Church Hierarchy Nonsense
- 06.04.09
- Christian Cheese, Church, Church First Lady, Senior Pastor
- 5 Comments
I recently visited a church where the best parking spots were marked “reserved.” These spots were not reserved for visitors, widows, orphans, the poor, or visiting missionaries serving heroically in faraway lands. Nope. They were reserved for the senior pastor and his wife (whom the church refers to as the “First Lady”).
Michelle and I got such a kick out of it that I discreetly took a picture of the parking spaces before I left. While it struck me as funny at the time, the more I think about it, the angrier I get. I know that reserving the best parking spots for the pastor and his wife may seem like no big deal, but what it represents is a huge biblical misunderstanding that leads to a lot of problems in the church today.
As I read my Bible (which by the way is the same as yours!), I can’t find anywhere anything about a hierarchy in the church. Nowhere does the Bible instruct churches to be led by a “senior” pastor along with his “first lady.” As a matter of fact, the church is not supposed to be led by any man or any woman. Instead, according to Ephesians 5, Jesus Christ is to be exalted the “head” of the church, and those that serve the church under Him are called elders and deacons. Without a proper understanding of the way churches are to be ordered biblically, serious problems result that often lead to spiritual disillusionment and a mass exodus of church members and dangerous pride and an abuse of power by the clergy. (Read Who’s In Charge of Your Church?)
When I was hired by my church, the position I was offered at the time was “senior pastor.” While I was tempted to keep the title and enjoy my position of ultimate power and authority (mwah ha ha!), I couldn’t do it. So, one of the first things I did upon being hired was to change my title to “lead pastor.” This may not seem like much of a change to most, but to me, the elders, and my church, it’s huge.
The title “lead pastor” recognizes my position of leadership, but hopefully removes the false idea of church hierarchy. I serve as an elder with six other men, and while I’m recognized as the primary teaching elder, I’m trying to show the church that I’m leading with six other equals. The seven of us elders recognize that Christ is the head of our church, and we lead together under His authority as the Scriptures teach.
So, among other things, this means that the best parking spots at my church will continue to be reserved for visitors. I’ll continue to park on the loading dock among the weeds, and Michelle will continue to park next to the dumpsters. No “first lady” treatment for her!
Wow…those folks sound like egomaniacs.
The spots reserved for the pastor and his 1st lady may be meant to honor them… but my question is, where do they park? Do they set the example and take up their cross and follow Jesus through the storm… from the far reaches of society’s parking lot? Designated parking lots and titles will fade away if we walk the walk. Soon we will be known by our love and sacrifice for one another.
Mike why do you feel the bent or need to point out the faults of your brothers? There is something terribly wrong in your spirit to see this as somehow amusing. Do I agree with coveted parking spaces? Probably not but how do you know that these pastors did this? How do you know that their congregation were not simply trying to respect and honor the position as shepherd? I believe this is noble of the congregation and while I would be a bit uncomfortable with it I certainly would not see it as an offense.
And as noble as this blog attempts to be by diminishing your role as senior pastor, the truth is that the government God establishes always has one at the top. Look at Moses, he did not have a delegation or committee but spoke face to face with God as the Lord directed him to do. Then Joshua, David, Solomon, …. the fact is that there must be one leader! And although that leader may have many counselors he alone is at the top of the order in responsibility before the Lord.
Hi Chad:
I mentioned in my earlier response to you that I sometimes blog (with some humor thrown in) in order to identify some of the damaging and/or ignorant actions taken by my brothers and sisters in Christ. This does not mean that I do not love them, but I am very hesitant to sit back and be identified with everything a brother or sister does, allows, or declares in the name of Christ.
Regarding your comments about one leader, I’m not so sure that you’re right about that. You’re referring only to OT leaders…men who were called by God to lead His nation. There IS a difference in the way in which the Lord orders the church spelled out in the NT. Nowhere in the NT is the position of senior pastor (one main leader) identified. Paul was an apostolic leader (and church planter) who told Timothy and Titus (his apostolic understudies) to appoint elders in every city (contextually, this would be every church today). For instance, at the NT church in Ephesus, the leaders of this church were elders (Acts 20). I don’t see a biblical problem with one of the elders serving in the role of “first among equals” (pastor), but the problem comes in when he assumes full decision-making responsibility and authority. There is no biblical precedent for this in the NT.
I agree with this to a point. There were elders appointed in every city but at the top you still have Paul and not a delegation. I am in no way opposed to the abundance of counsel and believe the more the marrier but am convinced that there are apostilic leaders today who should be at the top. The greatest problem with the church is democracy. Everyone feels that they should have a say even when it comes to scripture and that simply is not the way of scripture. It would be like having 5 presidents running our country. Impossible. Obama has advisers and confidants but ultimately it comes down on him just like if all hell breaks lose at your church it will come down on you as their leader. If it were not the Lords heart to have one at the top He would have never started with one but a delegation. This is why the 5 fold government of Ephesians 4:11 should still be in place in every church. Democracy is not a biblical government as many Christian believe it is. Look at every great church in the world and you will see one at the top ranks instead of a panel.