There may be more, but I have noticed two types of leadership in the church.
The first one is the servant leader. One who is there for your benefit and everything he does is done to grow you spiritually, mentally and personally. This type of leader tends to be one of the congregation who is fulfilling his ministry and calling, not building a reputation or platform for himself.
Then there is the second one who seems to think he is there because God and the people need him, so he has to assume a leadership style that places him above the rest of the congregation.
What this leader, whether he realizes it or not, gives the impression that he is the only one that hears from God. One denomination has the claim that the pastor is first amongst equals. In my experience having been part of churches in that denomination is that no one is equal if anyone disagrees with him. The church may have Elders but if they don't agree with him, his word is final. The fact that all seven Elders agree with each other is irrelevant.
In one of the churches, the pastor sacked all the Elders, who were all older and wiser than him, because they disagreed with him and he appointed others who were all younger than him, which made a mockery of the word "Elder" in scripture which means older.
The New Testament Church was governed by a plurality of Elders who were all subject to one another. As the scripture says there is safety in numbers so God can't be wrong. Nowhere in the New Testament was any church rules by "A" pastor.
Today we seem to be having regular cases of pastors having to resign because of a weakness that has led them into sin. In the New Testament Church that was not possible as all the Elders were chosen from within the congregation and had already proven themselves as men of integrity and please note I said, men.
When you bring someone in from outside of the congregation, who knows what can of worms you are inviting in. After all, no one is going to say in his application that he has a weakness for women who are not his wife.
Judging by adverts for pastors, integrity is not one of the qualities churches are looking for. One web site advertising for pastors except for three were advertising for someone who had a degree, could make things happen and had experience.
All leadership whatever it might be in spiritual terms is servant leadership. Even Paul who was one of the churches greatest leaders considered himself no more than a servant to the body of Christ.
Only a servant leader can infuse a congregation with a serving mentality. The other type of leader infuses it with competition and look at me.
The first one is the servant leader. One who is there for your benefit and everything he does is done to grow you spiritually, mentally and personally. This type of leader tends to be one of the congregation who is fulfilling his ministry and calling, not building a reputation or platform for himself.
Then there is the second one who seems to think he is there because God and the people need him, so he has to assume a leadership style that places him above the rest of the congregation.
What this leader, whether he realizes it or not, gives the impression that he is the only one that hears from God. One denomination has the claim that the pastor is first amongst equals. In my experience having been part of churches in that denomination is that no one is equal if anyone disagrees with him. The church may have Elders but if they don't agree with him, his word is final. The fact that all seven Elders agree with each other is irrelevant.
In one of the churches, the pastor sacked all the Elders, who were all older and wiser than him, because they disagreed with him and he appointed others who were all younger than him, which made a mockery of the word "Elder" in scripture which means older.
The New Testament Church was governed by a plurality of Elders who were all subject to one another. As the scripture says there is safety in numbers so God can't be wrong. Nowhere in the New Testament was any church rules by "A" pastor.
Today we seem to be having regular cases of pastors having to resign because of a weakness that has led them into sin. In the New Testament Church that was not possible as all the Elders were chosen from within the congregation and had already proven themselves as men of integrity and please note I said, men.
When you bring someone in from outside of the congregation, who knows what can of worms you are inviting in. After all, no one is going to say in his application that he has a weakness for women who are not his wife.
Judging by adverts for pastors, integrity is not one of the qualities churches are looking for. One web site advertising for pastors except for three were advertising for someone who had a degree, could make things happen and had experience.
All leadership whatever it might be in spiritual terms is servant leadership. Even Paul who was one of the churches greatest leaders considered himself no more than a servant to the body of Christ.
Only a servant leader can infuse a congregation with a serving mentality. The other type of leader infuses it with competition and look at me.
