"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

The following information is certainly not popular, nor are most pastors and churchgoers willing to listen when it concerns their man-made religious traditions, but I will demonstrate that, despite popular opinion, there is no place in Scripture that teaches us that a single head pastor is supposed to be in sole leadership over the church. For those of you with a humble heart, being given a love of the truth by the Lord Jesus Christ (2Th 2:10), I simply request that you be willing to hear me out before answering the matter:

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
-Proverbs 18:13

In the past, I have had pastors shun me because I have taught this, but I'm not teaching this to become your enemy. I'm teaching this so the truth would be known by all those who are born again in Christ, and that they would not be spoiled by the wicked doctrines and traditions of men; traditions which are being reinforced by pastors and seminary colleges worldwide.

Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
-Galatians 4:16

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy [a way of thinking] and vain deceit [lies] , after the tradition of men, after the rudiments [first teachings] of the world, and not after Christ.
-Colossians 2:8

Many preachers and churchgoers have fallen into the current state of typical church building traditions, and cling desperately to them, because it was the first thing they learned, or as Paul put it in Colossians, they have been spoiled by the rudiments (i.e. foundational teachings) of the world. These rudiments are handed down from pastor to pastor, and because the churchgoers commit sin by respecting the person of the pastor (i.e. he has the highly esteemed title of pastor in front of his name, therefore, they believe he cannot be wrong), they end up following traditions that were never set forth for us to follow in Scripture.
(Read "Respecting Persons Is Sin" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons... But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
-James 2:1-9

Because they love to have respect of their person, and because so many churchgoers respect their person in sin, many pastors have been lifted up so highly in the pride of their hearts, both pastors and churchgoers have generally been unwilling to hear even begin to talk about this matter. I can't even begin to approach the topic because they immediately want to make an excuse to help themselves justify willful ignorance.

And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
-Luke 16:15

For those few Christians who will listen, I have a question for you: Have you ever heard anyone that attends a typical church building even vaguely begin to question if the traditions of the church building are Biblical? I could guarantee that in most cases, no one has brought up the topic, even private conversation; the traditions are just generally accepted without question or even a hint of curiousity.

There are some pastors out there who would claim the world is coming to an end because I dared to simply pose the question about their traditions, but I assure you, there is no danger is simply questioning the matter, and surprisngly, over the years, I've had a number of Christians write me and thank me for discussing the matter because they've had questions about it, but did not feel as if they could question them, or at least, if they did, they got brushed off by a pastor. It is a shame that there would be any fear in discovering and learning about doctrine and the church in any capacity.

Typically, if I see a pastor answer questions about their church building traditions, they rapid fire a bunch of chapter/verse references to Scripture (without quoting the verses), and claim that everything they do is Biblical. I've seen this more times than I could count, and what I've noticed in almost every instance is that when I've investigated their Scripture references, I find that they don't actually have much to do with the topic at hand, and so in this teaching, I'm going to do my best to write out the Scripture for you, so we can all clearly see what's being talked about in the Word of God.

It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
-Psalm 118:8

Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
-Jeremiah 17:5

So before we begin to address the concept of the one-pastor church, I need to to make sure it is understood that I am not condemning the concept of a pastor in a church building. Perhaps there are some people who argue such things, but I am not one of them, and I need to preface that because, in my experience, when pastors feel like their authority and paycheck are threatened, they overreact. However, I do believe that the concept of a pastor is VERY misunderstood by most churchgoers, and I even believe that most pastors don't understand it either; I also believe many Christians have made assumptions about what a pastor is, and what the church is supposed to look like, so I hope that, to the glory of Christ, we would all come to a better understanding through this teaching, and correct our errors.

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
-2 Corinthians 13:5

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
-2 Timothy 2:15

To begin, it's important to make sure we have a good definition of a pastor:

pastor (n): [Latin from pasco, pastum, to feed] a shepherd; one that has the care of the flocks and herds
(See 'pastor', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Feb 20, 2019, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
-John 21:15

The general definition of a 'pastor' is a shepherd, one who feeds and watches over the flock, which in the religious context of Christ's church is one who teaches and cares for the people in the church. God told Isreal He would send them pastors after His own heart:

And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
-Jeremiah 3:15

Though this is not said in the New Testament, it is not unreasonable to believe that God would send us pastors in the New Testament church that would teach and care for the flock in the spiritual sense, which is what a pastor is intended to do. However, there is a problem because just as there are pastors out there who do what is good according to the grace of God, there are also pastors out there who do what is evil, become complacent (meaning that they are prideful of themselves and their achievements, title, and rank), and care not for the sheep in their hearts because they are hirelings who take on the position to earn a paycheck.
(Read "Is Tithe a Christian Requirement?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
-John 10:11-13

For the pastors are become brutish [foolish, savage, carnal, ignorant], and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
-Jeremiah 10:21

I have found that many people have read this teaching because they went online to a search engine and started looking up this subject about how the church is supposed to be structured according to Christ's doctrine. They were asking very similar questions about the church and pastors that I also asked early on when I began working in ministry:

Where in the Bible is a single pastor given authority and station over the church? Where in Scripture is a one man given sole representation of the church? Where in Scripture is a pastor supposed to be paid a contractual salary? Why do churchgoers and elders seek pastoral applications from far away places, instead of looking to the Holy Spirit to provide what is needed within the congregation?

