“Follow me as I follow Christ” Is not in the Bible!!

1 Cor 11:1 says “imitate me as I imitate Christ”

I’ve heard many pastors misquote this verse, what many are using this verse for is an ask for is personal loyalty.

Loyal followers are necessary for leaders to lead.

But to look at what Paul was saying, a Christian cannot IMITATE a pastor without being a pastor. To be a pastor like we see in modern churches requires an institution and hierarchy and status in an organization.

I can’t just get up and share in a church without permission and sanction from the guy in charge.

That’s NOT how it was in the NT churches.

To be an imitator of the apostles (and Jesus himself) we behave and produce fruit as the Lord acts through us.

In other words, any Christian can imitate an apostle, they just need the maturity that comes from the Holy Spirit and a surrendered obedience.

A real ecclesia will be ok with the freedom of ANYONE to imitate the apostles within the meetings to speak and share and proclaim Christ.

Don’t believe me? Try to imitate Christ or Paul in your church for the next few Sunday’s, see what happens.

Jesus would stand up in synagogue and share a passage of scripture then sit down, now you try that. If it’s well organized you’ll get talked to … quickly. If it’s poorly led they’ll drive you out if you keep it up. And it won’t be pretty.

Paul would encourage his church in Corinth to one by one share something from the Lord, try that in your church.

My point is the churches that some of us assume are pleasing to the Lord are probably more loyal to tradition than they are to Jesus himself.

If that doesn’t bother you I don’t know what will. And let me introduce you to the living Jesus Christ. The one Christians know as Lord.