House Church Talk - Questions concerning leadership

[David Anderson]

Jim, from an undisclosed location somewhere under the blue moon of 
Kentucky, writes:

>I always enjoy your insights along w/ serious scholarships...  so "shock and
>surprise" that you would see Ezek 34 as being cryptic...

      Hi brother, :-)

As you are aware the book of Ezekiel begins with the words: Now it came 
to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of 
the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the 
heavens were opened, and I saw VISIONS of God. 
(I always wondered if "Journey" received their inspiration for "Wheel in 
the Sky Keeps on Turning" from Ezekiel 1.)

I don't question the authority of the book nor it's author but I am 
uncertain as how to interpret much of it. Much of the imagery sounds like 
that of an LSD tripper. And I can't figure out where the literal ends and 
the symbolic begins. Ditto for the time-line of events.  

Take this verse, for instance, from the same "shepherding" passage: Ezek. 
34:13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the 
countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the 
mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the 
country.

"Gathering of them from the countries" opens up a lot of possibilities. 
Past, present, future? All the above? 2 of 3? It's cryptic to me. LOL.

It is quite possible that you and others here have more understanding on 
this. I just couldn't figure out why Jehovah would fire the shepherds to 
become the Shepherd, then put the sheep under a prince named David. Nor 
could I find any commentators to confirm the views of Wayne J. That last 
fact, obviously, is not conclusive.

Like yourself, I am concerned about what "church leadership" has morphed 
into and how that many house churches are little more than institutional 
churches in a small box. That's a shame because house churches have the 
opportunity to objectively view the traditions of the past and casting 
off those which do not check out.

Jim, it was real joy for me to meet you in person several years ago. You 
reminded me of other friendly KY folks. I used to drive over to Grundy, 
VA near Pikeville, KY. Folks came in to VA from KY to work in the mines. 
They were hard workers, transparent, and very devoted to you once you got 
to know 'um. One unforgettable thing was to see how unaffected many of 
them were when they became very wealthy. Huge fortunes were made during 
the coal boom of the late 70's but the new millionaires just acted and 
dressed as they had always done. If I recall, the First National Bank of 
the little town of Pikeville had about 700 million dollars in deposits 
back them. Even National Geographic did a story on the community.

My elder brother Andrew has devoted mucho hours to the family genealogy. 
One distant ancestor created the KY Long Rifle, another founded the 
Kentucky Derby. The problem with Andy is that he exaggerates sometimes...

The Lord is using your words, brother - that I know. Sorry if I 
misrepresented them in any way.

      David Anderson