Pulling the strings

So... Who is really in charge of the church?

The answer is God. Der.

But who guides the local church? The minister? The people in the congregation? Those outside the community of faith?

I don't know. I can make a case for all three. And a case against.

The minister should lead the people he is called to shepherd over. He is to care for them and discerning the best way that he (and the church) can follow Jesus.

But... it shouldn't all be dependant on the person in the pulpit. Eventually, they will move on. The vision shouldn't walk out as well. The minister could be hit by a bus tomorrow...

So the case can be made that the congregants should be steering the ship. As a collective group they would be a much more effective body of change and transformation. God calls them to work together, as His hands and feet in the community they are called to serve.

But... can this feed the consumerist tendency that often rears its head. Everyone wants their specific needs catered to. People can hold the church at ransom if their whims are not satisfied. And, let's face it, it wouldn't be unheard of for politics and power-plays to be rife in a church.

How about those outside the church? If the church is to ultimately reach their community, shouldn't it be focus? Shouldn't they dictate where the target should lie?

But... is it appropriate for a church to be directed to those who do not hold the same core foundation that it professes?

From my thinking and a few conversations, I'm still fuzzy.

Except for one thing.

Whoever is steering the ship, ideally a healthy combination of all three options (under God), one underlying value must be honesty.

Can the minister HONESTLY stand before his/her people and say that this is where God is calling them to go?
Can the church HONESTLY say that they feel a part of where they are a body of believers is headed?
Does the community HONESTLY feel that their areas of need are being met?