Here’s a blog post from Reason to Stand. In it, Wes Widner examines some problems with the way churches operate today, and makes some recommendations for improvement.
Excerpt:
In the first place, a hierarchical system where non-preachers are viewed as less spiritual, where the gift of preaching is exalted above all other gifts is plainly against many passages found in scripture including Jesus’s own admonition that his own disciples not follow the pattern of the world in setting up hierarchical “power over” systems.
Secondly I would point to the perpetual spiritual immaturity that is fostered and festering in most churches (particularly Southern Baptist and Methodist churches as those are the ones I have the most experience in). When people are told that rigorous study of the word of God is limited to an elite few “chosen” men the end result is a logical abdication of serious study on the part of the “average” churchgoer. This is one of the reasons I believe areas such as apologetics have historically had such a hard time making inroads into the local church because most pastors feel threatened by the prospect of their congregation actually being educated and able (empowered?) to ask serious questions. Sadly it doesn’t have to be like this and I’ll explain in my third line of reasoning below.
Finally, I believe that the system we’ve manufactured (sure, as early as 300AD, but early errors are still errors) and have come to accept as an unquestionable fact is harmful to the Body of Christ is because it leads directly to pastors either being burned out or becoming dictators (I believe in some cases merely for self-preservation). Nowhere in Scripture are we presented with a description of a man who is supposed to shoulder the load that we expect the average “professional” pastor to carry. Nowhere in Scripture are we told that one man in a local group of believers is in charge of visiting the sick, ministering to all the members, responsible for the bulk of spiritual instruction, etc.
J.P. Moreland also recommends having a team of pastors instead of just one main pastor in his book “Love Your God With All Your Mind”, or LYGWYM, for short.
I chose this post to link to because I’ve experienced the problems he talks about here personally. But I’ve also noticed some practices I liked while listening to sermons online. One thing I like about Mark Driscoll is that he gives the sermon then takes questions from the audience. I also like Wayne Grudem because he preaches in a normal voice and isn’t afraid to talk about politics and other serious issues. And I like it when William Lane Craig surveys all points of view on interesting topics when he teaches Sunday school.
And I have some ideas of my own, too. Speaking as a man, I learn better when things are presented to me as an overview of conflicting viewpoints. I get bored when only one point of view is presented. It makes me sleepy. I like to fight, so that would be my recommendation to improve church – more apologetics, more debates and more disagreements. And I think having events where the church hosts debates for the public to attend at the local university is also good.
WINTERY KNIGHT 
Very good, Wes.
I agree. My husband was burnt out by being a pastor. Before he resigned he liked books like, “The way church ought to be” which go further than Grudem and Driscoll.
Hierarchy hurts. Not just the leader, but the follower.
Jesus spoke specifically against it.
Matthew 20:25 … You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.
vs 26 It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,
vs 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Matthew 23:8 But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.
vs 9 And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
vs 10 And do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is Christ,
vs 11 But the greatest among you shall be your servant.
I’m glad men are getting this about the church system. The system needs to change.
Wish men would figure out that hierachy also hurts marriage and is one of the reasons so many Christian marriages are breaking up.
(JOKE, Laugh only if you want to. Men might not. Most women will: “My husband and I divorced over religious reasons. He thought he was God and I didn’t.”)
I thank God for Piper who is taking a Sabbatical from ministy to work on his marriage unlike Benny Hinn and Todd Bently. Men who think they are far too important to the Body/Bride of Christ to be bothered with the bride they had at home.
Remember, Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It’s true in government. It’s true in churches. It’s true in homes. Homes need checks and balances just as surely as governments and churches do.
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I suspect a lot probably has to do with the attitudes of the laity. We (and I include myself in this) have a tendency to leave church-based ministry of all kinds to the church staff, so that we can focus on our careers and families, and attempt to justify it by saying, “That’s what they’re paid for.” Similarly, the monarchical model of church government is probably sustained because people like clear lines of authority and abhor the thought that a particular decision might have to go to a committee, or be overruled later on.
I think teaching is a special case. We are, of course, told that not many of us should presume to be teachers (James 3:1, which also carries a warning). But we’ve arguably taken that to an extreme, probably for a whole bunch of reasons; we now find ourselves in a situation where holding a formal teaching office in many churches requires several years’ training, and so people who don’t want to become professional church leaders need not apply.
I must say, I also like some of the ideas or practices you mention. Q&A might be particularly helpful; it seems that altogether too many sermons are “spoon-feeding” and there may be reasons why someone wouldn’t want to approach the teacher one-on-one afterwards – not to mention that whatever one person is brave enough to ask, another ten are probably thinking to themselves!
Speaking as a man myself, I’m not sure I would want to see a church service turned into a debate. However reasoned and well-conducted it be, you could well turn off more people than you attract. But something like that could be run without taking place in the actual service.
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