One priesthood, the priesthood of believers and JESUS alone is High Priest.

Anatomy of the Body of Christ

Satan is after the head, which Christians are commanded to hold fast to.

What many people think of when they hear the word "church" shares almost no resemblance to the pattern for local assembly or the apostles' doctrine found in the New Testament -neither in form or Spirit.

For this cause, left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting and ordain elders in every city as I appointed thee. Titus 1:5

The blueprint for local assembly is vibrant, egalitatian and political gathering of the Kingdom(political in the purest sense of the word) Meetings of the Ekklesia are the only censorship free forum in the world, free of gate keeping and anchored in the bonds of brotherly love.

How seemingly unfortunate that so many do not see it. The good news is that once someone really sees it, they can't unsee it.

A body isn't a hierarchy. No "Big I's and Little You's in a body. We need all the parts. We need YOU!

JESUS taught the exact opposite of a pagan, caste system or hierarchy.

There are no professional clergy no second class laity as Laos m4ans "the people" which includes all of us -no elites in the true body, though His people love to have it so...

Jesus prayed the most beautiful prayer, to His God, that we would be ONE.

He says it time and again in the Gospels how the Gentiles love to rule but that "It shall not be so among you."

For those who refuse to hear or can not hear, JESUS says "Leave them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, they both shall fall into the ditch."

The night comes when no man can work brothers and sisters. There are people dying to hear it.

Moses was a type of CHRIST, not a type of lone pastor, priest or rabbi.

The solo pastor/priest model eclipses and overshadows the true and rightful head of the body. Wedging anything inbetween the head and the body is to do spiritual violence to Christ who already suffered the death of the cross.

Speaking of driving a wedge between Christ and we who are His own flesh and bones, search "double wedge" images and compare the triangular shape to that of hierarchy. Is your church or organization modeled in the shape of a double wedge? The body of Christ is not. JESUS the CHRIST and no other man, is the prophet like unto Moses.

Men that crept in unawares

Disapproval is made explicity clear in Scripture regarding the deeds and doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Nikos meaning "to rule" laitan "the people" Revelation Chapter 2

We see the bad example of Diotrophes who "loved the preeminence."

Along with Diotrophes the apostles named other men who were being corrupted and corrupting such as Demas, Phygelus, Hymenaes, Alexander, Philetus and Hermongenes. Men were trying to make disciples to themselves and not to CHRIST, very early on. Nothing new under the sun.

3 Years of Tears

The beloved Paul, apostle of CHRIST, warned the elders of the early church "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of GOD, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among YOU, not sparing the flock. Also of your OWN SELVES shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after *them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. Acts 20:28-31

Three years of tears while the apostle warned our brothers, sisters, elders and deacons. The faith's first martyr was a deacon and some would scoff at the idea of deacons today. Day and night Paul wept, warning you and I that "of your own selves" shall men arise and to take heed and watch. If the early church dealt with this issue, what would cause us to assume that all is well and less vigilance is needed today?

Follow the Pattern

The LORD is specific and particular about patterns He has laid out.

"See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern..."

I challenge anyone reading this to give a solid example in scripture of the apostles ordaining one man/a senior or solo pastor to be the head of a local assembly.

The word pastor, singular, cannot be found once in the King James version. The King had an agenda and his translators use Bishop and Elder interchangeably which confuses and obscures the clarity of sound church structure and helps foster the idea of an elite, separate, clergy class/division in the body.

Comparitively, search the New Testament for the word "elders" and you will have a long list of references pop up.

See for yourself how many times "they" -a plurality of watchmen of souls are found in the local assembly. They does not mean the solo pastor and his wife.

As stated, in the KJV, the word pastor, singular, cannot be found. The plural form "pastors" can be found but once.

A Few Precautions

Everyone seems to have a different idea of what they call eldership, just the way everyone has their own ideas about everything and people want to say that all paths lead to God and other such things that have no basis in the truth.

Many are quick to claim that they indeed have elders but oftentimes what they mean is that they have some older men who assist(and too often are simply yes men to) the solo pastor.

The body of Christ in every local, desperately needs the wisdom of elder men who are in the faith, elders who labor in the word and in doctrine, not just a sidekick to the solo pastor/priest but his replacement and cure, God fearing men who meet the specific qualifications, spelled out in two different places in scripture, qualifications that solo pastor/priests do not meet.