In keeping with my previous blogs,

• My thoughts on pluralistic church leadership
• My thoughts on the role of a Pastor in the church

let’s begin a study on what I believe leadership is under the new covenant. There are many in the church who use Old Testament leadership principles and apply them to the church thereby creating environments of spiritual abuse.

The first thing that we need to establish is the significance between the 2 covenants, old and new, when in comes to how God relates to man.

In the Old Covenant, God primarily spoke through 3 groups of people, the prophet, the priest, and the king. They were God’s representatives to his people. In other words, God did not directly deal with the people but did so through one of those 3 groups.

However, in the new covenant, we are all kings and priests:

1 Peter 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Revelation 1:6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

This applies to all of us who are a part of the Body of Christ. In other words, when it comes to our relationship with God, there is NO elite class of individuals (i.e. the prophet, priest, and king in the old covenant) in the new covenant.

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

1 Cor. 3:5-7
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

There is no longer a select group of individuals between God and His children. There is now only ONE Mediator, Jesus.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.

So you see, the very foundation that today’s leaders attempt to build that they are somehow a part of an elite class that God is using to declare His Word is false. The Word of God is already declared.

In the old covenant, to question Moses was to question God. There is no “Moses” in the new covenant. In fact, new covenant leadership are servants:

Luke 22:25-26 “And [Jesus] said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ But not so with you, but let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant.”

Leaders in the church are there to help people follow their Shepherd – Jesus. They are there to teach people how to depend on their Guide, Helper, Counselor, Teacher – The Holy Spirit. They are not there to be their Shepherd. They are not there to be their Guide.

Questions/Comments/Objections…

I’d like to start a discussion on the role of the Pastor in the church.Many define the Pastor as one of the “ministry gifts” listed in Ephesians 4:12 “He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers”

In context, Ephesians 4:12 are talking about gifts that are given to people. Verse 8 states “He gave gifts to men.” This is an important point and I’ll get to why later.

In 1 Corinthians 12, there are two lists of gifts. Let’s focus on the second list in verse 28. “Here is a list of some of the members that God has placed in the body of Christ: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who do administration, those who speak in a variety of tongues.”

In Romans 12, there are yet more gifts listed. Verse 7,8a states“or ministry, let us use in in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation…”

First of all let me say that ALL gifts are “ministry gifts” not just the 5 listed in Ephesians. 1 Corinthians 12:7 states “A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church.”

If you notice the many lists of gifts, there does not seem to be any way to class these gifts into different categories. What we classified as “FIVE FOLD MINISTRY GIFTS” in Ephesians 4 are listed mixed into the other lists of gifts.

So, my first point is this – THESE ARE ALL GIFTS given to people.

Now lets do look at the different groups of people in the church.

Philippians 1:1b To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.

First of all, let me say that the word bishop is also translated overseer and it is equivalent to the word elder that is used when addressing the Jews. Overseer is a word that the Gentiles could relate to more than elder. So the words bishops, overseers, elders are all the same group of people (I can do a better explanation of that one if anyone challenges me).

So here Paul lists 3 groups of people in the church:

1. The Elders (bishops, overseers)
2. The Deacons
3. The Saints

In many Christian churches today, the leadership role is primarily the “Pastor”. At this point, I’d like to mention that no where in the New Testament is anyone referred to as “Pastor” (other than Jesus – translated Shepherd). In fact in the KJV, the word “pastor” is mentioned only once (in Eph. 4:12). Keep this in mind as we continue.

Now let’s talk about the Apostles since it brings a challenge to my discussion.

Many of you would agree that the 12 Apostles and Paul were in a special class of Apostles that is different than subsequent “apostles.”

There was a distinction made in the early church of these Apostles for obvious reasons: they were the founding fathers of the church. In fact, Paul went to great lengths to show that he should be counted among that group.

When Acts mentions the leaders of the church, it broke them down to “Apostles and Elders” (Acts 15:6, & 15:22)

There are other apostles mentioned in the N.T. but it was more based on the gift they operated in vs. the title “Apostle.” So while there was an emphasis on the title “Apostle” (refering to the founding church fathers) there was also mention of the gift “apostle” in the scriptures mentioned above.

I can do a better job at explaining the distinction between the original Apostles and the gift “apostle” if needed.

One other thing to mention was that most of the Apostles also referred to themselves as “Elders” (this is important for future thoughts). I think it’s also important to note that the Apostles are the ones who set down the pattern for the Elder led churches.

Ok, now to my point. I submit to you that all the gifts mentioned in my first posts are GIFTS not PEOPLE. You can classify someone by the gift they primarily operate in (for clarity) but it is not really a TITLE or a PERSON. For example: pastor is not a TITLE or a PERSON but a gift that a person operates in. Modern day apostle is not a TITLE or a PERSON but a gift that someone operates in.

So, you ask, who are the leaders of the church? I belive the N.T. is clear on this subject, it is the elders (overseers, bishops) who are the leaders. Now some of these elders do operate in the gift of “pastor” or “apostle” or “evangelist” or “teacher” or “prophet” or “administrations”, etc.

In Timothy or Titus, it does not list the qualification of a PASTOR but one of an overseer/elder/bishop.

In Acts 20, Paul sends for the elders of the church of Ephesus (v. 17) and this is what he told them “therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.: Here we see the verb form of “pastor” (the primary way it is used in the N.T.)

Remember our three groups of individuals:

1. Elders (overseers/bishops)
2. Deacons
3. Saints

The elders are the leaders of the church. These individuals do operate in the gifts of the spirit. The 5 gifts that are listed in Eph. 4:12 (for the equipping of the saints) should all be present in these elders in order to have a well balanced church (hence the team ministry concept).

So, what is my conclusion?

We have confused the GIFT with the PERSON. The person is an ELDER, the gift is a pastor, an apostle, an evangelist, a teacher, or a prophet…. and they are all needed in a church in order for the body to be properly equipped.

The N.T. always shows a pluraliy of ELDERS in the leadership of a church for this very reason. It’s not a hierarchy but a TEAM of ELDERS that function together to lead a church (I will expand on this more in my next blog). Members of this team will flow in different gifts of the spirit.

Where then did we get this single pastor dominated church model? NOT IN THE BIBLE.

