"SLOPPY THEOLOGY" PART #3

Good day and welcome to another devotional. We conclude our thoughts on Sloppy Terminology and will have a new study next time.

A couple of other terms we need to pay attention to are "Minister" and "board." First, are not all Christians ministers? As I read bulletins and newsletters, most Churches only have one minister. No wonder the Church is not growing like it did in the first century. We read in Acts that all Christians went about proclaiming the word of the Gospel; they were all ministers. Nowadays, we call the Evangelist "The Minister" and now it is his job to do all the proclaiming. You and I cannot "hire" someone else to do what God has sent each of us to accomplish. The Scriptures are also very clear about Church leadership, but because of the sloppiness that has crept in, we view leadership as a "board" instead of Elders and Evangelist working together as a team. A traditional board in the Christian Church / Church of Christ consists of Elders and deacons. Can anyone show me in the Scriptures where deacons have any kind of authority in the Church? Aren’t they servants? If so,
why are they meeting with Elders making binding decisions for the Church? In many boards, the Preacher has no voice except as an advisor. The Scriptures teach it is the job of the Evangelist to put the Church in order (Titus 1:5). If he has no voice, how is he to fulfill his ministry? Could it be that we have allowed our traditions to outvote the Word of God? Maybe we should pay a little more attention to Matthew 15:1-9, because we have grown sloppy!


Lastly, Church leaders often speak of "hiring" a preacher. Even worse, many Churches demonstrate the attitude that the Preacher works for them. I once had an elder in a larger Church in Ohio tell me that the Church is just like a business. It must make money so it can expand and venture out into new areas. The Evangelist was simply the CEO of the corporation.
I read many terms used in Scripture concerning the Church - Kingdom of God, Bride of Christ, the Body of Christ, but I never read where it was a business. This Elder had his facts wrong.

But in many Churches, the Evangelist works for the people of the congregation. Congregations look for Preachers who will proclaim what they want to hear rather than the Word of God. He was hired to fill a perceived need. This reminds me of something Paul wrote to the young Evangelist, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." (II Tim. 4:3-4). The Evangelist works for God. A Church does not "pay" the Evangelist, they simply make sure he is cared for properly. The Church gives their tithes and offerings to God, and from THAT the Evangelist is paid. There are way too many horror stories from Preachers who had a congregation that felt he worked for them instead of God.


Does sloppy terminology lead to sloppy theology or does sloppy theology lead to sloppy terminology? Whichever way it goes, the two are forever intertwined. Where there is one the other will inevitably be found. The Church is in trouble. Her people have grown sloppy. Too often we are no longer a "People of the Book." So what’s the answer? That’s simple: Get back to the Book. And for those that may have forgotten what Book I mean, I refer to the Bible, the only Book that matters. So after reading this, get your Bible, blow off the dust, and get right with The Word. If you do not believe me, then listen to Jesus, "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Mt. 12:36-37).