58 to 0: How Christ Leads Through the One Anothers

PART ONE: JON ZENS

YOU ARE ALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS

CHAPTER 1

SETTING THE STAGE

A few years ago I was having coffee with my friend Gordon Gillesby, and he said, You know, Jon, when you boil things down, all of your books are challenging aspects of the problem of control and the misunderstanding of ‘authority.’ I think you need to write a book dealing with these matters. 58 to 0: How Christ Leads Through the One Anothers has emerged as a result of that conversation, and years of observing how churches function.

The truth is, the starting point for the religious paradigm we’ve inherited is leadership. Over the years I’ve seen places where the pastor leaves and the body steps up to the plate in the interim. Often, people will enjoy the body ministry, but usually after about 4-6 months people start clamoring for a pastor. The office of pastor has been created by tradition. There is no New Testament (N.T.) basis for it. Thus for a church to fill the position of pastor is a huge step in the wrong direction in the first place.

I think in Western churches there is a lopsided emphasis on leaders. For example, in a blurb about the Global Leadership Summit hosted at the Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois it was said, Thousands of leaders across North America gather together to hear speakers from all over the world, participate in interactive dialogue, and have practical training—which focuses on helping the church raise up leaders, as well as helping leaders in churches develop their leadership gifts.

Leadership...leadership... leadership. It is interesting to compare the number of books on leadership and conferences for leaders versus books and conferences on cultivating body-life among the priesthood of all believers! The deck is stacked! One would think that leadership must be the largest topic in the NT!

The key point is this: in the NT, the organic way for everything to develop is through the functioning of all the living stones together. The starting point of assembly-life is the priesthood of all believers as a living reality. To focus on, or be concerned about leadership without a lovingly functioning body is just a disaster hiding in the bushes. My counsel to new groups is to function together with leadership as a non-issue for two to five years.

Assembly-life is the context for decision-making. Leaders are never mentioned in what Jesus teaches about problem-resolution in Matthew 18:15-20. The final context is take it to the congregation. The N.T. letters were written to assemblies, not to leaders. The Corinthian church had a lot of issues, but Paul assumed that the body could take care of them—when you come together as a body, (1 Cor. 5:4). Leaders are never chided for failing in their responsibilities.

Traditional church practice puts decision-making, and the nuts-and-bolts of church machinery in the hands of leaders. The N.T. puts the responsibility of carrying out the will of Christ on the shoulders of the entire body. In the lopsidedness of our leader-dependence, we have lost the vision of an assembly listening to the voice of Christ together. To focus on leaders without having first a functioning body is to put the proverbial cart before the horse—with far-reaching dire consequences.

Most groups in America are not ready for leadership. The attention given to leadership is usually very premature. Most agree that specific giftedness is revealed only after the ekklesia takes hold. But at the same time many feel that the reason many groups outside the institutional church fall apart is because they lack good leadership. Why does everything always seem to come back to some aspect of leadership in Western churches—and in groups worldwide where our style has been exported?

The real issue comes down to this—is the life of Christ coming to expression through all the persons in the group? Is that Life sufficient to guide, enrich and grow all the parts as they lift up Christ together? I must put it like this: if a group is filled with Jesus and his guidance, leaders will probably not be on their minds; if a group lacks the fullness of Jesus, they will probably become fixated on the need for leaders.

Interestingly, in my experience, in almost every case where a group outside the institutional church formally recognized elders, the expression of Christ by the whole body went downhill quickly.

I have increasingly come to the conviction that if assemblies had outside help from those who lay the foundation of Christ among God’s people, there would be less concern about leaders, and then proper focus could be given to Jesus’ presence among the brothers and sisters.

The Bride of Christ is a family. Families have moms and dads who help the younger ones. If we end up spending an inordinate amount of time worrying about how the older ones are recognized, function and relate to one another, we will miss the beauty of Jesus in the midst of his flock. Compared to the information on body life in the NT, the space we give to leadership issues is way out of proportion, and is filled with mistaken assumptions.

I’m not interested in throwing out the baby, the bathwater, or the tub—as they are given reality by Christ. Let me give a true illustration. At several conferences I’ve heard speakers go into great detail about how our goal should be a city-church with many house-churches networking together, and with apostles-prophets floating around in ministry. Much they say is commendable, but the problem is that the audience, and the church-at-large, is a zillion miles from any of this ever being a reality. Most people I know are struggling to find a few other people to come along on the journey! And that’s my point about groups being overly concerned about leaders—they are miles and miles from being ready to even give a moment to such issues.

Consider Hebrews 12:15. The verb episcopeo is used there, but is totally lost in most English translations. The author is saying, take the oversight of one another. Here is a leadership verb, used elsewhere of overseers (elders), but is here being applied as a responsibility for the whole body. So, again, if a group of Christians cannot from their inception grow in their functioning as a priesthood of mutual overseers, how can we ever expect some future overseers to arise as servants to the body? Everything must flow and arise out of Life; in the traditional practice of church everything pretty much hinges on leadership—often brought in from the outside. If the life of Christ is throbbing in and coming to expression through each believer in community, leadership will be a non-issue—an it that is usually very distracting.

