Yesterday I was thinking on preachers and their roles in 'churches' and I had this less than brilliant idea to do an internet search on 'preachers are unbiblical'. I was pleasantly surprised to discover there are actually a handful of others out there that are speaking against 'preachers' in general.
And the more I think about it the more I think anyone claiming the title of 'preacher' should be suspect. There are just certain people in life that we tend not to trust out of our own experience. If someone walked up to me and informed me they were a serial killer I would be more than a little leery of them. I would not invite a known thief into my home, hand my car keys over to a car thief, nor would I give an embezzler my bank account number.
Those are all earthly things that really do not even matter and we take great care to protect said things from those that are known to take the things in question. In the same manner I think any chosen one of God would be wise to guard their soul from a person claiming to be a 'preacher'.
Not only that but maybe we should be EXTRA careful to guard our soul from 'preachers'.
Last week I reposted several articles I wrote on the topic of preachers. I didn't intend to repost them, I set out to refresh my memory on what I had written a couple of years ago and discovered I still feel the same way today and those writings tie in to what I am studying so deeply right now. I considered reposting them one article per week like I am currently posting new writings but decided against it. That would throw me so far behind in my own writings that I would be looking backwards to keep up with myself. So I went ahead and posted them all in a weeks time so I could stay on my regular schedule of posting one new post per week.
But in rereading those articles I was reminded of just why I wrote them in the first place.
Then I made the discovery that there are actually people out there speaking against preachers in general and some are daring to say that 'preachers' are in objection to the Bible.
I think we would be wise to view all 'preachers' as being unScriptural no matter what doctrines they hold to. If a single person, be they man or woman, has stepped into authority over a group of people than they are in a position to allow and even use their authority to influence and control those they are over.
And that's to say nothing of the fact that Scripture tells us that Christ is the ruling Authority over the body of believers.
Yes, we see in Scripture that there were elders appointed but we should give careful thought to what that was, what it meant, how it was carried out, and even why it was carried out, before we automatically assume that we need those same elders over us today.
When I first met my husband he told me something that has stuck with me ever since. We were talking of Scripture and he told me we must always get the whole context. That was nothing new to me, I had heard the same thing my whole life, but what my husband considered to be context was eye opening. In the 'churches' I had attended I was taught that reading in context meant reading a verse or two before the one you want to read and a verse or two after it.
My husband said reading in context meant reading many verses before, and many after, your chosen verse but it also means understanding who is speaking, who they are speaking to, and what was happening at the time.
When elders were appointed in Scripture they were done so in a time when this new Christianity was nonexistant. There were no examples to look to of what being a chosen one meant. There were no Bible studies to show you what you were missing, there were no written books on the matter, there were no believers to question, there weren't even any Bibles to read.
What was a newly regenerated person to do?
They knew something was different in them. They could feel it. Others could see it. Life as they knew it was gone. Their hearts and minds were no longer taken up with the cares of this world but were being pulled toward something they did not understand.
Who could they turn to?
Where could they go?
They may or may not have heard of 'Jesus' but He was gone. Now what? They probably absorbed every story or smidgeon of a story they heard about Jesus. They may have walked where He walked.
Can you imagine?
Can you really and truly imagine what it would have been like to be a chosen one back then? I can picture it. Life as one knew it, in my case as a wife and mother, is going on as normal. You're tending children, looking after the needs of your husband, doing the laundry and the cooking. Going to market when needed. You may be swapping your skills or extra eggs with neighbors to gain things your family needs. You're gardening and tending to whatever it takes to get your family through a day.
In the midst of all of that you're visiting with other women, probably gossiping about anyone and everyone. You're shunning those that don't meet your standard of lifestyle. You're embracing those that do. You may lust after men that aren't your husband or encourage other women to do so. You probably lied. You might steal or cheat.
You were after all, a fallen woman (or man) in a fallen world. Your heart is overrun with the cares of the earth. You sin daily and see nothing wrong with most of that sinning.
Then without warning your heart is changed. You are now repulsed with lust, repulsed with lying. Your heart is only for your own husband. You help those you once despised. But more than anything your heart cries out for the Lord. You are drawn to Jesus and anything you can learn of Him. You are seared to the very depths of your being at your own guilt, be it active or inactive, in the death of this man you now long to know.
