Thank you for your response. You are correct. Pride, arrogance and self-aggrandizement are the poisons of contemporary churches. We must not forget that church is not a pastor’s dream job– it is a calling to fulfill. The church belongs to God as it is suppose to be the Body of Christ, of which we are all a part. We must re-think how we practice church and how we idolize leaders.

Agreeing with you, we must develop strategies to subvert social debauchery. We must move beyond the walls of the church to become the Church. Local and international missions must be the DNA of the church and not just one of the things we do.

There must be an assessment of the needs, starting with the voice of the people’s felt need. A constant dialogue between the people in need and the people meeting the need is essential to propel the communities toward a common/better life for everyone.

Gary, thank you again for your comments.

Antipas

I belong to a non-denominational church. We are an episcopal polity not out of any need to control, but out of a desire to facilitate ministry through means of expedient permission-giving structures. We come out of a a congregational polity. In the congregational structures, permissions were only obtained after months of meetings. It got to the point that we had to have a committee on committees.

I appreciate your critique of the pastor led church. I subscribe to a few email advertisers that send news of church events around the country. I am amazed at how perfect looking and well dressed everyone is in the advertisements. The mantra of excellence is touted so often I wonder if there are any developing relationships to be had in these ministries. “If you cannot get through the audition, you do not deserve the fellowship,” seems to be the message. This is far from the Kingdom.

At the Lausanne Congress in Cape Town, Chris Wright challenged us to remove the idols that can beset the local church:

http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/11556

The idols to confront are power and pride, popularity and success, and wealth and greed. I wonder if our renewal movements call these out often enough.

Developing strategies to subvert poverty, gangs, bigotry, hunger, etc is no easy task, but we must continue to look for ways through the morass of a perverted, consumer-driven culture. I would love to see some of your ideas on how to determine/identify the needs of a community and then work towards meeting those needs.

blessings,
gary