When we hear answers to these questions, we ought to search the Scriptures and find out if these things are true, just as those Christians in Berea had done:

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
-Acts 17:11

These were just some of the questions I had when I first began to investigate the matter, and it took me a while to realize that none of the answers I could come up with were from the Bible. If they didn't come from the Bible, then where did they come from? I find it fascinating that when I was growing up, I commonly heard the phrase, "The Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice," but when I started asking questions about pastors and traditions of the church building, suddenly the Bible wasn't the final authority anymore.

Just to give a commonly known example, take the "altars" or "altar calls" you see in church buildings; many of you know that a pastor will give a call to the altar for anyone who wants to come up and kneel at a bench up at the front. I've participated in that before, although it was decades ago, but where is an altar call found to be established in the New Testament? There is no such thing. It turns out that was a tradition started by a cultist named Charles Finney, who was not of Christ in the first place, and that tradition gained a lot of traction for its dramatic appearance, so it stuck as a tradition in church buildings, even though it was never given to us to do such things in the New Testament.
(Read "Revivalism: The Devil's Design" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Let's take a look at the structure of a typical church building. I am not saying this is how every church is run and operated (certainly our own church does not operate in this way), but this is how most church buildings function, and it is quite similar to a corporate business: Any of us that have worked for a corporate business is familiar with this structure, but we'll see that the church buildings operate in almost exactly the same way:
This is interesting to me because the general concept of a shepherd is that there is one, and so what pastors and churchgoers typically do is look to the single pastor as the head authority, but what they missed is that Christ is that shepherd; He is our pastor. There are pastors who care for the flock, but Christ never commanded for pastors to be the all-powerful leader, lifted up on a pedestal, reigning in authority over all:

But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
-Matthew 20:25-28

It is the tradition of the Gentiles to have a president or king or CEO (Chief Executive Officer) setup over everyone else, and that everyone should look to that president or king or CEO for permission and guidance in all things. This is exactly what the pastor has become in modern-day church buildings, but Christ's church was never supposed to be that way.
(This especially happens in 501c3 businesses because when a church building gets incorporated, the pastor becomes the CEO over that 501c3 contract; read "501c3: The Devil's Church" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Yet, this is how many false preachers have setup their church buildings and organizations to function. Every heretic, from Billy Graham to Steven Anderson to Rick Warren, all the way down to the average pastor down the block; all of them have setup the exact same structure for their church buildings, despite the fact that Jesus taught the opposite.
(Read "Wolves in Costume: Billy Graham," "Wolves in Costume: Steven Anderson," and Wolves in Costume: Rick Warren" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

What Christians need to understand is that the reason this system is so heavily protected, and questions about it are quickly snuffed out, is because it is a system that is designed to create unity among those who do not have their faith placed in Jesus Christ; not that unity is desired for the sake of the Holy Spirit, but that with unity comes money and respect. I know that may sound strange to those who do not fully understand this matter, but the fact is that, in the typical American church building, faith is placed far more in the pastor than in Christ.

When I was growing up, I experienced church buildings of a variety of sizes, some with 20 members, some 200, some over a 1000. Because of that, I received a good understanding for the sizes of a church building and the differences that could be found between them. However, the effects of the structure were always the same, no matter the size. In this image, I've made a diagram showing how a typical church building looks when it comes to the pastor in comparison to the church members. You'll notice a turtle-like formation, which reflects the top of the pyramid in the prestigious, hard-to-reach center, and the bottom end of the pyramid represented on the outside.

For those of you who have gone through a church process of "losing your pastor," either through a move or death, you'll understand the mild depression that comes over the church building, and also the lack of direction. It's as if everyone gets this feeling of dread, like everything they know is coming to an end. Why is there so little faith, and so much worry? Many churchgoers split when a pastor leaves because they're under this unbiblical structure. Often, members will leave, and this is why elders are so quick to respond in getting a "new pastor," so they won't lose membership.

If any of you can relate to this example (i.e. you've seen it and experienced it), and you want to know why this is happening, then you need to study why God has said things like this:

Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
-Jeremiah 12:10

Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
-Jeremiah 23:1

When everyone starts experiencing depression and lack of direction at the vacancy of a pastor, it's not because the Holy Spirit of God decided to take a vacation; rather, the problem is that the Holy Spirit isn't involved in many such cases. The churchgoers are worshiping the pastor; THAT is the problem. So when the pastor leaves, everything that the church worshiped and followed left with him because if they were really worshiping God, there wouldn't be a problem in the first place.
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Idolatry" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Of course, you will almost never meet someone who claims they worship a pastor instead of God. I doubt you will ever in your lifetime meet a churchgoer who says, "Oh yes, the pastor is my god." However, it's amazing how often you see people doing those things which they will not confess.

