"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." -Romans 12:2
Beware Elitism!
by Rusty Entrekin
The Lure of Group Elitism In the last few years, there has been a disturbing trend toward elitism in some house church groups. This seems to be a common temptation that presents itself to all Christian groups, for it is a malady that affects some institutional churches as well. As 1Co 10:13 says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man."
Group elitism can take multiple forms. Sometimes it is based on falsehoods that inflate the ego. Racism is an example of this. But Christian groups usually don’t fall for something so obviously wrong. Typically, they are seduced by forms of elitism that involve a statement of partial truth or even truth.
Certainly, we should proclaim and practice the truth. Important Biblical truths should not be ignored. But when elitist motives are attached to them, statements of truth are accompanied by smug superiority and sectarianism. The message is conveyed (by tone of voice, word or practice), that "we are better than you" or "we are legitimate, but you are not." Here are some examples in which biblical truths or partial truths are accompanied by elitism:
"In New Testament times, churches met in homes. Why, I wouldn’t set foot in a church building. Haven’t been in one in for 20 years. (Implied message: "Nothing of enough value ever goes on there to merit my presence.")
"Yes, but are you familiar with ________? (You may fill in any number of names). He is the most wonderful Bible teacher I have ever encountered. He’s about the only teacher I pay much attention to these days." (Implication: "Unless you are following our leader, you are missing it!")
"Most churches are Bible centered, but ours is Christ centered." (Implication: "Either you follow the Bible, or you follow Jesus. We are among the few churches that truly follow Jesus.)"
"Most churches attach man-made words to their name. Therefore, they are sectarian and should be avoided. But we just call ourselves the Church of Jesus Christ (or some similar name). If you do not claim to be in His church, then that means you are outside of it." (Implication: If you are not a member of our group, you are not part of the true church!")
"In the New Testament, churches were started by church planters. If your church was not started by one, I’m afraid it got off on the wrong foot. It’s too bad that there aren’t many real church planters to go around. However, we have some trained church planters that can come to your church to help." (Implication: "We are the only ones who correctly understand how to start churches!")
Many elitist Christian groups began when someone recognized, at least partially, some great biblical truth and began teaching it. But our foes, Satan and his demons, do not sit idly by wringing their fingers when we recognize biblical truths. In fact, such occasions may very well incite them to fight against us more fiercely. Nor does the realization of truth prevent our fallen natures from having desires which are opposed to those of the Spirit.
If Satan cannot use obvious falsehoods against us, he attempts to misuse the truth against us, or tries to get us to mishandle the truth. We need only to read about the temptation of Christ in the wilderness to recognize this. Satan actually tried to tempt Jesus with Bible verses! So even when we think we are standing tall, such as when we have realized a wonderful truth (like the New Testament way to have a church meeting) we must be on guard:
"Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall" (1Co 10:12).
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world" (1Pe 5:8-9).
How do Satan and his fallen angels, and/or our fallen natures, tempt us to mishandle the truth? Here are just some of the ways:
We may be enticed to reason illogically from the truth.
We may be tempted to distort, or to over-magnify one truth to the detriment of other truths.
We may misuse the truth to promote our own selfish goals and ambitions.
We may incline toward elitism - our subject at hand - becoming puffed up because we see truths others do not, or because we do certain things more scripturally than others.
One of the most subtle examples of elitism that I have ever encountered is making Christ-centeredness a pretext for elitism. Can someone actually be sectarian over the great and essential truth of making Christ central in one’s life? Yes, and although it may seem hard to believe, there is a biblical example of it in 1Co 1:12, "Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ" (emphasis added).
Is it not true for a "Christian to say, "I am of Christ?" In fact, is this not one of the most wonderful truths that one can realize? Surely, those who proclaimed "I am of Christ" had a better boast than those who said, "I am of Paul" and "I am of Cephas." And yet Paul still accuses them of being sectarian! Why? Because they were implying, "You are invalid because you say, ‘I am of Paul!’ But WE know that we are of Christ!" Paul’s response to this was, "Is Christ divided?"
It is not enough just to proclaim the truth, even the greatest and highest truths. We must also proclaim the truth with the right motives!
There is an important lesson here. It is not enough just to proclaim the truth, even the greatest and highest truths. We must also proclaim the truth with the right motives!
And so Paul’s rebuke of the Corinthians who were proclaiming with elitist motives the wonderful truth, "I am of Christ," was a very deserved rebuke. This serves as an example of how Satan does not rest when we have discovered the truth. He tempts us to mishandle the truth.
Even when others are afflicted with sectarianism, or a lack of understanding of things that we may clearly see, we must humbly acknowledge that they still have a place of inestimable value in the body of Christ. They are still a part of the true, universal church, of which all who have accepted Christ as their savior are members.
The Lure of Personal ElitismPaul’s next statement is a wonderful example for us. Think of how it could have tickled Paul’s fleshly ears to hear people saying, "I am a follower of Paul." Yet next, Paul self-depreciatingly says, " was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" (1Co 1:13).
