s mighty man or woman of God. Those who are called to teach and preach take it upon themselves to:
“Study (be diligent) to show yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”. [2 Timothy 2:15]. They learn, through experience also, to: “Shun profane and idle babbling and to avoid foolish and unlearned questions which just cause strife”. [2 Timothy 2:23].
They do it not for gain, but because they love Jesus and have a burning desire to serve Him in the gospel. Some of these will later take their place among the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers who are out there in the service of The Lord of the Harvest, establishing fellowships and nurturing them until they in turn come of full age.
Actually, this is how the Church multiples itself. The local fellowship is the ‘Bible College’ and it is also the missionary organisation of the Church. This is why Paul can say to the Thessalonian Christians: “And ye became followers of us, and of The Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit: so that ye were examples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you sounded out the word of The Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak anything”. [1 Thessalonians 1:6-8].
Not only do ‘home-trained missionaries’ go out from the fellowship to find new disciples for Jesus but, as other ministries multiply and teachers and prophets fall over each other in their desire to minister, a group divides and some go with a teacher to a new home where a fellowship takes root. Such dividing and hiving-off is not a tragedy: it is the working of God. The newly formed church continues in communication with the original one, but is not ‘owned’ by it. The new fellowship is free to exercise for itself all the privileges and duties of any other local church. They are indeed a full manifestation of the body of Christ.
At this point I want to quote a passage from Hebrews, and I ask you to really think about it and heed it: “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principals of the oracles of God; and have become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that uses milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongs to them who are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” [Hebrews 5:12-14].
The message is clear: When you use what you have, it grows. When it has grown, you are an adult. When you are an adult, you are able to teach. When you are able to teach, you are in the ministry of The in the ministry of The Lord’s Church. When you are in the ministry, you teach others. Then they in turn use what they have received from you. The seed is planted, germinates and bears much fruit. The process continues and the Church has truly become the self-propagating body that it is supposed to be. You have a part in this: why delegate it to some one else? When you do delegate it to some one else, you immediately come under the reprimand that this passage of Scripture brings.
However, a word of explanation and caution here: Obviously not every one can teach but, when you are a member of a body that nurtures teachers and sends them out, you share in the accomplishments of those who do. You need to trust this concept because , if you don’t, you will bring yourself under condemnation for not doing what you wrongly think you should be doing. So, to help you understand it, please read 1 Samuel 30:21-25, particularly verse 24 where David says: “As his part is that goes down to battle, so shall his part be that tarries by the stuff: they shall part alike.” [1 Samuel 30:21-25]. Paul deals with the same sentiment in his passage about the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. Let the teachers teach; you attend to whatever The Lord has given you to do.
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Section 9
What happens to the tithes of the people of God?
I believe that I must once more dispel a myth which is also a convenient deception: there is no commandment in the New Testament dispensation that a Christian must give one-tenth of his income (that is what ‘tithe’ means), nor that he must give it to the Church. The propagation of this myth is convenient for the maintenance of Church Structures, but it is a deception which places many Christians under bondage.
I HAVE NOT SAID THAT YOU MAY NOT TITHE, BUT THAT IT IS NOT A COMMANDMENT OF THE LORD.
Tithing first appears with Abraham. It then comes out in Jacob’s life as a voluntary response of gratitude on the part of a human being who recognises the hand of God in all the good that comes his way. It was not at that stage a LAW. At a later stage it was given by (through) Moses as a Law in Israel for the specific purpose of providing an income for the Levites who ministered in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple. These had no inheritance of land in the state of Israel by which they could support themselves, so God gave them the TITHES of all the other tribes as their portion.
Jesus did not hand this practice down as a commandment to the Church, so when a Christian does TITHE it is under grace and not under Law. When any ‘pulpit’ places it upon your neck as a commandment, you are being deceived and, when you do it grudgingly, it is no pleasure to God. God actually does not need your money, and because you have no pleasure in giving it, it is of no benefit to you. You would do better to spend it on yourself! It is as Paul says in another context but applicable everywhere: “whatsoever is not of faith is sin”. [Romans 14:23]. Anything done grudgingly leads to bitterness, which leads to self-condemnation or rebellion, which leads to loss of peace and estrangement from God. So, rather give less or nothing, following the principle: “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” [2 Corinthians 9:7]..
BUT if, through the sheer operation of GRACE, you do set aside a full one-tenth of all you receive to spend on the purposes of God, you will definitely be blessed in ways that cannot be expressed. Further, having decided to TITHE, as I said before there is no command to hand it in to the Church; you can place it where your own spirit tells you to.
But if you do hand it to the Church, the Fellowship (which includes your own voice) will disburse it for the work of God. And ‘the work of God’ does not mean buildings (buildings were abolished with the Temple in Jerusalem!), neither does it mean to support a ‘Levitical priesthood’ in your assembly. What it does mean is to support the needy in your own fellowship or in others (especially widows and orphans), as well as the needy outside of the Church.
