The
kingdom of God should be allowed to develop a more concrete presence
in-the-world through a priesthood of believers church structure. The
present era of commercial Christian ministries preaching to a laity
that supports them should be viewed as a temporal stage on the
evolution of the church to fulfill the post-millennial eschatology of
becoming a majority.
Commercial
Christian ministries are separate professional hierarchies viewed
today with an implicit conflict of interest in so far as they preach
for pay. Ethically speaking business reforms are done to rectify
structure to profit. Christian ministries also are viewed as having
such ethics too much. Instead of making reforms that might impinge
the commercial ministries profit, comfort or power those are set
aside. Catholic church reforms to prevent priest child sex abuse just
didn't happen until billions were paid out in civil legal settlements
and dices closed with churches in hoc. The deeper history of the
church shows a history of resistance to reform.
Protestant
churches have the same commercial Christian recalcitrance to reform
when reform conflicts with priestly power, profit and prestige. While
business should reform to profit and not reform to be more moral or
fair within capitalist practice-theory today, church ministries
should not place profit or morality, ethics or christian concepts.
Many churches admitted homosexual marriage to their doctrine in
contradiction to obvious scriptural references to homosexuality being
sin. Churches losing numbers may have sought to reverse the loss with
appeals to homosexuals.
A
priesthood of believers would help reassert a Christian moral and
ethical presence in society that is in decline as global corporatism
increases its stranglehold on national politics and finance in the
United States Global corporatism supported homosexual marriage before
the corporate proxy Roberts court forced it upon the nation. Pay Pal
is just the latest of innumerable corporations and CEO's that have
expressed support for homosexual marriage. Business and finance is
completely queer-friendly and CEOs that don't support that and say so
publicly are terminated. Ordinary people must do business though the
beastly business finance structure and the commercial Christian
priesthood hasn't done anything to relieve that, nor can they.
Instead they continue to support corporate global policy and their
political proxies that nominally mention popular evangelical
political choices that have little or no chance of reversing the
general corporate trend.
Commercial
Christian ministries reinforce and vaguely model the global corporate
business environment; a priesthood of believers would not..
A
priesthood of believers would have two different forms. One in
performance of worship and the other in performance of Christian
sharing and support networks.
Church
worship roles would be equal among believers with roles rotating
weekly. Small worship groups of ten or twelve would make it a
friendly environment though all could gather for a sing-together.
There would be old and new testament readers. A secretary taking
prayer requests and concerns, and there would be a reader of a sermon
provided by a theological qualified source. Additionally five minutes
would be given for anyone to have a say.
A 'show off' slot for the very gifted sermonizer of ten minutes might be optionally set aside, yet with three functioning ranks of beginner, intermediate and elder with time in rank and tests required for promotion there should be no shortage of qualified people.
A 'show off' slot for the very gifted sermonizer of ten minutes might be optionally set aside, yet with three functioning ranks of beginner, intermediate and elder with time in rank and tests required for promotion there should be no shortage of qualified people.
Because
tithing in the commercial Christian ministry is highly inflated over
that of the Old Testament that was one-tenth of a producer's crops to
be distributed every third year in three parts; to widows, orphans
and non-working priests, that one-percent to priests has risen 900%
to ten-percent. That should be changed back to one-percent in the
priesthood of believers structure.
In
the financial and Christian sharing network support service section
of the priesthood of believers a vast Christian presence would
develop nationally. Attendance would be kept and participation in
worship recorded and available on-line to every priesthood of
believers church location. Attending a worship service in Portland
Maine would be the same as attending a church in Portland Oregon for
the individual Christian. In either case his or her presence would be
necessary since he is a professing Christian participant weekly him
or herself.
Practical
Christian support would entail financial security against emergencies
with each individual building up an emergency account of
five-thousand dollars. Christians could use that as an alternate to
commercial businesses for certain payments and tithing.
The
basic Christian believer's account would be filled over time from
tithing, contributions above tithing, and from payment for working
for Christians. It is not a savings account though. Withdrawals would
meet certain peer-reviewed criteria and accounts could not be allowed
to surpass $5000. Once one's account was full the tithes could fill
the accounts of others if needed for peer-reviewed reasons, go to
church expenses and missions.
The
priesthood of believers sharing networks could comprise job exchanges
with rated values whereby members could receive fair compensation for
their account or trade for needed services such as medical, dental,
roofing or transportation. The priesthood of believers might also
have a member's motel and monastery franchise nationwide growing from
bed and breakfast environments. Members that had a history of
membership solid enough to reinforce the belief that they are actual
members; perhaps a year in attendance and continuing attendance at
least monthly would be eligible to use the service for a nominal
cost. Such Christian networking and priesthood of believers
evangelizing through lifestyle would have a positive ethical presence
amidst society greater than the rather dog-without-teeth biting at
political issues approach through impotent politicians.
