New World Church

I have for a very long time struggled through understanding the leadership confusion in the church today.

Why is there so much corruption in church and faith-based structures?

Why is there so much unchallenged sin?

I am writing this as someone who has over the years attempted to challenge sin and wickedness in churches and Christian groups I have been part of, especially the ones that were foolish enough to put me in leadership.

And I am saying foolish because they interpret my passion and commitment to ministry wrongly; thinking that only zeal separates my practice of religion with theirs.

But it rarely takes long before what they always assumed as acceptable is challenged by scripture and godly logic.

I of course try as much as possible to follow the same scriptures in the challenge.

Allow me to give an example.

I was at one time an elected leader of a Christian Union and in a short while the bigger chaps in the CU became uncomfortable with my presence though they could not do much about it.

One of my quarrels with them was passing things and setting ambitious plans that never worked, some of which did not make much sense.

Why are we discussing another engagement when we have three previous ones that we had already decided on yet have done or are doing nothing about them? Was my main argument.

Why are we discussing plans for new things instead of discussing the implementation of the already agreed on plans?

But things came to a head when they invited a heretic for an overnight meeting. And I didn’t know him and so went to hear a good preacher. Incidentally he was very entertaining, even though he could become gross.

I took notes very studiously.

When the dust settled, I went back to the notes and started seeing very clear signs of open heresy, statement so clearly unscriptural.

I was unable to let that pass as I prayed.

But I had to also use scripture to challenge that heresy.

I looked for him (that was before the internet) until I got his postal address (these were the 80s).

I then wrote him a letter outlining all the points at which he had strayed from the scriptures and showed him the scriptural position. I also gave him my address, even to the room I stayed in so that we could examine the scriptures together since I did not think anybody chooses error wittingly.

Interestingly, instead of responding to my letter or even seeking my audience, he told the leaders who had invited him that I had called him a heretic, something I did not do.

All the other officials (or probably the big mouthed ones) had some private meetings to discuss what they needed to do with me.

Then a meeting was called that I attended without knowing that I was the only agenda.

After the chairman talking volumes, he got to the point.

Someone called the preacher a heretic.

That didn’t affect me since I didn’t, and second, my letter was personal, even seeking an audience.

They got stuck.

Then I think somebody else said that he had said that someone had told him that some things he had taught were unscriptural.

I said I had told him that.

So, you wrote the letter?

Of course, from there pandemonium though it is impossible to mob the truth.

They then kicked me out of their committee and I walked out knowing that it was because I sought to right a wrong scripturally.

But what they did after that was more saddening.

When the time for the elections of new officials came, due to their fear of me being elected into office again, probably even being made chairman, they effectively rigged the whole thing by choosing their people and asking the membership to place them into positions.

Yet I have never sought any positions since I responded to God’s call. In fact, I try my best to avoid them since they are many times a drag on my assignment. And I was very young then.

Why do such things happen in the church Christ purchased with His blood? And I say this because I have witnessed similar things more times than I care to remember.

The first reason is that we have corrupted the New Testament model.

The New Testament church did not have an ultimate leader or board. It had accountable relationships of ministers.

Though Peter was the pope (according to some), he never was absolute in any way.

Remember when God sent him to Cornelius?

He had to give an account of his departure from what the other elders thought was their mission.

You may also remember Paul openly rebuking him yet in his letter he writes of him very highly instead of calling him insubordinate.

Or in Acts 15 when the church has to deal with the inclusion of the gentiles.

The church was led by very spiritual elders who were placed in those positions by their relationship with God and how it ministered to the flock.

I do not see any evidence of elections being done to choose those elders. Their spirituality did not need any human push to authenticate.

As an example, how did James (Jesus’ half brother) become a pillar yet we see him with the rest of his brothers doubting Jesus when the apostles were completely sold out to Him? How did he overtake them?

You can be sure that it was not just because he was related to Jesus as we see even Jude, instead of mentioning about his earthly connection with Jesus was content to say he was related to James.

God had raised him to the point that his leadership did not need any trumpeting. Just like Jesus did not tell His disciples that Peter was the leader they should have submitted to. Nor did Peter at any time ask to be recognised as a leader. Again no elections were ever held.

Their relationships and fellowship were able to shine out the leadership inherent in each of the disciples without bringing down anybody else.

All were leaders but Peter and James stood above the rest in the fellowship.

I am sure that like Paul they did not feel qualified to be leaders because of their past (James doubted and even challenged Jesus’ authenticity and Peter denied Him). You may even remember that Jesus sought out the same Peter after His resurrection.

That is why he was subject to the other elders since he knew that he was not any better than they were. And that is why he took Paul’s very ‘humiliating’ rebuke very positively.

That is the most glaring difference I see with the modern church.

Challenging a pastor’s sermon is many times treated as heresy. Questioning a minister’s conduct is treated as blasphemy. And demanding scriptural explanation for some crazy things churches do is treated as touching the anointed.

There simply is no accountability in church leadership.

Of course, there is a pretence of the same because churches have elders and deacons.

But what sort of accountability can we have when the same elders and deacons are chosen by the pastor?

We say that the church has its foundations on apostles and prophets.

What kind of foundation are we having when the pastor is the apostle and prophet rolled on in one?

We have bishops and overseers (although that is actually the same thing)

Can I oversee others when I am in the thick of things with my own kiosk?