Some would say, The elders or leaders within that local church gathering must be acknowledged and identified in order to preserve and defend the pure doctrine of our faith. I think this statement shows that we need to see more deeply the Holy Spirit resources in the body. It is true that the mature persons in the ekklesia can be of critical help in the mutual care of each other. But the N.T. first and foremost teaches that the whole body is to be involved, not primarily the elders. For example, the exhortation to test the spirits is given to all the brothers and sisters, not just to leaders. Why? Because they all possess the anointing. Paul’s directive about restorative care in Galatians 6:1-2 is given to all the saints. All of Paul’s corrections to the multiple issues in the Corinthian ekklesia were set in front of the body. Leaders are not mentioned. In Matthew 18, the final context rests in "tell it to the ekklesia." Again, nothing was said about leaders. I do not think we have begun to grasp the significance of the fact that the N.T. letters were written to ekklesias, not leaders. As I pointed out above, the writer of Hebrews told all of the Lord’s people to oversee one another, using a leadership verb from which we get our English word, Episcopal.

We would do well, I think, to focus on knowing Christ and sharing Him with one another. If the rivers of Christ’s living water were flowing from the saints, as they should, is it not possible that leadership would recede into the shadows? I hope that you would agree that if we pursued Christ’s leadership, presence and expression in a Spirit-led way, all this other stuff would be put in its place. If Christ is not the functional Leader of most churches, what right do we have to fill books about the alleged need for church leaders?

CHAPTER 2

LIFE ON THE BOTTOM RUNG: THE KING WHO WASHED FEET

Around 1870, John Christoph Blumhardt observed, In every age, whatever is difficult is understood only by a few. That to which everyone runs; that which everyone, as part of the herd, simply accepts—that is easy. So, not where the many dash and run, but where only a few are to be seen—there lies the deeper truth. And so today Jesus’ ‘little flock’ consists of those who are not content with run-of-the mill Christianity, but who trust in the one who is greater, having hope in a high goal for humankind, (Thy Kingdom Come: A Blumhardt Reader, Vernard Eller, ed., Eerdmans, 1980, p. 81).

History reveals that many rushed after the easy way of fleshly control and power in the post-apostolic church, and only a few have ever pursued the difficult road of servant-hood that Jesus displayed. In this chapter we will look at the clear direction Jesus gave during His earthly life.

Though a King, He lived His life on the bottom rung of the ladder. From this position, He was low to the ground, near the feet that He would wash.

As most of you know, over the past fifty years there have been hundreds of books written for church leaders, and those aspiring to be leaders. One of them is called Jesus, CEO. Such a title epitomizes the attempts to cast Jesus in the world’s business model.

What frustrates me is that such books begin with the status quo, assume it is correct, and then suggest ways to tweak it and make it better. Such books take some of what Jesus said and try to apply it to the way church is usually done. An example of this is Tony Jones’ The Church Is Flat. This book presents a number of superb thoughts about re-thinking church, but it doesn’t cut to the quick regarding the sacred cow of the pastor. The narrative just assumes that clergy will be part of what is necessary.

The problem is that what Jesus taught cannot be made to fit into status quo church. The exact things that Jesus pointedly expressed are squeezed through grids that result in a customized and controlled Christ. These books relate many good things, but when it comes to that critical moment of taking Him seriously, His words cannot have full sway, because if they did, the house of cards would come tumbling down.

It needs to be appreciated, then, that there is a leader-centric paradigm lurking under almost every religious stone. The way of Jesus stands diametrically opposed to this paradigm.

What did Jesus impart to His apostles and disciples concerning how they should function in His kingdom? Whatever it was, it was radical. It went against the leader-dominant ways of both Judaism and paganism. Remember, He is saying these things to those who will be people of great influence in His realm.

LUKE 22:24-27

²⁴ And there was also rivalry among them concerning which of them should be looked upon as the greatest. ²⁵ Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. ²⁶ But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. ²⁷ For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

The Lord gave His answer to this in-house competitive strife about who would be on the top rung of the ladder. In responding, He discards a nearby cultural model, and sets forth His mind-blowing way of life. Jesus flat out rejects the Gentile worldly model in which the subjects are lorded over and put in a dependent status where they must call their leaders Benefactors. This is a typical top-down way of governing, consisting of those in power and those in subjection. All of human history is pretty well summed up by this way of doing things. Jesus categorically tells His people, You are not to be this way.

The road to greatness that Jesus unfolded was a new paradigm, and was certainly shocking to the disciples’ ears. If you want to be great, you will live at the bottom of the ladder, serving those sitting at the table.

