Introduction
As
we have seen in the scripture Christ is the head of the Church (Eph. 1:22-23; 4:15-16; Col. 1:18), Church is the family of God
(1Tim.3:15), Church is the body of Christ (Acts 20:26) and Jesus say it was my
Church (Matt: 16:18). So it is clear the Church belongs to Christ He has
brought it so the Church must go and act according to God’s wills. The Church
must not be control by any particular person and also must not have any other
things as it head but only Jesus Christ. To restored the Church in its original
condition the present Paradigms the present structure seems not fit so an
alternative Paradigms is needed in Pastoral administration and Church Polity.
So in this assignment I have mentioned some of the possibilities with my
limited knowledge.
Today’s Church/The
Church in Modern World
The
life work of the church in the modern world is characterized by hierarchy,
episcopacy and patriarchy. This means there is elitism (Superiority) of the few
in the church and consequence submission and subjugation (defeat) of many. The
organized, institutionalized church is preoccupied with bureaucracy and
administration. And it seems that today’s Church administration is busy with
money, property and power struggles and political lobbying. So the Pastor must
not forget that in this existential context focus on the people become
necessary and important.
Today, churches are patterned more after
modern corporations than simple gatherings of the faithful. We have a
professional class of pastors and missionaries. We have a clergy-laity
distinction no matter how much some churches try to deny it. We have church
leaders with authority over others. We have a system of “tithing” to meet its
financial obligations (mostly for salaries and facilities), even though it
wasn’t practiced in the earliest gatherings. We have countless denominations
claiming to have the correct doctrine. Fundamentalists have a gender divide
denying women their right to take leadership roles. “Church planting,” with the
definition of “church” being a modern, professionals-driven, tithing-dependent,
hierarchical institution has become the method for extending the kingdom of
God. The trouble is, as much as people are free to establish modern churches
(but not free to impose them on others as the only way to have Christian
community), so all this none of it were practice by the earliest faith
gathering.
Paradigms of the Church
Mead discovers two
paradigms that have worked in church history, both having served their purpose
and both now obsolete. The church, he explains, is hurting today because it
needs to develop a third paradigm.
He does not tell us what that paradigm is, but figures that defining the
problem goes a long way toward solving it.
The first paradigm is the first century
church, which he calls the "apostolic paradigm." The church is an
isolated unit within the larger culture, and works against the culture in order
to share the gospel and promote God's work.
The second paradigm is Christendom, in
which the church and state are a single unit, sharing the magisterial
responsibility of governing. In this case the church is identical with the
culture, and stands against those who are outside the borders of the state and
accomplishes God's work through national policy.
And also we have an Ecclesial Church
Paradigm, Here something totally different happen at this time there are Bishop
and Pope and Rome was the capital of Christian. At this time when Constantine
become king he wanted to make the Christian capital Constantinople as the
capital city of Christian. As his wish he later on he made Constantinople the
Capital of Christian so he began to put Bishop in Constantinople. So from that
time the people began to go to Constantinople rather than Rome so the
Constantinople Bishop become more famous than Rome bishop later on their was a
misunderstand between Constantinople and Rome bishop so because of this their
council of Nicea was summon[3]
Alternative paradigms
Here
for the alternative paradigm for the church today we will talks about letting
go of the modern notion of “church.” Church or “ekklesia” in Greek, were simply
gatherings of believers or what they called “followers of the Way.”
Convergence Christianity needs a new
paradigm for faith communities that are informed by history and unbound by
church walls and institutions. One where gatherings of followers of the Path
can be truly inclusive. Where doctrines or even Christian conversion, as
important as those might be, is not the foundation or the driving force of the
community, but rather simply love for God and neighbor. Where the Golden Rule
rules and is the only non-negotiable. Where, as all kinds of people are truly
welcome. Where customs are derived from original traditions, like sharing a
meal together and remembering Jesus’ sacrificial life.
Church Polity
Mostly
there are three types of polity Episcopal, Presbyterian or
congregational.
_______Episcopal By Episcopal it does not mean that
Episcopal Church, although the Episcopal Church is, logically enough, Episcopal
in government. Simply put, Episcopal polity is the polity in which bishops (Greek:
episkopos) rule. Other denominations with bishops include, obviously, the Roman
Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches, are among others.
_______Presbyterian polity, like Episcopal
polity, shares its name with its most enthusiastic American adopter, the
Presbyterian Church (be it PC (USA) or PC (INDIA) or something else).
