Joel’s prophecy of the Holy Spirit precedes his prophecy of the great and terrible day of the Lord. We must not overlook this sequence of the last days and that both the Holy Spirit and the “day of the Lord” are events of the last days. We have already shown that the “last days” refer…
Historically, the post-apostolic Christians adopted this pyramid rule into their lives by shifting toward the organizational patterns of their culture. Ignatius was the first figure instrumental toward this shift and toward the elevation of one elder (called “Bishop”) who had ultimate power like Jesus, while the others stood in the position of the apostles under…
It is the intention of this section to introduce that the emphasis of the text of scripture is on the oversight of souls (individuals) not the oversight of an organization as one would expect in a business corporation. Unfortunately, some translations use the word “ordained” which is used today in an ecclesiastical sense. In commenting…
All churches have leadership. It may be an eldership, a body of deacons, or some other leading board who make business decisions for their church. Once again, these decision-making boards are necessary for a church organization. The fact that no such ruling boards are found in the Scriptures supports that no such organization existed. Any…
We know what the Bible teaches about the work and role of an evangelist. But typically, a preacher, looking for a place to preach, goes to a congregation, preaches one or two sermons, and sits behind closed doors with an eldership who decides whether or not they will hire him. If the preacher agrees to…
The Israel of God today are destroyed by the same thing and for the same reason that destroyed ancient Israel — lack of knowledge and indigent leadership. Some elders have the policy that the less people know, the less the possibility of departing from the truth. Therefore, they will purposely keep the information or different…
No man has the right to tell another what to read or with whom they may talk. That was performed many years ago in the name of Roman Catholicism as they sought to maintain control and uniformity. Is this the leadership we desire? God says to “be ready always to give an answer to every…
Elders of “institutional” church organizations listen to the complaints and read the pulse of the group in order for that organization to continue. The work is dependent on the contribution of its members and the contribution of the members is dependent on their satisfaction with the decisions of the eldership. The eldership is placed in…
Since the membership is to obey and submit to the rule of these men, they are not conditioned to submit, obey, and follow the leadership of spiritual shepherds who oversee their souls. They are only expected to accept the decisions of administrators as it affects them in the assemblies. Again, we ask three connected questions:…
A result of this change in roles is that shepherds are not “skilled” in teaching as their qualifications require (1 Tim. 3:2). In fact, if they are to be skilled in teaching, what purpose would be served in hiring a preacher? Consequently, they are not teaching because it is painfully boring when they do attempt…