Great word Miss Minter ~

I've wrestled w/ this very thing myself, w/ the numbers game & how to get myself out there, increase followers, comments, etc; everything you touched on... & for me, it always comes back to the simplicity that Paul had:

1) Know Christ & Him crucified (I Cor 2:2)
2) Know Christ & the power of His resurrection (Phil 3:10)

In Phil 2:7 Paul states that Christ Himself made Himself of no reputation, that's a great example for all of us...

My blog stats & Twitter followers will always fluctuate, but it's not about me, it's about Christ; as I know Him, I make Him known in any realm of influence, online or offline.

This is a really great article, but it's sad that it has to be written at all... how did we come to this place? The place where people are scared to talk to other Believers, regardless of their function in the Body?

I'll be honest: we've created a monster, he's running loose & our name is Frankenstein...

Overseeing is not the same as overlording; not every decision regarding the flock has to be run by the pastoral function for their approval. If God places something on someone's heart, the pastoral function (along w/ rest of the functions) should find a place for it. There's no place in the Bible, anywhere, that states that the pastoral function is elevated above all the other functions & has the final say.

Many unbelievers can't tell the difference between the church & corporate America, what does that tell you? It tells me we've done an awesome job of conforming to the world, while thinking we're transforming it, while thinking we're in it & not of it, but we've patterned ourselves after it...

Just like the monster gave Frankenstein a bad name, so this monster is giving the Church a bad name. This article saddens, sickens & angers me; I'm not sure what the answer is other than restructure the structure & level the playing field by not elevating pastors, by making them more approachable, etc...

I was born on a Friday & in a church building that Sunday.

I turn off the lights when I enter a room.

The older I get, the more I like all things retro & vintage.

When I go out to eat, I like to order the least popular item on the menu.

I get excited when I can find new uses for old things.

I like silent movies.

Inspiration usually comes to me at the most odd & inconvenient times.

I take long walks to think & pray things out.

Arrogance in those who call themselves ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ really, really angers me.

I know who I am because I know the great I AM.

Everyone one of these comments has been addressing discipline FROM "leadership" to TO leaders, lay people, congregations, attendees, etc... not one has addressed pastoral abuse/tyranny.

Would child abuse or spousal abuse be tolerated in the world or in the Church? I think not, yet pastoral abuse is & it doesn't help when denominational structures/doctrines are in place to encourage the "We are God in the House & cannot be touched" mentality. Where is Church Discipline then? Regrettably absent. How many times do pastors have to be approached in love & grace extended before they are "removed"?

I know one church body where the pastors are consistently approached because of their dictatorship, yet they are unaccountable to anyone, continue in that behavior & people allow that! Many have left & were called rebellious, many remain & are miserable. Now they've created an atmosphere where they cannot be questioned or approached.

Accountability goes both ways, not just from the "top down". Discipline is for everyone who calls themselves a Believer, regardless of position or function, just as we are all called to submit one to another.

I hate to say it, but Church Discipline has become a myth & if it does exist, it's a joke.