The “pastor” gift has been elevated in our culture. We’ve determined that among the gifts listed, the “pastor” gift is most important and we have made it a TITLE and assigned it to a single individual and elevated him above the rest of the ELDERS.

We have also made elders a group of individuals below this PASTOR. So now we have in the church.

1. Pastor
2. Associate Pastors (optional)
3. Elders (optional)
4. Deacons or Deconesses (optional)
5. Saints

Not only did we add the top 2 levels but in many cases we have eliminated 3 & 4. You will not find the above list in the patterns of church leadership listed in the N.T.

Why do I believe all of this is important? Well, we have many individuals who are pastors of a church who function in the gifting of a teacher or an evangelist but not in the gifting of a pastor. As stated above, I believe that we need a group of leaders functioning in all the gifts to have a healthy, functioning church body.

In addition, the elevation of this single gift as the leader of the church has led to many churches ran by an abusive dictator instead of a group of individuals where there’s accountablility and balance.

Your thoughts?

I recently gave my thoughts on the role of a Pastor in the church. I’d like to continue this discussion by discussing church leadership in general.From my study of the New Testament, I have concluded that a ‘team of elders’ governing a church is the pattern that we observe.

Let’s look at the 3 churches mentioned in New Testament

1) The Church at Jerusalem

Whenever the leadership of this church is mentioned, they’re always referred to as a group of individuals specifically the Apostles and Elders.

Acts 15:6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question.

Acts 15: 22a Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.

Acts 21:18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present.

2) The Church at Antioch

When the church spread to Antioch, we see a plurality of leadership (Acts 13:1-3). In fact, these leaders were labeled by their giftings of prophets and teachers.

3) The Church at Ephesus

Paul called for the “elders” of the church of Ephesus (Acts 20:17).

Remember, in our previous discussion, we talked about the different groups of people in the church.

Philippians 1:1b To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.

Note that the word bishop is also translated overseer and it is equivalent to the word elder that is used when addressing the Jews. Overseer is a word that the Gentiles could relate to more than elder. So the words bishops, overseers, elders are all the same group of people.

So here Paul lists 3 groups of people in the church:

1. The Elders (bishops, overseers)
2. The Deacons [or Deaconesses]
3. The Saints

Now in our culture, we define the traditional church structure as Pastor (overseer, bishop) and below him possibly Associate Pastors, Elders, and/or Deacons or:

1. Pastor
2. Associate Pastors (optional)
3. Elders (optional)
4. Deacons or Deconesses (optional)
5. Saints

However, in the New Testament, Elders were the Pastors. In Acts 20, Paul called the ELDERS of the church at Ephesus and told them “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you OVERSEERS, to shepherd (pastor) the church of God….”

We have to institute a system of accountability for Pastors and I believe that scripture supports a plurality of leaders. I do not see the scriptural support for the single Pastor dominated model for the church.

One question I’ve received when I’ve talked about this in the past pertains to how are disagreements resolved if there’s no single authority. However, these overseers have a list of qualifications that they must meet and among them “blameless, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarellsome, not covetous…” These qualifications are of individuals who can deal with disagreements in a proper manner. If self-promoting, greedy, prideful individuals are in these positions then yes, there will be problems.

Another question centers around the fact that James seems to have been referenced as the leader of the church at Jerusalem. I will quote Mike (todie4)’s comment on the previous blog to answer this question:

James, I believe, was the leader of the Church in Jerusalem. This is not a contradiction. This most likely meant that he was the leader of a council of sorts, like one might lead a meeting. That does not mean he had unilateral control, and appointed everyone, etc etc. I think this is consistent with your view.For example, we might have a meeting of elders, with one presiding over the meeting to help keep direction, etc. This does not mean that he has the control we give pastors today.

The Majority Leader of the Senate or The Speaker of the House provide leadership, but are helpless to pass laws on their own. They help provide direction, but can only accomplish anything when they work in concert with their peers. In the same way different elders at different times may help provide direction for a group of elders, but would do so in unity, not in ruler-ship over the others.

–Mike

Thoughts?

One of the hallmarks of every cult is its propensity to gather closely around a leader and to elevate that leader to a kind of kingly status both in their minds and in their treatment of this leader. The leader’s words and sayings becomes law. The leader is often viewed as being above reproach. In Christian circles, it is often viewed as “carnal” and “unruly” to be critical of the leader, particularly if that criticism deals with doctrinal positions taken by the leader or pronouncements that are viewed by some as contrary to Scripture.

The End

Visit Voyle’s website at http://www.brevia.com

(not affiliated with SAFEchurch)

The abuse of spiritual authority has been a difficulty in the church ever since its inception. Paul dealt with it, Peter admonished the church about it, and Jesus said that he hated it. The best way not to become a victim of abusive authority is to understand how it works so you can recognize immediately when you’re in a controllers tractor beam. In the following article I will give you enough information to do just that. Most of the information here is the result of my own experiences.In Revelation 2:6, the Lord commends the church at Ephesus saying, “Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” According to the Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon, one of the meanings of Nicolaitans is “people over comers.” What were the deeds of the Nicolaitans that Jesus hated? Apparently they were people in the church whose ambition and practice was to overcome or subdue others. They were people conquerors, obsessed with subjecting others to their control. Today we call this kind of person a control freak. Families, the business world, and sadly the church world are plagued by people conquerors.

Paul dealt with people conquerors in his letter to the Galatians. The Judaizers weren’t satisfied that the redemptive work of Jesus was enough. They were teaching that there was something you must do in addition to trusting Jesus in order to please God and make your salvation complete. In their case it was circumcision. Ephesians 1:6 says that God has made us accepted in the Beloved. We can do nothing to make God love us more than He already does. And we can do nothing to make Him love us any less. He’s already decided to accept and love us with a perfect, unconditional love.

Paul says about the Judaizers that, “They eagerly seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out, in order that you may seek them.” (Galatians 4:17, NASB) In order to gain control over the Galatians, the Judaizers told them that their salvation wasn’t complete. Their tactic was to convince people that they were still on the “outside” in order to make them want to become part of “their group.” What was their purpose? They illegally used the law to snare people in a web of religious control and manipulation. They were people conquerors.

