Stewardship
10As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. I Peter 4:10-11
God has provided each believer with gifts, talents, and material things. The proper stewardship over these things is not an option. Good stewardship is commanded by God. When fully implemented by each believer within each local assembly, the result is that the Body functions in complete and beautiful coordination resulting in God being glorified through Jesus Christ.
Those who are preeminent will tenaciously keep the outlet or platform for the various gifts and talents to themselves. They will control and dole things out according to their wishes. In this scenario, Jesus is merely the “object” of their supposed worship, certainly not the one who is in control.
How we look at our fellow believers makes a difference concerning how susceptible one is to either desiring preeminence or supporting preeminence. If one has a low view of man, then one will tend to see most Christians as inherently non-motivated and lazy. To get something done in the church requires cracking the whip, which means there needs to be a taskmaster. That is why they believe the preeminent elite are necessary; otherwise, nothing will ever get done.
A high view of man sees the opposite. And especially with a Christian being filled with the Holy Spirt, it would seem impossible that one would ever want to sit on the sidelines. God is constantly compelling every believer to move forward. As such verse 10 above tells us to minister to one another, which means we should help facilitate one another. That means helping provide the tools we can for those willing workers. Anyone holding this view will never want to suppress the work of others, because we are confident in their desire to glorify Jesus by doing their best to further the Kingdom of God.
The preeminent look upon those they lord it over as mediocre with virtually all of them relegated to sitting in pews or other nice rows and obediently responding to the preeminent commands to stand and sit. Yes, there are those who are allowed to do mediocre things such as passing out bulletins, passing around an offering container, or certain other duties that give the appearance of participation. But everything funnels to the will of those in preeminence and not the will of Jesus Christ.
Jesus knows each Christian is filled with the Holy Spirt, which means there are no mediocre Christians only suppressed Christians. As such, every Christian is called to fight against suppression. To fight for the full outward expression of the stewardship God has given to every single true believer. Pacifism is not an option.
To resign yourself to a system propagated by the preeminent elite is to lose the battle, giving up who you are; giving up all that Jesus meant for you to be. Do you feel weak and powerless? Does it seem to be an overwhelming task? Then praise the Lord, you are exactly where you should be.
My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. II Corinthians 12:9