I pastor a fairly traditional church. To make the kind of structural changes you suggest would be a shock to the system, and frankly, I am not sure if the gain is worth the pain. I don’t know.

If I were starting something new, however, I would try to move closer to the kind of thing you are talking about – a shared ministry responsibility.

I have not completely given up the idea of a “chief elder” amongst the elders – something akin to the pastor role we have today. In my studies (which I do not present as authoritative) the concept of the chief elder arose pretty early, even within the apostolic era. What was Timothy’s role? Titus? If the “angel” of each of the churches of Asia Minor was a human representative, does that not suggest some sort of chief elder role.

Basically, I have a lot of questions and few answers. But, while I agree with the need for multiple leaders within a church, I am not completely convinced that we must reject the role of the pastor to get there.

This is an area I am still working through.

With all that, I’d still rather be a Hawkeye!

(And it looks like East Carolina’s kicker has the same disease as the Northwestern kicker – SEC is lucky it doesn’t have 2 more losses).

How can a sane man hate the SABANATION?

What is wrong with you Dave?

Tell you what, we have some very good doctors down here at the UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM for people with messed-up heads and emotional problems. Foreigners like you come from all the world to get their heads straight here in Alabama at our fine medical centers. This is where all the doctors from Duke, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Johns-Hopkins, etc, come to get help when they need it.

Dave, I realize all the doctors in Iowa specialize in hogs and cows, one-eyed birds and depressed corn farmers and you probably feel your situation is hopeless to rid yourself of such a problem as hating the SABANATION. But we really can help you. We are a benevolent people other than on the football field.

Another thing that will help you is some good B-B-Q.

You come on down here and let our head doctors work on you and I will feed you at several good B-B-Q places.

You will go back to Iowa a healed man with a BAMA tag on the front of your car, a SABAN sticker on you back window, wearing a Bear Bryant houndstooth hat and yelling ROLL TIDE all the way home.

Big-10 has looked pretty good in bowl games so far. We’ll see.

I will admit that Florida looked good (and is the only SEC team I cheered for – Timmy T turned me from a Gator-hator to a fan, at least this year).

I doubt I will even watch the Texas/Alabama game. Alabama is the only team I hate more than Texas (though USC comes close).

All of this discussion has some merit of worth I guess, but I want to ask you something that pertains to real life and human existence.

Now that your BUZZARDEYE NATION is going to play in a “real” Bowl game are you ready to deal with it? Especially, are you ready to play a Southern Football Nation such as the YELLOW JACKET NATION?

I realize that GT is not part of the BIG LEAGUE CONFERENCE, THE SEC, but GT is of the Southland and they do play a higher degree of football than do Yankee teams. I mean, they actually play on a real field and not in a cow pasture like any Iowa team would.

I am just wondering if you are up to it? I know you have your hopes up and I don’t want you to be hurt too badly when GT stomps a hole in the BUZZARDEYES.

After all, even though you know nothing of football on a lager than life scale as do Sabanites, I still count you as a brother.

Your friend of the SABANATION,
cb

AND ROLL TIDE

A very wise, very old preacher said to me once, “Authority demanded is authority lost.” Man, that is true every time. Just try it with your wife once and see how well it works!

A very disturbing trend I’ve seen, and I’m afraid to even tread on it, seems to stem from a lot of the “other” stuff Martin Luther said and did. He had a lot of laws (35, I think) passed that made preacher slandering, gossip against authority, etc. a capital offense. He might have had a problem with a man telling him what to think about God, but he sure didn’t like being questioned, either.

He also is quoted to have said something along the lines of, “the pastor’s words are the very words of God, his voice is the voice of an angel.” and “the congregation is to be the ears of the body of Christ.” I’m sorry I can’t reference that more exactly, but I’ve loaned my book to a friend right now. I know the book Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola makes references to it as well, though.

I’m just afraid that when it comes to anything biblical, we have some people that know a lot and a lot of people that know next to nothing. And, if the reformed influence has anything to do with it, it is being kept that way intentionally (but, hopefully, subconsciously). Kind of like the virtual version of that bar that kept the laity away from the clergy in the old Catholic churches back when they weren’t even allowed to take part in the Communion.

It’s the exact opposite of the leadership model Jesus presented when He washed Judas’ feet at the Last Supper.

I think you have given the proper perspective. When you said, “My own position isn’t against authority structures, it’s against the tendency to think there is a one-size-fits-all structure that every church must follow, and against the tendency to focus more on structure than on having a godly attitude in exercising authority.”

There is not a one-size-fits all structure, but I do believe there are bedrock principles within the body, no matter the size. When those bedrock principles get replaced through redaction or reduction or poor translation,… then the church can only suffer or build programs to hide the suffering.

A godly attitude is bound up in a leader that meets the qualifications set forth by the Apostle Paul.

Blessings,
Chris