The Way It Is
chapter five
————————————————————————–LEADERSHIP
1 Corinthians 11:3: I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ,
When a christian hears the word “leader” he/she ought not think of a man, a group of men, church staff, a pastor, an elder, or denominational officers. He ought to think of Jesus Christ.
The NIV has a slightly different translation of the above verse: “I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ.” There is a big difference between knowing and realizing. To know (to be informed) takes but an instant; to realize takes time to sink down from head to heart. I know Christ is my “head”, but do I realize it? Answer: I am growing in the realization (awareness) that Christ is my Leader.
It is a relative thing. Some fully realize Christ is Leader, some hardly at all, most of us are somewhere in between. Hopefully this chapter will reinforce the truth that Christ is not only your Leader, but your only Leader.
Matthew 23:10 (NAS): do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.
Some translations use the word “leaders”, others “teachers”. The Amplified reads, “you must not be called masters (leaders), for you have one Master (Leader), the Christ.”
How many leaders (teachers, masters) do you have? You should write the answer in your Bible next to Matthew 23:10: “I have one Leader. I have one Master. I have one Teacher.”
Ephesians 5:23: Christ is head of the church;
We are the church and Christ is our Leader. We can each declare: “As Jesus Christ is my only Saviour, as He is my only Lord, as He is my only Master, He is likewise my only Leader.”
Hebrews 13:7 (NIV): Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
“Your leaders”. Is this verse in conflict with Ephesians 5:23 and other similar verses? One must rightly divide the word of God.
Who would argue that we have but one Master, the Lord Jesus Christ? And yet Colossians 3:22 instructs, “Servants, obey in all things your masters.”
“The Father … has committed all judgment to the Son” (Jn.5:22), but nonetheless Paul admonished the Corinthians to find someone “who will be able to judge between his brethren.” (1Cor.6.5)
Jesus said, “In My name they will cast out demons.” (Mk.16:17) Who is the deliverer…. “they” or Christ? We have to understand there are layers of truth.
Jesus sent the twelve to “heal the sick.” In a sense they are healers. But the deeper truth is there is one Healer. There are many doctors but only one Great Physician. There are layers of truth, some more relevant than others.
Philip “preached Jesus” to the eunuch “along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” (Ac.8:26), resulting in the salvation of the eunuch. One might say Philip saved him through his preaching. Is Philip therefore the eunuch’s saviour? Of course not.
So how many leaders do we have? In a limited sense many; in a truer sense one. Again, there are layers of truth.
Colossians 3:2: Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
Set your mind on Christ, the one true Leader, “not on things of the earth”, christian leaders.
Romans 8:5: those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
“Those who live according to the flesh” study the Bible and conclude that certain men of the ‘ministerial’ are their leaders. They follow these men, obey and adulate them. But “those who live according to the Spirit” read the same Bible and see Christ as their one and only Leader.
Joshua 24:15: choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,
Life is choices. Both right and wrong choices have a price tag, but only one gives rewards.
Should you choose to “live according to the Spirit” and serve Christ, you will come up against the way it is and its protectors who “set their minds on the things of the flesh”, competing with Christ for the right and responsibility to give you leadership. You will find yourself swimming upstream. You will most certainly be “persecuted for righteousness’ sake”. (Praise the Lord!)
Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters;
It is impossible to serve two masters; one cannot serve Christ and christian leaders. “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.”
Matthew 23:6,7: They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’
Jesus was speaking of “The scribes and the Pharisees (who) sit in Moses’ seat.” Man is man. Men still love to be honoured, titled, consulted. That is why many, certainly not all, are ambitious for leadership positions, whether in the secular realm or in the church.
Man loves to be called, “Reverend” and “Pastor” and “Minister”. It is our fallen nature, a bad fruit of sin.
John 21:16: He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
Jesus was asking Peter to prove his professed love by caring for His sheep. This is the purest motive for seeking a place of leadership…. caring for Christ’s simply because they are Christ’s. For most, attaining this pure motive is a process, taking many years. Those having the gift of pastor, one of the five ministry gifts, have a special love for Christ’s sheep.