I use this same verse, Gal. 4:17, to teach my children about cliques. A clique is a small, exclusive group of people (emphasis on the word exclusive). The primary satisfaction in belonging to a clique is realized by excluding others from it. The idea is to create the illusion that you have something really cool and awesome going on. Usually just the opposite is true. The allure or attraction to those on the outside of the clique is based on this illusion and the desire to “belong” that is fostered because of being excluded. It is childish, but it’s all too common among Christians.

Nicolaitans thrive in this ambiance because you can control people if you convince them that you’ve got something they don’t have access to unless they coddle up to you and play the game. But I want to proclaim to you that there is no elite or privileged group in the body of Christ. If you’re in Jesus, you’re in THE GROUP, and it’s not an exclusive one, but an inclusive one. It’s for whosoever will. You don’t have to indulge manipulators and control freaks. Paul said in Colosians 2:8-10, NASB, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.” You are complete in Jesus. You don’t need the validation, acceptance, recognition, or approval of any man to make you complete. You are accepted in the Beloved and complete in Him. What more can any man offer you? If you’ve been manipulated into seeking man’s approval, you may have fallen prey to a people conqueror system of control. Galatians 5:1 NASB says, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” Don’t let the people conquerors impose their control on you.

The Shepherding Movement

I was involved the shepherding movement of the 70’s and remember it vivdly. There was erroneous teaching that an elder or pastor was positioned by God in a person’s life as His governing agent. I’ve found that people conquerors often believe they have a calling, gifting, anointing, or superior revelation that qualifies them for ruling over others. In the shepherding movement it was presented as God’s plan to protect people from themselves and the devil. They were taught to submit leadership as a “covering.” However, that premise set the stage for an unhealthy, codependent relationship in which a person depended on someone else for his or her relationship with God. Asking, “Who is your covering?” became the equivalent of saying, “Who controls you?” This is a bold infringement on the relationship Jesus died to give us. 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “there is only one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.”

Those leaders presumed to know God’s will for people concerning areas wherein He usually deals personally with an individual, such as whom to marry, where to live, where to work, and the timing and direction for one’s ministry and calling. It’s true that there is great wisdom in Proverbs 11:14 that says, “in a multitude of counselors there is safety,” but through the guidance of the Holy Spirit we must ultimately discern Gods direction for our lives. No human can take His place. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, would be with us to lead and guide us, and I’m reminded of the wisdom of “Mr. Pentecost,” David DuPlessis, who said, “The Lord is my shepherd, and no shepherd is my Lord.”

Bucking The System

In a “Nicolaitan” system the most severe abuse takes place though when someone rejects the counsel or opinion of the leader. A dissenting opinion or point of view is intolerable because it poses a threat to the controller’s power base. In the book, “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse,” the authors, Johnson and VanVonderen, say,

“You know we must never disagree with the pastor on his sermons-and if you do, you will never be trusted and never be allowed to minister in any capacity in this church. In this case, the unspoken rule is: Do not disagree with the church authorities -especially the pastor-or your loyalty will be suspect. Rules like this remain unspoken, because examining them in the light of mature dialogue would instantly reveal how illogical, unhealthy and anti-Christian they are. So silence becomes the fortress wall of protection, shielding the pastor’s power position from scrutiny or challenge.” (pg.67)

“In some churches there is an unwritten and unspoken rule that says, ‘It is better to be nice than honest’…If you speak about the problem out loud, you are the problem…The truth is, when people talk about problems out loud, they don’t cause them, they simply expose them.” (pg. 68)

Control of people and situations must be maintained at all costs. Therefore the controller will put a negative spiritual spin on the dissenter’s liberty. Public admonitions about Korah’s rebellion (Numbers 16:32), the danger of challenging (touching) Gods anointed, and threats of Gods impending judgment on those with a “critical spirit” are designed to manipulate and intimidate people into line through fear. The term “critical spirit,” by the way, doesn’t exist ANYWHERE in the scriptures. This designation is liberally used by people conquerors to label and suppress anyone who challenges the legitimacy of their control or questions what is wrong with the abusive Nicolaitan system. The truth is, when the prevailing atmosphere in a church (or home or business for that matter) is one of suppression and control through fear, intimidation, paranoia, coercion, fear of reprisal, and the fear of rejection or exclusion, you can be sure that the people conquerors have set up shop. The Lord hates their deeds.

Johnson and VanVonderen go on to say,

“The next characteristic of spiritually abusive systems is that a misplaced sense of loyalty is fostered and even demanded. We’re not talking about loyalty to Christ, but about loyalty to a given organization, church, or leader. A common way this is accomplished is by setting up a system where disloyalty to or disagreement with the leadership is construed as the same thing as disobeying God. Questioning leaders is equal to questioning God! After all, the leader is the authority, and authority is always right. This causes people to misplace their loyalty in a leader, a church or an organization… The third method of calling forth misplaced loyalty is the threat of humiliation. This is done by publicly shaming, exposing, or threatening to remove people from the group. In the abusive system, it is the fear of being exposed, humiliated or removed that insures your proper allegiance, and insulates those in authority. You can be ‘exposed’ for asking too many questions, for disobeying the unspoken rules, or for disagreeing with authority. People are made public examples in order to send a message to those who remain. Others have phone campaigns launched against them, to warn their friends and others in the group about how ‘dangerous’ they are.” (pg. 76, 77)

In contrast to the above scenario, think about how our Heavenly Father deals in our lives. He doesn’t intimidate, coerce, dominate, or manipulate us. His Spirit is called the “Comforter,” not the conqueror. He loves us into doing His will. 1 John 4:18-19, NASB, says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love (Him), because He first loved us.” Romans 2:4 says “it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance.”

Peter exhorted leaders in 1 Peter 5:1-3, saying, “Therefore, I exhort the elders… shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.” The word for “lording over” means to subdue, overcome, and hold in subjection. Peter’s admonition clearly and intrepidly exposes and reproves the deeds of the people conquerors. Leadership is through example, and not by lording it over people.