It also means to support ‘missionaries’ as they go out from your assembly (or from others) to preach and teach away from home, for this is where the sayings come true: : “The labourer is worthy of his wages” and “Those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel”. [Luke 10:7]. The one who goes out from a local assembly as apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher will often have made his own arrangements (as Paul did) for the support of himself and his family so as to be independent of the community he serves. But if he ends up in some place where he can’t exercise his trade or profession, then The Lord of the harvest will ensure that he is supported by those ‘at home’, enabling him to go on his way. Is this not what Paul the apostle experienced?
A final word by which I want to release you in The name of Jesus from any bondage and root of bitterness you may have fostered for yourself: The principles that God works by are simply (1) “Give and it shall be given unto you” [Luke 6:38] , and (2) “God loves a cheerful giver”. [2 Corinthians 9:7]. Whatever you decide to do, let it be with full confidence of faith, and never with doubting.
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Section 10
What TITLES are given to the Ministers in the Church?
No distinction must be made between ‘clergy’ and ‘laity’.
I believe that one of the biggest obstacles (perhaps the biggest of the big) in the way of the Church becoming what Jesus wants it to be is the use of TITLES which draw a distinction between so-called ‘laity’ and so-called ‘clergy’ (or between ‘flock’ and ‘overseers’). When a person accepts or assumes a TITLE two things result: (1) The person with the TITLE tends to grow into the title, taking to himself the rights and privileges along with the duties implied by the title and (2), the people ‘under’ him wait for instructions while delegating responsibility to the title holder.
In the one Church of Jesus Christ there is no such distinction between clergy and laity. All are priests towards God and all are brethren. Jesus warned us about this, saying: “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father, for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ”. [Matthew 23:8-10]. And, again in another place, He urges: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him 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”. [Matthew 20:25-28].
In obedience to this, the Churches of The Lord do not take the terms that describe the FUNCTIONS and apply them as TITLES to any servants of The Lord, just as Paul and the other apostles never appropriated titles to themselves. In his book “The King and His Kingdom”, Peter Whyte says : “The Lord is fully aware of two inherent desires in different types of Men. One type desires to place himself above other men and lord it over them. The other (and majority) type desires to be ruled over and led”. We all know he is right, because that is completely consistent with what Jesus implied in the passage we quoted above. So, give a man a TITLE and the more eagerly he accepts it, the more he will be elevated in his own eyes. Even if he does not elevate himself, others will elevate him and at the same time leave him to bear all the responsibilityll the responsibility which is actually theirs. We thus disobey the clear command of Christ and deprive ourselves of the rewards that would normally come to us through serving others. Really, Jesus can’t have anything other than our individual responsibility in mind when He says: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee a ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord”? [Matthew 25:21-23].
A vision of a man carrying the Church on his back.
The need for all saints to recognise themselves as being priests or ministers (without titles!) etc., was illustrated wonderfully in a vision from God. It was sometime towards the end of 1991. There was a meeting of ‘the brethren’ called by the combined leadership of churches of one denomination in Cape Town – a meeting called to ‘seek God’s will for the future direction of the Church (denomination)’. During a time of worship, between messages by different Pastors, I was given a vision in which I saw a man carrying another on his back, piggyback style. The man was dressed in khaki clothes such as South African farmers wear, and the terrain he walked over was rough ground. A disciplined, hard working man. The man being carried was on the plump side and dressed in a checked shirt and blue jeans, new and unsoiled. As the pair moved away from me, the right leg of the man being carried was slipping down towards the ground. The man himself seemed uncertain as to whether he should let it touch the ground or not – whether he should get off and walk or stay on the other’s back. At the same time, the man carrying the burden struggled to get a new grip on the leg to prevent it from touching the ground.
The vision spoke of the wrong relationship of pastor to people in the Churches, clergy to laity, ‘rulers’ in the world’s churches to ‘sheep’. It spoke on the one hand of the heavy loads assumed by those who take personal and full responsibility for the safe arrival in heaven of the children of God, which seems noble but is an impossible task and also denies to the people of God their share in the ministry. It spoke, on the other hand, of the trouble in the minds of people who feel that they should be doing their bit in the ministry but who have also learned to ‘enjoy’ the ride on some one else’s back.
I could not speak of the vision there in the meeting, but as I pondered over it that night the interpretation came in a very definite word: “As one whose limbs have become unprofitable through lack of use, so is the church of your Lord”. Tragically, the churches of this denomination had been founded on the principle of ‘The Priesthood Of All Believers’ but along the way they had departed from the practice of it although they still paid ‘lip-service’ to it.
A further word concerning TITLES.
