What does the Bible say about Church Government?

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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.

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