Codependent Christianity

The term codependence was first used to describe the complexities of the relationship that develops between alcohol or drug abusers and their family. The family members become abuse victims because of the physical, behavioral, and psychological consequences of the chemical addiction, thus making them codependent on the substance. Eventually the notion of codependence was broadened to include other kinds of dysfunctional relationships. A typical example is a woman unable to get emotionally free from a romantic involvement that has become physically abusive. In spite of the violence and abuse, she finds herself addicted to the relationship even though it has become the antithesis of love. The addiction isn’t to a drug but to an abusive person and relationship. (Of course the dynamics of this example are much more complex than I’m able to describe here). The victim will typically use all manner of illogical excuses to justify continuing in the abusive relationship. In much the same way, Christians become codependent to abusive authority when they wrongly believe that it is part of God’s plan or purpose for their life to submit to this authority. But remember, the Lord hates the deeds of the Nicolaitans.

Dysfunctional Family (Church)

The church is first and foremost a family. When spiritual authority is abused the relationships within the church family become dysfunctional. The family no longer functions as God intended. People fear mans opinion more highly than Gods. Often the life of the church revolves around a man and his personality rather than the person of Jesus Christ. When the members praise the pastor more often than Jesus as the reason for their allegiance and involvement, that’s a sure indication that something is wrong.

Little Gods

Luke 22:25-26 in The Amplified Bible says,

“But Jesus said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles are deified by them and exercise lordship [ruling as emperor-gods] over them…But this is not to be so with you; on the contrary, let him who is the greatest among you become like the youngest, and him who is the chief and leader like one who serves.”

Jesus criticized the Gentiles because they deified their kings. God doesn’t want the church to make little gods of its leaders like the world does with Hollywood, entertainment, and sports celebrities. Forming personality cults around preachers and the gifts God gave them is akin to deifying them. To the contrary, our leaders should not only be like us, but they must become like the youngest and the one who serves. Leaders in the Body of Christ shouldn’t be an elite group living aloof, separate lives apart from the rest of us. No, they’re to lead by example as Peter said. That means among us with a lifestyle of transparency and accessibility that we can all relate to. Disingenuous movie star image, style, and personality belong in Hollywood. We don’t need little gods to lead us; just real people who love God, and live real lives that we can touch and see.

How To Get Free

If you are a victim of an abusive people conqueror system then to some degree you’ve become dependent on that system and/or an individual for your relationship with God. This codependency can become an emotional, psychological, and spiritual addiction. That is why the Lord hates the deeds of the Nicolaitans. They usurp His place of Lordship in believers lives. Like the battered woman I mentioned earlier, you might see the abuse, but there’s fear that you can’t make it without the abuser. In fact a frequent practice by abusive leaders is to convince their followers that they can’t make it outside of their “covering,” and they can usually produce a list of those who tried and failed. You may be tempted to justify or excuse the abuse by reciting all of the “good” things the abuser has done. Or the abuser may remind you of all the good he has done. But these things are just further evidence of manipulative abuse and codependence. Healthy relationships don’t function this way.

The greatest challenge to your freedom will come as you begin to dismantle the lies of the Nicolaitan stronghold that has been formed in your mind. You do that by replacing the wrong paradigm for relationships that is in your heart. A good place to begin is by meditating on the truths that I’ve shared in this article. Jesus came to set you free and give you liberty. There is only one mediator between you and God, and that is Jesus Christ. There is only one person designated to lead you and guide you into all truth, and that is the Holy Spirit. These truths will renew your mind, fortify your inner man, and eventually lead you to a place of experiential victory and freedom.

You will also need to sever your relationship with the abusive system and find a church with a healthy leadership, relational, and family environment. Leaving is often the most difficult phase of this process because of the feelings of abandonment experienced when dealing with the realization that many of your friendships were only political. When you are no longer willing to submit to the same belief system, those you once considered family and friends will likely shun you. Shunning the defector is one of the unwritten, unspoken rules that your friends may be unwilling to break, even at the price of treasured friendships. Feeble excuses are offered like, “We agree with you and see the problem, but we don’t want to go against pastor…” The truth is they fear the consequences more than they hate the system. Pressure to divide the Body of Christ along lines of human loyalties is a work of the flesh described in Galatians 5:20 as “factions” in the NASB, and literally means sectarian or partisan. This is a good time to pray for them and their own deliverance from the Nicolaitan stronghold.

A common tendency I’ve observed is the codependent victim to wants to “save” the abusive leader from him/herself. But this is a trap and just another dimension of the codependence. If you get caught in this trap, your Christian life begins to revolve around what you perceive as your self-sacrificing mission from God. What really happens though is you put your own life in a dysfunctional holding pattern and the codependence actually worsens. You become even more codependent than before because now this person and their dysfunction dominate your relationship with God. The goal of the people conqueror is to keep you under his/her control. If this can be accomplished by giving you hope that you can change things from within the abusive system, the people conqueror will be happy to accommodate you. One of his basic motivations is control and you are playing along.

Remember the hypothetical woman I referred to before? This is exactly the trap she is in. But in her attempt to be the savior of the relationship she only becomes a willing participant in the codependency and abuse. You don’t help a drug addict by participating in his addiction, nor do you help the abusive lover by becoming his punching bag. In the same way you don’t help the abusive leader by submitting to his authority. In fact by continuing participation in the relationship you actually help establish and perpetuate the Nicolaitan system. Remember, the Lord said he hates their deeds.

At some point in your healing process God will undoubtedly lead you to pray for the leaders and friends you left behind. Often leaders are codependent victims of the same people conqueror system. This is why your prayers are so important; to tear down this stronghold in their minds and emotions, praying that the eyes of their understanding be opened.

Remember this: God has a unique and special plan and purpose for your life. Your destiny isn’t just to be a worker “drone” in the kingdom of the people conquerors. You can flourish in an atmosphere where your God given uniqueness, individuality, and gifting is celebrated rather than suppressed. Stand fast in the liberty Jesus bought for you. Like Jesus and the believers at Ephesus, abhor the deeds of the people conquerors!

Visit Steve’s website at http://www.richharvest.org

The church is the family of God, made up of every born again child of God. We are the church. This truth essentially defines the church’s identity and provides us with the divine paradigm for church life and relationships. In this article I want to briefly explore God’s paradigm of the church family and how the modern church compares.The Word of God describes the church in several ways. We are called the church of the first born, house of God, habitation of God, a spiritual house, lively stones, household of God, household of faith, children of God, sons of God, and the family of God. Words like household, habitation, family, born (into, of, again), firstborn, sons, children, and heirs, etc. make it clear that the church is not just a metaphorical family but also a family in essence. The church is first and foremost a family, the family of God.

