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Order In The Church?
by Fredrick Nicholson Imagine for a moment what your community would be like without any laws at all. Everyone could do whatever, they wanted, whenever they wanted without consequences. There are no such things as traffic lights , stop signs, or law enforcement. Just do unto others before they do unto you. Get all you can, can all you get, and sit on the can. What you would have is chaos, which can be defined as the absence of order. Order has been around since before time was established. Even the day is set in order by time increments. Order can more easily be defined as the methodical arrangement of things or how things are supposed to operate. I challenge you to think of anything in life that is not affected by order or the absence of it. Since God is the manufacturer of time, would it be safe to say that everything created or made should have operating instructions to avoid a chaotic environment? That being said, People feel that they should be able to do whatever they feel like doing at church because of the freedom they have in God. They buck at any suggestion of order of any kind in the church under the guise that they are "free in Jesus!" But the author of time Himself operates in order. There was an order of creation and instructions were given as to how Adam was to operate in the garden. When Jesus fed the five thousand family units, he organized the people into groups of fifty and had them sit down. What would have happened if someone just yelled out "Free food!" among the multitude? Being out of order even with good intentions can cause destruction. In 1 Chronicles 13:9, Uzzah tried to catch the ark of the covenant to keep it from falling and he fell dead. What was wrong with that? David was confused and afraid at what had happened. What he failed to do was to follow God's original instructions on how the Ark of the Covenant was supposed to be handled. They had no business placing it on a cart anyway, among other details they missed. Those actions cost a man his life. Being out of order in the God's house could drive someone away from the fellowship before they can get saved, or cause someone else to backslide; not to mention the discord and chaos that could be a result. We call that "good intentions, bad judgement." Another factor to consider is that unlike society, the church is a theocracy, not a democracy. God's Word (correctly interpreted and applied) is the final authority. Any and everything does not require a vote. If your pastor is a person of God, hears from God, and has a track record of following God's instructions and producing fruit; then there's no room for mistrust. If you can't trust your leader, then find another fellowship. Copyright 2011 by Fredrick F. Nicholson all rights reserved Fredrick F. Nicholson is a worship leader at New Life Interfaith Ministries which has two campuses, in Bessemer and Birmingham Alabama. You can read his blog @ http://fredrickfnicholson.wordpress.com Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |