This is part of a teaching from my friend- John Fenn...go to www.ifaithhome.org for more...james
The ‘pyramid’ that I refer to is the traditional structure that began in 495AD that has 1 person at the top, the pastor, unto whom all submit. He (or she) is the speaker, director, and font of God’s wisdom for a congregation. The symptoms listed below vary only by degree and frequency determined by the size of the church or ministry. Being a man made device, I’ve seen these traits in churches of 25 people and mega churches, it’s the structure that is inherently flawed, therefore these elements are common no matter the size.
The steepness to the sides of the pyramid are determined by the strong will and drive of the head person. Whether the pyramid is very steep or relatively shallow, the same principles apply: To move up in the pyramid one must sacrifice part of himself and his identity to ‘the vision’ or ‘the man’ or ‘the call’.
Draw a triangle, a pyramid, and place your pen along the base on the inside of the structure. As you ascend straight up, you eventually run into a side wall running at an angle to the very top. In the church world, if you want to make your way towards the top, you must change direction once you hit the side wall...you must change from moving only vertical to moving sideways while moving up, and herein lies the compromise; moving sideways is usually political. This is where you give up part of yourself. The reward for this compromise is that you get to stay within the pyramid, making a name and territory for yourself. For many within this system, everything else from this point on is done either to maintain position, or continue to move up by manipulating the system and person at the top to get your way.
www.ifaithhome.org
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