Articles
Elders in Every Church: Some Applications
The Apostle Paul “appointed elders for them in every church” as he concluded his first preaching trip (Acts 14:23). He later wrote to Titus, “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you” (Titus 1:5). Elders in every church is clearly God’s plan. Think with me about the implications of that fact.
“Elders in every church” means each church is organizationally equal. None has a different structure than another. There are no regional, national, or international elders in the New Testament. The terms elder, overseer [bishop], and shepherd [pastor] all refer to the same function.
Every church having the same organization clearly points to local rule. That is confirmed by 1 Peter 5:2: “Shepherd the flock of God among you. . .” Local rule, in turn, necessitates that churches are independent and self-governing. If each congregation has the same structure and its elders are limited to the flock among them, no church or its leaders are in any way over another church.
How well do we respect this simple principle?
Organizational Arrangements
Joining churches together in districts or dioceses or synods under regional supervision is common among denominations. It is a wholly unbiblical practice.
Perhaps no one in churches of Christ would go that far, yet some of us have devised organizational arrangements that place one church under another, in whole or at least in part.
The “mission church” arrangement puts a newly formed congregation under the eldership of either a nearby older established church or else the church who sent the evangelist who started the new one. The idea is, this situation continues until the new congregation progresses sufficiently to appoint its own elders. This arrangement is foreign to the Bible. Antioch in no way oversaw or controlled the churches Paul established on his preaching trips in their early existence.
The so-called “sponsoring church” is an arrangement in which the eldership of one church takes on some project beyond its means, then solicits funds from other churches to finance the operation. The sponsoring church’s elders govern the project, which is a distinct entity with its own bank account and in some cases its own bylaws. In practicality, those elders are acting as a board of directors over an auxiliary organization. Again, this arrangement is foreign to the Bible. New Testament churches did occasionally contribute to other churches, but it was always a case of satisfying a need within the receiving church. It was never funding an assumed project or joining in a collective that puts one eldership in control of that aspect of other churches’ work.
Practical Matters
Independent, self-governing churches means each church should design its own program of work and worship in keeping with New Testament instructions. That will result in much sameness, yet with some diversity. One church may not have the personnel or resources to do what another can. A Bible class program that works well in one place may not work at all in another. Churches meet at different times and do not order their assemblies identically.
New Testament writers warned of erroneous teaching or sinful practices that went on in other places; that is appropriate. We must be careful, however, to respect congregational independence in matters of judgment. A church should not be labeled as “unsound” merely because they don’t do exactly what another does or because they go about it in a slightly different way!
Congregational independence also means that no church is under obligation to abide by the fellowship decisions of other churches, pro or con. This is an area that calls for careful discretion because it is easy to err. Some New Testament churches included those they should have excluded (e.g., 1 Corinthians 5), others excluded those they should have included (e.g., 3 John 9-10). Watchful shepherds will surely weigh a sheep’s history before welcoming it into the flock, but they must make their own determination in every case.
God’s plan is always best. Let’s do our best to always follow it.
