Jesus Follower, Husband, Father of Five, Brit in the US. Full Bio - https://teapawt.org/t.co/SZEq9cYEgg
Colorado Springs, CO
Joined August 2010
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I wrote a fairly lengthy article over the past few months reflecting on church structure and how some good desires related to the Gospel can get muddled in our minds, which ultimately conflicts with the way of Jesus. These are some fairly existential ponderings, but I would appreciate any feedback:
drive.google.com/file/d/1F8K…
A video I made for an event recently
Why the Jew Hatred We are Seeing Today is Not New youtu.be/rdfmg8PBHfQ?si=BJFU…
One thing that has been new for me ove the past few weeks is a bunch of Siberian kittens running around my house - if you know anyone who wants the most hypoallergenic type cat you can get these guys are pretty cute shiningstarsiberians.com
Women should remain silent in the churches...
That's what Paul wrote to the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 14:34-35). He further told Timothy the same thing: "I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet" (1 Timothy 2:11-12).
So that's settled it - at least it seems to be for the SBC
People quote these verses constantly to argue that women can't be senior pastors or preach with a microphone from a stage. But this whole debate is outside of the context of the NT and is really a power argument.
And power arguments are completely antithetical to everything the New Testament actually teaches.
So if we set aside titles for a moment and ask a simpler question:
Should women tell people (preach, or teach) about and represent Jesus to men and women?
The New Testament answers that clearly. Look at who's actually in the text:
1. Anna the Prophetess: She spoke of the Messiah to everyone waiting for Jerusalem's redemption (Luke 2:36-38).
2. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and the other women at the tomb: The first witnesses to the resurrection. Angels and Jesus himself sent them to tell the male disciples (Matthew 28:1-10; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18).
3. Priscilla: With her husband Aquila, she taught and corrected the prominent preacher Apollos in her home church setting, explaining the way of God more accurately (Acts 18:24-26). Paul called her a co-worker who risked her life for him.
4. Junia: "Outstanding among the apostles" and imprisoned with Paul for the gospel (Romans 16:7).
5. Phoebe: Deacon of the church at Cenchreae and a patron of many, including Paul himself (Romans 16:1-2).
6. Euodia and Syntyche: Paul's co-workers who "contended at my side in the cause of the gospel" (Philippians 4:2-3).
7. Lydia: Successful businesswoman, first European convert, host of the church in Philippi (Acts 16:13-15, 40).
Plus Philip's four prophesying daughters (Acts 21:8-9) and many others.
These women were not silent.
And they weren't disobeying Paul or Scripture.
When you read those two passages in their actual context, addressing disruption in Corinth, false teaching in Ephesus, and orderly worship, everything fits together without contradiction.
In one of the most patriarchal societies in history, the gospel elevated women as sisters. Paul partnered with them as teachers, evangelists, prophets, apostles, and deacons. The most important leadership word in the early church wasn't "Senior Pastor," a term that appears nowhere in the New Testament, but servant (diakonos). Many women lived that calling while preaching and ministering to mixed groups.
The gospel lifts women as full image-bearers and full partners in the mission.
For a deeper look, read Tell Her Story by Nijay K. Gupta and Man and Woman, One in Christ by Philip Barton Payne.
Does the “Thank you - My Pleasure” Call and Response dance at @ChickfilA encourage you to be grateful?
I THINK I would be saying thank you anyway - but it kind of has me mesmerized.
I taught a Church History college class for many years. In the introductory class, I talked about both the inspirational and instructive nature of church history, with a hopeful final outcome in learning from it being "faithfulness".
However, I recall a student approaching me halfway through one course. He was dejected. He said he had thought the class would be more inspirational, but instead, he was learning the real stories of failure of all those he had thought were his heroes.
I did not personally know A W Tozer. He was a great writer for sure and has positively impacted many, probably millions of believers. He also seems to have acted out of the models that were given to him related to what true ministry to Jesus looked like within the context of his age.
I think, as we look back at those who have come before, it is our responsibility to assess how those models stack up against the New Testament witness. I do think there is often a conflation of loving God = doing ministry activity and "building a ministry," and that is probably one of the fundamental lessons to learn here.
Loving our brother (and our wife and kids) has often been sacrificed on the altar of ministry building. Rather than criticize the widow and children or even AW himself, I would prefer to look inward and see where my own priorities lie.
