As I wander along the pathway, I often wonder how much ownership we take of God’s church?? How much should we take?? Should there be a delicate balance?? Do we really own part of it?
We sure act like we do. Nothing will get Baptists more bent out of shape than feeling uncomfortable in their own church. That is a blessing and a curse. I believe a large part of our problem is in ownership …
Baptists traditionally are autonomous. Most Southern Baptist churches are democratically governed, with popular vote making decisions. I have dared to say in years past we’d better NOT be a democracy, but we should be a THEOCRACY, each one of us voting how God leads us to vote. Honestly, I’ve been chastised for saying that. I still believe it’s true today.
I live in a world where the average tenure of a full-time Southern Baptist minister is LESS THAN 18 MONTHS. Less than a year and a half. And all it takes is saying something that offends the wrong person, and the politicking machine cranks up and a pastor finds himself without a job. And there is something wrong with that.
1. Sometimes pastors make mistakes. You better believe that every word that comes out of my mouth is not perfect. And I don’t know any of my fellow pastors who are perfect, either … (I know a couple that believe they are, but that is another blog for another day)
2. What if God lead that pastor to say something that offended?? What if that offense was actually the conviction of the Holy Spirit?? Are we really so shallow that we would go after someone because they spoke the truth?? Sadly, in many cases the answer to that last question is “yes.”
Before you jump to conclusions … To my knowledge, I’m not in trouble with anyone. I mean, sure, there are always people who don’t like their pastor. But I am not writing this in self-defense. It’s just something that is on my heart. But here is the crux of it all: ANY CHURCH … EVERY CHRISTIAN CHURCH BELONGS TO GOD.
We should have enough sense to treat it accordingly.
The Random Thinker 
David I believe when we except Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we do become “owners” in the kingdom of heaven. As owners we have responsibilities to all people and especially to those who do know Him. You become a member of a country club and in that you have a right to be “served”. Christ tells us to serve! As a church we need to see ourselves as owners therefore we are to serve all people! Maybe if we changed our thinking we would do a better job of “seeking and serving those who are lost”! Just a thought!
In my previous comment that should be “who do Not know Him!”