For example, I hear about bad drivers all the time, but I've never met a bad driver in my life, meaning that I've never met someone who will openly say, "Oh yes, I'm a bad driver." Should I then conclude that bad drivers don't exist? Or, should I conclude that they do exist, but no one is willing to confess to their errors? Likewise, just because confesses their error of worshiping a pastor instead of God, doesn't mean it's not happening.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
-1 John 1:8-9

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.
-Proverbs 21:2

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
-Jeremiah 17:9

We ought to be judging ourselves first and foremost; we should look into our own lives and make sure that we're doing what's right in the sight of God:

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
-2 Corinthians 13:5

But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
-1 Corinthians 2:15

For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
-1 Corinthians 11:31
(Read "Unbiblical Cop-Outs: 'Don't Judge Me!'" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

In a religious context, a scribe is one who is a writer and doctor on the law, or in other words, he was a teacher, being a man that was to have knowledge of the Word of God, just like those who are called pastors today. Jesus warned:

And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.
-Mark 12:38-40

The pastors love to have long robes and fancy apparel:
They love to be greeted; to be well known, being called "Pastor! Pastor!" Just as the scribes and Pharisees loved to be called "Rabbi! Rabbi!"

And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
-Matthew 23:6-8
(Read "Titles Are Unbiblical in the Church" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

The pastors love to have the chief seats in the synagogues:
The pastors love to have places of honor during feasts:
The pastors love to make long prayers for pretense, meaning that they put on an outward show, to appear good and holy on the outside, but inwardly, they are wicked: (Female pastors are shown in this video, but they are not even eligable to be leaders and teachers over the flock; read "Can Women Be Pastors?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

In the video, there are pastors from various church buildings shown to be given long, drawn-out prayers for show. These prayers sometimes go on for 10, 20, 30 minutes or more, speaking in sanctimonious tones, which is a tone of voice that gives people the impression that they are morally supierior to others.

All of these people are considered by the world to be "holy men of God," but they are wolves. On the outside, they appear to be sheep and shepherds, but inwardly, they are corrupt and vicious:

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
-Matthew 7:15

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
-John 7:24

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion [conning people out of their money] and excess. [not modest or moderate in their consumption of food, drink, or material things]
-Matthew 23:25

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
-2 Peter 2:1

It's interesting that, in modern-day church buildings and organizations, people are generally required to be "ordained" as a pastor by some official organization. I would challenge anyone to find a Biblical example of pastors being ordained because the only people that were appointed and ordained to a particular position were the the elders:

And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
-Acts 14:23

And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
-Acts 15:6

ordain (v): [Latin ordino, from ordo, order] to set; to establish in a particular office or order
(See 'ordain', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Feb 20, 2019, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

In the New Testament Scriptures, elders did not operate by themselves in a one-man show, nor was there a "head elder" or "senior elder". (i.e. Many church buildings today have a "senior pastor," or a "youth pastor" or a "music pastor," even though there is no such thing in the New Testament.) Before we get into defining the role of an elder, it's important to consider a few things about the typical modern-day "pastoral" positions:

Even if a church building has elders, the pastor is still viewed as the representative and authoritative leader of the church. As a single leader, he influences the rest of the congregation, and often, the elders themselves. This leaves the pastor with little or no rebuke if he goes astray. Many chuch members are put in a "laity position, separated from the inner circles of the church leadership. The term 'laity' generally means those who are not ordained as elders, but the problem is that it is the pastor that is lifted up, separating himself from the rest, and most often, others end up serving him. Most church buildings keep their elder meetings private, where the rest of the church body cannot hear what is being said, and generally, a pastor gets up behind the pulpit and delivers decisions to the congregation, to which, all decisions are accepted without question because the pastor tells everyone that they "felt the Spirit tell them" those things. (i.e. Your feelings are not the Holy Spirit.) The unspoken separation between the high-counsel of elders and the low-ranking "laity" of the church body alienates members and discourages them from their God-given responsibility for witnessing to the lost, edification of the church body, and all other personal involvement in the body of Christ. When was the last time you heard of your Christian leadership fasting in prayer for the selecting and ordaining of new leaders as described in Acts 14:23? (i.e. Considering the number of overweight preachers I've seen; not that many.) (Read "The Biblical Understanding of Fasting" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

It should also be noted that elders were not just a bunch of people who were older of age in the church, which is typically how things are done in most church buildings today. I've often seen the elders consist of people who have just been attending the church building for a long time, but they are completely inactive in ministry, which was never how elders were supposed to be selected.

In fact, I find that many Christians do not understand that 'elder' and 'bishop' mean the same thing, and they are used interchangeably in Scrpiture. For example, in the first chapter of Titus, Paul talks about how he had left Titus to ordain elders in various cities in Crete, and then goes on to explain what type of men he should look for when selecting elders, and as you can see, he uses the word 'bishop' in the description of who should be chosen as a elder:

For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
-Titus 1:5-7

There are many people who believe that pastors and elders are the same thing, but they not. A pastor can be an elder, but is not automatically an elder. They are two seperate roles, but a man can have both roles; however, that's not typically the way it's treated in church buildings today, meaning that most pastors are automatically considered elders from the start because they consider him a ruler over everyone.

I want to emphasize that nowhere are elders supposed to be one-man show either, and that all of them were supposed to be active in their role; meaning that elders are not just a bunch of old people that sit around making decisions and doing nothing else, rather, each and every elder is supposed to be active in ministry, or they are not qualified to be elders.

