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God is good, just and impartial. He inspired and guided the early ministers of the gospel to lay a solid foundation for their successors to build on.
Interestingly, they did not only lay a firm foundation of the Church on Christ Jesus, but also established and documented doctrines, standards, ordinances and practices to guide ministry.
In this article, I want us to look at the culture of seating arrangements in most church buildings today, and find out if they align with the teachings of Jesus Christ and the early apostles in Scripture.
Many church leaders may question the theological relevance of this teaching but they lose sight of the fact that doing so is tantamount to questioning the word of Christ Jesus.
Drawing the Church’s attention to this is necessary because Jesus warned His disciples against imitating the deeds of the scribes and the Pharisees who craved for best seats in the synagogues (Matthew 23:6).
Christ’s instruction aims at making sure that His servants develop the attitude of humility, simplicity and brotherhood while performing their ministerial duties.
When Jesus came into the world, He sat on boats on a number of occasions to teach His disciples. But the Bible does not state whether at other times, Jesus also sat on benches, mats or leather chairs different from what His disciples sat on to minister.
Moreover, we are also not informed in Scripture about special seats the early apostles sat on in the temples to minister. However, James, a foundational apostle, who was a pillar in the early Church wrote against partiality or favouritism in the allocation of seats to Christian believers.
“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts” (James 2:1-4).
Now, we know that at most church meetings in Ghana and other parts of the world, church leaders sit on different, best seats placed either on the platform or in the front row.
The question now is: why should church leaders sit on chairs different from what the rest of the believers sit on during church meetings?
Someone may argue that there is nothing wrong with church leaders sitting on better chairs than the rest of the believers, considering the fact that Paul instructs that leaders who serve well, especially those who preach and teach be considered worthy of double honour (1 Timothy 5:17).
Well, this is true but the question is: who should consider them worthy of double honour? Is it the leaders themselves or the church members? Contextually, it is expected that the congregation consider their leaders worthy of double honour.
Now, do we, church leaders, decide, budget and buy the chairs to honour ourselves or the saints decide, budget and buy them for us? Undoubtedly, it is we, leaders, who buy them to honour and elevate ourselves.
However, James instructs fellow servant-leaders not to be influenced by people’s appearances, statuses or pedigrees to show partiality when it comes to the seats they should sit on.
He says that those who do these things “have made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts” (James 2:1-4).
In the mind of James, making distinctions or creating class systems or divisions in the church in any form is sinful, because all Christian believers are equal before God by virtue of their common faith, baptism and salvation.
In fact, it is surprising that some church leaders strongly support the idea that they deserve better seats at church meetings, but they never demand same outside the church. It is only at church services that leaders sit on different chairs.
Which chairs do church leaders sit on in their homes and cars? What about those on which we sit on public buses, airplanes and trains? Can anyone also think about the seats we sit on at funerals, conference halls and lecture halls?
Are church leaders given different seats at any of these places? Certainly not. Everyone sits on the same quality of chair. Does that dishonour church leaders? Obviously not. How then should chairs given to them at church services be different from those given to the rest of the children of God?
Clearly, servant-leaders of most churches, today, have erred and gone astray by elevating themselves above other believers to assert their self-importance. We must, therefore, reflect on our approach of seating arrangements.
This teaching invites us to re-examine our practices and ensure that humility and simplicity remain at the heart of our leadership.
Instead of elevating ourselves through seating arrangements, we should focus on fostering unity and mutual respect within the body of Christ for the glory of God.
By James Quansah