Jesus says specifically that “Teacher”, “Father” and “Master” should not be used as titles in His Church. [See Matthew 23:8-10]. The denominations have by and large avoided these, but have neatly side-stepped The Master by using as TITLES a variety of other terms which describe functions in the Church (some Scriptural terms, others not). Examples are: “Bishop”, Archbishop”, Archdeacon”, “Priest” “Pope” (meaning Papa or Father), “Vicar “, “Pastor”. Add to these the universally used “Reverend”. All have to be suspect, because all make a distinction between ‘clergy’ and ‘laity’ which can never be justified in the Body of Christ.
So, dear friend , whatever it is that you have to offer in ministry to the saints of God, don’t delegate it to some one else – put it to use yourself in a meeting or fellowship that allows you the opportunity – because if you don’t use it you lose it. And don’t covet any TITLE for yourself, but just give what you have to give acting as a brother or sister among the children of God.
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Section 11
What about Holy Communion?
Who can partake?
The best way I can introduce you to this section is by asking you to read 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 where Paul treats the subject in some detail.
I urge you to accept that The Lord’s Table is a very important part of the fellowship of the people of God and must therefore be made as accessible as possible to all in the fellowship, and to any Christian visitors present. By “Christian visitor” I mean any one who thinks of himself or herself as a Christian and wishes to take part. ‘Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God”, says John the apostle, “and every one that loves him who begat (GOD) loves him also who is begotten of him.” [1 John 5:1]. All who believe that Jesus is the Christ are therefore also welcome partakers of the memorial meal which He instituted, because this communion meal is an expression of the common life of all who are in the body of Christ, as Paul writes: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.” [1 Corinthians 10:16-17].
Each one is his or her own judge as to whether he or she is a Christian, ready to take part in The Lord’s Supper: “Examine yourselves”, says Paul, “as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you are disqualified” [2 Corinthians 13:5] and, “Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgement to himself, not discerning The Lord’s body”. [1 Corinthians 11:28-29].
There is reverence at the table, and respect for one another, because every one knows that it is the fellowship which is the body of Christ, symbolised by the bread which is broken and shared. There is reverence and respect, but the communion table is not made so exclusive as to be unapproachable by any who love The Lord.
And who can serve it?
Anyone of those present may ‘preside’ at the Breaking of Bread, though it will often be the host or householder who brings forth the bread and the wine and says the blessing.
Anytime is the right time for the saints to break bread.
Meetings may take place on Sundays but, actually, the children of God are free to break bread whenever they choose, as often as they choose. In Paul’s day, the “first day of the week” was the period from six o’clock in the evening of what we would call Saturday, through to six o’clock in the evening on our Sunday. And in their ‘world’, of course, dawn of the day on ‘Sunday’ would commence a new working day – the Christians weren’t afforded daylight hours for worship! The meeting referred to in Acts 20:7 would probably have commenced soon after six o’clock in the evening (which was when the Jewish Sabbath ended). So, if the fellowship chooses to meet on Saturday evening they would be close to New Testament practice, but this also is not ‘law’ for any believer. (Law can quickly become bondage and result in a fall from Grace!).
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Section 12
Who is allowed to baptise new Christians?
Here is another myth that has been allowed to go unchallenged for a long time – the belief that only an ‘ordained’ Priest, Minister or Pastor may baptise people. The truth is that any Christian may baptise any new convert. In fact, Paul found it a problem in the Corinthian Church that people were actually divided into factions (the seeds of denominationalism) according to which ‘big name’ had baptised them. He says to them: “I thank God that I baptised none of you, but Chrispus and Gaius; lest any of you should say that I of you should say that I had baptised in mine own name.” [1 Corinthians 1:14-15]. John is concerned to register the same point in his Gospel: “When therefore The Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptised more disciples than John, (though Jesus himself baptised not, but His disciples,) He left Judaea and departed again into Galilee.” [John 4:1-2].
Where can you get yourself baptised? You don’t need a Church building for this or any ‘Baptismal Font’. Nor do you have to wait for any particular occasion. Choose a swimming pool, or any convenient stretch of water that is deep enough, and go ahead and do it.
Take a simple view of baptism from Scripture.
It is appropriate to add a warning here about baptism as a rite in the Churches. The fact is that there are many differing views on it, such as:
Baptism of believers (a) by full immersion (b) by aspersion (sprinkling) or (c) effusion (pouring). Some of these being done either by (a) single application or (b) triple application. The baptismal formula is usually “In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”; but sometimes it is “In the name of Jesus” only.
Then there is Baptism of babies (born of Church members) by various of the above formulas (but maybe not by full emersion!).
There are also some who do not believe that baptism is necessary at all.
I know what I believe, and I suggest to you that it is best just to take Scripture at it’s simplest interpretation which most consistently holds that:
1) Baptism is necessary when it is possible (the thief on the cross could not be baptised) because Jesus instructed it. (Matthew 28:19).
