Usurping God's Authority

It is hard not to think with the world's mindset when we have been raised, educated and operate in it every day. We do it without thinking about it and that's probably the greatest problem: we don't think. Too often we put our mind in neutral and go with the flow. As Christians we mistakenly think that our first impulse will be for God, that it is second nature to us. But it isn't. We have to make a concerted effort to think with the mind of Christ. We have to make a conscience decision to walk with the Spirit, taking actions that would please God instead of our flesh.

God's ways are far from what we want. His desire is hard for us to fathom over our own. We think because something is a good idea and it is doable that we should just go ahead and do it. We think that just because something looks like it would honour God we have the authority to do it. When will we learn?

Too often we put all the emphasis on ability. Just because I am able to do something does not mean I should. Just because I have better qualities to be a leader does not mean I am God's choice to lead. The reverse also applies; just because I don't have the best leadership qualifications doesn't mean I am not called to lead. Come on people, we have the Bible. When are we going to start seeing God's heart in it?

There were those who thought they could do a better job of leading Israel than Moses. Even Moses' own family came against him at one point, jealous over his authority. Who knows, maybe there were those with better ability than Moses but it didn't matter. God had chosen Moses and the only ability Moses needed was obedience and faithfulness to God who instructed him. Maybe that's the real problem. Maybe we don't realize that leadership in the Church is not about how well a person can lead but instead how obedient a person is to God instructions and directions. Jesus is the head of the Church, not man.

We seem to have lost respect for the anointed and maybe it's because we have left the anointing aside when it comes to us choosing our king, oops, I mean leaders, pastors. David was one who understood the anointing. He was chosen as king long before he became king. He understood that it was not given to him to remove Saul, but instead to replace him when God had removed him. It took time. It took time because David refused to usurp God's authority. God had put Saul in place and God would remove him. I'm not saying that it is a model for today but simply pointing out that David understood what was going on and how leadership worked from God's perspective.

I am concerned for the Church and have been for many years. Our emphasis is all wrong when it comes to leadership. Our expectations are wrong. The mindset of the leaders is wrong. The Church is being run and directed by a bunch of highly educated executives who act more like business people needing to report to their board of directors and must always please the stockholders.  No wonder there is lack of God's power in the Church; we've left God out.

Why can't we set aside all the garbage, all our best practices, all our church growth, emerging church ideas and seek again the will of our God? Why can't we allow him to shake up the whole Church so that the anointing will fall back into place and we can be a real people who desire nothing more than God's will? Why can't we put the emphasis back on walking in the Spirit instead of our own intellect? Oh yeah, we are stuck in the world's mindset. Oh God, send your cleansing, correcting purifying fire today, that the Bride may rise up in the full glory of the Groom.

Defender Of The Bride

I am as guilty as the next person for Church bashing. I look at the Church, know what she is suppose to be, see what we turned her into and am disappointed. I criticize her, point out the ugly bits and often forget to lift up the pretty parts. But I forget something; she does not stand separated from Jesus. Jesus has not abandoned her or stepped back from her. He is the head and when we criticize the Church for being less than what she was designed to be, we are attacking Jesus too.

Now let's be a bit more personal.

The Church is not some great temple somewhere. It is not an institution. The Church is people. The Church is people who have gone through and are still going through a great transformation. The Church is people who are a new creation and are still trying to get use to the newness of it all. When we criticize the Church we aren't pointing a finger at some nameless vague wispy thing; we are pointing a finger at Bob, who we may or may not know. We are pointing a finger at Mary, and Sue. We are pointing a finger at millions of people with names, faces, and a genuine love for Jesus. We are pointing a finger at ourself.

The beauty of God's grace is that it covers all the failings, blemishes, ugliness and then calls us blameless and innocent. If it does that for us as individuals then it has done that for the Church. The Bride may be far from perfect but Jesus has covered her with his garments, has called her beautiful and is pouring out his love on her. And we dare stand back and call her ugly?

We certainly need a grander vision of the Church, a greater understanding of who she is and knowledge of how we function in her. But the one thing we are desperate for is wisdom to honour the Bride of Christ with the reality of Jesus' place in her. He is the head:

And he is the head of the body, the church. (Colossians 1:18)

We love to keep Jesus in the manger. He looks so cute and innocent there. We love to see Mary and Joseph watching over him with adoration. We like to keep Jesus small, like a baby, then we can do what we want with the Church as if she is on her own. But Jesus isn't a baby. He is not stuck in a manger unable to defend his Bride. He has not left the Body without a head. He has not told the hand to govern her. He has not told the feet to do what they want. He has not given her over to the whims of the heart. Jesus is the groom and he will defend his Bride: Bob, Sue and Mary.

It means that as a pastor I cannot do whatever I want in the Church. It means that I don't get to shape her according to my will. It means that I am not in charge. It is not my church. I am only one small part of her, called to specific roles and responsibilities. It means my function is to be faithful in my role and to praise the Head.

As I celebrate Christmas this year I am not celebrating the baby but everything that came after that moment. It is great that God became Emmanuel but if that is all there had been it would have been worthless. This Christmas I celebrate Jesus, supreme above all things and the head of the Church. And I stand amazed at what he has done for the Bride.