Who Am I?

In the early days of my preparation for "professional ministry" I began to wonder where my position ("minister") could be found in the Scriptures. Afterall, I am a pat of a movement that calls Bible things by Bible names and endeavors to speak where the Bible speaks. Early on I found "minister" in a concordance and it made me feel better. I later discovered that the word just meant "servant" in the original language, not some clerical office. So, I began to wonder some more. Then I was told that I was an "evangelist" which could be found in three places in the NT (Acts 21:8; Eph. 4:11 & 2 Tim. 4:5). I had never heard this concept before. I then heard good brothers like George L. Faull describe in precise detail of the office of "evangelist" in the New Testament church. Admittedly, this position became less tenable to me as the years progressed. Scott Sheridan argues for this understanding istead of the more popular "pastor" title/position of our day. Honestly, most of the so called "evangelists" I know don't function like the NT word itself implies. I tend to see that role as roughly equivalent to our "missionary" concept. So, again I ask who am I? Some would say I am a "preacher." Now, I do like doing what we call "preaching" but seriously is that supposed to be a church job? It seems like most of the "preaching" (or proclaiming) had to do with lost people = evangelistic work. Another thought came to me in my pursuit of a Biblical answer: the preaching elder of 1 Tim. 5:17. My friend Tim Warner argues for a pastor-teacher position in the church. You can read his thoughts here. Im not sure I'm persuaded to embrace this concept either though Tim makes some good points. Jack Cottrell (my favorite theologian), in his excellent book, "The Faith Once for All: Bible Doctrine for Today" basically concedes that the modern minister is a hybrid position of sorts in today's church. I think he might be right. Now I don't beileve the Bible supports "the pastor" but maybe it doesn't support "the preacher" or "the minister" or "the evangelist" either. We might be guilty of forcing things a little too much in order to fit our theological positions. That's why I give Cottrell credit for admitting the obvious.What say you?

Leadership dreams...

Maybe I was just dreaming. Actually, I'm pretty sure I was. Way back in 1994 I was part of a new church plant called Christ's Church of the Peninsula. I went into this effort with lots of exuberance and a conviction that we could "get it right" in the church. And we did in amny ways (& we got some things wrong too!). When we finally decided to set apart our first elders we did so after spending several months studying & discussing the responsinilities & work of elders in the church. I envisioned a team of mature men working together in devotion to Christ, a group of shepherds caring for His sheep. I should mentioned that I worked a secular job for the entire existence of Christ's Church. During this time I preached virtually every Sunday, taught a small group weekly and carried out many other normal ministry responsibilties. It wore on me over the years eyt I was still reluctant to let it go and return to "full time" ministry. I loved it for many reasons: 1. It kept me connected to the lost in a way many "full time" guys end up forfeiting. 2. It gave me some additional credibilty with some folks because I had a "real " job. 3. I felt that my example said that you could do life in our day and still dedicate significant time to kingdom work.

My dream in those was that somehow we would develop a team of church leaders who would break out of the typical "board system" so prevalent these days. (Note: Just because you don't call it a "board" doesn't mean it isn't one). Anyway, it appears obvious that history in our churches repeats itself more than I'd like to admit.

Have any of you ever witnessed or been a part of a church where the leaders function in unity and harmony and do so sacrificially? Where board-elders don't exist, but shepherd-eldrs are the norm?