2) Baptism follows faith in Christ which is already present. (Acts 8:37).
3) Baptism takes place by means of plunging in sufficient water. (John 3:23; Acts 8:35-39).
4) Acting on behalf of Jesus, the one doing the baptising baptises the believer “in the nat;in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19), resulting in ‘baptism into Jesus Christ’. (Romans 6:3).
Christians like to ‘split hairs’ about this, but I can’t understand why since to obey is so simple and results in so much peace in the heart. However, what ever your fellowship does, don’t let your practice be a source of sin against every other believer in Christ.
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Section 13
Who exercises authority over the local assembly?
The final authority over any or all the members of the fellowship is carried by the members-in-meeting themselves. Decisions of the assembly are made by all – not by a governing body of Elders or ministers. Even if a member’s conduct is so bad that he really needs to be ousted (excommunicated) from the fellowship, the decision is not taken behind closed doors, but in open meeting of the whole church. Is this not what Jesus says? “Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established’. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector”. [Matthew 18:20].. And is it not what Paul teaches? “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of The Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such an one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of The Lord Jesus”. [1 Corinthians 5:4-5]. The authority and the duty lie with the people; if they do not take responsibility now, how will they judge angels in the age to come? [See 1 Corinthians 6:3].
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Section 14
What about Elders and Deacons?
As to Elders —
Elders are definitely part of God’s scheme of things, but even they are not given leave to dictate to the people of God. Wherever the term is used in the Bible, we need to read it as describing a function rather than a position of STATUS and AUTHORITY. Functionally, the people of God take guidance from those who are older in wisdom and experience of the things of God (“seniors”) whom “the Holy Spirit has made overseers to shepherd the church of God”. [Acts 20:28]. They exercise their ministry in the way that God wants: “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am also an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away”. [1 Peter 5:1-4]. These accept the function but do not claim a title: they are simply numbered ‘among you’. We note that Paul consistently addresses his letters to the saints, all the saints together. If Paul had considered that there was in each assembly a Minister or Elder in charge, or a ‘ruling class’ of any sort,, we think he would have issued his instructions to those and left it to them to tell the ‘flock’. But this is not so and it would be contrary to his own teaching in other places. Even when Paul and Barnabas go up to Jerusalem to confront the other apostles, they are received by the whole Church and the meeting takes place with the whole congregation. Read about this in Acts 15:1-35: “v4 And when they came to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders — v6-7 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider this matter. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said — v12 Then the whole multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul” [Acts 15:1-35]. They were all there all the time, even when the leaders were discussing! The Lord’s business is not to be conducted in secret by a cherished few; His business belongs to all the people of God.
For those who do aspire to be chief-decision-maker in their assemblies, there is a salutary warning in John’s 3rd Epistle where a certain Diotrophes, who loved to have the pre-eminence among the saints, got himself recorded for ever in the Book of God as a trouble maker! I quote it for you : “I wrote unto THE CHURCH: but Diotrophes, who loves to have the pre-eminence among THEM, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.” [3 John, verses 9-10].
And as to Deacons —
I will not say much about deacons because, in the best sense of the word, we are all deacons (servants) in the house of faith. But that at certain times one or more ‘servants’ may be assigned specific responsibilities, there is no doubt. Do it as the need arises – but this is not a ‘titled office’ but a function in the assembly.
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Section 15
Where do we get the right “teaching” if we have no denomination? &127;
Let me ask you, “Did the denominations invent the doctrine, or did the interpretation of the doctrine give rise to the denominations?” The answer is obvious: Jesus came first, then the Apostles’ teaching, then the Church, then the Scriptures containing the doctrine, and only then the denominations. So we need to get back as close as we can to the source, the words of Jesus, which are recorded for us in the Bible. Jesus said, as reported by Matthew: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach (literally, ‘make disciples of’) all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching (literally, ‘impart knowledge to’) them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” [Matthew 28:19-20].
Teaching is the function of “teachers”. In God’s design of the Church there are teachers who itinerate in the way that apostles, evangelists and prophets do, and there are teachers who are part of the local church (sometimes an elder but not necessarily so). These all have as their main function to teach the saints “to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you”.
Paul writes “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom” [Colossians 3:16], to which F.F. Bruce, an eminent Christian scholar writing in The New Bible Commentary (Inter-Varsity Press), comments: “Christian teaching must be based on the teaching of Jesus Himself”.
Those who teach find their truth in the pages of Scripture, for they have an important part in ensuring that the faith held by Christians is not an “adulterated” faith, distorted by the vanity of men, as James writes: “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write to you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write to you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints”. [Jude verse 3:].
From the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments teachers gain for themselves a proper understanding of the words of Christ so that they can accurately convey to the saints the meanings that Jesus intended. But they also take note oft they also take note of interpretations given by wise Christian teachers of all ages – not so as to follow these blindly, but to test their own interpretations so that they do not mislead themselves and their hearers.