Let's take a closer look at the qualifications in 1st Timothy:

This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
-1 Timothy 3:1-7

So the following are qualifications for an elder:

He must be blameless, meaning that he has not been found guilty of actively committing any crime, or showing evidence that he would be participating in unlawful or dispicable activity in the community. If he is married, he must be married to only one woman, and thus, an elder must be a man, because a woman cannot have a wife. He must be sober, meaning that he is regularly calm, temperate, and reasonable; not easily influenced by passions. He must be of good behavior, meaning that the way he conducts himself in his mannerism on a daily basis is good and acceptable in the sight of God. He must be hospitable, meaning that he must be kind and generous in the practice of receiving and entertaining strangers or guests without reward. He must be apt to teach, meaning that he is fit and suitable as a teacher, and has a tendency or desire for teaching. He must not be given to wine, meaning that he abstains from alcohol. He must not be a striker, meaning that he is not someone who gets in fights and quarrels with people constantly; a man who has patience. He must not be greedy of lucre, meaning that, though he provides for his family, he does not seek to be rich (Pro 23:4); a man who is not covetous. He must rule his own house well, making sure that, if he has children, that they are in submission to their father's will, as likewise, he will make sure that the children of God (including himself) are in submission to God's will. He must not be a novice, meaning that he should not be a young man because the position may lift him up in pride, and then destruction will follow. (Pro 16:18) He must be of good report to those outside the church as well, meaning that although he has sins of his past following him, his manner towards the community is such that, although they will hate him because of his doctrine, they will be given no opportunity speak ill of him unless they lie.

Granted, I still have a lot of work I need to do in my own life in order to make sure I am up to the standards of a bishop, as the Bible teaches us that it is good to desire to live in such a way, but these are standards that all elders must maintain. And again, there is no "chief elder;" if any Chief Elder exists, He is the Lord Jesus Christ, and none other.

For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
-1 Peter 2:25

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
-1 Corinthians 12:4-5

For the body is not one member, but many.
-1 Corinthians 12:14

There are differences of administrations, meaning that there are different things that have to be done at different times, and a variety of people in the church are set to order those things. There is no one-pastor church system where one man is in charge of everything, but as brothers and sisters in a family, with God as our ruling father, we are supposed to work together to get things done, with some serving as administrators so we are more organized, yet sadly, the "ignorant laity" is generally viewed as being only useful for giving cash offerings, setting up chairs, and providing extra hands at a bake sale.

I believe one of the reasons for the departure from the Biblical system to the mainstream "church-ianity" traditions we see today have come from a lot of influence of the Catholic Church, which is one of the world's largest cults. In the Catholic Church, we find a one-man show, in which the priest is the head over all, instead of Christ being the head over all, and many of the traditions we see in church buildings today were taken from the Catholic Church and her wicked popes, who sit in the seat of antichrist.
(Read "Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

I've heard many churchgoers make excuses to defend their pastor, who they typically hold more sacred than Scripture, but when it concerns the church, we need to take this matter more seriously and keep the Bible as our foundation for practices by obeying God rather than men.

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
-Acts 5:29

I have, many times, seen Christians who have had to depart from the modern-day church buildings because they have seen so much leaven (i.e. false doctrine), but then they don't know where to turn, as if they are brainwashed into thinking that attending a church building is a Christian requirement. I pray that this teaching may help my Christian siblings understand that the Spirit of God is not housed in a building; that if you are born again through repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing) and faith in the blood of Christ, then the Spirit of God resides in you.
(Read "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
-1 Corinthians 6:19

Though church buildings are commonly called the "house of God," that is not true; the "house of God," meaning, the house of His Holy Spirit is in you, not in a physical building made with hands.

But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
-Hebrews 9:11

The only thing that has ever been required to start a church in a location is to have a minimum of two disciples of Christ. No special building required; most people have homes they can meet in, and that's exactly what the early church did. Some people get nervous about this, thinking they first must have a pastor, but where did Jesus command that we have a pastor to rule over the church? There is no such commandment. If you study to show yourself approved unto God, rightly dividing the truth of His Word, you ought not to be ashamed because you have no need for any man to teach you; teachers like me are useful tools for you to use, and we teach one another to edify (i.e. build up) the church, but I am not a requirement for your education in God's Word because it is the Holy Spirit that teaches all things.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
-2 Timothy 2:25

But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
-1 John 2:27

When two or more Christians come together for study in the Word of God, that is the church. It's not complicated, and it's blessed by Jesus Christ.

