Bible Discussion Thread

Colossians 2:2 says That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

To see the Body of Christ function balancing the gifts of the Spirit to minister to one another and fruits of the Spirit grown to maturity as mentioned in verses like this is perhaps my ultimate goal; it is a work in progress to find examples such as this.

I will give an example from a friend of mine to give some context to the point I am making. Leaving names and places out of this example I will state that the church he attended a year ago before becoming a lead Pastor himself in another state was basically teaching a correct Gospel (although I couldn't accept their stance on divorce and remarriage). The Pastor initially was without any elders or deacons for accountability and proper scriptural function related to his office. He was also rather caught up in himself; my friend helped for about a year or so as an assistant Pastor (and or youth Pastor). Anyway; to cut to the chase after being gone he recently visited the church and was surprised that they even missed him and was more affectionately received than expected. My point in this is that what makes the value of truth transform a heart is when the messenger himself has lived out what he believes. This brings out an example; much like that which my friend now faces in pastoring a rural church that is rather chaotic. Sometimes we view difficulties in church as a game changer; it is so easy to start to attend elsewhere or just virtually participate online. It helps as in the position of my friend to gain wisdom from being an understudy in submission to leadership so that in his current mode He can shepherd the flock more effectively from lessons learned.

Going back to the initial concept then; it is lack of proper function of elders that can lead to a God complex.