When we read, study and examine all the writings in the New Testament, hierarchical powers and titles existing and dominant in several church denominations cannot be reconciled and aligned with the our Lord’s teaching. Today though Christianity is the most dominant religion in the world, our Lord never started a religion. He brought kingdom of God in the midst of us about which he said that his kingdom does not belong to this world. Religion is man’s search for the invisible God and supernatural experience. True Christianity is not a religion. It is a divine kingdom of which Jesus Christ is the only king and leader.

The Lord sowed the seeds of Kingdom of God in the daytime while the Enemy sowed the seeds of religion in the night. The Good Lord allowed both the wheat and weeds to germinate and grow until the harvest time. From the very beginning of the Kingdom of God, Satan and man were trying to cover and transform the God’s kingdom into a world religion. Hierarchy is a clear expression of that attempts. When we read and study all the Gospels, especially Matthew 23: 1-12, it is crystal clear that all believers are brothers and sisters. We are all citizens of Kingdom of God and holy royal priests (1 Peter 2: 4 – 10, Revelation 1:6) to love and serve the living God. If anybody wants to be a leader, the Lord clearly and boldly tells us that he or she should be the most humble servant of the Christian community. Of course, he appointed apostles and evangelists not to rule but to serve the Kingdom of God on earth.

The Lord Himself said and practiced that the Son of Man came not to be ministered but to minister others and to lay down his life for everybody who wants to be saved. Our one and the only Leader is the Messiah and our only father is the Father in the heaven. In the first century, the apostles appointed seven men (Acts 6: 1 – 4) to do charity and evangelism. Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 4: 11- 12, 1 Corinthians 12: 28 – 31, that God appointed apostles, elders, prophets, teachers, miracle-workers, evangelists, and pastors to help and to prepare all God’s people for Kingdom of God. They were called to be God’s servants to serve the church in different capacities according to different gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit. Of course, they were not asked to rule but to serve. In other words, every Christian leader is expected to be a servant in spirit and function.

Hierarchy is a burden to church and a hindrance to the growth of Kingdom of God. It is not a plan or design in our Lord’s teaching. Hierarchy can be easily corrupted as had happened all though the centuries in the history of the Christian church. Let all true believers realize, recognize and always remember that our Savior is the only Leader to whom our complete allegiance belongs and the so-called leaders who are set apart by us are intended to serve the Lord by serving all the believers in humility and love. Amen