An Answer for Bob and Terri Jennings' Ekklesia Review

The authors of Ekklesia advertise impressive 'credentials,' but that means nothing when it comes to sound doctrine. Sound judgment is easily skewed by an agenda or some other motive than purely, "What saith the Scripture?" Honesty is supreme in the matter of hermeneutics (interpretation). Even an arsenal of Scripture won't change a biased mind. The Lord Jesus stayed on target. How? He stayed neutral, John 5:30 My judgment is just, for I do not seek My own will.

• Does The Bible Teach Strictly Dialogue In The Meetings?

1. to open preaching, the speaking is most often to monologue form. People may be drawn to the sound/commotion, will hear the Word of Truth, possibly for their first time. They may respond as the Holy Spirit enables, and, their response may break a preacher's monologue.
   [Acts 2; 3:12; 5:35… Acts 14, 17…]


2. to ekklesia meetings, those present have heard and received the Word of Truth. They are now living in/by Him; His Spirit teaches them all things. (it may happen that there are 1, 2 or a few exceptions present on a given day. the possible presence of lost sheep does not effect to recreate ekklesia.)
   [I John 2:27]


3. to sunagoge meetings, a gathering of the scattered; an assembly of saints that, for cause of distance or service, would vary as to who is in attendance.
   [i.e., Hebrews 10:25]

ekklesia is more often made mention from the New Testament writings, than for sunagoge or open preaching; while all these are very much a part of our new Life together in Christ.

From Acts 20, Paul visiting the ekklesia at Troas has much to share with the saints gathered in an upper room.  Now on one of the sabbaths, at our having gathered to break bread, Paul argued with them, being about to be off on the morrow. Besides, he prolonged the word unto midnight. [vs 7, Concordant Literal]

What? Paul argued with his brothers; his Family in Christ? Not that. English has recently drifted such that argue today tends to carry for us an adversarial tone. Paul presented news & content for examination to their benefit; as argue more readily meant just a few decades ago: to argue without rancor or private intent.

May we not argue for dialogue or monologue, but rather consider who these men and women are to one another. Are you often speaking a sermon-monologue to your family or closest friends? In truth, few men do so.

And observe that it is valid to give a 'stand up sermon' I Cor 14:30  But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, let the first keep silent. The point?  This is more than "strictly dialogue" with everyone siting around in a circle.

Yet, Bob seems to be missing the point of an orderly interruption defined. In ekklesia, you may need to sit down and let someone else speak; and knowing this, does the pulpit & platform best suit?

• Teaching And Preaching Not Prominent In The Meetings?

Which meetings?

Acts 5:42 describes the promulgation of the Gospel; in the temple, and from house to house.

Acts 11:26 Now it came that they are gathered a whole year, also, in the ekklesia, and teach a considerable throng besides.

Acts 20:20: …how under no circumstances did I shrink from informing you [older me] of anything which was expedient, and teaching you in public and at your homes…

Acts 20:25: And now, lo! I am aware that you all, among whom I passed through heralding the kingdom, shall be seeing my face no longer.

Bob Jennings cites a number of additional examples; some for open preaching, some for ekklesia, some for sunagoge, some in course of conversation; each given example may be discerned with its reported context.

I Timothy 5:17: Let older men who have presided ideally [as overseers, shepherds…] be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who [in addition to their oversight and caring for the flock] are toiling in word and teaching…

Concerning the lively function of a shepherd, we need merely to go and watch a range shepherd with the sheep. How does the shepherd effect the good feeding of the flock? By moving them along & forward into good pastures. Look, and see how a wise shepherd simply does not shovel-feed. Sheep find in pasture for their food, not at someone's trough.

• Jesus' Followers Strangely Silent About Leadership And Authority?

Silent, and yet not so. Jesus truly does re-define Leading, and by so doing helped to incite men to kill Him. First, He was not the type of Leader they would accept for themselves. Secondly, He rejects the way men customarily rule/lord over one another. To religious people then & now, this authority of Christ is taken to be heresy.

some corrections…

1. Pastors, shepherds, elders, and overseers are not fully interchangeable terms.
2. Appointments are to a work/task/commitment, and not positional. Elders (older men) are selected by the Holy Spirit and so appointed into what they will be completing.
3. Pulpits do attract philosophers and hirelings; professional religious folks.
4. None of us personally exercise authority over another brother; I Corinthians 11:3  Now I want you to be aware that the Head of every man is Christ, yet the head of the woman is the man, yet the Head of Christ is God.
5. The authority of Christ, vested in His own, is vastly different from the world's.
6. The authority of Christ, vested in His own, is neither personal nor positional: His authority is beyond our own being, recognition or achievements.
   1. One shepherd is not more holy than another; we all are called to walk in the fullness of Christ.
   2. We commonly submit to positional authority in the world, even as the Lord has instructed.
7. Everyone in Christ is encouraged to lead within every facet by which the Spirit of Christ enables them. Leading in Christ is not compartmentalized, and operates without structured gatekeeping or hierarchy. Leading in excellence of serving is unanimously recognized in Christ.