“When I think of the wisdom and scope of his plan, I fall down on my knees and pray to the Father of all the great family of God-some of them already in heaven and some down here on earth-that out of his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you the mighty inner strengthening of his Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 3:14-16; The Living Bible.)

God is our Father. When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray he began with the words, “Our Father.” He could have said Our God, Our Creator, Our Lord, or any of the many appropriate titles available. I believe that He chose, “Father,” because it is the preeminent term qualifying the relationship God wants with us, and it foreordained the family paradigm for ordering the scheme of relationships in His church. Jesus didn’t come to start a new religion but to initiate a new family, the church of the first-born (Heb.12:23). Jesus is the first-born son of this family. The only way a person can become a member of His family is to be born (again) into it. This isn’t symbolism or metaphor. It’s the very essence and foundation of the church. “You must be born again,” Jesus said.

The notion of a family evokes images of warmth, welcome, love, acceptance, harmony, and freedom to be who you are without the fear of criticism and rejection. Even if your family’s history isn’t all those things you still have this imprint in your heart that it was supposed to be that way. The church should be the one refuge in this world of dysfunctional relationships where people can run to find wholeness, acceptance, love, and forgiveness. If we have anything at all legitimate and of value to offer the world it’s the healing and wholeness of fellowship in God’s family.

I believe that this revelation is the church’s greatest untapped asset and a vital, crucial element to reaching the world. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, by the love you have for one another.” John 13:35. Notice that He didn’t say they would know because of the love we have for the lost or because of the love we have for God. They will know because of the love, the quality of relationship, we have with each other. His unconditional love flowing in, around, and through us is the outstanding characteristic that the world should know us by. When they see God’s love relationships in His family church they will want to be part of it. The world is starved for the love that can only be experienced in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately the church has drifted so far away from God’s family design that we often appear to be just another dysfunctional family that unbelievers want no part of.

In most instances, the church has become an irrelevant subculture within our culture. Instead of resembling God’s family paradigm, we substitute all manner of religious rites, rituals, formalities, religious politics, hierarchies, entertainment, programs, hype, and slick surrogates to supplant the relationship God wants us to have with Him and each other. We pretend to rescue people from the codependence and dysfunction of the world only to bring them into a religious system of dysfunction and codependence. We’ve become what I meretriciously call the “Dysfunctional Family Church.” A family is dysfunctional when it becomes impaired or abnormal in its functioning. When a local church no longer functions according to God’s family paradigm it becomes a dysfunctional family (church). Unfortunately most churches least of all resemble a family.

Rituals, rites, protocol, programs, and traditions are not the essential elements that define God’s church. The church’s identity is not found in IRS approved non-profit corporation status, in organizational affiliation, or in buildings and steeples. The church is people; we are the church. The church family is God’s marvelous and triumphant plan to reach man and bring him into fellowship and family relationship with Himself. Religion is man’s attempt to reach and please God through his own inadequate efforts, achievements, and plan.

How many times have we said, “Let’s go to church”? The Greek word for “church” in the Bible is Ekklesia. It literally means, “called out ones.” The church isn’t a building, a place, a meeting, or an event. However, for most modern Christians church means attending a meeting. The routine of attending meetings and sitting in a congregation as a spectator hour after hour, week after week, is the main course and main event of most Christian’s lives. In fact, if I were an unbeliever observing modern day Christians I would conclude that being a Christian meant going to meetings.

Before you jump to conclusions, listen to me. I love to meet together with other believers, worship God, and hear great preaching. And I love BIG meetings and hearing the great preachers of our day. But usually these programmed meetings are productions and events and not an adequate substitute for the family environment that we must cultivate if we want to experience the church as God intended it. I’m amazed by the number of people I’ve talked to who have attended a “mega-church” for years and are still unable to form relationships beyond the superficial, cliché-ridden helloes and good byes during the ten minutes preceding and following the meeting. It’s not because they are inept at making friends. It’s because the context of the large mega meeting is not the right soil for growing relationships. In fact a diet of only large group meetings can actually hinder the forming of church family relationships so vital to Christian life. The best atmosphere to form and build family of God relationships is around a dinner table, on outings, at informal get togethers, and in small group home meetings. These environments provide the fertile soil where real live Christian fellowship can flourish and grow. This type of fellowship should be the most common and frequent activity in a believer’s life.

Most Christian’s church experience consists of religiously attending 2-3 meetings per week. The meetings usually follow a preset program, pattern, or agenda. The church members sit in the audience position thus accepting their role as spectators in the event. The major portion of the meeting usually revolves around the ministry, gift, and personality of one person, typically a pastor. This kind of meeting should be an important part of every believer’s experience.

However, the trouble with this scenario is that the programmed event oriented meeting is usually the only level of church participation most Christians ever experience. They end up becoming meeting junkies. Inevitably a church built on “meetings” of this kind becomes an audience of spectators and the pastor becomes a one-man show. This kind of church’s primary purpose is to provide a platform and vehicle for one man’s gift and ministry, and church members become worker drones in his pyramiding ministry scheme. Leaders following this pattern use people to build their ministry. This is in sharp contrast to Ephesians 4:12 which says that the five fold ministry gifts to the church are for, “the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry.” The saints are the team that “carries the ball” in doing the work of the ministry. Often the “team” ends up sitting in the stands watching the “coach” run the ball. The correct idea is to use the ministry gift to build people and not to use people to build some man’s ministry kingdom. There is a distinct difference.

In his book, The New Reformation, author Greg Ogden says,

“Churches have a penchant for wanting to find the leader who can ‘do it all’… We seek a pastor who handles Sunday morning better than a quizmaster on weekday T.V. He is better with words than most political candidates… No church social function would be complete without him.

The trouble with this mentality is that because we want pastors who can do it all, they will do it all. The desire for ‘perfect’ pastors creates passivity in the congregation. People live out their lives vicariously through ‘Mr. Wonderful ‘ as if his faith and abilities were theirs. The church member’s role is to pay their dues so that the doors can be kept open and a context created for pastors to do their work. Howard Snyder characterizes this approach in these words: ‘If the pastor is a superstar, the church is an audience, not a body’.” (Pages 74-75)

Your divinely ordained purpose isn’t to be a spectator in the audience of a Christian superstar.

