Can Women be Elders? – Part 2

In Part 1, I consider that Gender neutrality is evident in 1 Tim 3:1, indicating that from the outset God is open to both male and female elders. 1Tim 3:1 reads, “This is a true saying, If a man (Gk. tis - anyone) desire the office of a bishop, he (not in Gk.) desireth a…

Organic Church, Preachers, Teachers and Big Meetings

Organic Church proponents, of whom I am one, are in danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water when it comes to our view on preaching, teaching and big meetings. The typical style of a modern church meeting in the west, where teachers and preachers speak to large audiences sitting in rows, is…

Hierarchical Leadership – The Main Hindrance in the Body of Christ Part 5

Part 5 (Go here for part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 6) While we have taught and even encouraged complete dependency on Jesus as our Head with mutual submission to one another, in reality we have also erroneously instituted and taught hierarchical leadership in the Body of Christ as being Biblical. The two…

Hierarchical Leadership – The Main Hindrance in the Body of Christ Part 4

Part 4 - No Rank (Go here for part 1, part 2, part 3, part 5, part 6) To justify the existence of leadership in the Body of Christ, some say that it is found throughout the biblical narrative. While it is true that leadership is seen throughout the Bible, we need to recognize that hierarchical leadership…

Does the Bible Support the Position of a Senior Pastor?

In Acts 15:19 it appears that James is the leader in the church in Jerusalem when we see that he makes the final statements after the church has debated the issue of circumcision among the Gentiles. However, when we read in the translation "my judgment" it is not to be likened to the expression of…

Church Governance 101

Church governance = the Holy Spirit + group consensus. In Acts 15:28 we read ...it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us... (See also Acts15:22, 23). Here it clearly shows that neither James nor Peter was the head of the church as some would have us think, but that there was only one…

Hierarchical Leadership – The Main Hindrance in the Body of Christ Part 1

Part 1 (Go here for part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6) The best lies are those that appear most like the truth. Hierarchical church leadership is one of those. Appearing to be Biblical, and even a necessity to church life, hierarchical church leadership has become entrenched in the psyche of the regular…