Volume 46   Number 1                                                         September 2003

This special issue is being sent to numerous churches of Christ across America. Of these approximately 13,000 a cappella churches of Christ, roughly half have fewer than 55 members. Powerful feelings of inadequacy are overwhelming some of our people who compare themselves to mega-church models. In fact, we hear of more church closings than beginnings. In this and future issues, I invite readers to explore with me another, more biblical, model. If you are a preacher, elder, or leader in the church interested in greater member involvement, then you will find these discussions stimulating and possibly challenging.

The book of Judges offers a critique of human nature. Churches of Christ longing to restore the New Testament church can learn insightful lessons from this book which documents multiple restoration efforts. Sadly, the book shows how easily God's people forget him and apostatize. So often, what we learn from history is that we do not learn from history!

Judges Chapters 17 and 18 reveal a young Levite who became the sole priest for a man named Micah. Clearly a clergy-laity distinction was maintained in the Old Testament with priests coming from the Aaronic lineage. However, Micah's religious impulse was one of convenience conjoined with pride since he wanted a nearby shrine instead of having to travel to Shiloh. One of his idols was the product of his own greed, and his priest was a son whom Micah consecrated himself!

With the opportunity to acquire the services of a "real" priest, Micah quickly dispensed with his son and plead, "Dwell with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance" (17:10). The young priest compromised God's plan to satisfy the felt needs of Micah. Micah provided him with state of the art religious paraphernalia: ephod, idols, carved images, and molded images. The young priest provided Micah prestige and spiritual comfort.

In time, a renegade Danite expeditionary force sought a greater inheritance. Discovering the priest, they pressed him about his presence. The young priest replied, "Micah hired me. I am his priest" (18:4). Eventually, Micah's priest was persuaded to abandon him in favor of serving greater numbers and presumably receiving better wages. Micah was forlorn, and his countenance revealed it. To see him, prompted the question, "what ails you?" (18:23). Micah was forced to accept the loss of his "gods" and of his priest. His distress was real, and he evidently saw no spiritual alternative.

Like Micah, there are many small churches of Christ longing for the talents and ministerial services of a young priest. While I am not suggesting a strict allegorical interpretation, it is interesting to see how "search committees" find talented preachers and how talent gravitates in career moves to larger congregations. I cannot find any references to hirings and firings in the New Testament. Instead, I find congregations led by elders sending evangelists to plant congregations and to assist small congregations.

Admittedly or not, many congregations have adopted a clergy or pastor system and question their very legitimacy and future existence if they are unable to hire a preacher. Growing up in western Kentucky, I had great Bible training. There were over twenty congregations in our county alone. If a congregation did not have a regular preacher, then we perceived it had fallen on hard times or internal strife. Having a good man in the pulpit was considered one hallmark of an effective church. Despite my good Bible training, it never dawned on me that there might be another model of church involvement. Even today, there are many godly people in churches of Christ who have never studied the biblical basis for and the practical applications of mutual ministry. The accepted paradigm is to grow to the point where a minister or several ministers can be hired.

Many churches of Christ are at a crossroads, though. They cannot hire a preacher even if they wanted one. Some will close their doors in despair. The truth of the matter is many congregations who do have regular preachers have fallen on hard times. Having a regular preacher does not necessarily mean increased membership. In fact, the amount of personal work in a community and not the amount of eloquent sermons is the greatest barometer of sustained church growth. And it is amazing to see what church leaders will tolerate, including doctrinal error, to keep the popular and talented pulpiteer.

Do these struggles sound familiar? Having preached full-time myself in Louisiana, I know firsthand the pressures placed on preachers. I am persuaded that there are churches as well as preachers looking for answers.

What does the story of Micah and the young priest teach us? The story illustrates the danger of isolationism. There was no one nearby to assist Micah or the city of Laish. This special issue is offered in the hope of establishing a dialogue and in helping struggling churches and stressed preachers. That does not mean that I have an exclusive claim on truth. Even this September, the church in Kirksville, Missouri, where I am an elder is being assisted by members of churches of Christ from all over the United States. I am persuaded that they know something of personal work and biblical evangelism that could benefit us.

The story also provides an explanation as to how idolatrous worship was so easily introduced later into Dan by Jeroboam with the division of the kingdom. Of course, Judges reminds us repeatedly that "in those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (17:6). The story further provides some justification for the centralization of power, both in terms of church and state, in Jerusalem. Today, we must make sure that what we are doing is right in the eyes of Jesus our King.

I hope that these thoughts have been valuable to you. To those who received the special complimentary issue, I invite you to subscribe to the paper. Another way that you can dialogue with me about these thoughts is to visit our Discussion Board at: