The Upside Down Kingdom - Equipping Servants
Episode Summary
In this episode, Brian and Cory interview Tim Jore and Jesse Griffin as we explore the themes of leadership, church structure, and the role of the church as a family. Tim and Jesse have written extensively about how we view leadership in the church and the necessity of understanding what the original authors of the New Testament were communicating to us about how we lead the church in a modern context.
Key Themes & Takeaways
1. From Hierarchy to Family
The New Testament doesn’t just use “family” as a metaphor—it presents the church as the actual family of God.
Seeing church through the family lens answers many structural and leadership questions.
Early church life was complex and multiplying, like a living family network.
2. Unfolding Word & Open Access to Scripture
Jesse’s journey: merging a love for ministry and software to open access to biblical texts.
Tim’s journey: from missionary in Papua New Guinea to equipping church-based Bible translators globally.
Most of the global church lacks access to original biblical resources, while the West lives in a “walled garden” of abundance.
3. Leadership Without the Glass Ceiling
Western church structures (501c3, hierarchical leadership) often create unseen limits to multiplication.
The early church model—local elders (Presbyteroi) and translocal equipping servants (Diakonoi)—enabled simultaneous strengthening and expansion.
Both roles operated in mutual submission under Christ as the only Head.
4. Lost in Translation
Words like deacon, apostle, and baptism are transliterations, not translations—creating meaning gaps filled by tradition.
English Bible translations sometimes embed hierarchical assumptions absent in the Greek (e.g., “office of overseer” vs. “to be an overseer”).
Returning to the original meaning shifts our understanding of leadership and accountability.
5. Local and Translocal Roles
Elders: Local shepherds keeping watch over the soul, offering hospitality, and guarding against false teaching.
Equipping Servants: Translocal leaders connecting and strengthening churches across regions—ensuring unity, sound doctrine, and mission expansion.
This “circulatory system” kept the family healthy and multiplying.
6. Challenges and Realities
The biblical model is clear but not easy—real relationships mean real burdens.
Problems don’t vanish, but the pattern offers a framework for addressing them.
Movements that grow ahead of institutional control often preserve a more biblical pattern by necessity.
Final Thoughts
Biblical leadership isn’t about holding an office—it’s about function, mutual submission, and serving as part of the family of God. By recovering the roles and dynamics seen in the New Testament, the church can both deepen disciples and multiply rapidly, without importing unnecessary hierarchies. This shift requires unlearning, reimagining, and leaning on Scripture itself rather than tradition alone.
