| Book Four PATRIARCHY |
The Home-Church
Model of
|
If You Are a Church Pastor:
Please Click Here
Vine & Fig Tree advocates a return to Biblical Patriarchy: the blossoming of family-centered community and the material and spiritual blessings God promises in response to that obedience. The two biggest obstacles to world-wide Patriarchy and the "Vine & Fig Tree" vision (Micah 4:1-7) are the institutions of church and state. In this book we focus on the institutional church. We argue that there is no legitimate (Biblical) barrier to the "Vine & Fig Tree" vision; that the concept of the institutional church should be abandoned.
PART ONEEvery Day a Day of Worship |
PART TWOEvery man a pastor -- No man a Pastor |
PART THREEEvery man a Lawyer -- No man a lawyer |
| What is "worship"? Where should the focus of the Christian life be: in a church-building one day a week, or in real life "24/7"? How should you react to a publication (like this one) which plainly rejects the mainstream views of two thousand years of teachings concerning the institutional church? | In this section we examine the duties of the
"Elder" (Pastor) as spelled out in "The Form of Presbyterial
Government," drawn up in 1645 by the writers of the Westminster Confession of Faith.
We argue that every legitimate duty set forth for the "Elder" is a duty for all
believers. We conclude that the clergy-laity distinction is based on an idea of
"apostolic succession" which should be abolished. When all men are encouraged to
assume full-orbed obedience to the duties of Christian priest-kings, the Vine & Fig Tree vision will become a reality. If You Are a Church Pastor: Please Click Here |
Just as we advocated the abolition of the institutional church and institutional "church officers," so we advocate the abolition of the institutional "state" and "officers of the court." In Part Three we show how those who claim to be "lawyers" should also be fulfilling the duties of the "Elder" as set forth by the Westminster Standards. We conclude that just as every man should be a priest/pastor, every man should be a lawyer/king. |
About the Christian Conciliation Manifesto
If You Are a Church Pastor: You should be aware before you even start reading this page that our goal is to abolish the institutional church. This is not a declaration of war on you.
Just as the Bible describes evil pastors (Jeremiah 23) who are wolves out to shear the sheep, our experience shows us that there are two kinds of pastors who might be reading this page.
Vine & Fig Tree believes in the "priesthood of all believers" (1 Peter 2:9). We believe the Body of Christ is functioning normally not when one man is "in charge of" 100 spiritually lethargic drop-outs, but when those 100 men are growing into mature men, "unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13), and exercising their priestly and kingly tasks. If you see yourself as a servant of others who is gifted and called to encourage this kind of growth in others, then you will be pleasantly surprised by this call to abolish the institutional church.
If your goal is to turn your struggling church into a dynamic center where your members become sons of Abraham, each of them exercising dominion over the earth, each of them ministering to hundreds, .you have already undergone "a paradigm shift" in your thinking, and you are trying to foster the same in theirs. You know that the best leader is one who makes leaders of others, not the one who accumulates the most followers. Your "power" and "success" in achieving this goal depends on your destroying the myth of the institutional church.
But if you hold a "position" or an "office" which is dependent on the continued existence of perpetually juvenile and spiritually stagnant people, you will see this page as a threat to your lifestyle. You will invoke all kinds of spiritual-sounding phrases concerning "orthodoxy," "church history," and "submission" to "Christ's shepherds." Your goal is protecting your power, not making God's goals your own, and dedicating your life to seeing the fulfillment of this vision.
We sometimes get mail from those who are ready to leave their church and become little islands of the "Vine & Fig Tree" vision. We usually discourage them from leaving their churches. Read what we tell them.
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Am I a heretic? I would appreciate your comments. Please write me at Kevin4VFT@aol.com
Vine & Fig Tree