The Carnal Church Part I

Matthew 16:18
(Jesus Speaking)....."I will build my church!"

If ever there was something that I am well aware of (me being a pastor) it is the simple truth that God has entrusted to me a part of His kingdom work here on planet earth.

The church belongs to Jesus....
He is the head....not me....not a committee. Yet what we call the church has become built on the framework of a business. More energy is spent in keeping the framework intact and functioning than probably is necessary. Before we go any further, this is not going to be a rant where I lump every church in the same ecclesiastical basket. There are some really good churches out there who love the Lord and are serving and seeking those who don't know Jesus.

I remember, some years back, Vicki and I had gone to lunch at one of our local eateries. There were a group of men sitting across from us, deep in conversation and very animated about their topic. Turns out they were pastors of local assemblies in our county. What was their topic? How they could advance in their "job" and in their "career". The next step in their journey as a pastor was to get a larger church where the benefits would be better, the salary larger and the staff bigger so that they would not have to carry so much of the load. I remember how uncomfortable I was as this conversation grew louder and more animated. Not saying these men were bad men....maybe a tad misguided. To be honest with you, I don't know why anyone would even want to be a pastor, unless God had called them to this work. 

Does a pastor deserve to be paid? Sure he does. Scripture says that a "workman is worthy of his hire". But, at the same time, if a person truly has a call on their life...they will do it no matter whether they get paid or not.

I hope that you take the time to listen to John Wimber teaching on "The Carnal Church". I listen to this series of teaching from time to time, to remind me of whose church it is. I will be posting the message in its entirety over the coming weeks. Feel free to share and pass along to others.

God on you.....
mbb