A Little Background on Church Models – How to “Do” Church?
“Church” has been done many ways through the course of history. Let’s have a brief review of how different groups have organized themselves under the umbrella of “church”
Introduction to Leadership in the Church – Gifts, Functions and Titles
The Bible clearly speaks about some a) being gifted, b) some who are leading, and c) a few titles. Since these don’t clearly map to modern church practice, let’s review them again to set a context for this discussion.
Defining Your Terms – The Necessity of Greek Word Studies to Pierce Deceptive Veils
When the Bible is translated to English, interpretation is involved. The concepts of translators influence the English words chosen. It is impossible to move from one language to another without applying some interpretive skills. If all translators are under common deception (no intention is ascribed), then some concepts will be skewed when read in the destination language. Be careful about being shocked about this idea. Satan is a master deceiver and has been at the game of deception for many generations and working across generations. Common, broad, multi-generational deception is entirely possible. Examples will be given to reinforce this very real possibility.
Key Relationships with Authority Defined by the Bible
A more in-depth, visualized view of several relationships (parents and children, masters and slaves, siblings in Christ, etc) to establish some important boundaries and distinctions which will be applied to our study of leadership, authority and submission in the Church. This is a must read to properly understand the subject of leadership, authority and submission.
Defining Power & Authority in the Bible
We need to establish clear definitions of power and authority in biblical terms as a basis for understanding other key concepts like leadership, submission and obedience.
Delegation & Delegated Authority
Several authors who address leadership, authority and submission introduce the idea of “delegated” authority. Let’s establish a valid framework for analyzing delegation and delegated authority so that we can distinguish between full and partial delegation. This is a must read to properly understand the subject of leadership, authority and submission.
2.7 Defining Submission & Obedience – Similarities and Differences
The boundaries between submission and obedience aren’t always clear. This is a more in depth look at the similarities and differences between submission and obedience.