Run For Cover – Part One

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1)

So back to the scheduled blogging.  I know you can ask why I don’t leave out all the scheduled stuff, I mean for all you know what you read could have been written at the time that it’s posted.  Seriously a man of my lifestyle, three daughters, new born, diligent and loving wife to cater for, other stuff to do, is there really the time to always be so disciplined?  Maybe in your world, but not in mine.  Also the reality is the inspiration for the writing comes at different times and I don’t mind sharing that with you.  Hey it’s my blog and I’ll blog what I want to.

Anyway, it turned out that waiting for this time to blog what I originally scheduled for yesterday turned out to be an inspired postponement as material I read in the running up to writing the entry today contributed to a better understanding of what I’m looking at in this issue.

The origins of this, you’ll be shocked to realise, come from something I read in a book by Frank Viola.  Yeah, him again.  So last Thursday or Friday I was reading a bit in Reimagining Church which looked at critiquing a common practice in some Christian circles of covering.

To be fair I never heard that much about it when I was growing up.  It wasn’t mentioned heaps, although the concept itself was vigorously practised as I’ve discovered in hindsight.  Here’s my take on it for the uninitiated and for the fully initiated feel free to criticise my understanding.

The thinking goes that for the flock of Jesus Christ there are pastors who provide ‘covering’ for the flock.  That means if a member of the flock/church knows what’s good for them they’ll ensure that their spiritual development is monitored by the pastor.  To ensure the line of consistency continues there is also covering for the pastor from the local, regional and national expressions of the administrative of the particular denomination.  Likewise some may find their covering in a network of like-minded pastors, apostles, bishops and the like.  (Like how often I used like in that last sentence, like.  No neither did I, but we’ll live with it … like it or not.)

I guess the thinking behind it is fair enough, especially with new Christians.  There’s a level of security and safety in knowing that there is someone who looks out for you and ensures you’re on the right track.  Especially with the various winds of doctrine that can so easily blow people to follow whatever fad and trend takes the Christian mindscape, it is a fail-safe system that can prevent believers getting deceived.

(Note: I am not referring in the covering business to requests to cover people in prayer in the same way that partners cover each other when they’re about to get into gun-shot fire.  That kind of cover remains essential and is good for building relationships horizontally as well as vertically.  I still need you to cover me as I go through some important decisions I have to walk through presently.)

There are some serious problems with the whole covering business though, which Viola explains a lot better than I do and hey he’s got a chapter in a book to outline it.  So if you’re not swayed by what I say, have a read of the chapter in the book for yourself.  Hey if you’re already convinced about the covering business then there’s little that I’ll say now to change your mind.

In any case, the first serious problem is the lack of biblical support for the notion.  When I say the lack of biblical support, I mean when you look at the church of Jesus Christ defined and highlighted by the Lord Himself in the gospels and by the Apostles subsequently for all they say about shepherding and pastoral care you’ll find nothing that rings with the ‘covering’ deal.

Obviously there’s the issue about not having administrative denominational structures that decided things for you in the New Testament.  There is also the difference between looking after caring for something and the authoritative overtones of covering which gives the impression that for the believer there are certain doors you need to go through to get the voice of God and unless you do it in the prescribed manner Thou Hast Committed The Cardinal Sin!

That’s not all though, as forthcoming entry will further outline.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd