Former location of "The Kingdom of the Heavens" blog, written by an incurable fool who is trying to become a holy fool!
The term term translated “elder” refers to the age and wisdom of persons functioning in this role in the Church. It often seems to be used interchangeably with “overseer” (or “bishop”), and the way a person legitimately functioning in this capacity is to be recognized (often called the “qualifications”) is the same as for an overseer. Like overseers, elders teach and lead by example, not by fiat.
The place and function of angels is not often mentioned in Scripture, because they exist as messengers and ministering spirits, serving us on God’s behalf, not themselves, bringing God’s message not their own. They are never the dominant subject of any scripture.
The physical health of believers, the occurrence of healing in the Church, and the manifestation of oneness in the Church are also tied to one another. Living in disunity can lead to illness and premature death.
How a dream about the word “dirge” led me to recognize two of the major problems of modern Western churches: our insistence on hiding problems to preserve our “witness” rather than dealing with them in the Spirit (hypocrisy) and our one-way, “fact”-intensive teaching style.
Discipline or Correction, Emotions, End of the Churched Society, God Speaks to Us, Heresy, Historical Background, Human Rationality, Illness as a Consequence, In the Church, Meaning of Unity, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Purpose of the Church, Restoration of God's Image, Restoration of our Relationships, The place of visions, Through others, Through the church, To live in unity