This website is a parody of City Bible Church. We are not owned or operated by Frank Damazio or affiliated with City Bible Church. Please do not send us your tithe.
It is not by grace that one enters the kingdom of heaven, but by tithing.

- Damazio 3:16
13 unique visitors in last 30 min. 80 unique visitors today. 441,860 unique visitors since Feb 06. 1,968,234 total hits since Feb 06.

I prefer Mr. It

Posted on May 1st, 2007 by Reformed Pope into the David Mackin Writes: category

David Mackin submits the following:

Feeling like an "It" in Church…  
 
Does your Christian community make you feel like a real person (a "You"),  or does it make you feel like an object (an "It")? Do you feel like you are able to encounter the leaders of your community in an "I-You" (or, "I-thou") relationship, or do you feel that your relationship with them is more like an "I-it" kind of relationship with them being the "I" and you being the "It?"
 
The grace of Jesus has called us to experience the satisfaction of enjoying an "I-You" relationship with God by removing all intermediaries. He has also graced every Christian with the opportunity of experiencing a fulfilling "I-You" relationship with his brothers and sisters in Christ. When Christians are in an "I-it" kind of relation, however, they feel like an object; something used, manipulated, spoken-down to, or controlled. But, when they're in healthy and fulfilling "I-You" relations, they feel like they can be themselves and express their thoughts, feelings and even their questions. In an "I-You" relationship, the people are not treated as external objects; they are treated as real persons in whom the Spirit of God dwells.  In your own Christian experience, which of the following "Its" have you ever felt like - in or out of the IC? (For more on "I-You" and "I-It" relationships, see the book: I and Thou by Martin Buber.)
 
I am the paid minister…You are the tither.
 
I am the leader…You are the member.
 
I am the organizer…You are the attendee.
 
I am the bishop…You are the non-questioner.
 
I am the ruler… You are the follower.
 
I am the head…You are the support.
 
I am the teacher…You are the pupil.
 
I am the builder…You are the brick.  
 
I am the star…You are the trophy.
 
I am the speaker…You are the listener.
 
I am the worship leader…You are the hand-clapper.
 
I am the preacher…You are the audience.
 
I am the simulcast screen…You are the chair.
 
Permalink | Add a comment? | E-Mail This Post/Page
 

12 Comments To This Post

  1. An Unscrupulous Man said:    
    May 1st, 2007 at 9:55 am

    Heh, heh … in one church I belonged to, they sent the pastor on vacation to Hawaii telling him it was his reward for hard work - while he was gone, the elders held a meeting to discuss the building project (a gym) which was way over budget and proposed to lay off some of the staff, by popular (or not popular) vote … we were asked to pay special attention to those families where both husband and wife were employed by the church (i.e., the pastor and his wife (p/t secretary)) - wouldn’t want to lay off both spouses and cause them financial hardship :? … it was quite an emotional meeting - votes were all over the map - and in the end, the pastor was voted out - which in that particular denomination meant the ENTIRE staff had to resign.

    I had made up my mind during that ‘emergency congregational meeting’ following the service, to resign my membership because I felt the actions of the elders were really CS …

    What I will NEVER forget however, is one elder referring to us as “GIVING UNITS”.

    It is shameful to talk about UNITS in church! Shameful! :? :shock: :roll:

    ‘Scrupe

    [ Quote this comment ]
  2. Karli said:    
    May 1st, 2007 at 10:03 am

    Hey, sounds like Bush. Except, he’s also the decider.

    [ Quote this comment ]
  3. The Berean said:    
    May 1st, 2007 at 11:55 am

    You forgot one David.

    He’s the taker and your the giver

    [ Quote this comment ]
  4. The Berean said:    
    May 1st, 2007 at 12:02 pm

    I should enhance this a bit.
    He’s the taker and you’re the giver.
    He’s Joseph and you’re his brothers.
    He’s the king and you’re his jesters.
    He’s the CEO and you’re the blue collar workers.
    He owns the business and you work for the man.
    He’s the american business owner and you’re the illegals.
    He’s the dreamer and you fulfill his dreams.
    He says jump and you say how high.
    Should we go on.