Where there is more than one interpretation of truth, they will let their hearers know what these are, and will give clear reasons why they follow this one or that. (Did you know, for instance, that there are at least 8 recognised ‘schemes of interpretation’ concerning the second coming of Jesus and the rapture of the saints? And that these are all held by people who truly love The Lord Jesus and look for His coming?).
Wise teachers know why they see a thing their way, but they avoid fruitless debate with other children of God. Even as Paul writes to Timothy: “But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they generate strifes. And the servant of The Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient; in meekness instructing them that oppose themselves”. [2 Timothy 2:23].
Note: There have been wise Christian teachers in all denominations of the Church throughout the ages (and I say – - for the sake of the ‘Baptists’ among us – - even in the Roman Catholic Church!). With the passage of time, these cease to be ‘owned’ by their old denominations and become the property of the Whole Church.
A good teacher learns what he can from these, but doesn’t fall into their sectarian trap which is exactly what ‘denominationalism’ is. An interesting insight into this comes from ‘The Confessions of St, Augustine” where he relates the story of one Victorinus, a professor of rhetoric at Rome and an idol-worshipper, who became a Christian. Talking to a Christian teacher, Simplicianus, he said: “You should know that I am already a Christian”, to which Simplicianus replied, “I will nll not believe it, nor will I reckon you among Christians, unless I see you in the Church of Christ”. Victorinus laughed and said, “Is it walls, then, that make men Christians?” The debate really centred round the question of being a ‘private’ or a ‘public’ Christian but it ended by being a statement that you cannot be saved without being visible in the approved church. For our purposes in this booklet, however, we confine ourselves to the question that Victorinus asked: “Is it walls, then, that make men Christians?” What do you think?
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Section 16
Who will marry us, and who can bury our dead?
Something that troubles people greatly is : If there is no ‘ordained’ Priest (or Bishop, or Minister, or Pastor), who will marry me? and, when I die, who will bury me?
First, concerning marriage. Any able saint in the fellowship will conduct a ceremony of blessing a marriage where the legal requirements of the State have first been fulfilled before a magistrate or other civil marriage officer. (A civil marriage followed by a religious ceremony is standard practise in many countries where the minister of religion is not authorised to be a servant of the civil law. It is also standard practice among non-Christian religions where the State has not recognised the Offic Officials of those religions so as to appoint them as Marriage Officers. This may sound sad – that the State withholds the licence from some while authorising others – but saints in the fellowships of the Church take note that the process is a form of State control over the Churches of The Lord Jesus Christ. This must be so when the State decides which is a ‘true church’ and which is not. It is therefore good that saints of God do not seek this status of Marriage Officer, but that, in the Fellowships, they should allow the State to do what it has to (that is, register the legal contract) while they do what they have to (that is, bless the couple and rejoice with them).
Likewise, concerning the burial of the dead. The dead are buried and the bereaved comforted by those who serve in the fellowship. There is no formula given in Scripture which must be followed at a funeral. There is also no specific competence given to any select group within the Church. For the sake of the bereaved, the burial would obviously be overseen by someone with a compassionate spirit who is able to speak words of comfort and assurance, even as Paul attempts to do for us all: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (dead), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” [1 Thessalonians 4:13 & 18]. He then goes on to tell of the coming resurrection of all who ‘sleep in Jesus’ ending witth the words: “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
There is therefore no higher authorisation needed for the blessing of marriages or for the burial of the dead. In fact, there is no higher authorising body upon earth than the people of God gathered together in any place, with Jesus Himself in the midst of them.
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Section 17
How can I become a member of the one Church of Jesus Christ?
There is only one way into the one Church, and that is not through the ‘rites’ of any sect in the Church. It is through believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God Who died so that you may be forgiven. When you know in your heart that your sins are forgiven and you have peace with God, then you will know that you are a Christian. I want to quote here the well-known story of how John Wesley became a Christian after hearing the gospel preached: ” I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
There is no other way and there is nothing more that you can do – When you trust in Christ you will be saved.
However, to EQUIP you for a new life with Christ while here on earth, God has given us some things to help us:
Baptism in water as a symbolic ‘washing away’ the sins of the past and the commencement of a new life.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit, which brings the ‘power to be His witnesses’, spoken of by Jesus in Acts 1:4-8. The Holy Spirit brings with Him prophesyings, visions and dreams (Acts 2:16-18), which take us into the realm of the operation of the ‘gifts’ of the Holy Spirit which are meaningful in a meeting of the saints (1 Corinthians 12:1-13), and lead to the ‘building-up of the Body of Christ’ (1 Corinthians 14:26)
The Breaking of Bread (The Lord’s Supper or Communion) which reinforces in ourselves our fellowship with Him and with His people who together constitute ‘The Body of Christ’ on earth. Find some group of Christians with whom you can gather to ‘break bread’.