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
-Matthew 18:20

There is no need to have fancy buildings, collections, music sessions, or any other such thing, as the definition of worship is that which pays divine honor unto God; meaning that even the very act of coming together to read and study the Word of God is itself worship of God.

worship (n): the act of paying divine honors to the Supreme Being; reverence and homage paied to him in religious exercises, adoration, confession, prayer, thankgiving, etc.
(See 'worship', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Feb 2, 2019, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

However, the desire of a church building congregation to have a single leader, demanding a pastor come to be a priest to rule over them, is extremely similar to the lust of the Isrealites when they demanded that God give them a king. The Lord God never issued a decree for the Jews to have a king, but they demanded to have one just like the Gentiles had kings:

But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
-1 Samuel 8:6-7

And likewise, today, we have churchgoers demanding to have a head pastor, just like the Catholics have a priest to rule over them. They would rather a man be their chief shepherd, instead of Christ being their Chief Shepherd:

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
-John 10:14-16

And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
-1 Peter 5:4

We can even see this in our own country, here in America, that whereas the President of the United States was never intended to be a ruler over the country, rather, he was simply a decision-maker in times of emergency, and that the country was supposed to be run by the people through their representatives in Congress and the Senate, the people have now turned their attention to the President for all decision-making, looking for a king to rule over them. Though God wants us to live in liberty, under the commandments of His Son's doctrine, the people generally reject true liberty because of their wickedness, and the leaders, whether presidents or pastors, will take advantage of the people.

And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
-Galatians 2:4
(Read "False Converts vs Eternal Security" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
-Galatians 5:1

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
-Galatians 5:13

In our nation, we have a bunch of lazy people who don't want to be involved in their governing duties, but would rather just pay taxes and demand that the government do everything for them. Likewise, we have a nation of lazy churchgoers, who don't want to be involved in ministry duties to the Lord Jesus Christ, but would rather just pay tithe money every week and demand that the pastor do everything for them.
(Read "Is Tithe a Christian Requirement?" & "The Christian Work Ethic" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
-James 1:22-25

Those of us born again in Christ should be of like mind together, believing and speaking the same things (Rom 15:6, 2Co 13:11) under the same philosophy (i.e. way of thinking) in Christ (Col 2:8), but so often, worldly philosophies enter the church and people become apathetic to the works we ought to be doing. Furthermore, they also become ignorant to the worldly traditions that are brought into the church, which they should immediately be rejecting if they are of Christ, but are often deceived by the single pastoral leader into following those traditions, and eventually become dull in their understanding, being unable to love, trust, and edify one another in the Spirit of God because they are natural instead of spiritual, and didn't have the Spirit of God in the first place.
(Read "False Converts vs Eternal Security" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
-1 Corinthians 2:14

It has been my personal experience with pastors that nearly all of them I have met since I became a Christian when I was 20 years old have spent more time justifying themselves, justifying their lofty positions and paychecks, and receiving grand honors among men, than teaching the truth, humbling themselves, and serving others. This is not to say that God has not made some men pastors, but I firmly believe we have far fewer pastors in this world who are ordained by God than what church buildings would like us to believe.

Again, the elders are supposed to be overseeing the operations of the church, but not in the heavy-handed manner I have often experienced (and as many others who have written me have experienced). Just as an example, I had a young man once who had asked if I would come out and give a presentation to a group of his high school friends on dinosaurs and the Bible, and I told him I was very much willing to do so if he could reserve a spot at the local library, and he was very excited, but then he expressed to me some fear that he wasn't sure if he was allowed to do it, and that he would have to ask his pastor, to which I responded by asking him why he needed his pastor's permission, but sadly, I never heard from him again.

In such a situation, it should have been the elders getting involved to help this young man in the desire God gave him to bring the Gospel of Christ to others, and if they still wanted my help, I would have been glad to help them, but none of them were involved. I can tell you why they were not involved, and that's because typically, the elders of most church buildings do nothing but attend meetings (i.e. they are not working in ministry as they are supposed to), and furthermore, a ruling king (i.e. the pastor) is exercising authority over all the people therein, to overrule any good works being done around him if they do not serve him any personal benefit, and based on the experiences of many Christians I've talked with over the years, such an example is FAR too common.

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
-Romans 16:17-18

Whatever works are done in the church should be to the edifying of (i.e. the building up of) the church, so that the church would grow, be strengthed, be educated, and all members would help one another as needed. The pride in the hearts of those in high-ranking positions often gets in the way of accomplishing that goal, and is usually done under a pretense (i.e. a fake outward covering) of so-called "love."
(Read "Respecting Persons Is Sin" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
-Proverbs 8:13

The church is not a one-man band:

How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
-1 Corinthians 14:26

The elders are supposed to be working together with the church as a whole, where everyone humbles themselves before one another, considering one another to be better than himself (Phl 2:3), considering the needs of others before themselves (Phl 2:4), and that the elders are in submission to the church as the church is to the elders in the same way.

The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre [i.e. not for a paycheck], but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
-1 Peter 5:1-7

I have often seen pastors quote the part that says "ye younger, submit yourself unto the elder" because that benefits them and brings people under their authority, but they often leave out the part that says "all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility" because that would mean they need to judge and correct themselves; something that is not common in prideful men. The pastor, of all people, should be the most humble, and should serve the most, which is also not common.

The Bible mentions the word 'pastor' in one place in the New Testament, and that is where Paul is listing off certain roles in the church:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
-Ephesians 4:11-12

This is not to say that all the roles in the church are listed here, because deacons, elders and bishops are not mentioned, but these are distinguished roles because Paul is saying that God gives different roles to different people for different purposes, and that one man (like in the one-pastor church system) is not supposed to take everything on his shoulders alone. These are generalized definitions I'm providing in order to give Christians a better understanding what each role does.