Sadly, there have been great leaders in church history, men who have understood great truths of the gospel, who have fallen for this very enticement of the flesh and the ego, and thereby limited or even destroyed their own usefulness. Unfortunately, this has happened in the house church movement, just as it has in the institutional churches. And what a tragic shipwreck of lives it has caused!
Are you aware that the scripture explicitly commands us not to seek our own vain glory? "Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another " (Ga 5:26).
We must go about building God’s kingdom, not our own. We should recognize that power rightly belongs to Him, not to us. We must seek His glory, not our own. Do we not implicitly convey these truths each time we repeat the Lord’s prayer and say, "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory"? Are you aware that the scripture explicitly commands us not to seek our own vain glory? "Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another " (Ga 5:26).
There are higher priorities that should occupy our minds instead. First, there is the love of the Lord, which results in our promoting His kingdom, His power, and His glory, rather than our own. And then there is loving others as Christ loved us, which leads to lives of service and self-sacrifice for others. If these are our primary motives, and we live by them, our lives will fall into place.
Sometimes, when we do these things, we are rewarded with honor. But we must not do these things with the motive of attaining earthly honors. Then we forfeit our heavenly rewards. If what we think is " God’s will" for our lives is linked with the pursuit of more glory and prestige for ourselves, perhaps something is wrong. Perhaps something is even terribly wrong. No man can serve two masters. As Paul pleaded with the Philippians, " Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others."
An Example of Elitism
As mentioned above, one of Satan’s strategies is to tempt us to emphasize one truth to the detriment of others. Some truths need to be emphasized. But not to such an extent that we end up excluding, crowding out, or distorting other truths. That is an ego-inflating, flesh-boosting kind of thing. It involves taking excessive pride in what God has revealed to us, and over-glorying in what we know. Scripture warns us that "Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth" (1Co 8:1).
Along these very lines, there is a strategy that Satan seems to be subtly using to lead a particular group of house churches who have a knowledge of the importance of Christ-centeredness astray. It is also a form of elitism, taking the form of, "You are Bible-centered. But we are Christ-centered." It is certainly a great truth that we must be Christ-centered. But like the Corinthians who boastfully proclaimed, "I am of Christ," this group considers churches which stress closely following the Bible as invalid expressions of the body of Christ, even when these other churches also stress Christ-centeredness. Thus, Christ-centeredness is being misused as a pretext for sectarianism and elitism.
This group has little to do with other house churches. They keep to themselves. When the man whom they regard as their primary leader speaks at a house church conference, many of them come only to hear him speak. The other speakers are apparently not considered worthy of much, if any attention. When their leader speaks, he often discounts the validity of what is happening in the other house churches. Only the house churches that follow his leadership seem to be deemed valid expressions of church life. When you speak with members of this group, they often lead the conversation back to praise of their leader. Oddly, they mix "I am of Paul" together with "I am of Christ," because they believe that their leader is one of the few men on earth who places the proper emphasis on seeking Christ.
The book catalog that this group publishes likens their leader’s writings to the world’s greatest Christian authors, and even to those of the apostle Paul. To be sure, he is a talented writer, but if I were in his shoes, there is no way that I would allow those under my supervision to write something like that about me! I would be afraid that I would start believing it!
The concept this group conveys is that if you try to start a church that closely follows the Bible, you’ll end up with outward form but no inward life. Just seek Jesus, they teach, and He will form the church, organically. But here we see an example of how a great truth can be misused. It is possible to glory so much in our knowledge of one truth, that we crowd out or even distort other truths, and regard ourselves as more valid than those who do not do the same.
The problem with this is that it sets up a false dichotomy – either you obey the Bible and follow NT patterns, or you seek Jesus. But who says we can’t do both? In fact, we should do both. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command" (Jn 14:15).
I know someone associated with this group who, together with his friends, wanted to start a church. They met together on a regular basis for months. But because they wanted their church to be "organic," they didn’t talk about the Bible much. Instead, they talked about sports, the news, their children, etc. Why? They were waiting for "it" to happen spontaneously.
But we observe something very different in the book of Acts. When the Holy Spirit wanted to start more new churches, He told the church at Antioch: "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them" (Ac 13:2). I ask you, did Barnabas and Saul sit around and wait for things to happen? No, God used them as his instruments to make things happen. How do we know this? Because He called them to "work". Work involves purposefulness and intentionality.
Likewise, think of Heb 10:25: "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching." If God has commanded us to encourage one another when we meet, we must not sit around and wait for it "to happen" – "it" will happen if we just obey Him and act. Healthy churches don’t just happen – they are formed by God using men working in obedience to Him.
Walking in the Spirit does not mean waiting for God to repeat to us afresh what He has already commanded in scripture before we will obey Him.
This means being attentive to Jesus when He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit, as many promoters of "organic" church life emphasize. But it also means obeying Him where He has already spoken in Scripture. Walking in the Spirit does not mean waiting for God to repeat to us afresh what He has already commanded in scripture before we will obey Him. That reflects a misunderstanding of being "organic."
