1. MINISTERS
It has become common in many churches to refer to “lay ministers” (those who do important work but don’t get paid) as distinct from “professional ministers” (who have special education and draw salaries). In the early church, every Christian was a minister. There was nothing like what we consider “professional ministry.” There were certainly people such as Paul who chose to abandon the “normal” life and dedicate their lives to ministry, but even Paul was a tent maker to provide income. And there are indications that ministers such as Paul were occasionally given money, but think about the differences you already know between Paul’s lifestyle and that of professional ministers today. He traveled the world and depended upon brothers and sisters to provide sustenance and lodging and visits to him in prison. He didn’t have an office in a building where he worked each day, drawing a steady salary that had been determined to be approximately equal to an average salary in other professions as is done today. Truthfully, if you just sit back and think of Paul’s, Peter’s, and other apostles’ lives back then, there is virtually no similarity to our current structure with multiple salaried ministers in a church (the preacher, the youth minister, the children’s minister, the young adult minister, the worship minister, the outreach minister, etc.).
The closest I can find in the New Testament to paid ministry is when Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and a few other women were assisting Jesus and His disciples in Luke 8:1-3. Also, in 1 Corinthians 9:4-12 Paul wrote that ministers like him had a right to receive some financial support even though he chose not to receive it. But those examples are very different from what we see today.
In the early church, being a Christian meant being a minister. There was no “clergy” and no “laity.” Sure, Ephesians 4:11-12 says that God “gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” But those are simply gifts and abilities that God gives to people. The only way to interpret that as professional ministry is to insert the 21st century into it.
On a side note, the early churches were not nonprofit 501c3 corporations, either. Even if they existed in their original form today, they would not need to be. They were simply groups of believers who worshipped God together. We can do that today as well, without worrying about taxes, if we return to the biblical model
As sort of an extension of the above, what we consider the “offering” today got its start as a collection to take care of people, not to pay expensive mortgages, high tech equipment, and multiple high salaries. The money collected from the Christians was used to care for other people. In particular, every single appeal Paul makes for money in any of his letters was for one purpose: helping the church in Jerusalem as it was experiencing famine. We’ve completely distorted this.
2. WAITING FOR CHRIST
The early church anticipated Jesus’ return. I wrote about this in one of our recent studies, but it’s so important I just must draw attention to it again here. The early Christians were longing for and expecting Christ’s return. This drove their lives. They were living for the bell. Here are very important verses to demonstrate this. I encourage you to read through them and see how they differ from your own mindset and the typical mindset of the modern church.
- “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.” (Romans 8:19)
- “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:23)
- “…you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:7-8)
- “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” (Philippians 3:20)
- “They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead -- Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10)
- “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord …will award to me on that day -- and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8)
- “[God’s grace] teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope -- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:12-13)
- “[Christ] will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:28)
- “Prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.“ (1 Peter 1:13)
- “…As you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. …in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” (2 Peter 3:12-14)
- “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.” (James 5:7-8)
- “Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” (Jude 21)
3. DENOMINATIONS
Denominationalism was not tolerated. The word “denominate” means to give a name to something. Why do we name things? In order to distinguish them from other things. To establish separate identities for them. My parents named me differently than my siblings in order to distinguish me from them.
But there is one church. It is Christ’s church. Sure, in Paul’s writings he distinguished congregations by their geographic locations, e.g., “
To the church of God which is at Corinth” (
1 Corinthians 1:2) or “
To the churches of Galatia” (
Galatians 1:2).
But that is a far cry different from "Lutheran" or “Baptist” or “Presbyterian” or Methodist” or whatever else. Those names are not geographic indicators, they are indications of division. They show very clear distinctions between “this” sort of church and “that” sort of church. Who among us wants to be guilty of taking Christ's body and splitting it into separate pieces? Yet that is what we've done.
Listen to Paul address this very same issue in Corinth:
“Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be NO DIVISIONS among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” HAS CHRIST BEEN DIVIDED? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name.” (
1 Corinthians 1:10-15)
Neither Paul nor Luther nor Wesley nor anyone else was crucified for us any more than Apollos or Crispus or Gaius were crucified for the Corinthians. There is only ONE church, and it is the entire body of Christ. Dividing and distinguishing within in it is, frankly, sinful. It’s hard for us to imagine any other way, isn’t it? That’s how deeply embedded that sin is in the modern church.
4. VOLUNTEERISMI submitted scaled down versions of the following notes in response one blog and one podcast that instructed churches on how to motivate, recognize, and reward volunteers in your church. Both authors chose to not publish my comments. Here are links (they are clickable) in case you want to see what I was responding to:
I'm highly concerned about modern talk about "volunteers" in the church. Who are volunteers? Is that what the Bible calls "ministers?"
