my pastor for a horse

If history had developed a different set of tasks for the pastor of our local churches, would the people who seek to be today's pastors be doing those things instead of what they are now doing?

Why do we do the things we do?

Why do we do them the way we do?

Do tasks and jobs, activities, create the role (pastor or otherwise), or does the role determine what we need to do and how we do them?  That is, "I am X because I do Y", a matter of utilitarianism (function), or "I do Y because I am X" a matter of character (heart)?

action

With these options in mind, examine your church.  Why are people, including your pastor, priest, elders, deacons, etc, doing what they are doing?  Is it because it is an outcome of the heart God has instilled into the role?  [To discover this answer you may need to revisit the bible and seek God for his intentions.]  Or is it because there are certain activities that need to be done? (and yes there may be a mix of both).

Indeed, ask these same questions of yourself in terms of being for instance a parent, a brother or sister, a child, a work colleague, a friend, a citizen of your city or nation, etc.

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• ezekiel 34 ... identifying a shepherd

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do we need to gather together?

If we are one with the Head (Jesus), we are one with the Body (church), even if we are not gathered together.  But, if we are not one with the Head, we are not one with the Body, even if we are gathered together.

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relational responsibity

Whose responsibility is it?

A woman is sitting on her own.  She is new to town and knows no one.  She does not even have family with her.

Whose responsibility is it to initiate an interaction.  Is it hers to introduce herself or for others to approach her?  Assuming she has a level of courage in this scenario, relationships could form even if no one approached her because she can make the first move.

But what if this lady has been experiencing some trauma in her life or something else that is causing her to hold back, to not make the first move? What if she is has a bad reputation or is physically unattractive?  What if her personality is different?  What if she has low self-esteem?  What if she finds it hard to trust people due to how she has been treated in the past?

Is it fair to suggest it was her responsibility if no interaction occurred?

What if this lady was you?

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church membership

Have you ever heard someone ask which church do you belong?  Has someone said "would you like to find out how to become a member, or what it means to be a member of this congregation?

Reminded of this this morning as listening to an invite to a "New Friends" dinner.  Also, happens regularly at work when discussing what we did on the weekend.

As we know from scripture, as believers in Christ, as his followers, we enter into his people.  We become a member.  We enter into his church, his body.  As such you can never be late to church, never be absent, or on holiday.

So to ask which church we belong to is a redundant question.  All believers belong to the same church.  So the question must be being asked in terms of which tribe do you belong.  Okay we already trust in this.

But what is rattling around in me is the flip-side of that coin.  Since we are of the one body, to love put this reality means being able to enter into any tribal gathering in peace.  Why?  Because we already belong.  It is therefore possible to see and live in such a way that these are my people though they may not accept me in return.

The other point is that when a congregation speaks of membership what do they mean?  Are they speaking of people who turn up (attend) or those who are pursuing Him?   Thus, on Sunday there may be 200 people in the room, but maybe only 1 or 2 followers.  Indeed, this can be true of those called elders and leaders etc.

But here too what do our eyes see?  Unbelievers, the lost, the distracted, the tribal, or people who Christ still died for?  Do they treat his sacrifice in vain?  Maybe but is that our call when restoration always is possible

Should we accept the dysfunctions of today's tribal church?  No.  But then ask, if sectarianism is not God's will, and a house divided is bound to fall, then, maybe we need to approach our church family as we would any other person.

If sunday services, as they stand today, are the same in essence as any other sphere, broken, and we are to live as Christ did/does, then we need to be about pointing to the exit door in the knowledge that all systems are already destroyed.

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