I was a missionary for ten years in a Christian theater ministry, ministering to churches in America. I spent those ten years performing plays that were specifically written to address many of the issues that so many people are just now starting to see on a larger scale. These are not new issues, they have slowly been building for years. Organizations built on corrupt power structures can exist and even thrive for years, but over time, they slowly begin to develop cracks that weaken the foundation and make them susceptible to collapse. Which is exactly what happened in the theater ministry I was a part of.
Religious leaders frequently refer to themselves as having“God-given” authority, but is it really? Did God really give them authority or do we give them authority because they tell us it’s God’s intention for them to have it? If it is true, just how far does that authority go and where does it end? Today, I talk about my experiences with coming to understand how power was being misused in the theater ministry I was a part of and what I did about it. This is the first week in a two (or maybe even three)-part series on submission.
Next week, I will talk about Emerson Eggerich’s C-H-A-I-R-S and C-O-U-P-L-E acronyms and show how they set up an incredibly unhealthy power dynamic that is mirrored in and promoted in churches. I will also talk about how that power dynamic is a recipe for disaster - either a divorce in a personal relationship or a church or organizational split in a larger organization.
Join the Instagram community here // Twitter here // support me on Patreon here.
Love & Respect Part 6: Submission Part 1