Any fellow Christian who exalts himself over me for control of my beliefs and time and influences me to "submit" to his or her exaltation is placing himself between me and my God regardless whether it is compartmentalized as "expedience" or under threat of "chaos" resulting from my lack of submitting.
All Christians are equal members of Christ's body, and none of us is the Head. Strangely however, I believe that since most Christians have been taught for generations, and so now commonly accept submitting to supposed superiors in the church, we are being hindered from conforming to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). In my view, the largest contributor to this phenomenon is nationalism-patriotism, or a preoccupation with being American ahead of being Christian.
In fact, I view churches in America as mostly religious versions of the State futilely straining to "Take America Back" as the nation's moral conscience. This worldview demotes the Church to a dependent and inferior status in the eyes of Statists. Why would they listen to us when they can easily see that we are only offering a moral version (which they do not want) of their own viewpoint? What could be easier to disrespect and reject?
Our military-rank mindset in churches borrowed from the Church-State mixed mindset needs eliminating, and I think that George Simon gives a good summary of what I believe, if we understood better, would go a long way in removing it:
He writes,
"Fighting is not inherently wrong or harmful. Fighting openly and fairly for our legitimate needs is often necessary and constructive. When we fight for what we truly need while respecting the rights and needs of others and taking care not to needlessly injure them, our behavior is best labeled assertive, and assertive behavior is one of the most healthy and necessary human behaviors. It's wonderful when we learn to assert ourselves in the pursuit of personal needs, overcome unhealthy dependency and become self-sufficient and capable."
"As goal-directed creatures, we all invest considerable time and energy trying to get the things we think will help us to prosper or bring us some kind of pleasure. Running into obstacles or barriers to what we want is the essence of human conflict. Now, there are fundamentally two things a person can do when running up against an obstacle to something they want."
"They can be so overwhelmed or intimidated by the resistance they encounter or so unsure of their ability to deal with it effectively, that they fearfully retreat. Alternatively, they can directly challenge the obstacle. If they are confident enough in their fighting ability and tenacious enough in their temperament, they might try to forcefully remove or overcome whatever stands between them and the object of their desire."
"Submissive personalities habitually and excessively retreat from potential conflicts. They doubt their abilities and are excessively afraid to take a stand. Because they "run" from challenges too often, they deny themselves opportunities to experience success. This pattern makes it hard for them to develop a sense of personal competence and achieve self-reliance. Some personality theorists describe these individuals as passive-dependent because their passivity largely leads them to become overly dependent upon others to do their fighting for them. Feeling inadequate, they all too readily submit to the will of those they view as more powerful or more capable than themselves."
In fact, I view churches in America as mostly religious versions of the State futilely straining to "Take America Back" as the nation's moral conscience. This worldview demotes the Church to a dependent and inferior status in the eyes of Statists. Why would they listen to us when they can easily see that we are only offering a moral version (which they do not want) of their own viewpoint? What could be easier to disrespect and reject?
Our military-rank mindset in churches borrowed from the Church-State mixed mindset needs eliminating, and I think that George Simon gives a good summary of what I believe, if we understood better, would go a long way in removing it:
He writes,
"Fighting is not inherently wrong or harmful. Fighting openly and fairly for our legitimate needs is often necessary and constructive. When we fight for what we truly need while respecting the rights and needs of others and taking care not to needlessly injure them, our behavior is best labeled assertive, and assertive behavior is one of the most healthy and necessary human behaviors. It's wonderful when we learn to assert ourselves in the pursuit of personal needs, overcome unhealthy dependency and become self-sufficient and capable."
"They can be so overwhelmed or intimidated by the resistance they encounter or so unsure of their ability to deal with it effectively, that they fearfully retreat. Alternatively, they can directly challenge the obstacle. If they are confident enough in their fighting ability and tenacious enough in their temperament, they might try to forcefully remove or overcome whatever stands between them and the object of their desire."
"Submissive personalities habitually and excessively retreat from potential conflicts. They doubt their abilities and are excessively afraid to take a stand. Because they "run" from challenges too often, they deny themselves opportunities to experience success. This pattern makes it hard for them to develop a sense of personal competence and achieve self-reliance. Some personality theorists describe these individuals as passive-dependent because their passivity largely leads them to become overly dependent upon others to do their fighting for them. Feeling inadequate, they all too readily submit to the will of those they view as more powerful or more capable than themselves."
From my view, when we as churches have oligarchical and hierarchical mindsets, we institutionalize what Simon says causes "retreat, doubt, fear, running from challenges, and denying success."
This "pattern" type of Christianity prevents "competence" and "self-reliance."
This "pattern" type of Christianity prevents "competence" and "self-reliance."
It rigidly patterns and ingrains "dependency" and "inadequacy" into our beliefs that are unchangeable and, therefore, hinder growth and conforming to the image of Christ.
What Simon describes has become institutionalized and, I believe, leads to disobedience to God.
That is why I don't "submit."
That is why I don't "submit."
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--George K. Simon Ph.D. In Sheep's Clothing: Understanding and Dealing with Manipulative People. Kindle Edition.
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