There are many who might read my last post and conclude that there should be no hierarchy in the church at all. In fact, lately I've been hearing often that all hierarchy in the church ought to be done away with. I suppose it depends on what you mean by “hierarchy.” If you mean “people in charge who are valued more than the others and take advantage of the others' lack of power,” then yes, I completely agree. But if you mean “overseers, pastors, and teachers,” then I have to disagree.
Let's look at the early church. It was Paul who spoke of the concept of the church as the “body of Christ”–people working together with equal necessity and value. And yet, we know that Paul established overseers in the church (1 Timothy 3:1-13). The purpose of having these leaders and teachers was to protect the church from false ideas–preserving the purity of the message (Titus 1:5-16), and to manage the operations of the church (1 Timothy 3:4-5). How do these two ideas–equality and hierarchy–fit together?
The key is to remember the concept of the body from 1 Corinthians 12:12-26. Just as the head (let's say, leadership) cannot say to the hand (the other parts of the church), “I don't need you” or “I don't value you,” neither can the hand say to the head “I don't need you!” God has given certain people the gift of leadership, and they are told to “govern diligently” with that gift (Romans 12:6-8). If we remove all hierarchy from our churches–if we dispense with designated pastors, teachers, and overseers, then we are cutting off a part of our own body. We're denying people the opportunity to use the gifts that God has given them for the good of the whole body.
Does this necessarily mean there is inequality among the parts of the body if a hierarchy is in place? Not at all! “Differing roles” does not mean “differing values.” This is Paul's point. We are not allowed to say one part of the body is more important than the other, and the more visible parts (the leadership) must be careful to honor the less visible parts. Those in leadership honor and value the rest of the body by being a part of the body and not above the body. Think of the example of the company from my last post. There were leaders heading up projects, but everyone was available to everyone else–the newest employee could talk to the most experienced employee because they approach each other as people of equal value, though their functional roles (in terms of hierarchy) are different.
The trick is, how do we have designated leaders and teachers in the church and still maintain a sense of active participation among the rest of the body? I'm interested in hearing ideas on this. I think the burden falls on the leadership to humbly give honor to those with different gifts, treating all members of the body as necessary and equal members of the Kingdom, supporting people as they seek to creatively use their gifts (not just telling everyone what to do), and refusing to attempt to do everything themselves. I think my pastor is a great example of this, so I know it's possible.
Here's another question: why have we begun to assume that our value is dependent on our roles such that we think that having a designated teaching pastor means everyone is not equal? What philosophy is at the root of this?
Posted in Amy's Posts, Culture, Main Page, Religion (General) 
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My boss just handed me a business article titled “The Fabric of Creativity.” The magazine Fast Company tried to find the most innovative business (in both product and process) in America. (No, don't go away! I'm going somewhere with this, I promise!) Even though I don't think we should view church as “a business,” there are some interesting implications in the findings of this article for any community of people working together towards a goal–and this includes churches.
So what is it about W.L. Gore & Associates that brings out maximum creativity and effectiveness? You can read a quick summary here, but let me bring up a couple of points:
- Rather than having a rigid hierarchy where the people at the top make all the decisions and everyone else just carries them out, they work in small teams where everyone bears the weight of responsibility.
- People are free to take on whatever responsibilities they wish. They create their own roles based on their gifts and desires. If they want to begin a new project, they're encouraged to, but they are responsible for motivating others to join them. The employees don't just work for the company, they are the company.
- The facilities are kept small (under 200 people) so people get to know each other; and even though some people are leaders, everyone has equal access to everyone else–there is no “higher-up” boss hidden away in an inaccessible office.
This article seems to me like a pretty good description (for the most part) of 1 Corinthians 12:12-26. In the American church today, I think we've lost the idea of “the body.” I think part of this might have something to do with numbers. If you're in a big church, it's easy to be passive. It's easy to just follow along and let others “take care of things.” It's easy to let your own necessary (yes, necessary!) talents lie dormant. Sometimes, the leadership is set in stone instead of developing naturally as people are set free and supported in pursuing their ideas for service.