I Peter 5:5-6  Likewise, younger men may be subject to the older men, yet all wear the servile apron of humility with one another, for God "is resisting the proud, yet is giving grace to the humble."

Being subject to one another [Ephesians 5:21] actively negates fleshly opportunity in positional authority.
Oversight/supervision among brothers requires the positional (at the right hand of the Father) authority of Christ.

Bob Jennings writes,

This same word [hegeomai] is also translated "esteem" in I Th 5:12,. thus, the leaders are 'the esteemed.' Dare I say it? It OUGHT to be that way. Paul requests, entreats, or exhorts them to do this. If you cannot esteem them, find those you can.

We do think highly of the work of Christ in one another, though not more highly than we ought to think.
As to authority, in Christ lies all authority; and we shall not presume His to somehow become our personal or organizational prerogative.

re: peitho; and apeitho from Hebrews 3:18  Now to whom does He swear, not to be entering into His stopping, except to the stubborn?  We shall not be stubborn; we are willing and able to be persuaded -- though not by daemons nor lofty men of religiously-guarded positions.

What do we suppose happened to Paul's high & presumed religious authority as he taught favourably the eating of meat sacrificed to idols? The ekklesias could not submit to this, (with the known exception of Pergamum and Thyatira, Revelation 2,)  knowing by the Spirit of Christ rather to abstain. Yet, men still rationalize in their attempts to elevate Paul to position which he would himself would decline [I Corinthians 1&3]. Paul knew by the authority of Christ. What other rule may augment or trump the authority of the King of Kings?

While elders are to be appointed as overseers/bishops, shepherds/pastors… apostles (including Paul) frequently saw an ekklesia come together without the Holy Spirit's first appointing elders as overseerers, shepherds, or (possibly) deacons. If we conclude that such appointments are required near the onset of ekklesia, we would thereby in retrospect invalidate a fruitful portion of brother Paul's labors (and likely much more since). Instead, may we look forward to these things as God enables.

Despite Bob's reference to Acts 15, 16, 20… the New Testament writings do not record leadership conferences nor leaders making independent decisions.  Leaders who act independently are merely leaders unto themselves. Better to move forward with others, thereby correctly identifying yourself as a leader among (and not apart from).

Decision makers? In Acts 15, Paul & Barnabas were sent on their way by the ekklesia at Antioch, received by the ekklesia at Jerusalem. Some believers among the Jerusalem ekklesia, who themselves had formerly been Pharisees, stood up to say, "It is necessary to circumcise them…" Peter also stands to address the whole group; also Barnabas and Paul relating signs God had done among the Gentiles. Then James offers an explanation and a proposal. Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole ekklesia, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas… The decision & course is already made from heaven, for which we need only resolve together to concur.  Acts 16:4  Now, as they went through the cities, they give over to them the decrees to maintain, which the apostles judge [as expedient], along with elders who are in Jerusalem. Likewise, from Matthew 18:17, the ekklesia is informed; examining/judging all things concurrently in the Word and Spirit.

1. The Kingdom of God is not as all spheres of Life in this world.  In ekklesia, order is gladly received from above; not enforced from below.   Titus 1:5  On this behalf I left you in Crete, that you should amend what is lacking and appoint elders city by city, as I prescribe to you.
2. All in Christ bring His peace.  I Thessalonians 5:12-14  Now we are asking you, brethren, to perceive those who are toiling among you, and those overseeing you in the Lord and admonishing you, and to deem them exceedingly distinguished in love, because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves, as now we are entreating you, brethren; admonish the disorderly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the infirm, be patient toward all.
3. Ephesians 4:11-12 is to true apostles, genuine prophets, proclaiming evangelists, working shepherds, teaching teachers. Equipping the saints and building up the body of Christ is not a "change of service" or "retirement hobby"; training/equipping others is concurrent/integral with your ideal service to God.

Bob writes, Rejection of authority and insubordination is pretty serious…, even rebellion; while refusing to lord over one another is being required of us all in the Family of God.  to contrast: Neglecting to put away hierarchical authority from the church/ekklesia is to invite failure and dis-invite Christ, our Head.

