Collegiality for All?

[Gregory Matthews]

See:

https://spectrummagazine.org/article/2017/10/27/moving-adventist-thought-and-policy-forward

The Derivation of the Terms “Clergy” and “Laity”: The Greek word “kleros” from which we derive the word “clergy” is used in the NT but always to describe the entire group of Christian believers. It is never used to describe a group of leaders. (I Peter 5:3; Acts 26:18; and Col. 1:12). The Greek word “laos” from which the word “laity” is derived has several meanings in the NT. At times, it describes a group of people, or more specifically the nation of Israel. At other times the Christian community as a whole is embraced by this term. The distinction between the clergy and laity emerged over a long period in the early centuries of the Christian era, especially as the hierarchical structures of the church developed. The term “clergy” became colored by status and sacerdotal function while the term “laity” took on its more restricted meaning.

NT Vocabulary Doesn’t Reinforce any Distinction between Ministers and Members: Three Greek terms (“arche”; “archon” and “time”) are variously used in the NT in association with authority and rulership in secular contexts, and at times to refer to Jewish leaders, supernatural powers, and even Christ. They are not used for leaders in the NT church. In this way, the NT doesn’t reinforce the idea of any distinction between ministers and members.

Genuine “collegiality of all believers” will be brought much closer to reality as we dispense with language and concepts that would seem to support any status differences between pastoral leaders and other members of the church.