"...a weak man yearns to assume the weight of honor, and even though he hardly bears his own burden without falling, he willingly adds the weight of others to his shoulders; he cannot bear his own burden and yet he increases what he must carry!"
Then, the church put over-confident, secular minded authoritarians over an ineffective national bureaucracy:
"Commonly, those who lust to govern seize upon apostolic phrases to serve their own desires... For one does not love the sacred office, nor even understand it, if by craving a position of spiritual leadership he is nourished by the thought of subordinating others, rejoices at being praised, elates his heart by honor, or exalts in the abundance of his affluence."
The net result is elimination of dynamic local congregations and the cannibalization of resources to sustain a small elite.
Quotes from Gregory the Great,The Book of Pastoral Rule (6th century), I.7,8
2 comments:
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
You aren't a loser. I wouldn't read your blog if you were a loser.
An Anglican deacon in Florida
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