    [ Quote this comment ]
  5. David Mackin said:    
    May 1st, 2007 at 1:23 pm

    Berean: Great!

    [ Quote this comment ]
  6. Rock said:    
    May 1st, 2007 at 2:58 pm

    To add: He’s the saint and you’re the sinner

    [ Quote this comment ]
  7. David Mackin said:    
    May 1st, 2007 at 3:40 pm

    Rock said: saint…sinner
    Rock: Good comment. One of the inequalities of the typical IC, is the common practice that the senior leadership rarely, if ever, confess their weaknesses or sins to the people. To maintain their elitism and power over the people, they must be aloof and seem better and more trustworthy than anyone else.

    [ Quote this comment ]
  8. Pam Hogeweide said:    
    May 1st, 2007 at 3:42 pm

    I am the simulcast screen…You are the chair.

    this was my favorite one.

    [ Quote this comment ]
  9. The Berean said:    
    May 1st, 2007 at 6:48 pm

    David Mackin on May 1, 2007 at 3:40 pm said:

    Rock said: saint…sinner
    Rock: Good comment. One of the inequalities of the typical IC, is the common practice that the senior leadership rarely, if ever, confess their weaknesses or sins to the people. To maintain their elitism and power over the people, they must be aloof and seem better and more trustworthy than anyone else.

    I think that illusion has been shattered many times over.

    [ Quote this comment ]
  10. De-Tox Church Group said:    
    February 7th, 2008 at 10:51 am

    In our situation we were made to feel like the children:

    I am the father…you are the child.

    [ Quote this comment ]
  11. David Mackin said:    
    February 7th, 2008 at 9:35 pm

    de-tox church group said: …I am the father…you are the child…

    de-tox, of course! excellent and accurate! i should have thought of that one; one of my previous pastors was very fatherly; the problem was that he would not allow others to grow up; if a person got too grown up (independent) then they would have to leave; Paul said that there were some believers in Corinth who were “babes” and some who were “more mature.” That means that there are different maturity levels in the church. When a pastor continually treats everyone like they are his children and does not allow them to grow up right where they are in that church - then you have a case of either over-controlling spiritual parents or overly-dependent spiritual children or both.

    just yesterday a brother who was very close to a senior pastor for many months as his assistant told me that the people who come to his church either love or hate the sr. pastor; i kind of wondered what kind of personalities stay, love and submit to authoritarian leaders? i think we would find that they are co-dependent personalities for the most part.

    but here’s the rub: aside from someone having a fatherly personality, there is the great possibility that the father to child relationship will never change as long as the senior pastor (father) makes all of the major financial, doctrinal, policy and programmatic decisions in the church; if he does, then he is the patriarch no matter how much he seems to allow others to grow up.

    so I am of the growing opinion that the problem with over-controlling leaders in the church today has to do BOTH with the power-hungry hearts inside of the leaders mixed with the organizational environment that we allow them to function as: the head of the Body - instead of Christ being the head.

    [ Quote this comment ]
  12. De-Tox Church Group said:    
    February 8th, 2008 at 3:59 pm

    David said:

    but here’s the rub: aside from someone having a fatherly personality, there is the great possibility that the father to child relationship will never change as long as the senior pastor (father) makes all of the major financial, doctrinal, policy and programmatic decisions in the church; if he does, then he is the patriarch no matter how much he seems to allow others to grow up.

    so I am of the growing opinion that the problem with over-controlling leaders in the church today has to do BOTH with the power-hungry hearts inside of the leaders mixed with the organizational environment that we allow them to function as: the head of the Body - instead of Christ being the head.

    So glad that you are speaking out about this David! I heard that Jack Hayford publically said that he feels the American church is in the worst state it’s ever been in because of the materialistic and celebrity bent toward everything. There are those who care deeply about the state of God’s people and you are one of them. If we all stay quiet and try to ‘cover’ the pastor while he runs his one man show, then nothing can change. If enough intelligent and intuitive voices speak up, at least the Lord can do something to rescue those who have an ear to hear!!

    [ Quote this comment ]

Leave A New Comment

Enter the validation code from the image