By Presbyterian, I mean a church governed by a “session” (council) made up of
the minister(s) and lay elders. The session is under the presbytery, which is a
body made up of representatives from member churches. Likewise the synod is
over the presbytery and the General Assembly is over the synods. This is a very
representative form of government, but also proportions a nice amount of
control over the churches to the ministers and other congregations, keeping
some accountability between denominations. This was the polity of the ruling
English Puritans when Cromwell came to power.
______Congregational polity
technically is a polity in which the individual congregation is completely
autonomous in rule. For example, in the Evangelical Free Church, they have
districts and so forth that fit fairly analogous to the Presbyterian hierarchy.
The key thing with Congregationalists, however, is that they can cede at any
time from the denomination, have complete control of our property and the
selection of pastors. The denomination cannot seize a church for bad doctrine,
although it can disfellowship with it.
Pastoral Administration based on
the Vision of Ekklesia
A church
is made up of believers who are a part of the body of Christ. (Rom. 12:4-5, 1
Cor. 12:12, 27)
First the Pastor must understand that a church is an
organization instituted by God as Acts 2 records on the Day of Pentecost. Any
organization must have leadership and in a local church that calling and
position God has given to the pastor. The New Testament Greek word that is
translated "church" in our English Bibles is the word
"ekklesia" and refers a local assembly or congregation of people
meeting together in a particular geographical location, for a specific purpose.
It cannot by definition refer to a universal church or catholic organization.
To proper use the word "ekklesia" it must be applied to a group of
people meeting together.
In the
New Testament "ekklesia" referred to the assemblies which met in a
city. Acts 11:22..."The church
which is in Jerusalem", 1 Thess. 1:1..."The church of the
Thessalonians", Plural use of the word "ekklesia" also referred
to multiple churches in an area. 1 Cor.
16:19..."The churches of Asia salute you", Gal 1:2..."unto the
churches of Galatia", Gal 1:22...."Unto the churches of Judaea"
However,
in each case the word "ekklesia" referred to an assembly of believers
meeting together in a specific geological location. The use of the word in the
New Testament requires that those involved in the "ekklesia" must physically
meet together.
Believers
who have received Jesus Christ as their Savior need to be joined and meet
together to serve the Lord.
The
"ekklesia" refers to the members of the family of God on Earth
meeting in a specific location. It is His household and the picture is of a
home and family that are together. (Gal. 6:10 and Eph. 2:19)
Denominations holding different doctrines and
having hierarchies ruling over them is not known to the New Testament.
Denominations are the invention of man. They present a negative picture of
Christians in the sense that they represent groups with have differing
doctrines and practices. A true church bases it faith and practice on the
teaching of the New Testament and all such churches should be in harmony. Sadly,
many church organizations hold to false teachings and practices. In this sense
being separated into denominations is proper because the beliefs of a group are
noted by their denominational affiliation.
It is the responsibility of the saint of God
to support and be a part in the local church. Attending and being a part of the
local church is not optional for the believer who loves the Lord and wants to
please Him. Hebrews 10:22-25 clearly states believers are not to forsake the
assembling of themselves together. Ephesians 5:25 states the importance of the
local church in a believer's life because it says the Lord Jesus Christ gave
Himself for the local church.
The
makeup of the New Testament churches was: Saints, bishops, appointed servants
which English Bibles call "deacons." "Paul and Timothy’s, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the
saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and
deacons" (Philippians 1:1)
So the
Pastor must know all this and try to lead the people all together irrespective
of caste, sex, etc the Church is for all kinds of people and all kinds of
people must be involves in the Church activities and also Church leadership and
the Pastor must not forget ther Ekklesia model which we hane mention above
Conclusion
In today
Church I think we do not need to create
a new anything/ a new paradigm.
All that is needed is to recover the old
paradigm the apostolic paradigm the biblical
paradigm and if that is in our Church today we will once again have a vibrant,
growing, and living church. Then we will rediscover the church of the New
Testament.
Bibliography
Das Somen: The Church and the world, ISPCK 2006
Sir, Dr.S.Chongloi Lecture note
Herb
Drake: House Church Central Magazine, “The
New Paradigms” http://www.hccentral.com/magazine/paradigm.html(Accessed17/7/2013 12:pm Imphal)
http://asisaid.com/journal/article/685.html (Extracted 12 Aug
2013, 12:33 am Imphal)
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