A TRUE Theocracy

I looked up the definition of “theocracy” today.  It is a nation that is ruled by a religious leader.  But today I make an argument for ANOTHER definition, one that is more fitting and that should be true of EVERY Christian church.  The TRUE Theocracy that I see is a church, ruled by GOD.

We Baptists are a funny lot.  We have a rich history of priesthood of the believer, of resisting government oversight and tyranny, of not being a “credal” people … The list can go on.  Baptist churches are also known for each church being responsible for it’s own direction.  Every Baptist church is a little different from each other.  We each have our quirks and we each govern and operate a little differently.  If you are an old school Dr. Pepper fan, we are PEPPERS to the core!!

Ebenezer is a committee-led church, and this is written into our constitution.  We rely on different teams to accomplish different tasks and each team is accountable to the church body as a whole for doing their jobs.  When it comes to church government, every member has a vote and a say in every decision.  Through ALL of this, we operate in a very American way!!  But it is time we move to more of a theocratic way…

What I am trying to write here is this:  Any church in this situation should work hard, NOT to make decisions based on our personal preferences, but on what God desires for us!!  EVERY VOTE we cast should be one in which we have sought HIS face about the particular issue, and are willing to vote what HE says is best!!  NOT WHAT WE LIKE OR WANT!  NOT OUR AGENDA, but HIS!!!  If every Baptist church would approach things this way, there would be NO SPLITS … There would be NO UNDERCURRENTS … There would be NO DERISION or DIVISION … And there would be NO FIGHTS over the color of the carpet, or the toilet paper, etc …

So in every decision, big or small, we really should commit to vote GOD’S will and NOT OURS!!  Last night at Ebenezer, I saw this come together in a way that makes me think “God REALLY DOES KNOW WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT!!”  More to come on that later, but it is awesome to just take your hand off of the wheel and watch God steer the ship EXACTLY WHERE HE WANTS IT!!

I hope we at Ebenezer are ALWAYS a TRUE THEOCRACY.  Because when we all allow God to work, He accomplishes far more than we ever could!!!