[OBW]

StG,

In an assembly that I was for many years a part, there had been a teaching team, like at your Scottsdale assembly. There was a somewhat regular group, with some additional ones at times. Among them was the lead pastor. Sounds like that guy from the Upwards Church you linked, except that he didn't try to call everyone else's leadership clergy while hiding the fact that he was also clergy.

And this group I was part of didn't even have two locations for the lead pastor to be over.

You somewhat snarked about my "philosophical" response. But what did you want? A scripture reference that dictated a leadership structure? It seems to me that the evidence of Jesus' teachings was sufficient to at least imply leadership. He did not denigrate the Jewish structures of leadership, but he did chastise the actions of many of them. So the egregious actions of those leaders were chastised. But the fact of leadership was not. Instead, the right attitudes in leadership were taught.

It looks to me as if the scripture at least somewhat supports the overall status quo while those trying to chastise the "system" have nothing but a good-sounding philosophy to support them.

Now you are repeating the ruse of one of many snake oil salesmen that declare their form of leadership to be different. I am not talking about the guys that are your teaching team. I have no basis upon which to say anything about them. But Lee put the idea in your head. And in at least one of the teaching team's heads. And since that is part of the structure of the group that any others have joined into, it carries over to them even if they never heard Lee or read any of his books. It was there and is now part of them.

Ohio said it correctly.

And the worst thing is that some of the ones that try to hide the fact of their clergy-like leadership are sometimes guilty of the same kinds of errors (and sometimes even crimes) as the bad examples that they point to as they sell their tales of spiritual escape from "clergy-laity." You were correct to say that where man is involved there can be problems. But if that fact simply dismisses any effort of man because we can fail, then all is lost and we should close up shop and fall into our graves today since we are all fallen mankind.