Church Governance

As I process a sad situation with a pastor friend of mine who has had a breech of pastoral standards (moral failure) I'm left considering four issues:

1. models of church governance
2. sin
   
3. Christian confusion between humility and diplomacy
4. The boundaries of Spiritual Family

This entry is a brief look at my perceptions concerning the first issue.

First point to note is that my friend was pastoring a church in a Baptist Union.  Their model of church governance is congregational.  Therefore concerning congregational life Baptists hold that:

1. The will of Christ for each church is to be found as the Holy Spirit brings direction and conviction to that congregation gathered to seek his will in the light of the Scriptures. On this basis the members’ meeting is the final authority under Christ for a congregation. Finding Christ’s will through the members’ meeting involves mutual counsel through the exercise of the members’ gifts and learning from the experience of other congregations.  
2. Christ gives leaders to his Church. It is the duty of the local church through the members’ meeting to recognise and affirm Christ’s call to such leaders, and to set them aside to serve, thereby charging them with the responsibility to lead and delegating prescribed authority to lead. Mutual accountability is to operate between leaders and church.  
3. While not in any way diminishing the autonomy of the local church, it is appropriate for Baptist churches to cooperate in a Union of Churches in which it is essential for all member churches to practise mutual care, support, and accountability.

In his paper entitles, "Why I am a Baptist" Rod Benson, Senior Pastor of Blakehurst Baptist Church, acknowledges that, "if one stresses congregational government as a Baptist distinctive, one must also acknowledge that it has no overt scriptural basis." (emphasis mine)  So using scripture as our basis for modeling our church governance (as Christians it would make sense yes?) let's turn to the new testament and search for the passages where people are appointed into positions of leadership.  I have categorised these in two ways: "who is appointed?" & "who appoints whom?"

WHO IS APPOINTED?
Five groups are identified as being appointed in scripture: Deacons, Elders, Apostles, Representatives & Judges.
Deacons:
Acts 6:2,4

Elders:
Acts 14:23
Titus 1:5

Apostles:
1 Corinthians 12:28
Ephesians 4:11

• The first apostles were appointed by Jesus: Mark 3:14
• The next was Matthias proposed as one of 2 candidates by the gathered believers but chosen by casting lots then appointed by the apostles Acts 1:23-26
• Additionally Paul (Rom11:13), Barnabas (Acts 14:14), and James (Gal 1:19 - Jesus' brother not the James appointed by Jesus) were referred to as apostles.  (Andronicus and Junia are referred to in Romans 16:7 as being "eminent among the apostles" which can legitimately be interpreted as them being apostles)

Representatives:
(When the congregation were in doubt over theology they appointed representatives to appeal to the apostles and elders:)
Acts 15:2

Judges:
(When the congregation had petty disputes Paul instructed them to appoint a fellow believer (no matter how young in the faith) to judge between them:)
1 Corinthians 6:4,5

WHO APPOINTS WHOM?
God ultimately appoints every leader and gives gifts to all. However specifically scripture relates that he appoints certain people & that he delegates responsibility to appoint to others.
God appoints:

• apostles,  1 Cor 12:28, Eph 4:11
• prophets, 1 Cor 12:28, Eph 4:11
• teachers, 1 Cor 12:28, Eph 4:11
• workers of miracles, 1 Cor 12:28
• those having gifts of healing, 1 Cor 12:28
• those able to help others, 1 Cor 12:28
• those with gifts of administration, 1 Cor 12:28
• those speaking in different kinds of tongues, 1 Cor 12:28
• pastors, Eph 4:11
• evangelists, Eph 4:11
• overseers,  Acts 20:28

Apostles appoint:

• elders, Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5
• deacons, Acts 6:3 (NB.  The Greek of this verse uses the words 'seek out' and 'appoint' reading thus: 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;)

The body of believers chooses (NB. still don't appoint - that is still the role of the apostles):

• deacons, Acts 6:3  (from Matthew Henry's Commentary: They therefore desire that seven men might be chosen, well qualified for the purpose, whose business it should be to serve tables, diakonein trapezais--to be deacons to the tables, ... The persons must be duly qualified. The people are to choose, and the apostles to ordain; but the people have no authority to choose, nor the apostles to ordain, men utterly unfit for the office)
  

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NB: The new testament makes a clear distinction between overseers, elder and deacons:
overseer
1985 episkopos ep-is'-kop-os from 1909 and 4649 (in the sense of 1983); a superintendent, i.e. Christian officer in genitive case charge of a (or the) church (literally or figuratively):--bishop, overseer. see GREEK for 1909 see GREEK for 4649 see GREEK for 1983

elder
4245 presbuteros pres-boo'-ter-os comparative of presbus (elderly); older; as noun, a senior; specially, an Israelite Sanhedrist (also figuratively, member of the celestial council) or Christian "presbyter":-- elder(-est), old.

deacon
1249 diakonos dee-ak'-on-os probably from an obsolete diako (to run on errands; compare 1377); an attendant, i.e. (genitive case) a waiter (at table or in other menial duties); specially, a Christian teacher and pastor (technically, a deacon or deaconess):--deacon, minister, servant. see GREEK for 1377
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It would appear to my reading and limited understanding that the concept of congregational governance is not scriptural.  Of course if we want to throw out that parts of the bible that refer to positions of governmental oversight that we don't like or have never been taught about (eg. apostles, prophets, etc) then we remove the God delegated responsibility they had in appointing church leaders. 

The concept of the congregation appointing or electing elders, pastors or even deacons would appear to my mind to be an erroneous reading of scripture.  Whilst the body of believers has the right to choose men to be put forth as candidates to become deacons they are still appointed by apostles who can over-ride the congregational choice if they feel the person is unfit for the position.

As I see it whilst the local congregation has it's eyes on the local situation and must deal with local issues, the apostles and council of elders (presbytery) watch over the greater body and must see the big picture.  Appointment must be on the basis of appointing people with the right giftings into the the right congregation at the right time until such time as their giftings are no longer needed and someone with more appropriate giftings for the current situation should be appointed to take the church through the next period.  The apostles and council of elders because of their oversight, their big picture analysis, are uniquely in a position to make these judgements and thus appointments.  This is therefore impossible for independent local congregations and, in the case of the Baptist Union where you have mostly autonomous local congregations.

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