Since embracing home/simple/organic church as the biblical template for gathering, I, and many others, have had to lay down many preconceived notions drilled into us by tradition, traditional teaching and understandings, and forms or structures in the “church”.
Perhaps chief among the many of those has been the idea of positional power or authority. I can highly recommend the book The Servant Community: Experiencing The Promise of Ekklesia, by our brother Art Mealer, if you are looking to understand the term “positional power/authority” and how it is not the template Jesus was looking to establish in His Body.
I came to the understanding, even while in traditional churches, that there was one Head of the church, and that wasn’t the “pastor” (but Jesus). I long ago embraced plural, or actually a collegiality, of leadership. But even in that, I found myself in generally Top-Down structures that I had an uneasy feeling about in the Spirit.
Over the years I have found most spiritual men unfortunately desire the pedestal and the platform (and many without accountability), and most people desire to be led by men (Saul – see 1 Samuel 8 & 9) they have put on pedestals and platforms rather than God. Even though Jesus has made it clear it is not to be that way among His disciples.
We are indeed intended to be a community of servants. Serving Him, serving one another, serving the world around us in love. No one is to have position or power greater than another.
Romans 12 has much to say regarding our functioning as “members” of the one body. Not all having the same function (place/gifts), but each having a place as members of one another
[Romans 12:3-13 NASB95] 3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, [each of us is to exercise them accordingly:] if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 [Let] love [be] without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 [Be] devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
The apostle opens this discourse on being members of one another and serving Lord with:
[Romans 12:1 NASB95] 1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship.
We all know this verse well and talk of it often. But, have you ever really considered the picture used here of presenting yourself a living and holy sacrifice and that which is acceptable (well-pleasing) to God. And, that being called your spiritual service, or literally your REASONABLE/RATIONAL service, of worship.
The picture here harkens back to temple worship where a bull or a lamb was sacrificed on an altar and was burned as an acceptable (rational/reasonable) sacrifice.
The bull or the lamb was born and raised, but truly had no future of its own planning. Its future was bound to dying as a sacrifice. They were consecrated and set apart (sanctified) for the purpose of serving and being well pleasing in that service to God.
If we apply this in a literal sense to what Paul is “urging” us unto in Romans 12:1, it means we aren’t here for our own purposes, dreams, achievements and designs. But for His purpose and design.
This is a lesson I/we have difficulty comprehending. I believe much of our Christian experience is truly focused under His Hands and Lordship, and the work of the Spirit, to bring us to dying to self, and living unto Him. A living sacrifice.
Even after becoming believers, and loving the Lord, and desiring to be devoted to Him, we are often driven by our desire to “be something” in the Body, or “do something for God”. This may seem like so-called godly ambition. But underlying that is generally self needing to be crucified. We seek position, the pleasure of being known/recognized/valuable; by and to others, and to God, doing something great for Him.
But the urging of Romans 12:1 is for us to consider being turned into what the bull or lamb were. A pile of ash in a reasonable service of worship.
I understand I am painting a harsh picture here.
But my point is that we are called to have a willingness to lose our identity, that Jesus may be seen and identified in our service to Him and others. And, that others may be built up and served in Him through our service as a reasonable sacrifice.. We are called to lay down our reputation and recognition that He may be recognized as the Son of God and Lord of Lords, whom we serve. And, that all glory that may go with our sacrifice and devotion may be revealed as His glory.
[Philippians 2:3-11 NASB95] 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not [merely] look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, [and] being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus set the example for us in calling to sacrifice and serving, even as the One who had all glory from eternity past. Suffering and glory go hand in hand. Humility and exaltation go hand in hand. Obedience and seeing the outworking of His purpose in what He has spoken or called us to us go hand in hand. It was so for Jesus. It is for us.
If we are willing to lay “self” down, He will lift us up in Jesus. We will flow in the Spirit in the river of life into waters to the ankles, the knees, the loins, and then over our heads as they come out from the throne and altar of His Lordship in the temple. And, those waters will bring life through us wherever they flow. (See Ezekiel 47 regarding this imagery)
I will remind you that you can’t crucify yourself. You can pick up your cross and carry it. But, the crucifixion of that last hand, and your will, must and will come by the hands of, and circumstances created by, others at His design. Although you can’t do it to yourself, you will find by His grace you can choose to go to the cross, and you can yield to His purposes in the service of Him and others. And, do it time after time, and over and over in Him.
Your own ambition and desire to achieve and do (for yourself, or recognition, position, glory, reputation) may/will be gone. But as you walk with and beside Him, co laboring with Him for His glory, and in His service, and in loving and serving others in His purpose; You will find yourself in Him and being His. And that is life in the Kingdom as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship.
Enjoy your place in the community of servants.