• Pastor: This role is taken after its name, meaning a shepherd, one that cares for and watches over the flock, visiting them and helping them for their good health and prosperity, while feeding them, which is meant in the spiritual sense, that they would be fed the Word of God. Ultimately, the pastor is there for the growth of the church within, focusing on caring for one assembly.
• Evangelist: This role focuses more on preaching to a wide range of people, meaning that, instead of shepherding one specific congregation, they move around outside the congregation, and focus on church growth. An evangelist is not set to teach in one particular church, but in writing or speaking, preaches outwardly to all who will hear, whether they be Christians or not. Evangelists can still operate within their local church, teaching as a pastor does, but whereas the pastor solely focuses on the lambs that are found in one particular location, the evangelist focuses more on finding the lost who would become lambs, and strengthening the church as a whole.
• Prophet: This role focuses on delivering the Word of God to the people, which is the general definition of the word 'prophesy' (1Co 14:1), whether they are believers, unbelievers, or false converts; rebuke, reproof, and instruction in righteousness is the main goal, to keep people on the path of righteousness in Christ. Prophets can also foretell future events, but that was before the entire Word of God had been completed, in which God would give His Word to specific individuals to deliver to the people. Although I believe the foretelling of future events is much less common today (if at all) since we have the book of Revelation to show us what will happen to the end of the world; prophets today are mostly those who take the Word of God as it is written, rebuke sin, and warn the people of coming judgment.
• Apostle: This role is more commonly known today as a "missionary," but the term 'missionary' is a Catholic-created term; before the corruption of the Catholic Church, missionaries were called "apostles." The general definition of an apostle is someone who is commissioned to an important duty or business, and apostleship was also used in Jewish society to send officers into distant provinces for various purposes. Today, an apostle, typically working in a group of at least two, will travel to a foreign land to start up a church in an area where the church does not exist, or will help existing churches to get organized and/or help them in times of trouble.

If you think about it for a moment, you can see that each role overlaps, meaning that each role will end up performing other roles to some extent. A pastor sometimes preaches to those outside the church, an evangelist sometimes rebukes and warns of judgment in the church, a prophet sometimes cares for the flock within, and apostles end up doing a little of everything as needed.

The reason I did not mention teachers is because, essentially, all the roles are responsible to teach, and though I am called by Christ to teach, everyone in the church was given the great commission by Christ:

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
-Matthew 28:18-20
(This is while keeping in mind precept upon precept in Isa 28:10, in that women will teach, but are not to be in teaching authority over men in the church; read "Can Women Be Pastors?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

We need to remember that the church is one whole unit, meaning that all those born again in Christ around the world are a part of the church, and we work towards the same goal. However, there are specific churches mentioned in various locations, and the original churches in Scripture, those described in the book of Acts, which was started out of Antich, looked much different than the modern-day church buildings we see today.

This diagram is an example to show how a Biblical church should look; remember that this is just an example, meaning that not every church will have only one of each role. There could be more evangelists, elders, prophets, or pastors, or, there could be less, depending on the size, location, and how God blesses each church in their individual growth. However, the point is you can see that, rather than the pastor being a ruling king over everyone else, there are elders who raise up others within the church to take their place, and then those new Christians are put in the middle, being protected and involved, rather than being left on the outside, which also means that if one of the elders leaves or dies, it does not break up the foundation of the church.

This allows the church to operate as a family, brothers and sisters working together for a common cause under their Heavenly Father's commandments, rather than seeking out an individual pastor to serve and worship at his feet. You can see that new Christians will grow into roles that will help to lead the church, and those who do not take on leadership roles are still protected, are helped, and assist the church from within a safe environment.

It is important to note that this system requires that elders be bound to each other in love, humility, and meekness of heart. If they are not submitted to one another, considering the other better than themselves, then it would be very dangerous to have any disciples submitting to them. The elders are to be the model of how we ought to treat one another, even in disagreement, and if they are not meek and humble to one another, they have no business being an elder in the first place, just as we read the requirements of an elder earlier from 1st Timothy 3.

For those of you who may be starting a new church that is forming from a Bible study you're holding in your home, don't worry too much about this structure at first. When you're small, and there are only a few of you, then there is no need for a complex structure; this is only for when there is a growing number of Christians, and a growing number of evangelistic projects that need to be organized, that you will need elders in place to help oversee because elders are not there to hand out spankings when someone gets out of line (although they do have a responsibility to protect the church), but rather, elders are there to help get the good works of God done efficiently and in order.

To get a modern-day church building to abandon the new-age structure and go to a Biblical structure is almost impossible because there will be so much contention. The contention will typically arise from those who are lifted up in the pride of their hearts because this system would require the high and lofty people to be brought low, and the lowly and humble to be given leadership, which is rejected not only because there are certain people who lose their title and their paycheck, but also because the congregation in general has been taught to respect persons in sin, so when someone like me comes in and suggests we return to the Bible for the structure of the church, the pastor's word will be taken as law instead of the Bible, and I will not be heard because I don't have a seminary college degree.
(Read "Respecting Persons Is Sin" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

I've had some pastors and churchgoers write me in the past and argue that the Biblical church structure I have proposed here would only invite in false doctrines and incompetent church leadership, but I started to wonder what planet they were living on because we already have false doctrines and incompetent church leadership in many church buildings all over the world. The sad thing about this is when they're writing me these things, they're really putting faith into the traditions of men they were taught by their seminary (i.e. cemetery) college (a.k.a. Pharisee factory), and they have no faith in the Holy Spirit of God to guide and instruct the church in the way they should go because these wicked men quickly forget that James, John, Andrew, and Peter were simple fishermen, Matthew was a publican (i.e. tax accountant), and Paul was a murderer, and as we can see, they needed no qualifications other than repentance and faith in the Living God for His Spirit to guide them and give them understanding.