Gore is described as being structured more like “a startup company” (with everybody building their own unique roles based on their gifts and interests, everyone acting as equals, etc.). In the same way, I think “startup”/smaller churches tend to take on these qualities out of necessity. (I know this is the case with the church I attend.)
Tomorrow, I'll attempt to clarify how I think hierarchy and leadership fit into a church of equals. For now, though, I'll leave you with this question: how do we begin to change the thinking of Christians to view their churches as whole bodies, of which they are a necessary part?
Posted in Amy's Posts, Culture, Main Page, Religion (General) 18 Comments »
April 13, 2005 Posted by Roger Overton
closeAuthor: Roger Overton
Name: Roger Overton
Email: rogeroverton@hotmail.com
Site: http://ateamblog.com
About: Roger Overton is currently pursuing a Masters degree at Talbot School of Theology. He has addressed various churches, schools and youth camps throughout the United States. Roger was co-editor of The New Media Frontier (Crossway, 2008) and God and Governing (Wipf & Stock, 2009).
Roger can be emailed at rogeroverton@hotmail.com.See Authors Posts (570)
First, go read Frank Beckwith’s article on what John Paul II can teach Evangelicals. (HT: EO)
Then, head on over to Emergent No to see my post on Discussing Emergent resurrected. What’s going on over there is precisely why I wrote that piece.
After that, or if you just decided to skip the circus, head over to the White Horse Inn and listen to their interview from 4/3/05 with Christian Smith on teen spirituality. Hurry, they usually only leave them up for a week and this one’s late. Smith did a survey showing that while American teens are very religious, they cannot articulate a Christian worldview. Andy Crouch at CT has also posted an article on this.
If you’re up for it, stop by Emerge at First Baptist Lakewood this Sunday at 6:30p.m. to hear Roger Overton (hey- that’s me!) speak on Becoming Mature Christians.
Have I mentioned that you should be reading Doug TenNapel?(probably every Links post) Read his posts on the Democrat’s tactics to block Bush’s judicial nominees. TenNapel cuts straight through the bull.
If you have more free time, specifically on Friday nights, head on over to Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim as they study through the first 100 pages of Louis Berkhof’s Systematic Theology. Newcomers are free!
Posted in Main Page, Miscellaneous, Roger's Posts 1 Comment »
April 12, 2005 Posted by Roger OvertoncloseAuthor: Roger Overton
Name: Roger Overton
Email: rogeroverton@hotmail.com
Site: http://ateamblog.com
About: Roger Overton is currently pursuing a Masters degree at Talbot School of Theology. He has addressed various churches, schools and youth camps throughout the United States. Roger was co-editor of The New Media Frontier (Crossway, 2008) and God and Governing (Wipf & Stock, 2009).
Roger can be emailed at rogeroverton@hotmail.com.See Authors Posts (570)
That's right, today is the release day for The A-Team Season Two! As if the Red Sox slaughtering the Yankees wern't enough, we get more of our favorite T.V. show too! I received mine in the mail yesterday from Amazon. Get 'em while they're hot!
Posted in Main Page, Miscellaneous, Roger's Posts No Comments »
April 12, 2005 Posted by Roger OvertoncloseAuthor: Roger Overton
Name: Roger Overton
Email: rogeroverton@hotmail.com
Site: http://ateamblog.com
About: Roger Overton is currently pursuing a Masters degree at Talbot School of Theology. He has addressed various churches, schools and youth camps throughout the United States. Roger was co-editor of The New Media Frontier (Crossway, 2008) and God and Governing (Wipf & Stock, 2009).
Roger can be emailed at rogeroverton@hotmail.com.See Authors Posts (570)
Over the last few months I've posted emails from my friend, Todd, in England about what's going on there. Apparently all roads do lead to Rome, and Todd was able to make it down for the Pope's funeral. This is the first of some pictures he sent me.
To view a slideshow
click here. ©2005 Todd Odenath
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