Continued from Church At Your House-2
6. Servants-vs-Consumers: The traditional Western churches are becoming consumer-oriented. The advertisements read like menus with the price being a weekly donation. One family told me they chose their church because it had a program for 2-year-olds. The focus is, 'What will I get from this church?' It's been estimated that as much as 30 % of those attending any given church are "floating" Christians looking for the church that will give them the most things and expect the fewest things in return. The sad fact is, many churches are designing their programs around these consumers from a belief that it will increase the attendance numbers…and the giving. Well, at Web-Church we plan to stay small so everyone here will know they are servants called by God to minister to the needs of each other and their community. If ministry is going to happen, it's up to you to put your gifts to work. As we've studied before, this is how God fills your needs (Mt 25:14-30). Knowing this, how could we rob you of your blessing by doing it for you? Our 2-year-old program is run by our Sunday School Director…the parent.
7. Holy Priests-vs-Loyal Constituents: Ask any loyal constituent what church they go to and their chest will puff out a little when they tell you. Ask who their priest or minister is and, in an awe-filled whisper they will say Reverend, Pastor, Dr Whoever. It's as if they believe this person is so holy they dare not use their name "in vain". The traditional church seems to have no problem collecting loyal constituents who are allowed to believe the Pastor is someone who should be revered (thus, the title, Reverend). Some Pastors I've met actually believe this about themselves. I'm about to shock you…be ready…here goes: Since Jesus ascended into heaven there is no one on Earth any closer to God than you are. Yes, I'm an ordained minister (as the traditional church calls it). No, I haven't got a special line to God and please don't call me by a title. We don't use the Titles Reverend, Pastor, Minister, etc. Though, I have to answer to those sometimes because that's what's expected in our World as the director of a ministry. At Web-Church, if we use titles at all, they are "Commissioned Servant" instead of ordained minister and "Non-Commissioned Servant" as licensed minister. If you want to show me respect, call me Glen.
"What about the Elders, Pastors, Overseers and Deacons in the Bible? What about Paul assigning Timothy and Titus oversight responsibility? What about Paul telling Timothy to find people to pass on his words?" I'm glad you asked! First, people with these gifts and responsibilities are around, today, but they are gifts assigned by the Holy Spirit, not a denomination or credentials committee or paid professional. Also, these titles imply responsibility far more than authority (I Ti 4:12). Second, the Bible has now been written and accurately passed down and translated for almost 2,000 years…it's complete (sorry LDSers) see II Tim 3:16-17. Because the Apostles' teaching at that time was word-of-mouth, it was more important to have leaders who could strongly defend it. That's why Paul wanted people to keep the teaching pure. Third, just because someone is given a title doesn't mean they actually have the Spiritual gift and can't be questioned. That's why Jesus said to look at their fruit (Mt 7:16), Paul said to judge what they say (I Co 14:29), and John said we don't need anyone to teach us but the anointing (Holy Spirit) we received from God (I Jn 2:27). When you ascribe unquestionable authority to even the best of humans, you duck your responsibility, disobey God, and end up with things like priests intimate with children and not being punished. Please question me! When you question me, use God's Word…that way we both learn.
The Protestant church movement was founded on the Biblical truth of the Priesthood of all believers, but I've yet to find a church that acts as though they believe it. Certain titled people are always put above everyone else. I love it when they do this with the title "Deacon"…the word means slave or servant (see 6). At Web-Church, we teach what the Bible teaches…You are a Royal Priest, a child of the Most High God, seated with Christ, an Ambassador of Christ, filled with the Spirit of God, possessing the mind of Christ and called to the ministry of reconciliation…there is no one on Earth more important to God and His plan than you are. You have a serious responsibility in God's kingdom. At Web-Church.com we take your calling seriously by letting you actively exercise it in a Gathering of other believers. Our whole ministry revolves around the fact that...God uses who He chooses.
Conclusion: There you have it. As you can tell, I'm downright excited about what God is doing with Web-Church and EHF. I'm just as excited about what He is about to do. Over the first 4 years, with a budget of less than $ 1,000 per month, we've averaged over 2,500 people per month seeking help at EHF websites, over 250 of them sought help from God and viewed the Gospel message, and over 125 of them expressed belief in Christ and asked to connect or reconnect with God. That's over 4 people per day for more than 3 years! Our Worldwide Prayer Team grew to over 200 people and has continued for over 3 years. With the completion of the LifeCycle Online Discipleship School, we're right on the verge of the next stage of EHF ministry development. New, Holy-Spirit-led Gatherings will be building and reproducing in places of the World I can't even pronounce. This is an exciting time to be in this ministry. I thank God for this opportunity. If you'd like to have an opportunity to prayerfully consider becoming a member of this ministry, just make the following commitment to God and go to the next lesson.
Commitment: I will pray about all aspects of the Final lesson (D4) and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit concerning membership in the Web-Church ministry or another ministry the Lord leads me to.
Bible Studies
The Life Of Jesus
Christian Discipleship
Christian Faith Study
Leading
Inductive Studies
Acts-Early Church History
Romans Bible
Studies
1 Corinthians Bible Studies
2 Corinthians Bible Studies
Galatians Bible Studies
Ephesians Bible Studies
Philippians Bible
Studies
Colossians Bible Studies
1 & 2 Thessalonians
Timothy And Titus Studies
Bible Questions Forum
New Testament Studies
Study Bibles
Bible Study Software
Bible Study Books