The church is 100% composed of ministers who are called by God to ministry.
The church has no volunteers. None.
Those who serve their risen Lord have been paid in advance for their work in the most profound way – eternal life through His blood and grace.
Paul wrote the following to every member of the church at Corinth:
“My beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).Why did God appoint the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers? It was “
to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12).
I know that’s a familiar verse, so please re-read it slowly. God says that the saints – which means every single member of Christ’s body– are to be engaged in the work of ministry and building the body of Christ, and that it is the job of the leaders of the church to equip them to be ministers (not volunteers).
So all Christians are to be ministers. And if all Christians are engaged in ministry, there’s no need for volunteers.
To put it more bluntly:
If what a church is doing requires volunteers rather than ministers,
that church is probably doing things that detract from the ministry it was called to.Besides, if the “volunteers” under discussion are saved,
THEY ARE the church. How could the church volunteer for the church?
JESUS is the head of the church and
HE sets its priorities. The work that needs done isn’t for the benefit of a church “staff.” The work is for
OUR SAVIOR and for
HIS GLORY in order to
DEFEAT SATAN in this
BATTLE FOR THE SOULS OF MEN and is to be as much
WHO WE ARE as it is what we do, and must be done with urgency!
In contrast, modern advice about "motivating volunteers" suggests ways to keep
them motivated and help
them make
their activities a priority by helping
them know if
their activities are a good fit
for them before
they fully commit to it,
giving them clear job descriptions, appointing someone to ensure
they have the materials
they need, that
they get their egos fed, that
they get adequate breaks, and that the church holds special volunteer appreciation events to
build them up and
make them look and feel good about
themselves.
In other words, modern "church volunteers" need praise and approval from people. Is the problem with this not obvious? Paul wrote it plainly and boldly: “
Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God? Am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).
I believe "volunteerism" in the modern church is one of the most visible but also one of the most subtle indications of a widespread underlying corruption in the western church. That corruption is a self-centered faith, and that type of faith has been perpetrated and institutionalized in 20th and 21st Century American Christendom. At its extreme, self-centered faith resulted in the "name it and claim it, health and wealth" prosperity teaching that has gained such great following in many megachurches.
In more moderate situations it resulted in the very common, but unbiblical, teaching that the church won't have to endure tribulation. A loving God wouldn't want
me to suffer that, would He?
[Hint: It’s not about me or my comfort. It’s a spiritual war. Soldiers go into war. They don’t expect to be sheltered from it.]
At more subtle levels, this self-focused Christianity has resulted in:
- “Fellowship" at church gatherings being made subservient to more alluring worldly things (sports, vacations, etc.)
- Demands that the church spend a great deal of money appealing to sensory desires (i.e., professional bands and beautiful buildings)
- Spending a lot of money for larger professional church staffs, and
- The need to treat ministers as volunteers who need rewarded, recognized, and motivated by things that appeal to their egos, prides, and self-indulgences.
Christians who act like this feel they are making a sacrifice when they serve. They've forgotten Who they serve, Who they call Master, Who they have chosen to be slaves to, and that it was He who sacrificed for them, not the other way around.
My words here are not angry. They are written with a heavy heart, a lump in my throat, and wet eyes. If we look at how rapidly the exponential growth of evil in the world around us is growing, it is easy to see that the Lord's church is becoming less and less effective in its calling. Whenever we see a significant increase in evil, whenever we see Satan gaining more of a foothold, we must look inwardly to see what we are doing wrong in the church. I believe "self" is the biggest problem for us today.
Taking up our crosses daily and following Him is nearly lost, at least in this western world. Satan will never defeat Christ, but he may defeat our ministries unless we straighten this out post haste.
FOLLOWING ARE SOME ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS I HAVE NOT HAD TIME TO STUDY OUT WELL ENOUGH. i INTEND TO DO THAT AND AMEND THESE NOTES THIS WEEK5. EVANGELISM:They were extremely evangelistic – at every level. Nearly all growth of modern churches comes from sheep poaching and generational growth.
6. BIBLE:They didn’t have the New Testament, they were the New Testament
7. SERMONS / TEACHING:I’m not even sure a “sermon” was part of the New Testament churches, at least not the way we think of sermons. Instead, their gatherings were for a purpose: build each other up and find strength to face the persecution of the world and minister to others. Today, church “attendees” – because they’ve never been shown otherwise – expect sermons that are meticulously prepared, last a certain amount of time, have lots of illustrations and some humor, don’t use too many biblical references, are presented with a polished delivery, and are “relevant” (meaning they feed the listener or tell the listener what to do with the message as long as it’s palatable).
8. MEETINGS:“Church” today is once a week
9. CHURCH PRIORITIES:Churches today are huge and they strive to become huger
