The Pastor Has No Clothes: Moving from Clergy-Centered Church to Christ Centered Ekklesia [Paperback]

Jon H. Zens (Author)

Product Description

Protestantism carries on with the practice of making the "pastor" the focal point in church. In "The Pastor Has No Clothes," Jon Zens demonstrates that putting all the ecclesiastical eggs in the pastor's basket has no precedent in the New Testament. Using 1 Corinthians 12:14, Zens shows the usual way of doing church contradicts Paul's self-evident remark that "the body indeed is not one part" and then goes on to unfold from that epistle how the living church functions "with many parts." Jon dismembers the traditional pastor doctrine from various angles by combining two new essays and a response to Eugene Peterson's "The Pastor: A Memoir," with three past articles and excerpts from his response to Dr. Ben Witherington's review of "Pagan Christianity."ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ___

This book challenges a ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_Ì´åÇÌÎå«Ì´Ìàsacred cowÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎå«Ì´åÇ in the modern church concerning its central figure. That figure has nothing to do with Jesus. WeÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎå«Ì´ÌàÌÎÌ_Ì´åÇÌÎå«ÌÎÌÊre talking about the pastor. Jon Zens has hit upon one of the biggest departures from the New Testament (NT) in what calls itself church.

Nowhere can you find in the NT a permission or direction to set up a man over a body of believers in the way of modern religious groups have done. And consequently, we see something else in religious circles not seen in the early church: laity malaise and a flaccid community of believers waiting for a person to ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_Ì´åÇÌÎå«Ì´ÌàfeedÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎå«Ì´åÇ them and goad them into religious activities. In the early church leadership was pluralistic and there was no such thing as clergy/laity distinction.ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ___

JonÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎå«Ì´ÌàÌÎÌ_Ì´åÇÌÎå«ÌÎÌÊs book is a call to return to the biblical design where Christ is the head and everyone has a role to work as a part of the body, both leaders and developing believers. The early church didnÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎå«Ì´ÌàÌÎÌ_Ì´åÇÌÎå«ÌÎÌÊt have useless functions like ushering, special music and Sunday school attendance, which have nothing to do with the maturing of the saints. The early church was more like a basic training camp where people were all functional and/or training towards it.

If you are tired of Sunday-going-to-meeting and donÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎå«Ì´ÌàÌÎÌ_Ì´åÇÌÎå«ÌÎÌÊt know why, read this book and see if youÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎå«Ì´ÌàÌÎÌ_Ì´åÇÌÎå«ÌÎÌÊre not encouraged. This book is about solutions. Jon feels as much for the ministers who are victimized by the ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_Ì´åÇÌÎå«Ì´Ìàpastoral systemÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎå«Ì´åÇ as he does for parishioners who are left to warm pews and throw money for their entire existence in what calls itself church.

ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ___

Product Details

• Paperback: 166 pages
• Publisher: Ekklesia Press (June 30, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982744641
• ISBN-13: 978-0982744642
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces

NOTE: Purchasing "The Pastor Has No Clothes (Paperback)" from WND's online store also qualifies you to receive three FREE issues of WNDÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎÌ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ__ÌÎÌ_ÌÎ_ÌÎå«Ì´ÌàÌÎÌ_Ì´åÇÌÎå«ÌÎÌÊs acclaimed monthly print magazine, Whistleblower. Watch for the FREE offer during checkout.