This Is Serious

“Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your Father. And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. [Matthew 23.8-12]

In our modern churches we have varying levels of "titles" we use for those who lead. Some churches are more structured with their titles than others on the basis of the Apostle Paul's teaching found in his various letters (epistles). However, other churches, although not as structured, still insist on titles, if for nothing else but to establish necessary "who's in charge" verbiage and functionality.

Consequently, "lay" people get absolutely stupid when they are around a person "of title" (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher). The way they change how they act and speak is senseless and comical. But that's just a rabbit-hole at this point...

So who's word do we "hang our hat on," Jesus or Paul?

We need to establish an immoveable precedent here and now. Jesus and the Apostle Paul were (and are) never in disagreement regarding titles. However, we must interpret any and everything Paul said as it supports what Jesus said - NOT the other way around!

Jesus' teaching in Matthew 23.8-12 IS the aforementioned immoveable precedent. Not only is the precedent established, but the reason for it is clearly on display in the context of the passage: human pride inherently associated with titles.

As only the Messiah Himself could do, Jesus claimed all authority. However, by His example, that authority put Him on the Cross for the benefit of others (all humanity for all time) - no pride there in any form. As the result, Jesus' exercise of Unmatched Authority modeled in "putting down His rights" puts every believer in Him (the Benefactor) on common ground as equal beneficiaries. Jesus said above you are equal as brothers and sisters. The structure is simplistic: Jesus is the only One worthy of any title and yet His example was the epitome of humility - not pride - He laid down His life for others.

For the record, any person worthy of being addressed as apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher is a person who humbly and effectively functions in the role of one or more of those titles, NOT, a person who proudly and egregiously flaunts the title!

Historically, "structure" became necessary when the Church, instead of going into all the world, gave undue emphasis on staying around in fixed corporate gatherings. Corporate gatherings, as opposed to manageable home groups, by design require structure proportionate to their size in order to effectively facilitate a larger-than-home-sized group ("whose responsibility is it to tend to all the widows?"). In effect, the large corporate gathering becomes more important and time consuming than Jesus, the reason for the gathering in the first place.

This article is not about being angry at our current corporate structure with all its titles (although maybe we should be). But has our focus on the corporate gathering (with all its titles and structure) blinded us to the person-by-person cross-bearing ministry of Jesus Christ each of us is called to? Few will concede to the loss of personal ministry in anything but small groups, but history and mega churches glaringly prove otherwise.

So, a would-be follower of Christ (by true Bible definition) is at a disadvantage today to fulfill His cross-bearing service to others in a large corporate church setting because "others are conveniently doing that." Consequently, people are at a loss to know where they fit in and churches then resort to all manner of worldly "pig" psychiatry albeit with the "lipstick" of "Christian study" painted onto it. Instead of insisting that believers just do the Word, vetting for qualifications must take place to insure against damage to the corporation. This is exactly the mindset the Pharisees and Sadducees had toward Jesus... imagine that.

Every single person who has ever lived is called to every single ministry action of Jesus Christ. Period. Otherwise, if we pick and choose, then our "being in Christ" or "Christ in us" is only partial (and Jesus didn't call us to be "mostly dead"...the cross is about ALL DEAD). In fact, so much like Christ are we to strive to be that we should embrace our own cross every day as Jesus commanded (it was not a suggestion).

If I want you to call me something, my goal is that it would be "Jesus" because His servant leadership is all you can see instead of me. Jesus is our apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. When we are hidden in Christ, any and all of these roles will manifest in us. Any attempt however to affix these titles to ourselves otherwise is pride.

Any corporate setting that does not hold Jesus as the standard for every single member is fulfilling another problem Jesus identified in today's OYCB reading just a few verses later:

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are! [Matthew 23.15]

Think about that! This is serious. Are we making converts to the disadvantaged modern church or converts to Christ? The answer is easily identifiable: Converts to the church look like church members. Converts to Christ look like Jesus.

...And to think I started writing on this subject today thinking it would be lighthearted and quick!

Father, help us to question EVERYTHING! Help us to get rid of everything in our lives that does not identify Jesus in all His fulness!