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The Feudal System Lives On In Church Culture

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A strange conversation can be heard in most church parking lots on most Sundays. It goes like this; “Did you get fed this week?”
“Yes I did, I loved what the pastor had to say.”

Or perhaps; “Did you get fed this week?”
“No not really, if it carries on like this we may have to go to another church.”

These startling expressions of dependence upon the pastor represent a deep malady in the American church. I call it Spiritual Feudalism because of the ‘peasant talk’ it uses and the ‘serf mentality’ it reveals.

Do you put your pastor in the role of a feudal lord?

Do you function with the a ‘serf mentality’?

Do you use ‘peasant talk’?

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Demolishing The Clergy/Laity Distinction

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According to the New Testament, there is no clergy/laity distinction. Instead, all Christians are kleros (clergy) and all Christians are laos(laity). The clergy/laity dichotomy is a tragic fault line that runs throughout the history of Christendom.

The New Testament doesn’t dispose of clergy. It makes all believers clergy.

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Sunday Sermon: The Seven-Generation Perspective

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Richard Twiss shares his thoughts about how taking the long view on things would make such a difference in leadership, family, community, faith, etc. As a native of the Lakota tribe, and also a Christian, he has a unique perspective on how generations affect one another and can help one another improve the world. (more…)

The Last Thing To Do In Response To Bad Leadership Is To “Get Over It”

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As long as the machine masquerading as “church” circles around to protect those that prey on the most vulnerable, I don’t plan to “get over it”. As long as church leaders give standing ovations to those who built empires on the broken backs of earnest seekers, I don’t plan to “get over it”. I hope to God you won’t either.

“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”

But when Jesus said these words, he wasn’t talking about protecting abusive religious leaders from accountability. He was talking about protecting vulnerable people from abusive religious leaders.

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How To Find Good Church Leaders

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Is leadership development biblical or simply borrowed from the business world? That’s the question that launches a fascinating discussion on leadership in the church among pastors Andy Davis, J. D. Greear, and David Helm. (more…)

Why We Look The Other Way When Our Leaders Fail

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Perhaps evangelicalism would not suffer so many celebrity-leaders with weak character and shallow theology if it was humble enough to admit that it could’ve prevented the problem early on by simply heeding the warnings of more discerning Christians bold enough to expose unbiblical ministry and character! But where big numbers and broad public favor are concerned, red flag-raisers are almost universally scoffed at.

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Being Anti-Establishment About Church Is Cool But It’s Nothing If It Lacks Christ

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Christless religion can always permeate and dominate, wherever the self-righteous ego (whether in the leadership or my own own) has bumped Jesus from the throne. Switching from robes to suits to jeans and back again (as I have done a few times) is not a spiritual journey … it’s just a fashion statement. Wherever the big “I” reigns as Lord instead of Jesus, you’ll find the kind of religiosity that can co-opt literally any style or form.

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Paul Washer Warns Against Worshipping Celebrity Pastors

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Paul Washer warns against worshipping celebrity pastors and leaders. (more…)

Evangelical Worship Is About To Crash And Go Boom

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You’re not reading the ramblings of a curmudgeony guy complaining about all the new-fangled things the kids are doing these days, with their drums and tom-toms and electric geetars. You’re reading the heart-cry of a normal guy who’s worried about what worship leaders are doing to themselves and their congregations.

People are tuning out and giving up and just watching.

Note: Consider this post in conjunction with the previous post about Rich Mullins.
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When Mom Needs To Be The Spiritual Leader

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The biblical vision of a godly man leading his wife and children simply was not a reality in my house. Given that reality, God called and used my mother to be the primary spiritual shepherd in my life, and I am forever grateful to her.

I have been in two families with spiritually passive men, the home I grew up in, and then my own home for the first ten years of our marriage. I was the passive man. Functionally, my wife was the spiritual leader, because I was sinfully overcommitted to my work at church.

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Good Leaders Disappear

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The best way to be noticed is to become a leader. Better yet, a spiritual leader. People beg for your time, they adore your advice, and they praise you to their friends. Many leaders with the largest followings are the men and women most desperate for attention. They work harder than you because they need more notice than you.

The problem with these leaders is that their lives primarily evoke their own praise.

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