The Importance of a Biblical Church Structure
I have come to realise that, aside from getting the gospel wrong, ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐ต๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ is one of the easiest ways to drift into something that resembles a religious cult. When a church adopts what is essentially a Roman Catholic–style leadership mindset, it almost inevitably ๐ฝ๐๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ณ๐๐น ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ต๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต and replaces Him, functionally, with one man—the Pope, General Overseer, Lead Pastor, or whatever title is preferred. Other pastors and leaders then become subordinate to this individual, and the entire structure begins to orbit around a single personality. Some may object that such leaders are not ๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ called “the head of the church.” But the reality is this: ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ . And history has shown, again a...