Clergy Humility
God’s grace and mercy be yours as we prepare to enter into a new year.
We are in the one great in-between week! I realize there may be only a few who take the time to read this article because of the time of year it is coming out. The week between Christmas and New Year’s day is a week when most people just mentally chill! So, if you are reading this, thank you!
I begin this week where I left off two weeks ago. There were multiple prophets/preachers in the churches of Paul’s day. These were men who generally had no formal training but who were mentored by others and served with accountability with one another.
While the culture of today is vastly different than the 1st century, I believe what I have to share today is extremely important for our day and age. It is something we need to take to heart and definitely return too! Paul writes:
Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate. But if something has been revealed to another person sitting there, the first prophet should be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone may learn and everyone may be encouraged. And the prophets’ spirits are subject to the prophets, since God is not a God of disorder but of peace. 1 Corinthians 14:29-33
As sinful human beings we are all fraught with the temptation to elevate ourselves above those around us. The spirit of competition is alive and well in every generation. Paul even addresses this when he says he “excelled above his peers” as he advanced in Judaism. What is common in the world can become the source of divisive conflict in the church.
Would it not be natural to sinful men to create a structure where one person is elevated above his companion? Would not such elevation be based on any number of things? Things such as age, popularity, experience, wealth, or a whole host of other things which define a person. If this were to be done among preachers, would not the same criteria be used? So, who is going to be the senior pastor? The one who fits the bill! The others will wait and take their turns in stride after the more important people have served! NOT SO WITH GOD!
Whenever two or more clergy are together there is almost always a jockeying for position. Paul seeks to put an immediate end to this mentality. If the lowest man on the totem pole comes in and says God has revealed something to him, then he goes first, regardless of the pecking order.
While it is true there is accountability between all the servants (clergy) there is not to be a hierarchy. Yet what do we see in all church bodies today? Every single one has a hierarchical system in which some pastors are elevated above others and placed in positions to rule over them.
There is an old saying I was taught years ago when I attended seminary. Those pastors who are placed in leadership positions are to be considered “first among equals.” This means that an administrative role is not to be considered more important that a lowly parish role! In all actuality God’s economy is vastly different. The pastor serving in the parish, ministering to the people of God in a direct way is the person with the higher calling!
In today’s churches, titles are sought after like trophies in an athletic competition. To be called Dr., Bishop, or President places a man in an elevated position, even if it is an elevation from the pits of hell! When the position is sought because of the prominence it brings, the motivation is sinful from the beginning. I have known pastors who believed, because they served in a big church, the clergy in smaller churches were beneath them. The same is true for the one called Bishop when pride is the motivation.
What exactly is the call of God upon the heart of a man to serve in the ministry? It is the call to give up all the world offers and find peace, contentment, and joy in trusting and following God! It is to place the spiritual wellbeing of every person as the first priority in your life. It is to be sold out and committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world. I am convinced that if this were the true calling of God upon the pastors of our land, all the church buildings of our nations could not hold the crowds on a Sunday morning.
Humble service is to be the trademark of the clergy and I believe this is what Paul is seeking to instill in the hearts of the men serving in Corinth. They will all get their chance to preach. God’s Word will reign supreme, so sit back, relax, and receive what is being revealed by the one who is eager to share what God has made known to him.
Paul ends this section with the following statement, And the prophets’ spirits are subject to the prophets, since God is not a God of disorder but of peace. How will the prophets/preachers know what is the will of God and what will keep peace in the midst of the congregation? Listen to your spirit! The Spirit of God who is in communion with your spirit and Who called you to be a prophet will give you guidance and peace. As one of the shepherds of God’s people, you will then be able to lead them into the peace God desires for them to have as a church.
Enough said! May God guide us to be not only a church that knows Him, but a church that follows Him wherever He may lead us.
God bless,
Pastor Russ
We are in the one great in-between week! I realize there may be only a few who take the time to read this article because of the time of year it is coming out. The week between Christmas and New Year’s day is a week when most people just mentally chill! So, if you are reading this, thank you!
I begin this week where I left off two weeks ago. There were multiple prophets/preachers in the churches of Paul’s day. These were men who generally had no formal training but who were mentored by others and served with accountability with one another.
While the culture of today is vastly different than the 1st century, I believe what I have to share today is extremely important for our day and age. It is something we need to take to heart and definitely return too! Paul writes:
Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate. But if something has been revealed to another person sitting there, the first prophet should be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone may learn and everyone may be encouraged. And the prophets’ spirits are subject to the prophets, since God is not a God of disorder but of peace. 1 Corinthians 14:29-33
As sinful human beings we are all fraught with the temptation to elevate ourselves above those around us. The spirit of competition is alive and well in every generation. Paul even addresses this when he says he “excelled above his peers” as he advanced in Judaism. What is common in the world can become the source of divisive conflict in the church.
Would it not be natural to sinful men to create a structure where one person is elevated above his companion? Would not such elevation be based on any number of things? Things such as age, popularity, experience, wealth, or a whole host of other things which define a person. If this were to be done among preachers, would not the same criteria be used? So, who is going to be the senior pastor? The one who fits the bill! The others will wait and take their turns in stride after the more important people have served! NOT SO WITH GOD!
Whenever two or more clergy are together there is almost always a jockeying for position. Paul seeks to put an immediate end to this mentality. If the lowest man on the totem pole comes in and says God has revealed something to him, then he goes first, regardless of the pecking order.
While it is true there is accountability between all the servants (clergy) there is not to be a hierarchy. Yet what do we see in all church bodies today? Every single one has a hierarchical system in which some pastors are elevated above others and placed in positions to rule over them.
There is an old saying I was taught years ago when I attended seminary. Those pastors who are placed in leadership positions are to be considered “first among equals.” This means that an administrative role is not to be considered more important that a lowly parish role! In all actuality God’s economy is vastly different. The pastor serving in the parish, ministering to the people of God in a direct way is the person with the higher calling!
In today’s churches, titles are sought after like trophies in an athletic competition. To be called Dr., Bishop, or President places a man in an elevated position, even if it is an elevation from the pits of hell! When the position is sought because of the prominence it brings, the motivation is sinful from the beginning. I have known pastors who believed, because they served in a big church, the clergy in smaller churches were beneath them. The same is true for the one called Bishop when pride is the motivation.
What exactly is the call of God upon the heart of a man to serve in the ministry? It is the call to give up all the world offers and find peace, contentment, and joy in trusting and following God! It is to place the spiritual wellbeing of every person as the first priority in your life. It is to be sold out and committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world. I am convinced that if this were the true calling of God upon the pastors of our land, all the church buildings of our nations could not hold the crowds on a Sunday morning.
Humble service is to be the trademark of the clergy and I believe this is what Paul is seeking to instill in the hearts of the men serving in Corinth. They will all get their chance to preach. God’s Word will reign supreme, so sit back, relax, and receive what is being revealed by the one who is eager to share what God has made known to him.
Paul ends this section with the following statement, And the prophets’ spirits are subject to the prophets, since God is not a God of disorder but of peace. How will the prophets/preachers know what is the will of God and what will keep peace in the midst of the congregation? Listen to your spirit! The Spirit of God who is in communion with your spirit and Who called you to be a prophet will give you guidance and peace. As one of the shepherds of God’s people, you will then be able to lead them into the peace God desires for them to have as a church.
Enough said! May God guide us to be not only a church that knows Him, but a church that follows Him wherever He may lead us.
God bless,
Pastor Russ
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1 Comment
This was great and I know that there are a lot of so called preachers that want to be ranked above others.
Thanks for the message.