“I have never been happier in my life. Aiden loved Jesus Christ, but Leonard Odam loves me.”
— Ada Tozer after remarrying about her first and second husband.
Their son Lowell said his mother was essentially “a single parent” while raising all 7 kids alone. A W Tozer poured himself into ministry and prayer but left his wife and children largely on their own.
Sobering
“I have never been happier in my life. Aiden loved Jesus Christ, but Leonard Odam loves me.”
— Ada Tozer after remarrying about her first and second husband.
Their son Lowell said his mother was essentially “a single parent” while raising all 7 kids alone. A W Tozer poured himself into ministry and prayer but left his wife and children largely on their own.
Sobering
Very interesting video sociologically.
I think the point that was so powerfully made in Robert Putnam’s book Bowling Alone about the breakdown of social capital in the US culture is in many ways answered by religious communities (almost regardless of the truth claims that underly that community).
Now I do find the truth claims of Mormonism severely lacking and ultimately false and I’m also sure (without knowing any details) that there are human abuses in the system. But the human organization is actually fascinating and instructive (we actually live in a neighborhood that has a lot of Mormons). We get into trouble when we become utilitarian and simply look at outcomes - but this is an interesting discussion.
I’ve been thinking about this subject for a while both in light of the recent scandals and in light of the devastation that this type of thinking has inflicted on close family and friends. I got a book off my bookshelf that I have put off reading since I was given it - “How you can be led by the Spirit of God” by Kenneth Hagin. It is really a starting point to a kind of Gnosticism that has crept into not only Word of Faith streams but more widely in the Charismatic and Pentecostal church.
I have been using Claude as a thought partner - so while all these points are mine - please forgive me for AI type writing - I really should go back and write it properly - but this is certainly a topic that I think should be discussed more in these circles.
Before I got to IHOP I used to write about one worship song a week. Now by the craziness of AI I got my guitar out and strummed and sang a few of these songs that are about 25 years old into Suno - for sure it has some AI slop about it - but the melody and words are there with at least some arrangement. suno.com/s/zYkHOQlCwZT1ocKx
I just got back from an AWS conference and surprise surprise AI is central to nearly all conversations. As a parent one of the big worries/challenges of our age is to know how to launch our kids correctly in an age when AI is eating white collar jobs for lunch. I feel this article goes someway to answering some of the issues we face.
I’m thankful that Jesus is the one responsible for building his church. This man’s statement epitomizes a prevalent philosophy of leadership that is rarely vocalized but is almost entirely antithetical to the spirit of Jesus.
SA megachurch pastor At Boshoff, who oversees 90 multisites and 120,000 members, demonstrates monstrously paranoid, narcissistic and controlling behavior, including firing a man who opened a meeting by saying "we are here for Jesus, we are not here to serve a man" because Boshoff believes he is to be served.
Notably, despite Boshoff saying he'd get rid of anyone who speaks negatively against his wife, he actually divorced her a few years later, in secret, and never told the church about it until it was exposed more than a year later.
For many years I taught at IHOPU - not only media, but I taught a Church History Survey course for about 12 years as well as other subjects. In addition for many years I taught a survey entitled "Basic Christian Beliefs" - I include here two lecture notes from 2013 about the Church
drive.google.com/file/d/1vXQ…
drive.google.com/file/d/1b9A…
As with anything you wrote thirteen years ago as I peruse them now I see areas of changed thinking and some things I would add in today - I do include the requirements for being an overseer and a section on church discipline - I do not include bringing allegations against an elder.
For many churches today regardless of denominational affiliation I would ask how in the ordination/hiring process or even ongoing leadership review they seek to be faithful to Paul's requirements for leadership (I did this once for a more well known leader at IHOP who was moving to Kansas City and I know I felt that it was NOT appreciated).
I would also ask how you seek to be faithful to both the church discipline passages and also those related to bringing an allegation against an elder. I brought this up to the chairman of the board at IHOP in the past season - he said "bringing it before the church" did not mean bringing it before the whole world - he never said what "bringing it before the church" actually meant in his understanding - Mike Bickle had a theory of "keeping the circle small" - in retrospect I think that meant as small as possible so that no one knows about the sin and no one learns.
