Good Structure

Now let’s take a look at Church Structure and Church Government… there are some big clues expressed in the New Testament.

Calling Out Bad Structure

Nicolaitans first appears about 50AD in the house church networks in the city of Pergamos in Turkey. This is the wicked practice of separating clergy from laity.

By 300AD this practice was institionalized in Roman Catholicism which turned it into a military and political structure which remains intact, unrepented and untouched today.

In 1517 Martin Luther wrote a thesis that rocked the Christian world. He took Roman Catholic clergy to task for many false doctrine issues, including the main grievance of requesting salvation payments from believers called “Indulgences”. Ironically, when the Lutheran Church swept across Europe, it also duplicated the Roman Catholic clergy system that invented the original perverse concepts that Luther argued against.

Not long after Luther’s thesis was published in Germany, the
Anglican Church split from Roman  Catholicism in 1538,  essentially over divorce doctrines. The Church of England (Episopalian) took with it, and recreated a new clergy system to mimick the old Roman Catholic system. Over time the Anglican Church has turned Nicolaitans into a royal pompous bureaucracy with its own set of Pagan traditions that nullify the Word of God, rolling up in an elaborate hierarchy from a believer,  through layers of professional clergy to the Crown of England (an un-repentant serial adulterer). Today the Anglican Church cannot agree on basic doctrines from the Bible and has become its own weird irrelevant pagan creature with vague shadows of Jesus in the background. Very sad.

By the 1600’s we see Christianity completely throttled by Catholic and Protestant professional clergy systems, all teaching the Doctrine and committing the Deeds of the original Nicolaitans that Jesus said he hates.

House Churches in lounge rooms are not immune from this problem. Today in Australia we see various denominations collapsing in their Sunday attendance, and looking to leverage terminology like Simple/Organic/House Church to revive their financial fortunes. The problem with these denominations is they as making the same mistake as the Lutherans in that they will not repent of the pagan leadership structures and dismantle them. So the result is we see the same religious bondage on Sunday, being replicated into the loungeroom attempting to masquerade as “New Testament Church”. You only have to visit once to see the religious circus continuing. This is sad but true. This is the Spirit of Religion doing damage in the House Church realm, so it’s important the we can at least recognise the difference, and keep searching.

Casting away the religious anti-patterns of the last 1700 years of clergy witchcraft, occult and control is very difficult. It is taught and replicated in seminaries and reinforced by a Godless clergy fraternity that perpetuate the damage, and has infected the minds of believers who think it is scriptural and important, when in fact it is wicked.

Sadly this clergy system manifests itself in every western Church system that can be named, from little regional churches to city wide mega churches. That stubborn, wicked stain of Nicolaitans cannot be removed. Clergy love it. Congregations bow to it. It’s like another “Golden Calf” of man-made religion to be worshipped.

Who is guilty ? The misguided and deceived clergy or the foolish congregations who don’t read the Bible.

Jesus makes it plain. He will attack them ALL. All are guilty. Jesus demands repentance from ALL of us who have taught, built or propagated Nicolaitans in any form.

The equality of believers is what Jesus died for. Each believer is a Priest to Jesus who is our High Priest.

To split Christian fellowship into a super-class and a sub-class grieves the Holy Spirit and we risk (if it has not happened already) Jesus removing our Candlestick. That is very scary. No Holy Spirit. This is how Seducing Spirits, Spirits of Error, Spirit of Anti-Christ and other wicked demons gain full entry to control entire Churches and movements.

Be sober.  Be aware. Learn the sacred and simple pattern of gathering that Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 14. Don’t allow Nicolaitans to exist, and demolish it whenever it appears.

Jesus Specifically Warns Us About “Hirelings“

Let’s look at the paid Senior Pastor or the  Pastor role. Firstly its not in the bible. Secondly,  most of these people would not serve unless they got paid. Sad but true.

Money distorts Godly callings and motivation through coveting, jealousy and greed. These are very poor leadership traits.

That’s why Paul and Peter both warn us about leaders who chase “filthy lucre”. To them the money is more important than serving God well.

John 10:13 KJV The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

When Jesus said this he was actually referring to, and criticizing the elite religious class in his day called the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes (Religious Lawyers). He called them hypocrites. But he was also calling out a spiritual principle that holds true through time….and he gives it a name. “The Hireling”.

What is a “Hireling” ?

A hireling pastor is a self-serving religious leader who prioritizes personal gain, recognition, or comfort over the needs of their congregation, contrasting with the biblical concept of a true shepherd who sacrifices for and loves their flock.

