In my last post I put forth the idea that voting in church is not necessarily the best way to settle all issues. In one the comments on facebook, a friend reminded that the act of voting is not what is wrong; rather the potential for problem lies with the motive of the voters. This is a topic that is far too large for one blog post. If I were to unpack it completely, it would be too long and no one would read it. So I just hit and ran with the goal of beginning a conversation.
In this post I wish to clarify what I did not mean in the previous post. I do not hold the position that church governance means that the leadership tells the membership what to do and what to support. The church which is victimized by this misuse of spiritual authority will have as much trouble as the overly democratic church; albeit in different forms.
What I do support is a healthy respect of the congregation by the leaders and a healthy respect of the leaders by the congregation. In this, the leaders know what God is calling them to do, and they lead the flock, as opposed to driving the herd. The congregation, based on their relationship of love and respect of the leadership willing follow spiritual leadership. The leadership, out of love and repect of those in the congregation, reach out in tender loving care even when leading their flock into unknown situations.
This type of relationship results in shared vision. The result is real unity which can withstand misunderstandings. A phrase I love is in Acts 15 when the council of Jerusalem decided some tough issues concerning the treatment of new believers who were different from the old believers. In their decision, they said, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us...". When issues are settled this way, there are no wrong decisions.
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