If you want to know more about this ask any sincere, loving Christian whom you know, or contact me by letter, phone or E-mail and I will see that you get more information. My address and phone number are at the end of the booklet.
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Section 18
Church Unity
Divisions are caused and maintained by the need for ‘personal power’.
For many years Ecumenical movements of the denominations have been confessing that the divisions of the Church are a sin against God. They have been talking abolking about, working for and praying for the uniting of churches. This has not been possible with the present numerous denominations of Christendom, for the simple reason that denominations come into being when differences emerge between men who control churches. Later unity is very difficult because power has to be yielded by one party or another. So the suspicions and recriminations continue. (This may appear to be tragic because Jesus never intended that His Church should be ‘a bone’ to be fought over by men, but actually God allows it for reasons which I will explain later).
Bear in mind that all denominations started as ‘sects’ of the church. At first, of course, the Christian Church was itself a sect – a sect of the Jewish faith. But, thereafter, the Holy Spirit expressly warns against the formation of further sects, as for instance in the writing of Paul where he says in 1 Corinthians 1 verses 10 to 17: ” Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement. For it has been declared to me about you, my brothers, by those who are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that every one of you says: I am of Paul; or, I am of Apollos; or, I am of Cephas; or, I am of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified ffor you? or were you baptised in the name of Paul?” [1 Corinthians 1:10-17].
Sometimes factions come about by people setting up as idols those who minister to them – and those in turn accepting the adulation. But, more often, sects come about when one upcoming ‘leader’ believes he has better insight into the things of God than other leaders in his Church or denomination. He “draws away disciples after him” and sets up a new Church. [See Acts 20:28-31]. Maybe the other leaders are ‘wrong’ and he does have better insight, but he is still a ‘wolf’ relative to this particular flock. He would be doing better if he went and started from scratch somewhere else. However, the real harm is done when the new sect seals itself off from the Church at large by rules, creeds and constitutions and becomes a new denomination. All error in their theology or church practice is thus sealed-in together with whatever truth they may have, and their members become sectarians. Too often these leaders are guided by self-interest and a desire to control other people.
Why God allows the divisions to continue.
I said earlier that the divisions of the Church may appear to be tragic, but that God has reasons for allowing them. So I want you to take note of one very important fact, which is not a product of revelation but of simple logic backed by the testimony of Scripture: God would not in any case allow at this stage ge the emergence of a Unified Church controlled by any hierarchy of men, for this is exactly what happened at the Tower of Babel. While there are these divisions, no single man can assume for himself the position of spiritual lord over all souls of men. The very squabbling prevents it. But that such a Unified Church will be permitted to emerge at the end time, is very clear, for that will be the vehicle for the revelation of the Man of Sin – the Antichrist.
By that time all true believers will have left the structures of the denominations, for this is why the Spirit calls: “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues”. (Revelation 18:4). When the believers have left her, what remains will look like the Church but will no longer be the Church, not even remotely, because the Spirit of God in the Church dwells in the believers in the church. When they have gone, the Spirit has gone. What is left is the structure inhabited by ‘workers’ of the false church which, I can conceive, could readily join up with all other world-religions. At the head of this ‘world church’ will be one who assumes for himself the role and powers of ‘supreme’ prophet. This organisation will continue to ‘flirt’ with the rulers of the world’s nations (which boils down to an amalgam of compromising, accommodating religions working hand-in-hand with the world rulers). By this time the woorld’s nations (but not all of them) will also be united under one leader, who will assume for himself (and be accorded by his followers) the very position of ‘God’ in the world. The ‘religious rulers’ will work hand in hand with the rulership of the world’s nations (for their own gain ‘riding on the back’, as it were, of the world powers’) but at the same time ‘driving the world powers to the point of distraction’ until these turn on them and destroy them.
Up to this point, this is a simple extrapolation of events as they are likely to occur based on what any one knows of ‘man’ and his aspirations of grandeur. It is an application of simple logic, but it is also borne out by history and by the Bible-view of the future. It would take a miraculous change in the hearts of all men and women on earth to prevent this thing from happening.
That was from logic: what comes next is ‘revelation’, open and acceptable to all who believe and have hope: At about this time The Lord will come, destroy the enemies of God, and set up His rule as King over all the Earth. (Revelation 17:14)
While the false church becomes more controlled, more self-seeking, more ‘worldly’, more accommodating, more wealthy (to the benefit of the leaders, that is), more set against the return of the rightful Lord of the Church and King of the world, what will the real Church be doing? The people of God will continue to be the one true Church, meetinging without physical organisational ‘structures’, a true spiritual ‘network’ of souls of all who truly love God, growing stronger and purer . They will be there, ready and waiting for the return of The Lord when He will receive them to Himself and they will forever be with Him.
