The Three C's

Looking at the world system I see three primary pillars, capital, connections, and credentials. I define capital as the money one has or controls, connections as the family you were born in and the people you know, and credentials as the places one has gone to school and the degrees attained. Possession of one tends to lead to the others. When we examine the people who control the world system or have major influence in it, i think you will find that they have one or more of the 3 C's.
Sadly, i observe that the 3 C's are alive and well in the Church. I have never attended a regular church (small or large, evangelical or charismatic, East Coast or West Coast etc.) that did not have at least one person with greater wealth that enjoyed disproportionate influence as a result. It seems 95% of churches believe in the necessity of having a pastor with a Bible college or seminary degree. And if you desire to get something done in any organization, it helps to know the decision makers.
What do we see in the NT? A decided lack of emphasis on wealth. Jesus had no place to lay his head and became poor for our sake. (2 Cor. 8:9) Paul hungered and endured privation. (2 Cor 12:27) Nor did Jesus or the apostles establish anything resembling our seminary system even though the Pharisees and the Greek philosophers had their schools. "The Jews therefore marveled, saying, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied." (John 7:15)
Peter & John were regarded as uneducated, common men (Acts 4:13) by the ruling Sanhedrin (who possessed all of the 3 C's). Even Paul, who earlier in his life had the 3 C's counted it all as excrement. (Phil 3:7-8)

I believe the most important thing I do, now that the Lord has opened the door for me to practice full time itinerant ministry, is to pray for missionaries from the church in China to go to the rest of the world to fulfill the Great Commission. God has forged the faith of these saints in a furnace of persecution that has prepared them for what they will face in the Islamic world. Sometimes I hear the criticism that the Chinese church has major doctrinal issues. Perhaps. I wonder if our incessant wrangling over secondary and tertiary issues qualifies us to make that assessment. When I look at the fruit that they produce compared to ours in North America, it's hard to overlook our irrelevance. So I continue to pray that they will complete the work.