The Well–Functioning Church

The church that trains her people is an equipping church. She lives in expectation that God is going to do greater things through her because of her trained people.

All of God's people, not just the ones we pay, are to be equipped to serve!

The Well–Functioning Church

The Reformation succeeded in furthering God's truth by declaring that all of God's people are priests of the Lord. The Reformers failed when they narrowly defined this function to mean how Christians should live out their Christian lives in the world. A man was not only a banker but a Christian banker. This of course was good and needed, but they didn't see how these same Christians were to be equipped to serve in the church itself!

The idea of the clergy as a special class of Christians who alone were fit to teach persists down to today. The Reformation leaders did not fully understand God's greater plan in incorporating all of His people in the building program of the church. This askewed thinking has carried on for hundreds of years and still infects most of our churches today. Seminaries perpetuate this error and the pastors and congregations support it.

We are not recommending that the standards for our teachers be lowered. This would be wrong. Instead we desire to lift up our standards to the scriptures. As we do this, all of God's people will be lifted up. We desire for all to live godly lives and to spiritually minister to one another. Only some of these are called to be teachers or pastors, but more of His people should be part of the training process and all should be engaged in serving others.

A greater number of God's people can share in God's blessing when they actively focus on serving one another.