And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?
-Matthew 8:26

Thus, the church is not edified (i.e. built up) by pastors with seminary college degrees. The church is built upon a foundation of the fear of God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who promised to send His Holy Spirit to us to give us understanding:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
-Psalm 111:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
-Proverbs 1:7

There are many pastors who hate correction because they never cared for the ways of God.

Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.
-Proverbs 15:10

With their mouths, the pastors put on a show of honor to God, but in their hearts, they have nothing to do with Him:

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
-Matthew 15:8

The reason so many pastors reject this is because they reject the God they claim to serve; hypocritically speaking of having guidance from the "Holy Ghost," but having no faith in the competency of the Holy Ghost to know what is best for the church.

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.
-1 Corinthians 1:26-29

It is very rare for God to call those who are wise, mighty, and noble to guide His church, but rather, it is the foolish, weak, and base (i.e. despised), those the world least expects, that are chosen by God, so that way greedy dogs (i.e. pastors), swimming in filthy lucre, making merchandise of the people, will not glory of themselves in His presence.

His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
-Isaiah 56:10-11

And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
-2 Peter 2:3

Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
-Philippians 3:17-19

Even in the time Paul was writing this, there were many who claimed to be of Christ, but were not of Christ. Their god is in their belly, meaning that they follow the money that will feed their grumbling stomachs, rather than coming to the grief and godly sorrow of repentance for their many evil deeds.

Jesus also taught that many would come under false pretenses and claim to be His sheep. Notice that He did not say few would come to Him, but rather, MANY would come to Him and call Him "Lord," claiming that they did great works in His name:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
-Matthew 7:21-23

I want to take some time to demonstrate how much this is really happening, and how many churchgoers are being deceived in their willful blindness, but before I do that, I want to quickly mention that I believe there is a primary reason there are so many false preachers/pastors in the church buildings today. If you want to learn more about that, I would highly recommend you take the time to study my teaching called "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" and that will give you many more details on why so many claim to "believe on Jesus," but most of them are not saved, and how many preachers are deceiving people on the definition of 'repentance', leading them away from the truth, namely, that 'repent' means to have grief and sorrow, and that it is a gift from God.

In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
-2 Timothy 2:25

The following statistics I have covered in more detail with direct quotations in our article "False Converts vs Eternal Security," but to summarize, these were polls taken by four different organizations that were surveying between 1000 to 1500 pastors each. Keep in mind that these are pastors of "reformed and evangelical" church buildings; these numbers were not taken from televangelists and pastors in giant stadiums, rather, the numbers were taken from your everyday church building around the corner.
(See Richard J. Krejcir, "Statistics on Pastors," Schaeffer Institute, 2007, retrieved Feb 22, 2019, [intothyword.org/apps/articles/?articleid=36562])

81% of pastors said there was no regular discipleship or mentoring of the congregation. 72% of pastors said they didn't study the Bible on a regular basis. 30% of pastors had been involved in a sexual affair with members of their congregation. 75% of pastors said they did not feel they were qualified to lead a church. 50% of pastors said they would leave their church, but they have no other way of earning a living.

I want to make sure readers understand that the average would show that half of all church buildings you see have a pastor that doesn't want to be a pastor, but only sticks around because he gets paid to do it. (It should be noted that, according to the study, that number increased for those who had pastored a church for more than five years.) That means, what churchgoers are doing is paying a man a salary to get up in front of them once a week for 30-40 minutes, so he can tell them some funny anecdotes as if they're in a comedy club, and make them feel better about their sins; in other words, it would save them a lot of time and hassle just to go find a street entertainer and drop money in his overturned hat on the ground. (The only difference is that the street entertainer is actually working for a living.)

Those wicked men ought to go get an honest job working at a factory, instead of taking advantage of the poor and needy, but because they're so lazy, they'll use their silver tongues to manipulate church buildings so they can keep their easy, comfortable jobs.

Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
-Psalm 12:1-2

And I'll quote again from Romans 16:

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.
-Romans 16:17-19

Though many churchgoers think these are isolated incidents, that's not what the Bible teaches. Jesus told us that the way to the truth and life of Christ is narrow, meaning that not many people are going to be on it, and that many would go the way of destruction, following after false teachers who will make them twofold the child of hell than themselves.

