In Ephesians 4:16, we see that the power for being equipped and matured into lovingly authentic proclaimers is not in believers themselves, in their leaders, or in church structure. The Body receives its authority, direction and power as it grows “up in all aspects into Christ, from whom the whole body [is] fitted and held together.” The proper working of each individual part recalls the importance of each believer’s gift. The growth of the church is not a result of clever methods but of every member of the body fully using their spiritual gift in close contact with other believers. Christ is the source of the life and power and growth of the church, which He facilitates through each believer’s gifts and mutual ministry in joints touching other believers is to stay close to Jesus Christ, faithfully using their spiritual gift in close contact with every believer they touch. As with all living organisms, spiritual growth in the church does not come from forces outside but from the vital power within that causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself. When the church is built up according to Christ’s plan, the world will know it is … READ MORE

Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “I will build my church,” But he did not specifically say how that would happen. This is explored in Ephesians 4:11-16 where we read, “[Jesus] gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastor/teachers” (v11) Paul then sets forth God’s progressive plan for the church in verses 12-16. The purpose of the pastor is to prepare the people to do the work of the ministry! Not to do the work themselves. It seems that today many churches have “professional teams” designed to do all the work of the church, and those attending are there to support that work financially, and be entertained by the services. Great expense is being laid out to create a platform where the performance will take place every week. Pastor’s are being trained in administration, and oversight, but not theology, and teaching. The church has great speakers, but not great theologians. As a result those who are attending are often weak in their understanding of the truth. We spend an hour and a half singing, and 15 minutes with a devotional thought designed to make those in attendance feel good about themselves. While this is not necessarily bad, … READ MORE

The Integrity of a Spiritual Leader is built upon their personal growth and development. As a result in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 we continue to see that a Spiritual leader must be growing toward maturity. Since one of the great dangers facing any leader is pride, humility is an essential element of their life and walk. We must remember that pride was the very things that brought Satan down according to Ezekiel 28:11-19 & Isaiah 14:12-14. The question then becomes how long should a person wait before they become a spiritual leader in the church? Our text says in verse 6, that they are “not a novice,” which means that they need to be old enough in the Lord that they have had tie to develop and demonstrate the spiritual disciples that are required for leadership and maturity. This is a process that can not be rushed, but at the same time is difficult to measure. The key here is that there is enough time to bring the respect and recognition of the Church body, and a personal demonstration of those qualities. Humility allows others to judge and determine those qualities, and not the leaders themselves. The importance of this is … READ MORE