How was the early church run?

In Acts 6 we are told how it was to be run:

“Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word,” Acts 6:4-6.

Note that the spiritual and the administrative were kept separate.

Both types of tasks were to be filled with people led by The Holy Spirit.

So every important role in the Church has to be filled by people led by The Holy Spirit, not just people who have studied how to do the roles they have, and have the appropriate denomination or church qualifications.

You can see that the spiritual side which the ministers carry out, is separate from the administrative side, which deacons (or their equivalent) carry out.

Too many ministers do both jobs. They Minister spiritually to the Church and run it, when the Bible clearly shows these roles are to be separate.

By the Minister doing the administrative work, or controlling it, he stops people in the Church ministering in the areas he should not be controlling.

But then, given the fact that ministers and other people are paid to the work the congregation should do, this is not surprising.

Unfortunately, it is a pattern the LORD Jesus hates, which is that of the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:6).

The Name ‘Nicolaitan’ basically means “one who rules or conquer the people.” In other words, one who controls the people, or in this case the congregation.

This occurs in churches where the minister’s word is law and what he says goes.

There may be a Church Board, but it answers to him and does what he says.

In its most excessive case, is becomes a cult where the leader controls everything and rules everything and what he says must be done.

Unfortunately, many churches have a Nicolaitan tendency and the congregation really have little say in what happens and the church board defers to the Minister who controls everything.

In the early church, there was a moderator who kept the peace, ensured there was order, the meeting being led by The Holy Spirit.

Unfortunately, many Western churches do not bother to ask The Holy Spirit what to do, so in a sense, cannot really follow the News Testament pattern, because they have to use man’s organisation, in which there is a leader who controls everyone with the help of assistants.

Because they do not listen to The Holy Spirit, even though they say they do, the Church is not led by The Spirit, but by man’s methods and so does not usually do the work of The Kingdom, but does the planning of the Church Board and Minister.

The greatest need of the Church is to hear The Holy Spirit and be guided by Him and not be guided by man’s methods.

Then it will do the work of The Kingdom and the world will see the Church is different to what normally passes as religion.

Jesus says, “I ask myself “What will I have to do to remove from the Church that which I have not put in it, so it will be as I desire it to be.

And how violently will I need to do this? I do not like the answer I get.””

Jesus.

 

~ Through Neville Salvetti

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Neville Salvetti is a deliverance minister and can be contacted via The Web Pages of Neville Salvetti and at: salvettina@bigpond.com if you desire deliverance or to know how to do it.
Neville have been told to preach three things:
♥ Deliverance ♥ How to Hear The Holy Spirit ♥ How to fight Satan
This is the need of the hour as it demonstrates The Kingdom of God, which is what attracts people to Jesus.

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