Jesus said in Luke 22:25-26, The Amplified Bible,

“The kings of the Gentiles are deified by them and exercise lordship [ruling as emperor-gods] over them…But this is not to be so with you; on the contrary, let him who is the greatest among you become like the youngest, and him who is the chief and leader like one who serves.”

Jesus said that the Gentiles deified their leaders by making little gods out of them. Today the world does the same thing with Hollywood, entertainment, and sports celebrities. They are practically worshipped in our culture. Unfortunately we’ve followed a similar path in the church forming personality cults around “superstar” preachers and the gifts God gave them. Jesus was very emphatic that it wasn’t to be so among His followers. He said that church leaders must “become like the youngest and the one who serves.” 1 Peter 5:3 says that leaders should lead by example. By definition that means living among us with transparency and accessibility a lifestyle every member of the family can relate to. Disingenuous movie star image, style, and personality belong in Hollywood. We don’t need little gods to lead us, but real people who love God and live real lives that we can touch and see. Just like we experience in a family. There’s no “stars” in our family, and yet at the same time each and every member is a star as we celebrate their uniqueness and individuality. Every member is special in God’s family, not just the photogenic, elite “pretty people.”

So what should a get together of God’s family look like? In addition to the elements of a family I’ve already mentioned, the apostle Paul tells us more in 1 Corinthians 14:26. He says:

“When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.” NASB

The emphasis in the church is on the ministry and gifting of the many rather than the ministry or gift of one or a few. Church family participation is not supposed to be a spectator event. Obviously there are time and space limitations, and all things should be done for edification. But Paul said, “When you assemble…” That means whenever you get together, in a home, at the park, or wherever, you can share a teaching, revelation, tongue, or interpretation. He said that we should be,

“speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;” (Ephesians 5:19-20) and, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colosians 3:16) God’s family is a happy family.

When Paul wrote this most churches were home churches. We don’t need a “church” building to be a church. We are the church. In fact if we wished to strictly follow the New Testament example we could conclude that the home church family is God’s preferred pattern, since no other can be found in the New Testament. Nowhere do we find Jesus, Peter, Paul, James, or John raising funds to build multi-million dollar ministry complexes so they could install themselves as Christian despots over their own ministry empires. What we do find is a pattern, a style of ministry and personal lifestyle that produced a family environment conducive to building church family relationships. As I said earlier, real church life is developed around a dinner table, at informal get togethers, and in small group home meetings. In these environments church family life will be transformed from theory to reality in your personal experience.

In our culture we generally believe that more is better, and bigger is best, but that’s not God’s standard of measure. In His economy of things least is the greatest, the last is first, the weak are made strong, and the meek win. Quality is always preferred over quantity. Determine not to sacrifice the quality relationships you can have in God’s church family by being satisfied with superficial relationships. Refuse to be satisfied with vicariously living your Christian life and relationship with God through a charismatic, “Mr. Wonderful,” superstar. Make the decision that you will have more than the substitutes and placebos offered by modern charismatic Christianity and traditional religion.

Visit Steve’s website at http://www.richharvest.org

Escape from Codependent Christianity by Dr. Jim Richards

You will not find the term codependency in the Bible, yet it motivated Adam at the fall of man. It is the root of all addictions, the destroyer of all relationships, and it is consuming our world. The greatest weakness of the Church has been our failure to set people free. We reach people who are addicted, but instead of helping to set them free, we simply transfer their addiction onto the church, the pastor, or some religious program. The result is a church full of hurting people who are not free. This book identifies how the world system of codependency has swept through government, education, family, and the church. But more than point out the problem, it points out the only cure. You can break the destructive patterns in your life. This book is a must for understanding human difficulties. It will be a valuable tool for the counselor, the pastor, or the layman.

My Church – My Family by Dr. Jim Richards

There have been scandalous , moral failures among church leaders, multimillion dollar financial misrepresentations, and even false Messiahs. In this era of abuse in the church, people are becoming afraid to trust. Is this the time to abandon the local church? Should we throw it all away to protect ourselves? The answer is emphatically, “No!” Jesus warned that such times would come and Paul waned of these days, yet they had value for the church. They encouraged us to be part of the local church. If confidence in the local church is destroyed, there will be another dark-ages, the likes of which the world has never seen. If there has ever been a time that we needed one another, it is today. A false, dark-ages concept of leadership is what has led to the abuse of church members. But we cannot let the corruption of some destroy our ability to have meaningful relationships with the church. Instead, we must change the way that we relate to it. We can make our churches a safe place to be again. The local church can be a place of love, healing, and mercy. But this will not happen through the clergy; it will only happen as the members learn and establish the Biblical way of relating to the church. It is time that we assume responsibility for ourselves and our church. The solution does not lie in the morality of the leaders; it lies in the courage and the integrity of the members. You can be committed without being codependent. You can give without being, “taken”. You can serve without being used. You can have a healthy relationship with a church, and by doing so, you can make your church healthy.

The Subtle Power of Spiritual AbuseRecognizing and Escaping Spiritual Manipulation and False-Spiritual Authority Within the Church.by David Johnson & Jeff Van Vonderen

What follows is a summary of a small part of the book. If you find this at all helpful, you may purchase your own copy of this book.

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse is:

Dedicated
to the weary and heavy laden,
deeply loved by God,
but because of spiritual abuse,
find that the Good News
has somehow become
the bad news.

The book is structured according to the following plan.Part I: Spiritual Abuse and its Victims

Introduction

1. “Help Me…”
2. Spiritual Abuse is Not New
3. Abused Christians
4. The Pre-Abuse Set-up
5. Identifying the Abusive System
6. When You Cannot Leave
7. Abuse and Scripture
8. Revictimizing Victims

Part II: Abusive Leaders and Why They Are Trapped

Introduction

9. “Because I’m the Pastor, That’s Why!”
10. “You Can Trust Me”
11. Image is Everything
12. Straining Gnats, Swallowing Camels
13. The Weight of Religion
14. “No Admittance”
15. Spreading “the Gospel”
16. The People Get Devoured

Part III: Post-Abuse Recovery

Introduction

17. How to Escape a Spiritual Trap
18. Renewing the Mind
19. Recovering Right Focus
20. One Response: Flight
21. A Second Response: Fight

Epilogue
Message to Perpetrators of Spiritual Abuse

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery (Gal. 5:1).

