subject: Early Church - How the Bride of Christ is Being Hindered in It's Struggle to Fully Mature [print this page] Early Church - How the Bride of Christ is Being Hindered in It's Struggle to Fully Mature
Which bit of a serious athlete's body, one that is competing at a rather advanced level, is the least signifigant? If they are engaged as a professional sportsperson, then then there could never be a "least important" area of the body. This is indeed the very same situation the bride of Christ finds itself inno portion is insignificant, lacking tremendous value. Unfortunately, the institutional Christian church configuration doesn't let the lion's share of the body of Christ to be in action and gain the necessary strength. The late Edwards Deming, the architect of Japan's post second world war industrial force, indicated that 93% of all organizational difficulties are the result of systems, not people related. This means that...the features of the system symbolize the biggest defining feature shaping the progress of any organized group. As a result, any assembly of people hoping to cooperate effectively together, in this situation, a collection of Christians, is required to create strong systems of functioning in order to be effective. If there is no minor segment of the body of Christ, then why aren't every one of the segments granted the same dynamic workout that a high achieving athlete would need? The answer to this question is found in the commonplace church operating systems that regard highly a selection of God given gifts more than other ones, all the while asserting this to not be the case.The typical western church group is managed by the ordained clergy, a tiny company of chosen folks. Conversely, in the quickest expanding churches in the world, each and everyone has a place, an important role to live out. The arrangements that they are operated under are quite unalike, even if the ones in westernized countries declare loyalty to the "priesthood of all believers," they hardly ever advance systems that allow this to take place. The systems of organization we employ in each and every aspect of our lives are the result of the tenets held by the designers of the organizing systems. The church operating systems we discover in the book of acts, are not the same as the ones which most Christian believers in the industrialized world are accustomed to and are encouraged to operate within. The industrialized world is directed by a demand and control operational constitution, which is super for productivity but not for constructing community. New Testament community is constructed when we learn to look one another in the eye and be grateful for the distinctive value God has built into each person. God Almighty has bestowed the church of Christ with many more talents than the existing systems have the capacity to hold and honour. We were designed for robust action in the service of God Almighty, and it is far better to give than just receive. It's up to us to step forward and come to be the Christian that God has intended and not only go to a church meeting and watch other people perform and get paid as a result.