But a big question still remains: If the ‘Churches’ have gone wrong thus far, Why should it be any different with the Church-without-churches? The answer lies in your hands: Never give up your right and duty to MINISTER in the Church of Jesus Christ. Never accept any proposal to ‘close the pulpit’, giving power to one Minister, Pastor, Bishop, Priest, or whatever name is used. You together with all the other members of your group are Priests unto God. But do give place to the wisdom of experience in your gathering – these are the appointment of God for your protection.
And what about us who preach this message of the Open Churches? How can we be trusted? You may trust us because we seek nothing for ourselves – no permanent preaching-post, no pulpit of our own, no salary or allowances, no motorcar – nothing except the privilege of serving Jesus. As Paul says: ” Do you not know that they who minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they who wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so has The Lord ordained that they who preach the gospel should live of the gospel. But I have used none of these things: neithther have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void. For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. What is my reward then? Truly that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself a servant to all, that I might gain the more”. [1 Corinthians 9:13-19].
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Section 19
The coming great revival of the Church
- The dream of the fireball from the north-west.
Let me talk of the coming surge of the gospel relating specifically to the Western Cape Province of South Africa as it was shown to me in a dream one night. It was during a time of great stress throughout the land, the early stages of the period of unrest leading up to the overthrow of our very ungodly system of government in this country. We in the Churches in Cape Town were at that time experiencing a time of great ‘renewal’ with many people being added to the Church. It was t was then that I had this dream:
I was told (in the dream) of a student who was ‘protesting’ on a mountain, somewhere near Cape Point. I went there to tell him that ‘this is not the way to protest: the true way is through The Lord Jesus’. I found him there, standing next to a Morris Minor motor car, leaning on the roof with one arm and on the open door with the other. He was gazing towards the north-west. I took a seat on a bench beside the car, but before I could talk, I saw from the direction in which he was looking, a huge ball of fire coming over the ocean, filling the whole view, and coming up a valley towards us. The student and I ran down the hill away from the coming fire, as far as the shore where we got into a rowing-boat and pushed out to sea. In the next scene, I was walking back down the coast towards Cape Town at a point somewhere near a town called Humansdorp. As I walked across a bridge I saw that the water was unnaturally clean, sparkling clean. The forest round about and all vegetation had also been purged by the fire and was left looking fresh and clean, clear of all dry grass, deadwood and twigs. As far as I looked, everything was cleansed and purified. I awoke knowing that the same would be true all the way to Cape Town and also inland, but how far I could not say, but certainly covering the area known as The Little Karoo.
Such was the dream. I awoke confident that The Lord had spoken, that this wasas not just an ordinary dream. It spoke of a coming rush of the word of God, cleansing and renewing Christians throughout this land and sweeping many others up into the Church of The Lord. It’s influence would reach who knows how far into the rest of the continent.
The message of the ruminating cattle.
Let me also tell you of a vision which came to me as we gathered around The Lord’s Table to break bread one day. I was shown a field, surrounded by tall gum trees on all sides. Along the lines of trees, there was a fence, with rusted strands broken in many places. The maize crop in the field had been harvested and the animals had been let in to graze on the stalks. There came a great wind from the north-west blowing twigs and leaves and dust before it. Most of the animals turned and ran with the wind, through the broken fence and out of the field. The cows, however, settled down with their faces towards the wind and lay there, quietly chewing the cud.
That was the vision and the interpretation was clear: There were going to come great rushes of ‘spiritual’ teachings and ministries and many would rush off ‘before the wind’. But those who quietly wait, meditating and building upon that which they had already received, would become mature Christians. As Paul writes in Ephesians: “I therefore, the prisoner of The Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowlinliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) and he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” [Ephesians 4:1-14].
You need to know that this message of the ruminating cattle came as an exhortation to a community of Christians well taught in the Word of God and active in an ‘open church’, who later, almost as a total group, followed after each new ‘ministry’ which came to us ‘from the north-west’. Actually, the new ‘spiritual’ things they embraced served to crowd out the elements of the ‘open meeting’ which they had previously practised.
(‘From the north-west’ figures in several dreams and visions which I have recorded. To the north-west of Cape Town lies the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean until you get to North America. I think therefore that North America will have a part to play in the coming surge of God but, let me be frank, what has come to us so far from America has merely been ‘sensational’ ministry which causing some excitement among the adherents of the Churches for a while and then fading away, leaving the people crying out “Revive us again, Oh Lord”.
Whether from America or not, the real thing is still to come, and we are waiting for it. I believe it will ‘produce’ the Real Church which I have described in these pages).