What is Spiritual Abuse?

“Spiritual abuse can occur when a leader uses his or her spiritual position to control or dominate another person.” (p.20)

“Spiritual abuse can also occur when spirituality is used to make others live up to a ‘spiritual standard’.” (p.21)

Spiritual abuse occurs when shame is “used in an attempt to get someone to support a belief, or…to fend off legitimate questions”. (p.22)

“When your words and actions tear down another, or attack or weaken a person’s standing as a Christian—to gratify you, your position or your beliefs, while at the same time weakening or harming another—that is spiritual abuse.” (p.23)

“There are spiritual systems in which…the members are there to meet the needs of the leaders… These leaders attempt to find fulfillment through the religious performance of the very people whom they are there to serve and build. This is an inversion of the body of Christ. It is spiritual abuse.” (p.23)

“The Christian life begins with freedom from dead works, from religious sytems and from all human attempts to ‘please God’. It’s time for many of us to shake off the religious sytems and expectations we’ve created, and return to that joyful freedom in Christ.” (p.26)

You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men (1 Cor. 7:23).

Identifying The Abusive System

1. Power Posturing

“Power-posturing simply means that leaders spend a lot of time focused on their own authority and reminding others of it, as well. This is necessary because their spiritual authority isn’t real—based on genuine godly character—it is postured.” (p.63)

“Those who are in positions of true leadership demonstrate authority, spiritual power, and credibility by their lives and message.” (p.64)

“As Romans 13:1 says, There is no authority except from God. Being hired or elected to a spiritual position, talking the loudest, or giving the most does not give someone authority.” (p.64)

“Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait like men who snare birds… their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful… Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the cause of the fatherless… they do not defend the rights of the poor” (Jer. 5:26-28).

2. Performance Preoccupation

“If obedience and service is flowing out of you as a result of your dependence on God alone, you won’t keep track of it with an eye toward reward, you’ll just do it. But if you’re preoccupied with whether you’ve done enough to please God, then you’re not looking at Him, you’re looking at your own works. And you’re also concerned about who else might be looking at you, evaluating you. Why would anyone keep track of their ‘godly’ behaviour unless they were trying to earn spiritual points because of it?” (p.65)

“Are obedience and submission important? Without question. This can be seen in Romans 13:1…1 Peter 5:5…and Hebrews 13:17. To bring balance, however, we must add to these verses an equally important passage. Consider the words of Peter and the other apostles in Acts 5:29: ‘We must obey God rather than men.’ Notice that Peter is saying this to the religious leaders he was disobeying. Out of context, obedience to leaders looks like good theology. Add the larger context, and you will see that it is only appropriate to obey and submit to leadership when their authority is from God and their stance is consistent with His.” (p.66)

“In Romans 12:2 Paul says, ‘Do not be conformed… but be transformed… ’. In a performance-based church or family, that verse might be applied like this: ‘Our church or leader is right; we have a truer, purer ‘word’ from God than others. Therefore, we must adhere to our formula or brand of Christianity as hard and fast as possible—so we won’t become like those out there who don’t think as we do. If I do not live up to all I’ve been taught here, I will be letting God down.’ This orientation squeezes people from the outside in. They are not transformed, they are conformed.” (p.66)

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widow’s houses, even while for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you shall receive greater condemnation” (Matt. 23:14).

3. Unspoken Rules

“‘You know we must never disagree with the pastor on his sermons—and if you do, you will never be trusted and never be allowed to minister in any capacity in this church.’ In this case, the unspoken rule is: Do not disagree with the church authorities —especially the pastor—or your loyalty will be suspect. Rules like this remain unspoken, because examining them in the light of mature dialogue would instantly reveal how illogical, unhealthy and anti-Christian they are. So silence becomes the fortress wall of protection, shielding the pastor’s power position from scrutiny or challenge.” (p.67)

In some churches there is “an unwritten and unspoken rule that said, ‘It is better to be nice than honest’.”

“If you speak about the problem out loud, you are the problem.”

“The truth is, when people talk about problems out loud, they don’t cause them, they simply expose them.” (p.68)

“Too many churches communicate this kind of shaming message: ‘The problem is not that your boundaries were crossed and violated, the problem is that you talked. If you would not have made such a big deal, everything would still be fine.’ If a person accepts that message, they will stop talking.

The real problem, however, is that if a Christian who feels violated stops talking, then the perpetrator will never be held accountable for his behaviour.” (p.69)

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light” (Matt. 11:28).

4. Lack of Balance

Johnson and VanVonderen identify two extremes, both of which produce an unbalanced approach to living out the Christian life—Extreme Objectivism and Extreme Subjectivism.

“The first extreme is an empirical approach to life, which elevates objective truth to the exclusion of valid subjective experience.” (p.69)

“This approach to spirituality creates a system in which authority is based upon the level of education and intellectual capacity alone, rather than on intimacy with God, obedience and sensitivity to his Spirit.” (p.70)

“The other manifestation of lack of balance is seen in an extremely subjective approach to Christian life. What is true is decided on the basis of feelings and experiences, giving more weight to them than what the Bible declares.” (p.70)

“Even further, we believe it is dishonest—even dangerous—simply to receive and act upon a spiritual directive because you are ‘supposed to be submissive’, or because someone is ‘in authority’. In the end, God is the One before whom we must all stand, the one to whom we must answer.” (p.71)

They tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger (Matt. 23:4).

5. Paranoia

“In a place where authority is grasped and legislated, not simply demonstrated, persecution sensitivity builds a case for keeping everything within the system. Why? Because of the evil, dangerous, or unspiritual people outside of the system who are trying to weaken or destroy ‘us’. This mentality builds a strong wall or bunker around the abusive system, isolates the abusers from scrutiny and accountability, and makes it more difficult for people to leave—because they will be outsiders, too.” (p.73)

“Ironically, Jesus and Paul both warned that one of the worst dangers to the flock was from wolves in the house (Matthew 10:16; Acts 20:29-30).” (p.74)

6. Misplaced Loyalty

“The next characteristic of spiritually abusive systems is that a misplaced sense of loyalty is fostered and even demanded. We’re not talking about loyalty to Christ, but about loyalty to a given organization, church, or leader.” (p.76)

“A common way this is accomplished is by setting up a system where disloyalty to or disagreement with the leadership is construed as the same thing as disobeying God. Questioning leaders is equal to questioning God. After all, the leader is the authority, and authority is always right. This causes people to misplace their loyalty in a leader, a church or an organization.” (p.76)

“There are three factors that come into play here, adding up to misplaced loyalty. First, leadership projects a ‘we alone are right’ mentality, which permeates the system. Members must remain in the system if they want to be ‘safe,’ or to stay ‘on good terms’ with God, or not to be viewed as wrong or ‘backslidden.’