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians: "Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you" (Php 3:17). And to the Thessalonians he wrote: "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether my word, or our epistle" (2Th 2:15, KJV). Obviously, then, we should imitate the traditions of the apostles. For proper organic church growth to occur, we must love the Lord so much that we cherish every word that comes from His mouth, and, like beloved children, imitate the apostles He trained to teach us.
What is wrong with this group’s concept of an "organic" church? It seems to assume that being "organic" involves some sort of plantlike passivity. Perhaps this is because we normally use the word in connection with gardening. But the Lord does not describe His church as a member of the plant kingdom, but as a woman! And every young woman must be taught the word of God and how to obey it in order to grow up right.
The church is no different: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or blemish, but holy and blameless" (Ep 5:25-27). Healthy, organic church growth does not occur without instruction and obedience in the Word. Satan would love to trick us into divorcing loving God from loving His words. On the other hand, he would also like for us to substitute an understanding of how to do things according to Scripture for a close love walk with Jesus. Understanding, even deep understanding of the word of God, is not enough. It must be accompanied by a loving relationship with Him. This is an even more important truth, but both are important truths, and neither should be emphasized to the exclusion of the other.
The ultimate test of our love for Jesus is not our Bible knowledge, or even the time we spend in joyful communion with Him.
To summarize how these two truths work out in application, we should walk closely with Jesus. Along the way, He will often stop to teach us. We must listen very attentively! And then, we must be careful to quickly and completely obey His words. Why? Because the ultimate test of our love for Jesus is not our Bible knowledge, or even the time we spend in joyful communion with Him. Make no mistake, these are vital expressions of our love, but alone, they are insufficient indicators of it. The acid test of our love is our obedience. Jesus made this crystal clear in Jn 14:15 when he said, "If you love Me, you will obey my commandments."
Conclusion
In the example above, we tragically see many of the forces which seduce men into personal and group elitism at work. But let's not condemn, lest we be judged by the same measure. I’m sure that most, if not all of us, as we have been considering these things, have been examining our own lives and our own churches and seen these tendencies at work in varying degrees. Perhaps we are grieved to realize they have been at work to a great degree.
We must avoid elitism, sectarianism, and the pursuit of vain glory. This means seeing the members of the body of Christ with our spiritual eyes, and recognizing that each has an important and vital place. It involves not becoming puffed up with our own importance, or the importance of our own group. It also means not boasting "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Paul." Lastly, it even means not implying superiority over sectarian Christians with the boast, "I am of Christ." That is a form of sectarianism in itself.
Application
We must guard ourselves carefully against elitism and conceit, and recognize that all of those who are in Christ are members of one body with us, equally important, and precious and loved in Christ. Each has his or her own unique gifts. Each has insights and gifts that we do not. No one of us, and no group of us is complete in and of ourselves. We are only complete with each other.
This is no argument for ecumenism. I’m not a member or promoter of the World Council of Churches. I’m not promoting the idea of church institutions merging into an amorphous blob in which the truths of the gospel are compromised. We should live by the truths that God has revealed to us in scripture, and not compromise them for the sake of unity. I’m simply arguing against thinking we are superior to others in the body of Christ, and isolating ourselves from the spiritual body of Christ as a result. I’m asking that we open our spiritual eyes to see the importance of others in the body of Christ. Even when others are elitist or sectarian, we should not be. We should be willing to learn from others in the body of Christ, and recognize that they have value and validity, just as we do. God does not reveal everything to one person or one group. There are always more insights to be learned from others in the body of Christ, and more examples to be imitated.
If ever a man saw the body of Christ with his spiritual eyes, Paul did. He did "not cease" to pray for the church at Colosse [Col 1:9], a church he did not even start. Epaphras planted that church. Yet Paul constantly thought of them, so much so that he took the time to write a thoughtful letter to them, a letter that is to be cherished through the ages. How much do we pray for those in other churches? How much do we care for them? Do we show our care with actions? The New Testament pattern was that there was one church in each city: the church at Corinth, the church at Phillipi, etc. Surely, we should not completely isolate ourselves from other churches in our town!
The New Testament even demonstrates that we should be concerned for the welfare of believers outside of our town. Some of the saints in Jerusalem were still struggling to understand law and grace. Many of the Gentile Christians seemed to have a better grip on grace, thanks to the teaching of Paul. But did Paul encourage "us vs. them" thinking? No. He encouraged the Gentile churches to take up an offering for the poor saints in Jerusalem. He saw that those Jewish believers were members of the same body with the Gentile believers.
May God grant to us the vision Paul had of the body of Christ, that prompted him to write, "besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches" (2Co 11:28, emphasis added).
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Rusty Entrekin is a theology graduate of Louisiana College. He and his wife Julie have seven children, with four still at home, and four grandchildren. Currently, he resides in Kennesaw, GA. He writes apologetic and theological articles to help people come to know Christ and grow closer to the Lord. If this article has blessed you, and you would like to free him up to write more, you may make a donation below.
Rusty previously decided not to apply for 501c3 ministry status, so that he can write about political matters without worrying about government interference. Because of this, your gifts will not be tax deductible. However, you will receive a far greater reward for your donation: treasure in heaven!