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
-Matthew 7:13-15

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass [travel] sea and land to make one proselyte [a convert to their church], and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
-Matthew 23:15

Let's suppose tomorrow, our government made it illegal for any pastor to receive a salary or paycheck for his services: How many pastors do you think there would be in existence next year? Pastors would be much more rare, and of the few, the majority would not be trained in seminary colleges because most of them would be shut down due to lack of enrollment, and frankly, I think that would be a wonderful blessing to the good education of born again Christians into the Word of God, that they would learn to rely on the Holy Spirit instead of trusting in a man's college degree. If God said in His Word that pastors had to follow the same rules that the original apostles had to follow, then we would see almost no pastors in this world:

Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.
-Luke 10:3-4

Don't misunderstand, it's not wrong to make a living from laboring in the Word of God, as the Bible tells us:

If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?... Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.
-1 Corinthians 9:11-14

But the problem is there are a whole lot more pastors out there that are in it for the paycheck and respect to their person (i.e. sin) than there are those who are meek and moderate. There are many claiming they are called by God to be a pastor when they were never called by God, and furthermore, God never setup a one-pastor church system for us to follow.


The "pastor" depicted in the above image is John Gray, and I'll use him as an example because I was very angry when I saw the reports on what he was doing and saying. One day during his weekly service, he told everyone in his mega-stadium that when they passed the collection basket (because a plate is too small to hold all the money he rakes in), that the church would not take in the money, but rather, widows, single moms, and the poor should take from the basket whatever they needed, while he called out "pulpit pimps" (i.e. greedy pastors) who fleece the flock.
(See Leonardo Blair, "Pastor John Gray draws praise, caution after allowing congregants to take cash from offering, Christian Post, retrieved Feb 22, 2019, [https://bit.ly/2VgXuXk])

Some of you may think, "Chris, why would that make you angry? Isn't that a good thing?" No, it is not a good thing because John Gray is a hypocrite and deceiver, and the only thing he really did there was make everyone else give to the poor, and it gave him free media attention, which he loves because he's a media whore, that is, one who feeds off of the attention he gets anywhere or anyhow he can get it.

John Gray's church got together money and purchased for him a $1.8 million home (7,247 square feet; do you think that perhaps instead of buying a huge mansion, he could live meekly with his family and give that money to help all those poor widows? John Gray is the very pulpit pimp he's rebuking. In December of 2018, he attempted to justify himself to critics who reported on him buying his wife a $200,000 Lamborghini (i.e. luxury vehicle), while he has been trying to raise $54 million dollars from his church since May of 2018 so he can buy a new jet.
(See Tom Porter, "South Carolina Pastor John Gray Defends Buying Wife $200,000 Lamborghini For Anniversary," Newsweek, Dec 16, 2018, retrieved Feb 22, 2019, [https://bit.ly/2GIVTpU])

Birds of a Feather As a side note, for those of you who foolishly believe Donald Trump is a "Chrisitian," here are both Trump and John Gray praying together on national TV; all I can say is that birds of a feather flock together. In our article called "Why Trump's Elimination of 501c3 Is Bad News For Born-Again Christians," I quote interviews with Donald Trump in which he clearly states that he's never asked God for forgiveness, but still called himself a "Christian."

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
-Proverbs 14:12

But I want readers to understand that John Gray, and countless others like him, are not the most deceptive. John Gray is simple discernment; it's easy to see he's false. The problem is that churchgoers are generally blind that there are a lot of pastors just like him out there in every church building around the corner, but they simply do these things on a much smaller scale. Just because they do the same greedy things on a smaller scale, that doesn't make their heart any better.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
-Jeremiah 17:9

The Lord Jesus Christ is our Shepherd, but He left us stewardship and responsibilities; not that we would just throw money in an offering plate and hand that responsibility over to a man, to trust in a pastor instead of God. In my experience, I've seen a lot of people claiming to be of Christ that have just become apathetic and lazy, having little care for the flock of God, and treat the church like it's nothing more than a country club where people go to eat snacks, sing songs, and socialize.
(Read "The Christian Work Ethic" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

To end, let's look once again at Ephesians 4, where pastors are mentioned the one time, and read carefully the verses following:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
-Ephesians 4:11-12

That's what these positions of administration are for; specifically to build up the church for the work of ministry, but I've seen church building after church building after church building doing nothing but strengthening their bank accounts and respecting persons in sin. In every one, I've seen no grief and godly sorrow of repentance for it, but rather, then corrected and rebuked, I see a lot of scoffing and scorning; we who are of Christ ought not to be carred around by the deception of men, into their lofty, self-serving traditions.

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
-Ephesians 4:14-16

The whole body, that is, those of use born again in Christ, should be fitly joined together, not separated by station and title. We ought to serve one another for the glory of Christ, not for the glory of someone's pocketbook.

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. -Ephesians 4:17-24

As Paul points out, because we have these roles in order that we would all work well together, doing the good works of God according to the Gospel of Christ, we ought NOT to walk as the Gentiles do. Whereas the Gentiles walk after the lusts of flesh, and pride of life (1Jo 2:16), as their father the Devil has taught them (John 8:44), and as they walk after the traditions of men (Col 2:8), and follow them blindly (Mat 15:14), exercising authority over one another in respect to title and rank (Mat 20:25-26, Jms 2:9), we ought not to do as they do, but follow Christ in all matters of faith and practice, not seeking the pleasures of this world, or to fit in (John 15:19), but to please God in all things.

Choosing rather to suffer affliction [grief, hurt, pain] with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
-Hebrews 11:25

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