Cheryl Schatz

Mark,
You said:

Please show me where elders do not have a teaching responsibility.

You are twisting this. I never said that elders do not have a responsibility to teach. I am saying that elders are not the ONLY teachers. Paul shows quite clearly that the way the church was set up was for everyone to participate. Our way of doing “church” where one man stands behind a “pulpit” and preaches for an hour while everyone else is silent and not participating except to listen is not the biblical pattern of using the gifts in the church.

There is also no biblical pattern of setting up elders as gatekeepers of God’s gifts. The biblical pattern is to equip the saints for the work of service:

Eph 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

When the church is being taught today that only a specific number of people and only one gender has permission to do the work of service in the body of Christ, the “work” of elder has been completely turned against the original intention. The elders would be responsible for building up the body so that the body can grow up into maturity and minister to itself. When elders are being used to stop ministry instead of encouraging ministry there is something gone wrong in the body.

Please show how women are included in eldership. Please show how prophecy and teaching are the same gift?

We are not talking about “eldership” but about God’s gifting. Why are you asking me to show how prophecy and teaching are the same gift when I do not believe this? I am wondering why you seem to have a problem understanding my position? Is it possible that you just skim through my comments and never actual read them? Am I really difficult to understand? I think it might be helpful for you to ask questions rather than ask me to give an argument for something that I don’t believe. Do you understand how that might be very frustrating?