How can I be a supervisor of someone’s enterprise when I am running a similar enterprise on the side?

How can I be a foreman of someone’s building when I am doing the same on my site?

What I am trying to make us understand is that we are severely limited in what we can do at any one time, not only because I cannot be at two places at one time but also because my mind is unable to focus on several different things at one time.

You can’t be overseeing several churches when you are also pastoring your own church.

How will you prioritise between the crisis in your flock and the one in the diocese?

Who will you rush to rescue between a marriage in your church falling apart and a pastor who has been kicked out? What between your choir or prayer team falling apart and a church whose leadership is falling apart will you rush to rescue? And what between attending a fundraiser in one of the churches you lead and dealing with the reduction of the contributions churches make that has drastically reduced your ‘salary’?

We have in our folly of seeking to be in control lost the essence of Christ’s ministry.

Holding a title has become more important than functioning in it.

Feeding off a title has become of greater worth than feeding others using it.

Personal emolument is a greater driver than self sacrifice.

No wonder accountability structures are hated and dreaded when they cannot be avoided.

That is why church constitutions are more frequently changed than the political ones; because the man or men at the top does not want his foibles to be legally challenged.

That is why retirement ages are always being pushed higher and higher because the big fish would rather die in office than raise a Timothy or a Titus or a Mark.

And they fear retirement because they know they have absolutely no spiritual investment on the ground since they poured it all into their stomach or their cronies.

The only spiritual war they fight is against their growing irrelevance in the spiritual. And that since the devil doesn’t really mind their high-sounding proclamations and declarations since they are doing absolutely nothing to threaten his kingdom.

I have thrown this stone to rouse some reflection on our values and structures.

Why do Peter and John call themselves elders and not apostles in their epistles?

Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church. (3John 1:10)

As an aside, could John have been able to plan such trips if he was running his own congregation? And how many such trips could he have been able to plan on a regular basis?

And how could Peter have been able to be out of Jerusalem for so long during the Dorcas and Cornelius ministries if he had had a congregation he was pastoring?

I believe the essence of oversight demands freedom from attachment.

In fact, even the elder demands someone with grown children according to the Bible. Because only then can someone be able to spend more time on church affairs without sacrificing his family.

That is why we see Samuel failing on the family front even as he excelled ministry wise.

I am writing this sitting on the elder seat as I am learning the ropes of my responsibilities.

Allow me to give you a small glimpse of a typical day in my very relaxed schedule. And I will write about the ‘abnormal’ things occupying it.

I wake up before six to switch on the Audio Bible I broadcast to my neighbours.

When I switch it off at eight, I will many times sit down on the computer to write these messages as God releases them. And I do it in the morning for two main reasons.

My mind and spirit are at their freshest in the morning and my solar system is not big enough to work on later if I must have adequate power at night.

After that I will more or less relax and wait for ministry, many times in terms of calls

And I receive calls!

Calls requiring counsel. Calls asking for ministry direction. Calls requiring encouragement.

There are times I can spend up to four hours on a single call.

Other times God would ask me to also buy adequate minutes and reach out to people needing ministry, some we have not had contact for years.

The bulk of those calls are from ministers (the majority beingserving pastors) and dealing with ministry issues. God using my ministry experience to guide others into the ropes of ministry as they are growing, though some of them may have been in ministry for as long or even longer than I have been; the difference being that the model God has released for me to use is much more radical than theirs.

During that time, I would also be on my small piece of land looking at the progress of my fruit trees and dealing with any eventualities (I never thought trees would demand so much attention); pests, lack of water, stray growth, etc.

Mid afternoon would find me heading to the shops, choosing the ones that are far and using the routes with less traffic for the purposes of getting adequate time to meditate but also open myself up for ministry. And there are times that twenty-minute journey could take over two hours for the ministry God would bring.

Would that be possible in my previously fast-moving ministry seasons?

How possible would it be for me to detach from my very pressing ministry engagements to create that much time consistently to guide someone in a position similar to mine? How easy would it be for me to kick out a counselee to focus on a struggling pastor?

There are times when I have to travel of course.

I would receive calls and be saddened because there is no way I could do the ministry I always easily do because I am in a public vehicle or in a meeting or in someone’s shop.

God dramatically scaled down my writing ministry for the same reason. And I had to stop much of the publishing, even for missions’ materials because God needs that ‘idle’ time to use me properly as an elder. I had to source for other ministers to continue doing it.

What I am saying is that an elder needs to be freely available to be of much use since crises do not give any advance notice.

He needs to be occupied in affairs that would be able to easily release him to respond to whatever crisis God would release his way without having to leave other crises in the wake.

That is how the African nations operated.

Incidentally, that also appears to be the way Israel operated.

How many times do you read of elders being found on the city gates? What would their purpose be if not to respond to societal situations as they arose.

You are therefore not a Biblical elder if you are occupying an ecclesiastical office even if you are a hundred years old. And by continuing to force that position you are denying yourself much usefulness and fulfilment to get the pittance you continue receiving as a bishop, senior pastor, apostle, general overseer, archbishop and any other title you may think befits your position.

You are denying the church of Christ your walk of faith by living so selfishly. And it is sad because you are becoming what Christ called some, hireling.

Detach yourself from that pay package to be of any use to the church of Christ.

And I know I am offending some immensely. But if I do not say this, who will?

Pray through this ‘offense’ and allow God to speak to your situation specifically since this post speaks in a general way.