Are you a "sheep" in need of a "shepherd"?

[The Cushite]

Bruhs and GC fam,

I have had some interesting experiences in bible study the last few months. The church I attend here in Columbia, MO is about to embark on a relocation and openning of a new building. In this effort, the pastor has been trying to galvanize the members to step up their level of commitment (by increasing the time, talent, and treasure they are giving to the church). While I find this to actually be a smart move, how this is beginning to play out is becoming very challenging to me. Here are some interesting points:

1. For the last month, an associate minister has been doing a bible study taken from a book entitled The Purpose Driven Church in which he challenges us to be more committed to membership. Membership includes understanding submission to authority. Here's where it gets interesting. In submitting to authority, the church membership should not try to vote on things. They should just follow the shepherd's vision for the church. The phrase "Drink the Kool aid" popped in my mind whenever he mentioned this .

2. After the bible study, the ast. minister called for those who would recommit to a church with such a structure, and only a few women pledged to do so, none of the men in attendance stood up. The minister asked me why I didn't stand up, and I explained to him that I didn't agree with many of the points he presented. Then he proceeded to question my commitment to the church, which was on some level problematic, but on another prompted me to think "who was he that I would have to proove anything to?"

3. I later talked to the pastor of the church, who expressed that he feels that democracy in the church is symptomatic of the people not submitting to authority of the pastor. He went on to state that this shows that people do not understand submission in general, and do not respect the biblical design for church structure. I felt that to try to assert this type of leadership with reasonable people would just drive them away from the church, thus making the church irrelevant. What do you guys think?

Blackwatch-The Cushite!!!!!!