Unfortunately, many who are called “Pastor” do not have the calling of pastor. And many who do have the calling are not recognized.
Proverbs 16:3: Commit your works to the LORD,
More than once I have heard an ugly sermon about commitment to the local assembly (always accompanied by some shouting “Amen!”). That’s Just The Way It Is! only works by commitment from the group, and its salaried ambassadors have become adept at making the Word appear to say something it doesn’t.
As one cannot serve two, one cannot commit oneself to two.
John 2:24,25: But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
“What was in man” is still in man; it didn’t leave the planet. It is in the unbeliever and the believer. It is in some more than others, but in all. “What was in man” is in the local assembly (it only increases with numbers). It is in the pastor, the ‘layman’, the church board; it is in you; it is in me.
It is often said love calls for commitment. If we love the brethren, this reasoning suggests, we will commit ourselves to the brethren. But Jesus, “who gave Himself a ransom for all” (1Tm.2:6), would never commit Himself to man. He loved people but was committed to the Father. We are to love the brethren but be committed to Christ.
By definition of the word “commitment”, it is impossible to make a partial commitment. Just as we cannot be partly convinced or partly loyal, we cannot be partly committed.
Often the pastor controls the entire congregation, even though there is a board of elders (or whatever). When he calls for commitment to the assembly he is actually calling for commitment to himself. This is very unhealthy and very dangerous.
1 John 1:7: if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
If you walk with Jesus (“in the light”) and your friend walks with Jesus, you “will have fellowship with one another”. If your friend drifts from the Lord the fellowship is broken. However, if you both made the mistake of committing yourselves to always walk together your friendship will be retained, but at the cost of Jesus.
Common sense tells us a person cannot commit himself to two; if the two should walk in opposite directions, how can both be followed?
Exodus 20:3: “You shall have no other gods before Me.
Commitment to anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ is idolatry. Commitment to the way it is is idolatry. Commitment to a local assembly or to a denomination is idolatry.
Galatians 1:10 (NIV): Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men?
We “please men” by serving That’s Just The Way It Is!, the traditions men esteem. If Paul’s heart had been “to win the approval of men” he could not “win the approval…. of God”.
Matthew 23:8: But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.
“Rabbi” is a title of honour. The “head of the church”, the one who “Himself gave some to be….. teachers”, does not want us to bestow titles of honour to men. “You are all brethren.” Brothers and sisters are equal. Some are smarter, some richer, but equal nonetheless. Siblings do not give each other titles.
We in the church are “one body”. We are each an adopted child of the Father, blood-washed, sanctified, justified, anointed, temples of the Holy Spirit…. equal. There are no ‘reverends’, no ‘clergymen’.
Matthew 23:9: Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
A televangelist made it a habit to call his catholic priest guests “Father”. In an effort to be hospitable and to show love to catholics he disobeyed Matthew 23:9. The Lord does not sanction this type of hospitality.
When fundamentalists reproved him he was not repentant. His reply was, “Don’t we protestants call our leaders ‘Pastor?’” Well, he had a point. If it is wrong for a catholic to call a leader “Father John”, how can it be okay for a fundamentalist to call a leader “Pastor John”?
The argument to that logic could be that the Bible does not forbid calling a man “pastor”. But let’s look at it. Is it possible that Jesus would forbid calling a spiritual leader “teacher”, “master”, “leader”, and “father”, but allow calling one “pastor”? It is obvious Jesus did not forbid the people to call leaders “pastor” simply because it was not their custom to do so (as it was other titles).
As stated earlier, only teachings that have been proven to be biblical should be accepted. It is wrong to adopt a habit because everyone else has. There is no precedent for calling a brother (or sister) by any title. And yet in many congregations the way it is demands it.
(Note: We are protestants only in the eyes of the way it is. The Bible calls us no such thing.)
Romans 12:2: do not be conformed to this world,
Do not be conformed to the way it is simply because everyone else conforms. Every believer is occasionally challenged to choose between the Bible and tradition.
When, as a born again christian (the only kind there is) still in the catholic church, I wanted to prove my loyalty to Jesus by honouring His word, “Do not call anyone on earth your father”. I was trespassing against the way it is; everyone called the priests by the title “Father”. It really was awkward and I caved in once or twice. Blush.
