In our congregations around the world, we are at the crossroads of Jeremiah (6:16): This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
Much has happened of the past few years, including a radical change in the way we are organized. In the coming days and months ahead, disciples from around the world will be contemplating “how we should be organized” in this new era. My hunch is that many are as confused as I am when it comes to church organization.
I know what we had, although good in intention, did not work well in the long run, but I don’t know what alternatives are available or appropriate for the future. And, I certainly don’t want to “best guess” something that will affect our congregations around the world for the foreseeable future. So, we stand at the crossroads and must look—look for the ancient paths, the good way. Will we choose the path hewn by man’s reason and desire, or will we choose God’s way, as best we can determine, and walk in it?” We must give our greatest efforts to sound biblical study to determine our form (the ancient path) and not base our decisions on emotional reactions to the events of the past couple of years. Also, we must not automatically choose some default position of churches we may have been apart of in our past. My greatest fear is not in “being organized” but that the form we choose will not be based on sound biblical study.
We cannot start this process with the end in mind and then find “proof texts” which support our position. We must start with open minds and open Bibles, and allow God to determine our form. To read the entire document, click on Article (.doc - 69k).
