True joy of Christianity is beyond endless seeking and cravings to having personal needs met through Christ and His representatives. There are many Bible examples and real-life Christ Ambassadors that were used mightily of God who had to endure unmet personal needs. The joy of Christianity lies more in being used of God to DAILY save NEW souls from eternal damnation, being available to influencing another life to CHANGE from unrighteousness to righteousness, and in experiencing manifestation of the transformational WILL of God in our communal and societal lives!
When Church leaders stop being DIVISIONal camp-leaders and we begin to relate in LOVE, when we stop creating the impression in the heart of our new attendees that the previous leader is unfit while we are the ONLY Christ-incarnate in town, when we begin to treat membership not as consumers but as kingdom soul-production staff and Christ-marketing-team, then we will begin to see the emergence of the real beauty of the bride of Christ in our communities. The real bride of Christ will be so beautiful that outsiders will be attracted to come closer to Christ ALONE as it once used to be, and contrary to what is commonplace today.
Many younger ministers of the gospel are confused today by popular unbiblical models to think Christian ministry is about flamboyance & building personal empires around oneself. They keep trying all their lives to create false aura of infallibility so they can find people to fleece, like their spiritual papas & mamas. Meanwhile, true Christian ministry is hard-work, better put as hard-LABOR. That is not always as fanciful as is popularly depicted and desired by lazy ministry new-comers! There is no true labor that is pleasant, especially at the onset; it is the output, the end result, the harvest, that makes Christian labor worth the while. The harvest of Christian ministry is not denominated in sizes of bank accounts, physical structures or attendance figures; it is measured by kingdom metrics of SPIRITUALLY (not just materially) TRANSFORMED LIVES!!!
When church-goers ALSO begin to realize that they have kingdom responsibilities to CHRIST more than they do to a man or woman leader, then they too will crave the FRUITS of Christ & the Holy Spirit, and not just fanciful attachments to denominationalism- also known as divisionalism!
I do indeed have personal grudges against some church leaders, as some may have erroneously chosen to conclude. The difference though is that my grudge is not what such think or conclude; my grudge instead, is that no leader should becloud Christ from lives of His people… No leader should put a veil on people from recognizing our Christ for themselves… the Church leader should LEAD people to Christ, not to themselves… God’s people should be led to God’s written words, not just quotations of men, no matter how highly placed… when highly placed men fall, which happens, that souls saved may be yet grounded in God, not in mere men or women… those are my grudges, PERIOD!
When each one of us know that Christ wants us as ONE united body, then we will stop breaking up into smaller ISOLATED groups and start holding TOGETHER, recognizing that it is more about us than about I! We will imbibe the older values of SUBMISSION which seemed to have faded out of Christian consciousness… Leaders will know where they are to submit as servants, while followers will learn to follow in rank and imbibe ORDER! Then we shall have greater joy as brothers and sister in Christ, not as segregated haters, gossipers and rumor-mongers that many have become!
The primary responsibility of a believer is not found in the attachment to schedules of another man or woman, or that of any man-made institution, the primary responsibility is found in satisfying Christ our Lord and Savior by the help of the Holy Spirit! Indeed genuine leaders will help us to get there… as there are many who have not soiled there garments and Christian oaths/vows of true leadership… True joy of Christianity can only be found in real and genuine fellowship with our first love, JESUS CHRIST, and His Holy Spirit.
JESUS CHRIST ALONE IS LORD, NOW & FOREVERMORE!!!
MUCH LOVE TO ALL from the desk of BISHOP OLA ELUJOBA