Church Simply: The Spirit Leads the Meetings

As churches come together, who's in charge? Who leads? Who points the way forward?

In simple church gatherings it is the Holy Spirit who leads.

It is the Spirit and only the Spirit. The Spirit needs no help. The Spirit desires no assistance. He can direct things just fine on his own. He doesn't request human "sub-leaders" to get out in front of the body.

When we look in the pages of the New Testament we see believers gather together for mutual edification. As they do this they rely on the Spirit to lead. When we analyze their get-togethers, we see free-flowing gatherings where those involved act for the betterment of others. We don't see a great deal of pre-planning; the believers wait for the Spirit to lead them in edifying activities.

Acts chapters two and four illustrate what the Spirit's leadership can bring about.

Much of the institutional church is pastor-centric. Pastors lead almost everything and are a key focus of the body. For better or worse they point the way forward. They are at the head of almost all the important decisions. Whenever a big activity takes place, the pastors are front-and-center. If you look in the New Testament you simply do not see this. We see elders within local bodies, but these men lead through serving, not decision-making. They don't stand out in front. Like the other folks, they wait for the Spirit to lead.

This is one of the greatest differences between simple churches and institutional/traditional churches. While the Spirit leads simple churches in general and their gatherings in particular, it is the pastors who lead institutional churches. To say otherwise would be to ignore the obvious.

Bodies of believers do well to follow the Holy Spirit. He is God after all. We can and must trust the Spirit to lead us in how he wants us to live as his church. He will not fail us. Let us not fail him.