Samplings

There has been the long held assumption that Jesus and His Apostles instituted a change in the day on which the Church should honor God with worship. However, the evidence shows that the change from Sabbath to the Sun's Day happened long after the Apostolic Period.
Change To Sunday…
In connection with the above issue, the idea was also propogated of the Sunday morning resurrection of Jesus from the dead, even though there is not a shred of evidence of this event occurring at that time. Historical, Biblical and Cultural evidences reveal that Jesus rose from the after a full three days and nights at the end of the weekly Sabbath, just as the first day of the Jewish week was beginning.
Three Days and Nights…
The administration of the Church went through drastic changes. It has evoled into a form that was in direct contradiction to the teachings that Jesus gave to his apostolic shepherds.
Bricks and Stones…

Luther Quit Too Soon

How the reformers stopped short of true reform (part 6)

by Gene Edwards with humor and comments by James Rutz (used with permission)

The CEO/Pastor in the Bible

The modern concept of the pastor grew out of Wittenberg, Germany, and was but an adaptation of the pastoral duties of a priest! If you aren't shocked, you sure ought to be. From that day on, people have written literally millions of books on every theological issue conceivable to the mind of man, yet almost no one has closely questioned the Biblical basis for the all-in-one pastor, a man who operates as the heart and soul of the church. He is just there.

*I repeat, he was not born as a result of profound scriptural study.

The modern pastor just grew like Topsy out of the swirl of events in Wittenberg between 1525 and 1540. Before that the present Protestant pastor never existed, nor was he ever dreamed of. In all of the millions of debates in church history, there has not been so much as one day of controversy over his scriptural right to exist!

*Yet there is not one verse of Scripture in the New Testament that describes such a creature, and only one verse that even uses the term "pastors" (Ephesians 4:11). Nonetheless, he is the center of the practice of Protestant Christianity.

One of the most fascinating things about the modern day practice of the CEO/pastor is that ministers seem to know-or sense-that their job is non-scriptural. As a pastor, then later as an evangelist, and until this very hour, l have brought up this question to scores of fellow ministers: "Where is the present day practice of a pastor found in Scripture? I cannot find it." The most reaction I have ever received was either agreement or a resigned shrug!

*No honest pastor will defend the role of today's pastorate in light of the New Testament.

Today's version of Protestantism rests on the concept and practice of the pastor, but he exists nowhere in New Testament Scripture. Yet ironically, he's the fellow we hire and put in the pulpit to call us all to be faithful to the Bible! 0 Consistency, where are thy children? ...

[Footnote: Is the idea of a pastor a Protestant doctrine? If it is, I cannot find it. It seems to be only a practice, and has never been a doctrine. I am a graduate of the largest Protestant seminary in the world, which has on its campus one of the largest theological libraries ever assembled in the history of Christendom. I have searched that library for even one book or one chapter, and finally in desperation, even one paragraph which talks about a positive effort to show that there is something like today's pastoral concept in the New Testament. I have never found that book, nor chapter, nor page, nor paragraph on the subject. The CEO/pastor is just there. As far as I can discover no one has ever tried to prove the pastoral concept and practice as being Scriptural. Like the church parking lot, the CEO/pastor just is. Kind of mind-boggling, isn't it?]

Posted with permission by Gene Edwards

Early Church Changes

CREATION TO EVOLUTION

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