Hireling behaviors include fleeing from hardship, using the congregation for personal and financial benefit, promoting themselves rather than the sheep, and being motivated by money and fame instead of their supposed calling.

Real leaders are forged in the fire of House Churches, disciple-making and training in the Holy Spirit. Fake leaders come as graduates from Bible Colleges and Seminaries that have no idea (and don’t care) what a true disciple looks like. Hirelings are “man-made”. True Leaders are simply recognised by other believers because of their fruit. Very big difference.

Observable Characteristics of a Hireling Pastor

Self-serving: They are motivated by personal gain, fame, or comfort, rather than the needs of the congregation.

Drives for money, attention and fame: Their focus is on financial reward and personal promotion rather than serving God and the community.

Lacks sacrificial love: They are unwilling to lay down their life for the sheep, especially when challenges arise.

Disloyal and untrustworthy: A hireling abandons the flock when difficulties appear, lacking genuine care or commitment. They can rationalize the breaking of agreements and commitments.

Focuses on self-promotion: They build their “brand” and seek recognition for themselves rather than glorifying God.

Manipulative: Instead of building up the congregation, they may manipulate the sheep for their own benefit. Often using Seducing Spirits, Domination, Intimidation, Coercion… all of which are Witchcraft.

Additional Observations of a “Hireling”

In our experience there are other observations we have made of “Hirelings”. We can often see some or all of these traits:

Vanity – They tend to be vain, focusing heavily on grooming, attire, figure, weight, diet, skincare and personal appearance. Humility is not in their nature.

Poor Relationships – Their relationships are manipulative and transactional. They don’t have many or any friends that they have transparent, sincere relationships with. This is not possible because to them, people are not human, they are simply resources to be manipulated. It is possible that they have bad relationships with immediate family, like children because of their abusive nature and adult children have had to “survive” the abuse. Their children don’t thrive. They may have narcissistic or even sociopathic traits so be very very wary when dealing with them. They are nasty.

Abusive – They tend to lead by Domination, Intimidation, Manipulation and Control. These are all heavy demonic witchcraft themes. They tend to have poor relationships with their own children who have had to “survive” the abuse of this type of personality. Their own children may not follow the Lord, but may be either perverse, rebellious or walk in cultish false religions.

Financial Calamity – Because they love money, they tend to be dishonest, lazy, covetous or entitled when it comes to money. They will take it, steal it, snatch it any way they can. They will say and do whatever it takes to get money, even if it’s ungodly. It’s not unusual for them to have bad fruit in this area, like theft, crime, bankruptcy, law suits or poverty. Money goes through their hands like sand.

Ministry for Fee – These people refuse to do ministry without getting paid. They want money for service. When they finish their “Hireling” religious career it is rare to see them disciple-making or church planting after they retire because it was a “job” to them. They cease from any Kingdom work and keep chasing mammon (their god).

Unfruitful – On close inspection you will find these people are barren in the Kingdom. They have not made Jesus disciples, they have not planted Churches, they generally have poor financial management, they generally have poor family relationships. On every level of the Kingdom, they tend to be completely barren. It is also quite scary in that most hireling cannot share the true Gospel, because they usually have been living and teaching a false Gospel (manipulative Gospels of Prosperity and Gospel of Self, etc that require no repentance !!). Paul says in Galatians they are cursed with a curse for doing this.

Unforgiving & Unremorseful – They tend to wound easily, carry bitterness, bitter memories and unforgiveness and are unremorseful when in the wrong. It is conceivable that they may not even be saved because their confession is false, manipulative and unauthentic.

Blame Shifting – They constantly blame others, and will not take personal responsibility for their behaviour. When challenged they become the victim or the hero, and blame shift which are classic narcissistic behaviours.

Self-Pity – They tend to wallow in self-pity, moaning, murmuring and complaining about all their workload, their difficulties and especially all the people that have apparently hurt them, that remain unforgiven. They hold grudges against others.

Slander and Character Assassinate Others – They tend to perform “sorcery” by going around slandering others who they cannot control. In our experience many of them operate in Blasphemy (which is a demonic spirit) to oppose the Word of God, uproot the Word and cast doubt on the Word with their mouth.

Spousal Issues – If they are married, their spouse has to live with this “monster” and has to manage their outbursts, anger, rage and tantrums all the time. These marriage rarely last, but if they do you will see a complete crushed and oppressed spouse that must “toe the line”. If it’s a man, then look for the crushed, introverted and disengaged wife as a sign.

Jude warns us about these wicked characters in verse 12 “These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withers, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots“.

What are NT Leadership Roles ?