Bob writes re: Matthew 20:25,

The Lord Jesus contrasts the world and the church in the matter of authority. By esteeming servant-hood, did He mean that the idea of authority in the church is eliminated? If that is so, then the Lord Jesus, being the chief example of servant-hood, has no authority.

Double Speak

Bob writes, The book says leaders are just guides. p.116, 121, but note, Scripture does not use that word for them.   Then further down, Bob quotes favourably Matthew Henry: Ministers are to rule their people also, so the word rendered in 1 Tim. 5:17. They must rule, not with rigor, but with love. They must not exercise dominion as temporal lords; but rule as spiritual guides…

• Small Meetings?

1. 120 people, Acts 1:14,15: A special, feast day gathering. not ekklesia of Christ's Body --- not quite yet.
2. 3000 people, Acts 2:43-46: A number converted; in the Temple proclaiming; primarily open preaching.
3. 5000 people, Acts 4:4,32; 5:12: A number converted; in Solomon's portico proclaiming; primarily open preaching.
4. A large number at Antioch. Acts 11:21; 14:27; 15:30, which by context includes sunagoge, and ekklesia for a specific purpose (the circumcision/Law quandary).
5. many believers at Ephesus: no clear indication that they were all crammed into a single building. to note: the ekklesias at Ephesus (or any other locality) may more definitively be referred to as ekklesia, as all ekklesias worldwide and throughout time may be described as the ekklesia.
   Paul daily in the school of Tyrannus does not describe ekklesia of Christ's Body.
6. Many converted in Corinth I Corinthians 11:18; 14:23, does not necessarily describe to reality all brethren in Corinth being assembled at one time & place.
7. Gathering at Cornelius' house was for the salvation of his household. note: If you've come together for the purpose of seeing others believe and be baptized, you are gathering for the purpose of preaching/heralding, so consequently more may come into Christ and into His ekklesia.

Why does ekklesia often meet as a few in number?

• Our strength in Christ does not depend in numbers. The strength of any religious system does much depend upon numbers attending.
• Our unity in Christ with His Body everywhere does not depend upon centralization on earth.
• Such as described from I Corinthians 14, small gatherings accommodate ekklesia simply.
• There is, as was, a local-neighborhood scope of action frequent to ekklesia.

• Tradition: Apostolic, Oral, Written

Much oral tradition is committed to pages of the Bible; and some oral tradition has indeed been passed down through twenty+ centuries.
to contrast, Bob Jennings has written, That which was oral is unknown now.

• Large Gathering Caveat

• Larger gatherings do often become a mixed crowd, at which point there resides or emerges obligation to forgo ekklesia and, for sake of lost souls present, vector to preach the Evangel.  This often becomes the case even among "church members" who have been meeting together for years passing.
• Larger gatherings of ekklesia, as a practical matter, often take on framework of a conference whereupon consecutive days (rather than hours) are necessary for the full functioning of ekklesia.  A smaller group is more responsive & integral; is conducive to the table (agape/fellowship); does not wrestle audio-visual hurdles nor crowd control.
• A larger gathering will necessitate finding a place sufficient to accommodate. This consideration alone frequently draws effort & resources into maintenance of the group, rather than to our charity and the caring for one another: inception of the "social club".   When regular collections are being anticipated for the group, rather than collections for needs outside the group, our charity is then being sacrificed to the group's self-preservation.
• Larger gatherings (with their designated leaders) are frequently targeted by persecuting groups & nations over what are essentially pseudo-faith exceptions; are common targets of financial-civil liability schemes, scandalous gossip/slanders; are highly vulnerable to stealthy wolves who operate by blending in with crowds; may experience individuals passing-through, largely unnoticed.
• Larger groups that function as a regular sunagoge may express as a group of cells, thereby masking themselves by outward appearance of a large group. So frequently this is undertaken in a human effort to feel more secure by association [while our security ought remain in/with Christ].
• Larger gatherings are especially hard on those leading: exponentially greater exposure to politic and temptations to pride or vainglory; leader isolation and the clergy-laity woe.
• Larger gatherings often serve to deny the presence of ekklesia:
    A. by regularly deferring into sunagoge or preaching meetings.
    B. by default; failing to multiply in their region beyond centralized location(s).
• Larger gatherings (i.e., Acts 15-16) are today, as from Peter & Paul's journey, best infrequent; routinely unnecessary.

* some New Testament quotations helped by the Concordant Literal Translation