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Section 20
Freeing up existing structures
In the Book of 1 Samuel, chapter 8, we have the story about how the Israelites wanted a King so that they would be like all the other nations round about. A king for them was not Samuel’s best plan for them, neither was it God’s best plan – God was King to them, operating through ‘judges’ whom He raised up as required. But the people demanded their way and God accommodated them. In the same way, God’s best plan for the Church has never been denominational structures, but he allows it because the alternative way that man would have handled it would have been more dangerous – one monolithic Church taken over and controlled by ‘man’ would have lead to disaster. God knows what is in the heart of man, and even the label “Christian” does not render all men reliable.
So the denominations, small and large, are with us and will continue alongside of the true Church as it grows. What then of brothers and sisters in Christ who find them selves in these Churches, whether as ‘clergy’, ‘rulers’ or ‘laity’? There is a parallel movement world-wide in which such Churches are ‘loosening up’ their structures and encouraging some forms of ‘open meetings’ for their ‘sheep’. These are often in the form of ‘cell-groups’, sometimes referred to as ‘house churches’. They usually practice some form of open ministry in which individual mal members can make some form of contribution, usually praying and gifts of the Holy Spirit. They all stop short of allowing ‘breaking of bread’ to take place, or for the taking of ‘offerings’, because this, almost immediately, would identify the cell group as a fully-fledged separate Church – which would be like working oneself out of a job! As one Elder in a Church once said when this was suggested, “No! No! The tithes must come here!” And another said: “Big Churches can do so much more!” (More of what, one may ask? He didn’t say!)
Some guidelines for Institutional churches to ‘loosen’ control.
Because the denominational churches are with us for the time being, here are some guidelines for people of God meeting in them to break free of shackles of tradition and enter into the larger ministry of the gospel, as many indeed have done. Before anything enduring can take place, those who Rule in the church have to be willing to let go in some measure and pass control over to God. Everyone must be completely determined thereafter NEVER to give way to the temptation to once again impose MAN’S control over the ministry of the church other than those functions fully authorised by Scripture. To NOT ALLOW Christians to speak out in their own gathering is the same as NOT TRUSTING the Spirit of God in His own Church.
So, with that behind us: If your church belongs to one of the ‘Episcopal’ denominatnations where control is vested in a Bishop or Patriarch, there are special difficulties because of the degree of centralised control – but even here individual ‘Ministers’ or ‘Priests’ have been known to take a fairly enlightened approach. On the other hand, if your church is congregationally based, the Pastor or Minister in charge usually has a bit more leeway in spite of a degree of ‘peer pressure’ from the other leaders in his denomination (I know something about this having been a Congregational Church minister myself earlier in my Christian life).
Here are the steps that the ‘authority’ in the church can take:
Step 1
Keep one meeting of the church (say Sunday evening) for the Minister to occupy the pulpit to preach the gospel to the unsaved, and to teach the believers about the faith and the church. It is an opportunity to set out fully the First Principles of the faith as contained in Hebrews 6:1-3, as well as to thoroughly ground all the members in the principles of Open Ministry as explained largely in 1 Corinthians chapters 12, 13 & 14.
Step 2
Set all other meetings OPEN for the members to minister to each other, as the Scriptures frequently urge them to do. Forget for a while that you are the minister or pastor. Take your place as an ordinary member of the fellowship and allow yourself also to be ministered to by the operation of the Spirit of God speaking through all. Encourage the membemembers not even to look towards you for guidance. Hold yourself back from your natural impulse to correct or complete everything that is said. TRUST THE MEETING TO GOD.
Step 3
Encourage the members to do things such as visiting the sick and praying for one another. This is scriptural. Why should you expect that you alone in the church have the compassion and the gift to do this? (Or is it as members of a congregation sometimes say “Why should we do that when we are paying a Minister to do it?”. This hurts – I know because I have been there!).
Step 4
When your congregation has taken up the reigns of ministry (which is actually expected of them!), persuade them to let you absent yourself from the meetings from time to time while you take your place in the ranks of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers of The Lord’s undivided Church. These are the ones who establish, teach and encourage new fellowships until they in turn become strong and take up the ministry.
The ‘Minister’ needs to take this initiative, but you can also initiate it by engaging your pastor or minister in conversation on this subject, persuading him to act as above. You will also need to persuade your fellow members! Who said this would be easy? Remember, nothing worthwhile is ever easy. So, if you have courage, take up the cross and follow Jesus.
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Recommended reading
There are some useful books written by authors in other parts of the world (we are not alone!).
Going to church in the first Century – by Robert Banks (SeedSowers, USA)
Torch Of The Testimony – by J R Kennedy (published by Gospel Literature).
Missionary Methods, St Paul’s or Ours? -by Roland Allen (Published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co).
For more information, write to me at:
8 Churchdown Lane
Bergvliet
7945 South Africa
E-mail: jessopsutton@vodamail.co.za
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Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith The Lord of hosts”.
[Zecharia 4:6]
Published by
Southtown Publishers
8 Churchdown Lane
Bergvliet
7945 South Africa