If the processes of church discipline or entertaining an allegation against an elder have never happened in your church, I would now conclude there is actually (intentionally or not) a culture of cover up and I would ask questions of how you can be more faithful to the teaching of the New Testament on Church Governance.
For years I held the conviction that individual responsibility was the key to healthy teams and organizations. Get good people, and structure becomes secondary.
Then I became a student of organizational health. I observed how different structures actually shape behavior - and while I still believe bad actors and leaders can have an outsized negative impact, I've come to see something more sobering: humans work within the confines given them. People learn to "work the system" the way everyone else does. Systems disciple and form people - or malform them - in ways that run contrary to organizational health.
In ecclesial contexts, this becomes even more consequential. Structures can shape people into something opposite the image of Christ while claiming to do the very work of discipleship.
This is why honest conversations about leadership and accountability structures matter so much - and why we have to keep asking: what is our telos? What kind of disciples are we actually creating?
I’m getting lots of genuine questions about what constitutes correct ecclesial structure in light of my critique of the entrepreneurial senior pastor model so prevalent in the US.
For those suggesting Presbyterianism - the 16th century Reformers certainly focused extensively on ecclesial structure, and there is much to commend the “plurality of eldership” found in Presbyterian, Congregationalist, and Anabaptist models. But there’s also a reason Pentecostalism and Charismaticism emerged, and it wasn’t merely bad theology and unstable people. And despite those speaking smack about Tim Keller these days he remains my favourite Presbyterian in recent times.
A few thoughts however:
1) Every model faces challenges due to humanity’s fallen nature.
2) Local churches should think deeply about their telos - I’ve written a fairly lengthy essay on this, pinned to the top of my account.
3) Scripture provides guardrails regarding who we set in place as overseers and how accusations against them should be handled (in modern parlance - hiring and firing practices).
Probably the biggest challenge in modern Western churches is implementing genuine plurality of eldership while avoiding founder syndrome or “senior pastor syndrome.”
I need to write more on this - once I have spoken to @lanceford - ha
I was messaging with @lanceford about this yesterday today - this was one of his texts which I heartily approve - “The only way forward to a true reformation IMO is for us to take seriously Jesus’ emphatic demands that “it will not be so among you” (Matt. 20:25-28) re exercising authority upon one another. The entire leadership system of the status quo today is built on this very thing Jesus commanded not to do. And his command against using rank-based titles (Matthew 23) because “you are all brothers” underscores it all. We ignore and disobey Jesus on these fronts and then wonder why we continually have these leadership crisis’ with our solo-heroic leaders. All the while, we call for better accountability. Yet, we just double down on a faulty system. We think if we practice our error in a better way we will get better results. It’s insane-the very definition Einstein gave for insanity. People’s imaginations are locked up into thinking that accountability only works with a vertical command-and-control structure. Yet, if I am convinced that the New Testament teaches accountability via a constellation (vs. Pyramid) of mutual accountability. This is not done in a vacuum. It is designed and supported by a series of mutual agreements and creates stronger and better accountability than a vertical system could ever approach.”
I want to add two clarifying points on this line
"The issue wasn't whether we believed in modern-day apostles. The issue was whether anyone could tell the senior leader no."
1 - Usually leaders in these orgs are highly entrepreneurial. This means that boards and leadership teams are to help them in reaching their vision and therefore “loyalty” is essential. I have spoken about how often this is a wrongly defined loyalty in other places. However the question I have for these orgs is whether a skilled person further down the org can disagree with the leader and not by penalized for such disagreement. Often people are bypassed or moved when they disagree, reinforcing to the rest of the staff what happens when you disagree and building a culture of highly unhelpful yes men.
2 - I also here don’t want to downplay when people do adopt the titles of Apostle and Prophet and overlay it with the authoritarian leader. It is one thing to disagree with a fast moving entrepreneur - it is another thing entirely to be in a discussion with a leader of alternate opinions and suddenly the apostolic leader wheels out “I had an encounter with the Lord” or “The Lord told me” - guess whose winning that argument? I’ve been in this situation not a few times - I’m left with the options that either the Lord makes really bad managerial decisions or the leader was using the Lords name in vain (and for the record Mike Bickle didn’t do this second one in my recollection).
