The Kingdom of the Heavens > Church purpose versus church growth > Peril of Seeking Power

Peril of Seeking Power

Church politics and the church in the world’s politics decisions to seek power and alliances with power, and their consequences:

Truths of the Earliest Christianity that Mutated Leading to Formation of Later Divisions

December 24, 2020 3 Comments

This is an outline of the first part of my attempt to link early errors of organized Christianity to the state of the modern world–specifically, in this part, by explaining some of the foundations of the earliest Christianity from which later errors diverged. Links will be added as future posts are written.

A God who Speaks, Adoption, Background Information, Church History, Islamic History and Secular History Interaction, Complex unity, Eternity Present, Free will, God Speaks to Us, God was never our enemy, God's Existence and Nature, God's purpose for us, God's sovereignty, His Children, His Friends, Historical Background, In the Church, Index, Meaning of Unity, Other Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Peril of Seeking Numbers, Peril of Seeking Power, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Prophecy, Purpose of the Church, Reconciliation, Regeneration, Restoration of God's Image, Salvation, Show us the Way of Truth, Sin, Sins versus sin, The Invisible God's Self-Existence, The universal Church and local churches, Through others, Through the church, To be his ambassadors, To be in his image, Topic Index, Trinity, What is God's Word, What is sin?

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Conclusion–Mutual Submission to Each Other Under Christ, Not a Chain of Command

December 10, 2020 1 Comment

For unity to be seen in the Church, there must be submission—first submission to Christ as Head of the Church, then mutual submission to each other. A part of this necessary submission is to submit to those God has placed in leadership in the Church. But submission to leadership must come after submission to Christ, and be an aspect of mutual submission to each other. Much division has been caused by leaders who have insisted that they, and other human leaders, should be “in command” of the church. Only Christ is rightfully in command.

A God who Speaks, Authority Contests, Divisions in the Church, God Speaks to Us, Heresy, In the Church, Meaning of Unity, Other Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, The universal Church and local churches, Through others, Through the church, Uncategorized

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The Scarecrow Fallacy

December 7, 2020 5 Comments

To commit the “Scarecrow Fallacy,” which I have named after the Scarecrow character in the 1939 movie the Wizard of Oz, is to mistake a diploma for knowledge or a credential for God’s calling. God usually makes use of available formal education, and often acts through the organized Church’s mechanisms of licensure and ordination, but has never bound himself always to do so. It is possible to have a very powerful calling from God with no formal human recognition, and also, unfortunately too common to have excellent ministry credentials and no relationship with Jesus whatsoever.

A God who Speaks, God Speaks to Us, Heresy, Other Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, Prophecy, Social control and statecraft, The universal Church and local churches, Through others, Through the church, Uncategorized

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The Ephesians 4 “Offices” are Jesus’ Gifts to the Church, not Fixed “Offices” of Authority

November 24, 2020 3 Comments

Ephesians 4:11 identifies five groups of people given to the Church by Christ to equip its members to do the work of the ministry–apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. These five groups are best viewed based on their functions, and not as fixed “offices” of authority. The common Protestant emphasis on the pastor as the “boss” of the local church is unjustified.

A God who Speaks, Authority Contests, Church purpose versus church growth, Divisions in the Church, God Speaks to Us, Other Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, Purpose of the Church, Through the church

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Conclusion: False Brethren Seek to Bring Us into Bondage

November 3, 2020 0 Comments

The essence of heresy is division in the Body of Christ, and a “heretic” is one who stealthily introduces division into that Body in order to increase his or her own reputation, power or wealth. In that way, they seek to replace Christ as Head of the Body for their own profit.

Authority Contests, Denominationalism, Divisions in the Church, Greed, Heresy, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, Personality cults

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What About Church Discipline?

November 1, 2020 4 Comments

The purpose of church discipline is restoration, a process that is to be initiated by a person injured or offended by a wrong behavior. The disciplinary process has no valid application to erroneous beliefs, as such. The New Testament never suggests that worldly penalties should be attached to the process.

A God who Speaks, Church purpose versus church growth, Compulsory Christianity, Divisions in the Church, God Speaks to Us, Greed, Heresy, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, Religious violence and persecution, Replacing Relationship with Morality, Through the church

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On the Other Extreme—1 Timothy 4 and Colossians 2

October 29, 2020 2 Comments

Divisions in the church have been started not only by leaders who taught license to attract followers, but also by leaders who taught extreme asceticism– that God is only pleased by those who keep the strict rules they prescribe.

Authority Contests, Divisions in the Church, Heresy, Leaving Our First Love, Peril of Seeking Power, Replacing Relationship with Morality, Social control and statecraft

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The Traditional View of the First Timothy, Titus and Second Peter Passages

October 27, 2020 1 Comment

The traditional view of the heresy passages in 1 Timothy 6, Titus 3 and 2 Peter 2 actually fosters division by requiring us to shun anyone who disagrees with our denomination’s formal doctrinal statements.

Authority Contests, Heresy, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, Through the church

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The Bad Example of Korah

September 20, 2020 3 Comments

Korah’s rebellion was to insist on half the truth–that all in the congregation of Israel were holy, set apart to God, because the Lord was among them–but to reject the other half–that only the Lord had the right to assign each their functions. They denied this half of the truth to rebelliously assert their own authority, as false teachers today also do.

Authority Contests, Desire to have our own way, Divisions in the Church, Events and Signs, God Speaks to Us, God's Voice, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, Sin, What is sin?

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False Believers and Divisive Persons in Jude

August 23, 2020 3 Comments

Jude’s description of divisive persons in the church points to false believers who try to look like us but have infiltrated the church for their own advantage, to serve their own greed and lusts. They are dead trees, and dead trees bear no fruit. In dealing with them, we need to contend for the truth and resist contending against them personally.

Authority Contests, Desire to have our own way, Desire to have our own way, Disrespecting poor believers, Divisions in the Church, Greed, Heresy, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Peril of Seeking Power, Rejecting God, To live in unity