When I entered evangelical confines I refused to call ‘the man’ “Pastor” for the same reason. “The Lord is my shepherd” (Ps.23:1), my only Shepherd, and I wasn’t about to call a man “shepherd” (pastor means shepherd). It was an issue of lordship.
When I stand before Christ the Judge I will be pleased knowing that I called no man “father”, no man “pastor”.
1 Corinthians 11:1: Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
Paul was a leader and He said, “Imitate me”. Does this mean we are to imitate all leaders?
What about the occasions Paul was not imaging Christ? (“For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” Rm.7:15) Should the Corinthians have imitated him? Of course not.
Paul would be thrilled if the Corinthians matured to the place of imitating Christ and forgot all about him. If Paul was able to imitate Christ directly shouldn’t the Corinthians learn to do the same?
The way it is has it all backwards. While the Bible majors on Christ the Leader and minors on flesh and blood leaders, the way it is majors on leadership of man and minors on leadership of Christ.
Hebrews 13:7 (NIV): Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
Who are our leaders? Who are we to “consider” and “imitate”? Those “who (speak) the word of God” and whose lives are worth imitating. It is whosoever.
2 Corinthians 1:24: Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers
Only One has “dominion over your faith”. All others are simply “fellow workers”.
Galatians 2:6 (NIV): As for those who seemed to be important – whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance – those men added nothing to my message.
Who were “those who seemed to be important”? They were church leadership. Paul did not have a reverence for their position, though undoubtedly others esteemed them. Paul said, “Whatever they were makes no difference to me.” In other words, “What’s the big deal?”
“God does not judge by external appearance”, but evangelicals do. Has he been to Bible school? Is he licensed? What denomination? Has he ever been divorced? How old is he? Etc., etc.
“Those men added nothing to my message.” It is the message we honour, not the messenger. Not Paul, not ‘Pastor’ Whoever, not any church leader. God’s word is pure and powerful; the messenger is neither.
1 Peter 5:5: all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility,
Many submit to leadership for political gain; humility has nothing to do with it. Anyone ambitious for a place of leadership in the way it is must learn the art of cooperation. Never challenge. Submit, cooperate, agree.
Who are your leaders (in a temporal sense)? If you are submissive to everyone, it really doesn’t matter. “What’s the big deal?”
Acts 10:34: God shows no partiality.
God doesn’t, but evangelicals do. I stated that one of the great sins in the church is presumption. Another is partiality. We have been conditioned by the way it is to be biased. And we cannot see it!
The local church is split into the few and the many. The many esteem the few with childish admiration, attending to their words and wishes. The few have a special regard for their own wisdom and discernment, for they are the ones ‘in the ministry’.
Matthew 21:23: “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”
“The chief priests and elders of the people”, defenders of the way it is, were convinced they alone had authority, and they challenged Jesus because He was intruding their territory. Since Moses was a great prophet of God, and they sat in his place as rulers of the people, did they not have the same authority as Moses?
The pharisees had it all wrong. They thought they had authority to add to the law of Moses what they thought appropriate. In our day leaders of the way it is seem to conclude likewise.
The pharisees failed to realize that the authority Moses had was limited to speaking the Word of the Lord; Moses had no right to speak his own opinions. Christians today, like the pharisees, have no authority to declare any other word but that of the Lord.
An example: That’s just the way it is! declares that everyone must be under someone’s authority, this in reference to man, not Lord Jesus. Anyone not under ‘authority’ is in rebellion. How twisted. In fact, one who knowingly submits to a man who preaches an erroneous word is in rebellion to God. Submission to God often demands ignoring man’s decrees (the way it is).
Evangelicalism is burdened with many such false notions. So…. what is your defence? Simply obey the word of God as the Holy Spirit reveals it and you are safe. This word could come directly from the Lord, or from a neighbour, a friend, an elder or even a child.
James 4:12: There is one Lawgiver,
How can leadership presume to impose a law (everyone must come under someone’s ‘authority’) upon fellow christians? How is it possible? And yet there is no hope of someone attaining a place of service in most churches unless they submit to human authority.
