Every Member A Minister Now then if

Every Member A Minister

“Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests

and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel. ” Exodus 19: 5 -6

A Kingdom of Priests

Function of Israel To be a showpiece of the superiority of God’s way of life by creating an exemplary community at the crossroads of civilization

Clergy Function in this Community Emphasis of clergy was on performing ministry for the people, nurturing them to create a demonstration of faith

Basic Function of Old Testament Church To nurture a community of faith – few exceptions to this model (Jonah and Ninevah)

It is a missional model

The New Testament church was to create a caring community everywhere.

“And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood, and He has made

us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. ” Revelation. 1: 5 -6

“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue

and people and nation. And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth. ” Revelation 5: 9 -10

“You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. I Peter 2: 5

“I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ” Romans 12: 1

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. ” I Peter 2: 9

Implications of the Doctrine of the Priesthood of All Believers 1. Direct access for all believers. Clergy cannot become mediators for the people. 2. Every believer has a ministry. Clergy cannot become ministers for the people.

Implications of the Doctrine of the Priesthood of All Believers (Con’t) 3. Eliminates the distinction between laity and clergy, for every Christian is a minister. There is no status difference between clergy and laity, only a functional difference.

Implications of the Doctrine of the Priesthood of All Believers (Con’t) 4. All Christians minister in harmony with their spiritual gift, rather than minister through guilt trips.

Luther and Doctrine of Priesthood of All Believers 1. Before God all Christians have the same standing – a priesthood we all enter by baptism and through faith.

Luther and Doctrine of Priesthood of All Believers (Con’t) 2. As a brother in Christ, every Christian is a priest and needs no mediator save Christ. He has access to Christ and the Word.

Luther and Doctrine of Priesthood of All Believers (Con’t) 3. Every Christian is a priest and has an office of sacrifice – not the mass, but the dedication of himself to the praise and obedience of God and to bearing the cross.

Luther and Doctrine of Priesthood of All Believers (Con’t) 4. Each Christian has a duty to hand on to others the gospel that he himself has received.

Laos = People of God

All lay people are ministers and all ministers are lay people.

“Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world

to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ” 2 Corinthians 5: 17 -20

“But the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers indicates that for the Christian the climax is what is done in the world during the week! What happens on Sabbath is to prepare him for this ministry in the world during the week. ” — Every Believer a Minister, p. 114

“The work of God in the earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers. ” — Gospel Workers, p. 351 -352

“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ. ” Ephesians 4: 11 -12

“Let the minister devote more of his time to educating than to preaching. Let him teach the people how to give to others the knowledge they have received. ” — 7 T. p. 20

“It is not the Lord’s purpose that ministers should be left to do the greatest part of the work of sowing the seeds of truth. ” — 7 T. p. 21

“In laboring where there already some in the faith, the minister should at first seek not so much to convert unbelievers, as to train the church members for acceptable co-operation. ” — GW p. 196

“God has not given His ministers the work of setting the churches right. No sooner is this work done, apparently, than it has to be done over again. Church members that are thus looked after and labored for become religious weaklings.

If nine tenths of the effort that has been put forth for those who know the truth had been put forth for those who have never heard the truth, how much greater would have been the advancement made!” — 7 T p. 18

Nurture for the sake of nurture produces religious weaklings.

“In my judgement, nurtureoriented education commits the serious error of making an end out of something that is meant to be a means. By definition it is self -centered and therefore suffers from basic introversion. ” — Pastor’s Church Growth Handbook, Vol. 1, p. 134

“The mission-oriented Christian education program holds that the primary purpose of education is to equip people for the growth and outreach of the church. ” — Pastor’s Church Growth Handbook, Vol. 1, p. 134

“The church is a training center where the people of God are equipped for their respective areas of ministry and mission. Nurture, indeed, comes as a by- product of being equipped and involved in ministry. My experience in Christian education

is that a mission mentality in the church motivates people to training and produces astounding results in personal spiritual growth as well as church growth. ” — Pastor’s Church Growth Handbook, Vol. 1, p. 134

“Sometimes ministers do too much; they seek to embrace the whole work in their arms. It absorbs and dwarfs them; yet they continue to grasp it all.

They seem to think that they alone are to work in the cause of God, while the members of the church stand idle. This is not God’s order at all. ” — Evangelism, p. 113

“The greatest help that can be given our people is to teach them to work for God, and to depend on Him, not on the ministers. ” — T 7 p. 19

“So long as church members make no effort to give others the help given them, great spiritual feebleness must result. ” — 7 T p. 18, 19

“In some respects the pastor occupies a position similar to that of the foreman of a gang of laboring men or the captain of a ship’s crew. They are expected to see that the men, over whom they are set,

do the work assigned to them correctly and promptly, and only in case of emergency are they to execute in detail. The owner of a large mill once found his superintendent in a wheel-pit, making some simple

repairs, while a half-dozen workmen in the line were standing by, idly looking on. The proprietor, after learning the facts, so as to be sure that no injustice was done, called the

foreman to his office and handed him his discharge with full pay. In surprise the foreman asked for an explanation. It was given in these words: ‘I employed you to keep six men at work. I found the six idle, and you doing the work of but one.

Your work could have been done just as well by any one of the six. I cannot afford to pay the wages of seven for you to teach the six how to be idle. ’ — GW p. 197 -198

Questions For Group Discussion 1. What percentage of our current members are engaged in ministry in our church? What steps do we need to take to increase this percentage? Please settle on 2 or 3 specific steps to accomplish this.

Questions For Group Discussion 2. What is hindering our pastor from serving as an equipper in our church? Please list 2 or 3 specific issues that will need to be addressed to free our pastor so equipping can happen.