The second factor that brings about misplaced loyalty is the use of ‘scare tactics.’ For example:
God is going to withdraw His Spirit from you and your family.
God will destroy your business.
Without our protection, Satan will get your children.
You and your family will come under a curse.

The third method of calling forth misplaced loyalty is the threat of humiliation. This is done by publicly shaming, exposing, or threatening to remove people from the group.

In the abusive system, it is the fear of being exposed, humiliated or removed that insures your proper allegiance, and insulates those in authority. You can be ‘exposed’ for asking too many questions, for disobeying the unspoken rules, or for disagreeing with authority. People are made public examples in order to send a message to those who remain. Others have phone campaigns launched against them, to warn their friends and others in the group about how ‘dangerous’ they are.” (p.76,77)

7. Secretive

“When you see people in a religious system being secretive —watch out. People don’t hide what is appropriate; they hide what is inappropriate.” (p.78)

“One reason spiritually abusive families and churches are secretive is because they are so image conscious. People in these systems can’t even live up to their own performance standards, so they have to hide what is real. Some believe they must do this in order to protect God’s good name. So how things look and what others think becomes more important than what’s real. They become God’s ‘public relations agents.’ The truth is, He’s not hiring anyone for this position.” (p.78)

Johnson and VanVonderen believe it is imperative to refocus victims of spiritual abuse on the truth about God and His “good news”. For this reason, they offer a list of “reminders,” from the heart of God as follows:

God loves us a great deal:
“See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are”
(1 John 3:1).

He is extravagant with His grace:
“To the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved…according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us” (Ephesians 1:6-8).

He makes us stand:
“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).

He can be trusted:
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

We have been made entirely new:
“Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him…” (Romans 6:6).
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

We have been handpicked:
“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…” (Ephesians 1:4).

We are blameless in His sight:
“…that we should be holy and blameless before Him”

What is His is ours already:
“We have obtained an inheritance” (Ephesians 1:11), because “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16-17).

God is not keeping track:
“And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).

He doesn’t have a problem with our struggles and pain:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in our affliction…” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

We don’t need to improve on what He’s done:
“In Him you have been made complete” (Colossians 2:10), and “Hence, also, He is able to save completely those who draw nigh to God through Him” (Hebrews 7:25).

When we fail, Jesus defends us:
“Since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25), and “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).

Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourself with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:1-5).

Visit Jeff’s websites at http://www.spiritualabuse.com or http://www.innervention.com

We see reports daily on how the ’sexual revolution’ of the 60’s is still effecting our society today. Many of today’s woes can be traced back to the departure from a God centered culture to a self-centered, humanistic society. In the same way, we are seeing the effects of the ’shepherding movement’, that was prevalent in the 70’s, in our churches today. Spiritual abuse (the new politically correct word for shepherding) is considered one of the “hot” topics of the church. But, in the same way that there is no quick cure for the rise in teenage violence, divorce, teen pregnancies, single parent homes, and the other challenges our society is facing, there is also no quick cure for the rampant abuse of authority we are seeing in the church.

Many of our churches are being built on principles that are contrary to what the Word of God teaches concerning leadership. The children of the shepherding movement are now the leaders of today. While the movement has been renounced as error, these leaders have developed ideas, patterns, habits, and principles based on what was experienced and taught. These patterns are now surfacing as subtle, spiritual abuse in the church.

As we endeavor to ‘fix’ our society from the effects of the 60’s, we cannot simply focus on the problem but we have to come up with solutions. We need to find creative ways to counteract many of the wrong beliefs which have developed. There is a great effort being made by the church to spread the Word and re-educate our children on the values and morals that have been the building blocks of our country. While we may not see dramatic, immediate results, as we continue, we will begin to see a change.

Romans 12:2 says that we are changed by changing the way we think. We can build healthy church environments if we begin to spread the Word and re-educate the church on what the Bible says about leadership.

According to the Word, as leaders we should:

- ServeLeaders are called to serve and care for those they minister to. Jesus, our example of a leader, came to this world to serve. How much more should we, as under-shepherds, serve those assigned to our care.

“And [Jesus] said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ But not so with you, but let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant.” (Luke 22:25-26; NASB)

“For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others.” (Matthew 20:28; NLT)

“You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the broken bones. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with force and cruelty. So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd.” (Ezekiel 34:4-5; NLT)

- Accept

Leaders should accept everyone for who they are and not show favoritism based on someone’s social or financial status. We should portray the heart of God who has accepted us (Eph 1:6).

“I solemnly command you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the holy angels to obey these instructions without taking sides or showing special favor to anyone.” (1 Tim 5:21; NLT)

“For God does not show favoritism” (Rom 2:11; NLT)

“How can you claim that you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people more than others? For instance, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry and another comes in who is poor and dressed in shabby clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor” – well, doesn’t this discrimination show that you are guided by wrong motives?” (James 2:1-4; NLT)

- Facilitate

God has a plan and purpose for everyone (Jer 29:11). Leaders are called to help the body discover their gifts and callings and to help provide opportunity for them to exercise those gifts.

“For anyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? (Romans 10:13-15; NLT)

“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2; NKJV)

- Equip

One of the primary purposes of leadership is to equip and build up the church. Leaders are called to teach and to lead by example. This means that leaders cannot live isolated lives from the people to whom they minister.

“He is the One who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and to build up the church.” (Ephesians 4:11,12; NLT)

“Care for the flock of God entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly – not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your good example.” (1 Peter 5:2-3; NLT)

“Be an example to all believers in what you teach, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” (1 Tim. 4:12; NLT)

If we develop these SAFE (Serve, Accept, Facilitate, Equip) leadership principles, we will build healthy churches where the focus is on the people instead of the leaders. We will create an atmosphere where people are SAFE (Spiritual Abuse Free Environment).