Revelation 22:18: For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;
John’s warning applies to the book of Revelation, but one can deduct that God frowns upon someone messing with any part of His Bible.
It is my impression most Christians assume that the way it is and God’s Word are compatible. Unfortunately, most do not check it out for themselves; they have been seduced to trust in leadership.
Authority is in the Bible. God’s Word is authority. It was not in Moses, it was not in the pharisees, it was not in the reformers. And it is not in denominational (or non-denominational) leadership. It is in God and the word He speaks. To suggest a christian is to come under the authority of church leadership is a violation of God’s Word.
This is my advice: Be submissive to every person to the degree you can. Do not be a man-gazer; be a Christ-gazer. Don’t make a big deal about church leaders; make a big deal about Christ.
Do not come under the lordship of any man or any system; obey Christ alone. Try to see Jesus in every brother and sister, and listen for Him to feed you spiritual manna even from “the least of these My brethren”. Do not be a respecter of persons. Do not judge by the flesh. Give allegiance to God’s word alone. Check out everything.
It is an issue of lordship.
—————————————————————————-APPENDIX
“Your speech betrays you.” (Mt.26:73) Peter thought he could go undetected. He didn’t want to be identified with the One who had just been arrested, but his “speech” gave him away. The people discerned that, like Jesus, Peter was from the land of Galilee.
Like Peter, our speech identifies us. Where are we coming from, what is our creed, in what do we believe, who are we following…. “Your speech betrays you.” Those coming from the Bible speak the Bible. Those coming from That’s just the way it is! speak its jargon.
Foreign words are needed to describe and communicate foreign teachings and practices; the way it is has a long vocabulary. Let’s look at some of these words and expressions that cannot be found in our Bible: membership … denominational … inter/non-denominational … salary … license … reverend … doctor … liturgy … easter … protestant … ecclesiastic … independent … certificate … program … vacation … covering … evangelical … charismatic … hymnal.
And there’s more: committee … cell group … para-church … Bible school … clerical … adherent … counsellor … Sunday school … seminary … theologian … scholar … graduate … balance … conservative … liberal … choir … senior pastor … assistant pastor … youth pastor … board.
We’re not finished yet: opening/closing prayer … baptist, pentecostal (etc., etc.) … election … benediction … sheep stealing … plus shipping and handling … home church … seeker sensitive … ministerial … layman … umbrella … fundamentalist … full-time ministry … service … evangelically speaking … altar call.
Also there are words and expressions found in the Bible, but used for non-biblical applications: sanctuary … discipleship … rebellious … accountable … covering … church … preacher … ministry … ordained … pastors … unity … elder … tithing.
Such an extensive vocabulary must extinguish all doubt that the way it is is not compatible to God’s Bible. If straying from the Bible caused a change of vocabulary, would returning to the vocabulary of the Bible cause one to return to the truths of the Bible? Hmmm.
Why should we speak a ‘foreign’ language? Is the above list of words the vocabulary of men-pleasers? If we truly believe in the authority of the Bible should we not limit ourselves to the speech of the Bible? (Yes, there are valid exceptions.) Why would an ambassador of Christ speak anything other than words “given by inspiration of God”?
Leadership. What makes a true leader? When one speaks the oracles of God he/she is a true leader. Pointing to Christ is leadership. Being a good example is being a good leader.
Jesus taught, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (Jn15:7) Our language reveals who or what we are abiding in. (“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Mt.12:34)
At the judgement seat we will be held accountable for our speech. (“Out of your own mouth I will judge you.” Lk.19:22) Ouch! I must be more careful what comes out of my mouth. How about you?
———————————————A TRIBUTE TO JESUS CHRIST
“behold! the lamb of god
who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn.1:29)
behold the lamb
the lamb of god
who takes away
the sin of the world
behold
gaze upon
esteem
sell what you have
purchase the pearl
the pearl of great price
behold the lamb
the lamb of god
who takes away
the sin of the world
behold
cry for more
trade you for him
decrease
that he might increase
run after
pursue
capture
him
the lamb of god
who takes away
the sin of the world