There is a deep yearning within you to know more, to understand, but you don't know where to go or who to ask. You question your husband but he does not know and calls you crazy for thinking like that. You question the religious leaders but they only show you the 'error' of your thoughts and send you home to your husband. You know better than to question very many others because death awaits those that do so.
You slip around trying to find the person, or people, that you have heard are 'Jesus' lovers but they are in hiding or have moved on. You resign yourself to never knowing what your very soul longs to know. You give up on ever finding anyone like yourself and content yourself with hearing the occasional bit of Moses' writings. Your husband talks of Moses and his writings sometimes, holding everyone to unattainable standards and speaking of the 'holy man'. You learn what you can from that and try to ignore the yearning to know more.
Time passes, you care for your family and take solace in the simple things. The blowing of the breeze brings peace as do the clouds floating across the sky. Your children laugh at your silliness and your husband calls it the 'folly of women'. You don't mind. Your soul is at peace when the breeze kisses your face or you stand beneath a tree marveling at the wonders of it.
You are as at peace as your yearning soul can possibly be.
Then you hear of men traveling through cities, talking of Jesus. You beg your husband to take you to see these men but he will not. He says they are trouble makers. He calls them vile names and says he will not have his wife or children anywhere near them.
You long to go see these men, these Apostles and teachers, to hear what they have to say about Jesus, but you don't because your husband will not permit it. You strain your ears to catch stories of these men while you are at the market place. Your neighbors gossiping now holds tales that feed the yearning in your soul. They speak of the 'devils' spreading lies. That yearning in you absorbs as much information from these conversations as you can.
Then one day you hear whispers and talk of a man that has come from far away. He's 'one of them' they say with disdain. There is a great stir in your little village. The marketplace is all abuzz. You did not set out to encounter this man, your husband would not like you being near him, but here you are, standing in the middle of the market square, a baby on one hip, your children hanging off your skirt, as people chatter around you. Then without you quite knowing how it happened a man in a dusty robe climbs atop a rock and begins to speak to the crowd. He tells of Jesus and the miracles He performed. He tells what it means to be chosen and how that choosing came about. He reads a letter written by someone else.
Every word this man speaks shoots straight to your yearning soul. You push closer to the front, keeping hold of your children while straining your ears to hear. You listen to everything this man says, lingering in the crowd until he leaves.
You go home from the marketplace with your heart and mind full. How could that man possibly know so much. He said he saw Christ was appointed to show others the way.
What way?
You had learned so much this day but all you were left with was more questions. At home that night your husband speaks of the crazy man. He talks of the disruption this man has caused to everyone. One of your children speaks up, telling your husband that you were in the marketplace today, that you listened to the crazy man.
Now your husband speaks to you with disdain. He tells you it's all lies and he does not want you listening to any more of that nonsense. He reminds you that your only task is to care for his home and children.
Days pass, you try to obey your husband, but your heart longs to hear more from the man still in your town. You absorb every morsel of gossip about that man that you can. Your children come in from work and play with stories of the crazy man and you soak them up.
Or maybe instead of a woman, a wife and mother, you were a man working in the shops or a shepherd in the fields, doing your best to provide for your family. Or maybe you were a young man or woman, betrothed in marriage or awaiting the day you would be betrothed. Whatever your position in life, your soul condition was the same. Lost until the moment the Lord saved you, drug you out of sin and thrust you into a condition that no one understood.
There was no Bible to pick up, no 'church' to go to, no internet to turn to. Christianity as we understand it today was not even heard of. You're left with a yearning soul and nothing to feed it.
This was the world the Apostles and those under them were teaching. This was the condition of the people they were leading. A handful of men in miles and miles of land. They could not pull into town, give a few speeches, hand out a few Bibles and leave again. All they had were their own words, given out of hearts filled with the Lord and His word.
How long could they give themselves to one town or village when there were hundreds more needing them? How long could they stay in one place, talking with one man, when they were needed desperately somewhere else?
There was nothing to be done but try to find someone, anyone, that appeared to understand what they were teaching, that seemed to have genuine faith, and appoint that man to lead those in this town. These newly appointed leaders probably were not asked if they wanted to lead. Chances are they were the men that were understanding these new teachings the best. They were probably standing at the Apostles elbow as he taught, studying with him over meals, questioning him as they worked. And then one day that Apostle said, 'I must go to the next town, their people need me, I have taught you well, now you teach them."
