Sadly, people sometimes do not learn everything they believe about religion from God’s word. They sometimes learn more from what they see around them than they do from anything in the Bible, because they do not study God’s word as they should. As a result, there are errors that are introduced, and things that God never taught us may become equally or more observed and obeyed in contrast to what God did say.
We want to consider one of these errors now. Sometimes people say of a preacher that he is in charge of the work. Where does this idea come from? The Bible does not teach it. When a congregation does not have someone paid to stand up in front of the congregation every Sunday and preach, there are some that get nervous and worried about about what will happen to the congregation. This happens even though there are various brothers in the congregation that are able to teach well. The idea of having someone “in charge” comes from what we see in religion in general. Some have a “priest” and others their “pastor,” and such people are considered the ones that should guide others in the faith. But, this contradicts what the Bible teaches.
First, it contradicts the fact that Christ is the only head of the church in heaven AND on earth. There is not someone who is “in charge” of the church in heaven and then another one on earth.
Christ, after his resurrection, said in Matthew 28:18: “… All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” This does not leave any place for anyone else to be in charge of a congregation. The word of God teaches us, and every member obeys Christ by obeying the word, in this way Christ guides us.
Also, the concept of one having someone “in charge” contradicts the Scriptures because it does not take into consideration the nature of the church as a body. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 teaches us that the church is composed of many members and that all members are important and that the functioning of each of the members is necessary. Dependence upon one or a few, while the others function only as spectators, contradicts God’s word.
In addition, this concept of one being “in charge” promotes a false dependence upon a few. The work of the church is not just what we do in the meetings of the church. It is the combination of what each one of us does as a member of the spiritual body of Christ twenty-four hours a day, every day of the week. So, no one person could do that for us.
The concept of someone in charge promotes the centralization of power in the hands of a human being. That type of power in the hands of a human being is a diabolical influence, as we see in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4:
3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
Human power and influence in the things of God is dangerous, and even though it may appear to be benign, it is not, and cannot be. In 3 John 1:9-10 we find:
I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.
Now that we have understood that the concept of someone “in charge” is not approved by God, what should change? First, it is necessary to change how we think about those who preach and teach the word. 1 Corinthians 3:1-7 and 4:6-7 say:
1 Corinthians 3:1-7
1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
1 Corinthians 4:6-7
6 I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. 7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
Therefore, regard those who teach and preach the word publicly only as brothers that are performing their function in the body. He is not more important than another, nor is he less. Our eyes should be on Christ, not on men. Christ is the only head of the church, in heaven and on earth.
We should not think that the growth of the church depends on one member or on a certain few. As we have seen in 1 Corinthians 3:7, God gives the growth through the functioning of all the members of the body. We should not depend upon one person to do the work of the church, because that is something that all of us must do together. It may seem convenient to put the work in the hands of someone and not be bothered about it, but to do so contradicts the way that God designed the body of Christ, the church. It is not God’s plan, and IT DOES NOT WORK!
So we must not think this way about a preacher. We must all feel responsible for the work, each one doing his/her part. It is only in this way that we will know the joy of serving Christ, for it is He who said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”