On a more positive note, here are some additional facts and footnotes about NT Leadership Roles.

ABOUT LEADERSHIP

This is a gift to the Church. With no leadership, nothing happens. With bad leadership, bad things happen and with good leadership good things happen.

Good leaders are precious, they don’t “Lord It Over” the people, and they don’t separate themselves into a clergy/elite group away from the family.

They are not perfect. They need healing, deliverance and to grow in maturity as much as the next believer, but we are to honour and respect them. They play a critical “spiritual” role in the healthy functioning of any House Church or House Church network.

ABOUT PASTORS

Many churches are structured around a single “Pastor” or a “Senior Pastor”. The word “Pastor” does NOT appear in the New Testament. It’s not there. The word “Pastors” appears only once in Ephesians 4:11. In the New Testament a person with the Gift of Pastor, is meant to TRAIN all believers in the skill and function of Pastoral Skills. So, all believers are to perform “pastoring”. The notion of a single man or person leading a Church has it’s root in paganism, adopted from pagan temples which operated the same way, and like business franchises (ie; for the Temple of Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Zeus, Diana, Aphrodite, etc) making offerings for fee, and operating a piece of real estate. It’s not in scripture and is NOT a New Testament pattern. It is not in the Bible. It comes from somewhere else.

ABOUT ELDERS AND OVERSEERS – THE MORE EXPERIENCED BELIEVERS

In the New Testament “Elder” appears 9 times, “Elders” appear 60 times, “Overseer” does NOT appear, and “Overseers” appears once. Paul never wrote to any Pastor. Not one. When he wrote to church leaders he wrote to a “plurality” of Elders. It was the Elders who lead the Churches before paganism and demonic doctrines took over the Church. It is very rare to find Churches in the world today that operate in the New Testament pattern, but rather adopt pagan temple patterns. For us, we strive to stick with the NT patterns, which are actually simple and they work in any culture or people group on the planet.

ABOUT BISHOPS & DEACONS – SERVANTS AND FACILITATORS

The term “Deacon/Deacons” gets mentioned 5 times, the terms “Bishop/Bishops” get mentioned 7 times. This clearly means these roles are biblically MORE IMPORTANT than the “Pastor” (read above), but not as important as the Elders (again see above). Just stating the facts.

HOW DO THEY ALL WORK TOGETHER ??

Lets look at how all these roles are meant to work together from bottom to top. But, be very careful, this is not a hierarchy. All believers are “Priests”. All are equal before God.

First is a Deacon who works inside a House Church as a server, facilitator, helper or leader, organising meetings in a home or cafe for a group to gather. Next comes a Bishop (overseer) who oversees one or more House Churches in a geographical area. Finally, Elders are meant to care for an entire city network of House Churches (like gatekeepers of a city), as they have a city-wide responsibility. Jesus is very much into geography and cities. This is why real Apostles and Prophets align to House Churches in geographies, not denominations or physical buildings.

Leadership looks like a hierarchy but it is absolutely not. Its a kind, loving family. This structure functions like a large family with loving, respectful relationships, with every House Church being autonomous, and every believer being autonomous. Believers are not “controlled” by anyone only Jesus. This looks nothing like what we see in our pagan-infested Churches today where every thing, and every one is “controlled”. This is occult.

Today we see perverted roles like Pope, Cardinal, Priest, Senior Pastor, Pastor in a carnal hierarchical power structures. We can also see Church Boards and other quasi-leadership models emerging that have no analogue in scripture, and are not required. They are not present in the NT and redundant.

Many new roles got invented to care for administrate the “commercial and business incorporation” of the fake Church’s business entity to operate in a country, charity or tax system (all relating to taxation, risk management and money). Again the early church had none of these issues as money was rarely collected (very rarely), meals and resources where shared, there were no professionals and no real estate holdings, gatherings were in private homes.

Further, on trying to structure something as fluid as the Holy Spirit is an administrative challenge, to which Jesus has a solution.

Perversely the Gift of Administration (1 COR 12:28) is said to operate in the physical building, doing photocopying, paying bills, organising calendars, etc… This is in fact the Gift of Helps.

The Gift of Administrations (Gift of Governments) is a warfare gift to help navigate the Government of God (the Church) through the Government of the World, so that the Gospel, Discipleship, Holy Spirit, Gifts, House Churches, Leadership and Multiplication “structure” can be guided to operate freely (be steered.. the greek word “kubernesis” means “pilot”). I’ll teach on that supernatural topic in detail another time.

This is what the Bible teaches.

So simple and yet powerful, and those New Testament leaders made disciples that changed the world.

That’s Good Structure.

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