Questioning the Clerical Office.

Is it possible that the office of clergy as a paid profession is neither scriptural or of benefit for the Church that Jesus is building, even though it is beneficial to the  institutional denominated churches? If the answer to the question is no...does that mean there is no need for functioning pastors in the Church that Jesus is building?

The fact is, although the clergy-system is probably the   paramount feature of religious denominations, yet it has almost nothing to do with the Post-Cross Covenant or the Church of Jesus Christ. It is fundamentally counter-productive, and is an hindering obstruction to the spiritual health of the Community of the Redeemed.

The clergy is a profession and members of the clergy are professionals. Just as lawyers interpret for, and apply the law to people, clergy protects their belief by interpreting the bible, and teaching that interpretation as the truth of God to the people. This profession, like any profession, set up standards of conduct for how its members should...dress...speak...act, and, dictates standards for training...compliance...admittance to...and procedures to follow. Clergy people are expected...by their congregations...denominational hierarchies...and themselves...to have denominational seminary training, be denominated people, and perform denominational duties.

The office in most cases, demands that its members possess a denominational seminary degree and denominational ordination.The office requires that clergy be gifted leaders, polished orators, astute administrators, trained counselors, impartial problem- solvers, and sagacious theologians. Also, so people will know they are clergy they dress in clerical garb and speak with authority and conviction and if that is not enough, a bumper sticker is available to identify the vehicle is driven by a clergyman.

The Office of the Clergy is an institutionalized denominated profession, created and maintained by denominational hierarchies and theological seminaries.

For most Sunday church-goers a healthy church is one which has numerical growth, has celebratory preachers, and provides many varied programs. This of course serves the office of the clergy, but those factors are bible-less and irrelevant when it comes to Community of the Redeemed.

Most people view the "position" of a pastor as being filled by a professional denominational man, posted by a denominational hierarchy, who was trained in a denominational seminary to learn denominational doctrine to make disciples of a denomination, who sometimes are elevated by the denominated people or the denominated hierarchy to be the spiritual connection between God and man. 

A pastor is a God ordained function given to various brothers or sisters within the Community of the Redeemed who make disciples of Christ who are not controlled by denominational objectives or denominated hierarchical man-made structures controlling the affairs of the people by usurping the authority of Christ as Head of His Church...whose objective is to point people to Jesus as their spiritual source.

Does that mean that a functioning pastor should not be blessed by willful monetary gifts as God lays upon people's heart to give. Of course not. But a scriptural pastor is not a paid professional office job where religious duties are paid for out of  money raised by an unscriptural mandated man-invented tithe-extorting doctrine. 

The Church of Jesus Christ is a "people's church" where people give Jesus His rightful place as the Founder and Head, the Spirit of Truth as the God appointed, God anointed Teacher and where God Himself is the Divine originator!