Over the centuries, beginning with Ignatius’ letters in the second century, this crucial aspect of the church gave way to the surrounding culture, so that one of Christianity’s distinctives was eroded to mere words, tucked away here and there among the gospels and epistles.
Gospel of John: Rank and File
How do you teach people who eat, breath, and live hierarchy that the kingdom of God is about equality not rank, family not a flowchart, kinship not kings? Well, you wash their feet.