Clergy/ Laity Unscriptural

Certain accepted prejudices have made a comfortable presence in modern life. Our enlightened culture has come a long way thanks to the dirt pioneers have had to swallow. Our country prides itself in electing a man of African lineage, with a Muslim-sounding name, no less. Yet, in our so-called evolution, distinctions exist both in the culture at large, and among microcosms of society. One in particular sticks in my generously proportioned craw, and that is the distinction between clergy and so-called laity.

These terms are religious in nature. They have their roots in the Christian tradition. The origin has nothing to do with the standard by which Christians judge truth--nowhere in the Bible do these terms appear. Not in Greek, Hebrew, Modern English, or any subsequent translation, even among the click languages of the sub-Sahara. Clergy is a man-made title for the elite, plain and simple. The Cleric evolved from clerk, or one who had the advantage over the commoner with the ability to read. The term Laity is likewise a dismissive gesture at those assigned a following or supportive role for the clergy, very much like serfs and peasants supported fiefdoms for lords, earls and kings.

Biblical power structure looks more like the knights of the round table, where five offices are mutually respected and all contribute. The book of Romans and the two books of Corinthians spell out these as Pastors, Teachers, Prophets, Evangelists and Apostles. Modern interpretation of the office of Pastor has exaggerated its power and role to usurp the other four into relative nonexistence, or else annexed them into one goggle-eyed monster of all-consuming church authority. Literally, pastor means 'to lead to pasture', or to where the food is. The modern church chief executive officer not only leads to the buffet, but provides all five courses single-handedly.

Often, the common believer's contribution is given no more importance in the body than manning the nursery, or wearing a red jacket and greeting new people as they come through the door, or sticking one's arm up a puppet's backside for the entertainment of children. None of these assignments have changed the world, but they have changed the average believer into a hamster-like being, spinning his wheel with feverish devotion and getting nowhere. This systematic neutering of God's people has led to disenfranchisement, irrelevance and the death of vitality in many churches which once thrived with the power of God. No wonder the modern church sees fewer miracles than in the book of Acts. The masses have been reduced to spectatorship for the central dictator.

Jesus may have predicted his own displacement as the central authority of his church when he said, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." (Luke 9:58) How can Jesus squeeze a word in edgewise while the talking heads hold the microphone? In Revelation 3:20, we see Jesus locked outside his own church in Laodicea, saying, ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.' Have we locked Jesus outside His church by role distinctions that He never intended? His word expresses a desire to see 'every joint supply,' not just the select few who hold the right degree.

Did Jesus hand out his business card to the Pharisees and boast of his SOG degree? Did he earn his title of Son Of God by a man-made accolade? Obviously not. And neither should his children. Romans 8 speaks of adoption by the Spirit for believers in verses 15-17: ". . . you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father! The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." When the church puts away class distinctions like the clergy/laity abomination, then God's power will once again return to his people, and the world will see a different image of our great God.

400 students defy ACLU and pray at graduation

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060510.html

Go, young people! Way to stand up for what's important.

Mother's Day

My mother is my hero. She raised me and my two brothers and two sisters after my father left her in a strange town ( after a five state move pursuing his dream job) to fend for herself. She never received a penny in child support, but went to work in a maximum-security prison to put a roof over our heads and feed us.
She never missed a concert, a play, a recital, an art exhibit, or an open house. She never left us to go out partying or drinking, but stayed home to make sure we were safe in bed at a decent hour. She never brought men home, because she felt it was our safe haven, not a hotel for clandestine thrills. In short, she is the most selfless, altruistic, self-sacrificing person I have ever met.
She brought us to church every Sunday, even sent us to private school a few years. She took us to the public library every Saturday in preschool and elementary school, and cultivated our love for reading and the arts every opportunity she could. She modeled patience, integrity, and ingenuity. She managed to give us piano lessons, singing lessons, bought my art supplies, took me to living history events, and supported every interest and talent I fancied.
She gave me the best Christmas present have ever received. During our worst financial struggles, we lived in government housing, which discouraged dog ownership, and charged extra security for pets. Knowing my gnawing desire for a dog, she risked the trouble and paid the extra to give me my German Shepherd/Pembroke Welsh Corgi mix, Lady. That was 26 years ago, but it still stands out in my memory as one of the happiest times of my life. If we were poor, we never knew it, because she made us feel rich in the important things.
She showed me that good parenting has nothing to do with money, or compromise, or even personal success. She laid her life down to see her children succeed. She gave me the best example of a life well-lived. and still does. I am blessed to have a mother as wealthy in love and true goodness as I have been given.
Happy Mother's Day, Mom. Thank you for giving me life, even though I was your fifth child, conceived to a marriage that was falling apart. You could have chosen to terminate my pregnancy, but you chose to hope for a purpose and a plan for my life. You had faith.
And to all of you moms out there, keep giving. A proverb says men will praise you when you do well for yourself. But Proverbs 31 says the children of a woman of noble character will rise up and call her blessed. Whose praise do you prefer?

The Rich and Needy

My very dear friend, Payton Belknap wrote a poem I'd like to share with you.

Lettter To The Rich and Needy ( alias, unsolicited food stamp police)

To all the interested people,

who peek in my cart,

to check out my meat,

and stab at my heart.

You may never have been poor,

but you're certainly needy.

If greed were nutritious,

I'd beg you to feed me!

Your pockets are full,

cupboards overflowing,

and if the market keeps crashing,

you'll soon be knowing,

just how we feel,

let's keep this real....

Your babies will cry,

their tummies will ache,

you'll search your accounts,

and pray for mistakes,

but it will all be gone....

and you'll need the help.

And someone like you once were, will police your cart,

and break your heart.

You'll hang your head and silently cry,

and wish that you never had pride in your eyes,

but it will be too late,

for you the rich and needy!!

History repeats itself--tea parties, a new face

Tea Parties have come a long way from my little girl's nursery with stuffed animals gathered around a low table to sip kool aid from my plastic Barbie tea set. The most recent tea party I attended on Tax Day in Corning, New York traded simple childhood socializing for old republicans decrying socialism while the odor of cigars and pipes wafted over the Chemung River. Thirty years has changed my taste in more ways than trading kool-aid for real tea. Social gatherings have leaned to the disgrutled, and the downright angry. The little girl in me still wishes for the grace and civility of old customs, but the adult concedes that passive agreement won't win the debate. Any more than appeasing Hitler preserved Europe from a second world war.

My young son asked me the other day what made Hitler such a bad person. (He has had a keen grasp of current events since he spoke his first word, "Afghanistan.") I explained that Hitler took power in a destabilized Germany in the wake of military and economic defeats which demoralized its people and made them ripe for any notion of hope, whether sincere or manipulated. In the words of a great singer and lyricist Matthew Ward, "be careful when they say to you, it's all right, its all right. The economic system's coming through, it's all right, its all right." Hitler conviced an entire generation that Germany could recover her great place in history by eliminating the weak, and favoring the strong in a Machiavellian plot of the ends justifiying the means and the epic and catastrophic Darwinian experiment of survival of the fittest, called the Holocaust. He targeted the feeble minded, the physically handicapped, the Jews, the Gypsies, the Catholics, and ultimately anyone who opposed him. My son asked why people did not stop him, and I told him at first, they wanted to beleive in him, because he made them feel good about themselves after a decade of humiliation and poverty. By the time they caught on to his evil tactics, Hitler had large armies and a police state to crush any dissention.

Tea parties certainly have come a long way in my thirty-eight years. The new ones are certainly controversial, and they've gotten more than a few folks mad. But I thank God I still live in a country where political expression, even dissension, is permissible.