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"Bless" this House


Manx Bean

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  • 9 months later...
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On 26/10/2016 at 8:42 AM, Heffalump said:

Ok this is the last one I will share from www.Jonathan stanfield.com

 

ENTERTAINING is FATAL!

 

I hope that caught your attention. What am I referring to?

 

Do not ENTERTAIN an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 1 Timothy 5:19

 

 

Thats a strange and extremely challenging verse. It seems to make a special case for elders that the typical member of a church might not benefit from. It says that we shouldnt even entertain, or give a second thought to a solitary accusation or criticism brought against an elder/pastor/bishop, unless of course there have been several other first hand witnesses.

 

Why might that be?

More so than a church member, elders are really vulnerable to spurious comments, criticisms and spiritual attacks because if even the perception of their character is unfairly maligned it not only impacts them but also the spiritual well being of all those under their care.

You will all fall away, Jesus told them, for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. Mark 14:27

As you see, when others were conspiring against Jesus, he warned them of the inevitable consequences of striking the shepherd. The same is true for any local church and leader today. Inevitably and sadly there are always those with agendas and grudges inside the wider church and also others outside the church who dont want to see the Kingdom of God advance and who are seeking to cause harm.

 

But that protection from spurious and unfounded criticism etc doesnt mean the pastors/elders/bishops of any church are untouchable. Sadly we are all aware of far too many instances of church leaders who have fallen into gross sin, harming the body of Christ and ruining the testimony of Jesus, causing many to turn their back on God. As leaders they will receive a far more severe judgement from God than others in the local church.

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. James 3:1

 

In order to address potential genuine issues with leaders, which at times will arise, it actually means that every leader in a biblically functioning NT church has levels of accountability and transparency far beyond that of the average church member.

Firstly the New Testament makes it clear that the leadership of the church is not the responsibility of a single elder, but rather always elders (plural).

In addition, being part of an apostolic field or partnership means that the local church can be confident that there are also others outside of the local church who can bring perspective and if necessary judgement on issues or disputes.

However any healthy NT church always wants to be seen to be whiter than white when dealing with a major accusation and if necessary should be open to even having others from a different apostolic family audit the situation.

 

The local church isnt called to be independent. We live interdependently within the wider body of Christ.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21

So submission to one another isnt simply a matter of something that is expected of a church member towards spiritual leadership. Every leader must also be in submission, not only to Jesus, but also to the other leaders and even the members of the local church. This is a place of amazing humility for every one of us as being in submission means that we are always open to hearing that we may have got it wrong as others, both leaders and members, lovingly give their perspective on our lives.

 

When the local church functions in accordance of way of Jesus as revealed in the Word of God it is one of the most beautiful works of God in all of creation. When however we chose to ignore Gods plan and do things our way, it is fatal.

There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12

 

Lets be those who value the Church, the bride of Christ and wholeheartedly play our part in ensuring that she fulfils her amazing destiny in our generation.

Gods purpose in all this was to use the CHURCH to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 3:1-11

Absolute garbage! What’s the matter with you?!

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20 hours ago, Snaipyr said:

Absolute garbage! What’s the matter with you?!

This whole text is shared from Jonathan stanfield and nothing to do with me!

While we're talking about the "saints" in the church, I saw that apparently there are two churches locally named as associating themselves with the anti abortion campaign on various social media but strangely our apostles in living hope have from what I've seen have been completely silent. 

Why???

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