What does the Bible say about Church Government?
What does the Bible say about Church Government?
The Bible says that Jesus is the Head of the church (Eph. 1:9, 22–23; 4:15; 5:23), the one who builds the church (Matt. 16:18), and the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4) who ultimately leads and protects His flock (John 10:1-29). As the Chief Shepherd of the church, Jesus has called certain men to be “overseers” (Acts 20:28), who are the under-shepherds of Jesus to the flock (1 Peter 5:2), and are responsible in feeding, tending, protecting, and keeping watch over the sheep on behalf of the Chief Shepherd (John 21:15-17; Acts 20:28; Hebrews 13:17).
The Bible
informs us that the official church title given to these shepherds who oversee
the sheep is “elder”. The Bible indicates that there is supposed to be a
plurality of godly elders operating in their particular giftedness who are
“appointed at every church” (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5; Philippians 1:1), and who meet
the biblical qualifications for the office (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9).
Within every
team of elders at every local church, the Bible tells us that there will be
those who should be counted worthy of “double honor” because they “rule well”
and “labor in the Word and doctrine” (1 Timothy 5:17). In other words, the
Bible indicates that there is a “first among equals” on every team of elders at
the local church level, whose impact upon the body of Christ and influence over
God’s people is greater.
In our culture
we typically call this particular elder the Senior or Lead Pastor, the one whom
each church gives “double honor” to because of their ability to “lead well”,
and their commitment and calling to labor in the word and doctrine (1 Timothy
5:17). We can look at James' leadership role at the Jerusalem counsel as an
example (Acts 15:13), as well as Peter exercising his pastoral leadership over
his “fellow elders” in his first epistle (1 Peter 5:1-4), or Paul’s exhortation
to Timothy and Titus to raise up, and lead the elders of the churches they were
pastoring (1 Timothy 3:1-15; Titus 1:5-9).
I believe when
looking at the Scriptures, the Bible does not mention any congregations featuring a
stand-alone pastor and leader, but rather a plurality of godly elders leading,
feeding, protecting, edifying, building up, and disciplining the body of Christ
together. Within the midst of these elders are the Peter’s and James’, as well
as the John’s, Paul’s, Timothy’s and Titus’. Each of these men needed other
godly men serving God alongside of them in order to effectively oversee and
shepherd the church of God.