These newly appointed leaders probably stumbled and stuttered. They may have refused the task. They hopefully said, 'I am not worthy'. But when the apostles left town...they were the elders, not as in old men, but as in most mature in the faith...left to guide these bumbling chosen ones and the host of professing believers in their midst.
These men took on the role of overseer, answering questions, giving guidance, sharing what they knew, because there were no Bibles to lead anyone. They were necessary in a time when things were much different than they are now.
Today we have the Lord's word before us. All we need do is pick up a Bible and we can get all the instruction and guidance we need. We need no one to teach us, although it is edifying to share Scripture with each other, edifying to share our thoughts with each other, and it can be helpful if one uses Scripture to show us something we may be in error on or may need a bit more instruction on.
What we do not need is a 'preacher' complete with training (or not) leading us.
Parents would not hand their children over to just anyone yet they often do just that when the 'anyone' in question is a 'preacher' or Sunday school teacher.
Many a 'Christian' does the very same thing with their own souls. They essentially hand their soul over to someone with the title of 'preacher' assuming that title gives that person some kind of God appointed ability and therefore makes them worthy of being entrusted with their souls, their children, and everything else.
There is an old television program that shows an episode where an outlaw takes on the life of a preacher when he steals a preachers clothing. This outlaw then goes to town and passes himself off as a real preacher. He goes around collecting donations for a town further away that is struggling. The people near him dig deep, giving all they can in both money and provisions. In the end that fake preacher is found out and all is well, the donations are given to the real preacher and everyone goes on about their lives.
I don't mind saying that most 'preachers' are no more real than the 'preacher' in that TV show was. They pass themselves off as something they are not.
Let me just say that I have nothing personal against 'preachers', what I'm opposed to is the erroneous teachings they spread and perpetuate. If they gave Scripture straight from the pages of a trustworthy version of the Bible and they did not use Christ to better themselves financially, if they lived according to Scripture and you could see Scripture being lived out in their lives, then I would have no problems with them holding Bible studies and answering questions or even leading the entertainment venues that our country calls 'church'.
And it is a perpetuated system. In my internet search I came across two articles that sounded promising. One was written by a 'preacher' that had been actively 'preaching' when he decided to teach on the leadership of the 'church'. What he discovered was that a single 'preacher' in leadership was antibiblical. The article fell apart after that because he went on to talk about how employing 'preachers' was fine but that more than one 'preacher' should be leading the 'church'.
Another article seemed to be mostly good. I was even debating on sharing it here on my blog until I got more than halfway through it and discovered this person who was talking so much about how 'preachers' are not biblical went completely off track talking about the role of prophets and apostles in 'churches' today.
There went that.
But it was a reminder to not take the teachings of men or their writings at face value. And it was a reminder to guard my soul from all but the pages of a real version of Scripture.
Hidden away, deep away, far, far away, from the eyes of anyone that should hopefully never stumble across it I own a copy of the Message 'Bible'. I did not buy it and I did not want it but it was a gift to me from my mother in law. I had every intention of tossing it in my fireplace, literally, but when I found out that it had been my mother in laws very own 'bible' I opened it up and discovered her notes and comments within its pages. There at the very front was a note to me and with nearly every page turn I found her notes in the margins. I simply could not burn it.
I also cannot share it with others out of fear they will learn from her comments or the mixed up message in the text. So it stays hidden away. There for what it is. Hidden for what it is. I do not know what will eventually become of that so-called bible. It may stay hidden forever, pulled out occasionally to view my mother in laws handwriting or hear her voice through her comments, or it may eventually meet the fate I intended to give it when it was gifted to me. Only the Lord knows what will become of it.
But that 'bible' is much like the article I read on 'preachers'. It has the appearance of being something it is not. There, written by men's hand, is a message that can easily influence others. The article I read on 'preachers', which I did not finish, an article I looked for only because I was curious if there was anyone else speaking against 'preachers', was deceptive in that the author seemed to know what they were speaking of, citing Scripture, and generally showing Truth. But then...they fell apart. Scripture turned to heresy and Truth got lost somewhere along the way.
'Preachers' are not even usually that hard to figure out. As a rule we need look no further than the verses where Paul says "I worked with my own hands', "I ministered to my needs and the needs of those with me" to see that 'preachers' are in violation of Scripture. If they get paid...they are in error.
Should anyone entrust their very soul to someone that cannot see such a simple Truth?
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