The Lazy Church

 

The Lazy Church

1 Samuel 10:19 “And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands.”

Philippians 1:1 “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:”

1 Timothy 3:2 “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;”

     “Man, I wonder if I didn’t show up some Sunday, would you guys even have church?”  I heard a pastor say something like that.  And why not, he is the pastor, the spiritual guy who is to speak all the religious words right?  He is to remind us that God cares for us, then we leave and go out for lunch.  Perhaps a nap.  A perfect Sunday.

     Have we become that lazy to push the worship of God onto someone else?  Can’t have a church without a pastor.  Of all the epistles, Paul writes to Timothy only specifically.  In all others, he addresses the entire congregation.  Many folks in the churches were to read his letters.

    “Pass it around!”  I hear Paul say.  The letters were not for church heads only.  God forbid they had vertical integration like a king over his subjects.  Imagine a first century church hiring a pastor to do all the talking for them.  With bishops and deacons, that is not the picture.

     The Word tells of vibrant involvement of saints communing with saints.  Bishops passed the teaching around as deacons waited on tables.  It is key that more than one bishop or elder could teach.

     If your pastor did not show up some morning, would there be chaos?  Who would fill the void?  Who has been trained?  Shall the burden have been shared all along?

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