The greatest will be like the youngest. The youngest in a group has zero status. They are the new kid on the block. They are at the bottom of the pecking order. They lack experience, and have not earned any clout or say in the group. Jesus turns the tables by suggesting that those who will have the greatest influence will function as those with no authority or status.

To comprehend how off-the-charts Christ’s remarks were, we must be reminded of how status-conscious life was in the 1st Century. From waking in the morning to going to bed at night, people were looking at their daily contacts in terms of where they were at in the social hierarchy of the day. Needless to say, the great bulk of folks were at various notches at the bottom of the social ladder. Simply put, most people in the Greco-Roman world were constantly conscious that their social status was potentially in flux, moving up or down by accumulating honor or shame, respectively (Jeff Miller, What A Shame! CBE Arise, July, 2013). Thus, for Christ to suggest that the place of honor was to be a slave doing the bidding of others was way outside the box in that time, and remains so even today.

But Jesus was no ivory tower philosopher. He pointed to Himself to show His followers how He lived day-by-day: I am among you as one who serves. Christ lived out life not at the top, but at the very bottom. This also helps us understand why He was chastised by the Jewish leaders for befriending the riffraff, lowest-class sinners.

MARK 9:33-37

³³ They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, What were you arguing about on the road? ³⁴ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all. ³⁶ He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷ Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.

Again, their arguing about greatness is the backdrop for Jesus’ teaching. They might have said, "Now just wait a minute, Jesus, are you saying that in order for a person to be first [Greek, protos], they have to be last [Greek, eschatos] and a table-waiter [Greek, diakonos, deacon] to boot? That doesn’t make any sense. How can one be at the top of the ladder by being a slave (about the least esteemed position in our culture) on the bottom rung of the ladder? And Jesus replied, I have brought the heavenly realm of my kingdom to earth. In my realm the bottom is the top. The one who puts himself on the top will ultimately be brought down low. My kingdom is not of this world. Am I being served at a table, or am I bringing food to those sitting at the table? Go figure."

Why did Jesus use a child to make a point? It was because in Christ’s day, children were low on the social ladder. Children, Bruce Malina notes, had little status within the community or family. A minor child was on par with a slave.... The orphan was the stereotype of the weakest and most vulnerable member of society, (Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, Fortress Press, 1992, p. 238). Yet Jesus made it clear that to receive a child was to receive Him. Again, Jesus identified with the lowest persons in His surroundings.

MATTHEW 20:25-28

²⁵ Jesus called them together and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

This Gentile way of rulers exercising authority over their subjects was to have no place in Christ’s kingdom. It was to be cast out like a demon. Not like this among you. Exercising authority over people is simply out of the question in Christ’s kingdom.

Once again, the grand example of bottom-rung living was Christ. He was not sent to the earth to be served, but rather to serve others by laying down His life on their behalf. The person being served at the table had the status. The one serving by bringing out the grub had no status.

MATTHEW 23:8-12

⁸ "But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers/sisters. 9And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called Leaders, for you have one Leader, the Messiah. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Bruce Davidson and Darryl Erkel have articles on religious titles in Part 2, chapters 3 and 4, so my comments here will be brief. Jesus is in the midst of some rather straightforward words to the Pharisees. I would like to note a few central thoughts based on this portion of Matthew.

Language reflects peoples’ practice. Religious titles give indication that people are divided into upper and lower echelons, like clergy and laity. Titles that divide people into classes have no place in the Lord’s vineyard. Granting a few titles is a flat-out denial of the reality of a Body of brothers and sisters. This is a serious problem on the horizontal level.

Religious titles also create issues on the vertical level. To call someone teacher deflects us from following Jesus as our sole Teacher. To call someone father, as the Roman Catholics do, diverts us from our only Father in heaven. But here’s the big one—calling someone a leader turns us aside from looking to our one Leader, the Messiah.

Since 150AD, it became commonplace for a few to be titled leaders — the bishop will take care of that matter or the pastor has been sick the past few days. Given the overwhelming emphasis and dependence on leaders in Christianity, is it any marvel that Jesus is not the functional Teacher and Leader in what calls itself church?

MARK 10:35-40

The disciples on multiple occasions argued over who would be the greatest in His kingdom. Jesus asks, Do you love me? We ask, Can we sit at your right hand and your left hand in your Kingdom? (H. Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus, p. 77). The disciples wanted the glory of positions connected to power, but they did not know yet that the road to greatness is paved with suffering.

In response to the inquiry concerning front row seats in the kingdom, Jesus says, You have no clue what you are asking for. Are you ready for a deep cup of affliction and a baptism of anguish?

The church went through cycles of persecution, some brutal, until the advent of Constantine in 307AD. [Before Constantine, often] simply being a Christian was a crime against the state. In 313AD, as a result of an edict from the Emperor of Rome, the position changed completely.... The Christian Church had now become an accepted institution of the Empire, (O’Grady, pp. 73, 74).

Once the visible church was sanctioned by the State, life on the bottom rung was discarded, and it became entangled in worldly power plays and politics. Further, the way of suffering