| (Copyright) by James McBride (United Kingdom) |
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| What principles guide leadership in the Church of God? That question might disturb some brethren, for it implies that the church can be ‘led’. Should it? Is ‘leadership’ necessary? What are the Bible principles for the conduct of the local congregation? This article addresses the internal workings of the local assembly and its needs. We have established Biblically that church ‘denominations’ are humanly devised devices for management and control in the church. The Biblical pattern is for local autonomy not structurally beholden to a central organization or hierarchy. So, our question is: how is the local assembly governed? Everything In Order, Even a cursory reading of the New Testament shows plainly that each local congregation should not be adrift in confusion but must be orderly, with properly appointed leadership. The apostolic writings make this quite clear. When the matter is discussed, they advocate structure ‘bishops [overseers] and deacons’ (Philippians 1:1), writes Paul. ‘Elders’ according to Paul and Peter and James. In no other situation would anarchy, lack of leadership be tolerated! Certainly not in business, or in a sports club, or in government! And the effect of such ‘anarchy’ in families is plain. The church of God, too, is designed to be an orderly society (I Corinthians 14:40). The Bible evidence for internal structure in an assembly is overwhelming. But too often the form is misunderstood and abused. As a church evolves, human nature seeks to organize it and almost inevitably it comes to be dominated by a ruling class. Earlier centuries of Christianity witnessed the evolution of a hierarchy of sub-deacons, deacons, priests, bishops on up to – as in the Roman Church – an infallible Pope. Modern church history has witnessed an abusive hierarchy of apostle, prophets, evangelists etc. These are functions, not ranks. God’s heritage, the people of God, became limited to the ‘clergy’ [Gk kleroo = ‘to assign a portion, an inheritance’ – I Peter 5:3, Ephesians 1:11]. The brethren became ‘mere laity’. And until recent times, the priest or vicar or minister wielded an authority that induced a spirit of fear in the people. The democratic ‘spirit of the times’ has generally diluted this power over the people. Many, however, remain confused as to the Bible teaching. The adverse effects of hierarchical authority in the churches of God has been discredited by its ‘evil fruit’ – and abandoned in some degree. The danger, however, lies in the wholesale abandonment of all authority in the assembly. Past perceived hurts have induced a cynicism about the imposition of authority figures. Bible Christians, however, will be guided by the Scriptures. Principles of Leadership There are key guidelines in Scripture for leadership. Ignorance of – or ignoring – them will inevitably generate confusion and ultimate disintegration. The Bible guidelines include discussion on function, attitude, origin, and qualifications for leadership. Jesus, by word and by example, primarily addressed the matter of attitude. Instructing the apostles in leadership he warned them not to domineer as do secular leaders. The mother of James and John had on their behalf just sought from him an assurance of power positions – to the annoyance of the other disciples. Leaders are, rather, to be servants of the brethren, Jesus tells them (Matthew 20:20-28). As Paul put it, they are “helpers of your joy”. He told the elders from the Ephesian assemblies: “Be shepherds of the church of God” (Acts 20:28). Peter described the role of elders in this way: “Be shepherds of God’s flock that are under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you but being examples to [patterns for] the flock” (I Peter 5:1-3). Church leaders, in other words, are not isolated in some ‘ivory tower’, but toiling alongside the brethren in the work of the church – just as the shepherd is out on the rough and rocky hillside alongside the flock. Apostolic Function The church of God is a ‘spiritual organism’, the members of the Body being recognized fully only by God. The visible body in the beginning was in two parts – individual independent local assemblies, and a ‘roving apostolate’. The latter, during the lifetime of the Twelve, exercised a dual role. The apostles were commissioned and uniquely inspired by Christ to record and pass on to future generations the purity of his teachings. They also laid the foundation for maintaining the integrity and stability of each assembly. The roles are inter-linked. The apostles personally taught the Gospel message as received from Jesus Christ – ‘the truth of the Gospel’. But they also gathered around them ‘students’ to carry on their work. Timothy is one example. Paul told him: “…the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (II Timothy 2:2). Christ’s message once for all ‘breathed into’ the twelve apostles had to be accurately handed down to following generations. Sadly, this did not always happen, witness the doctrinal disarray in the churches! Apostolic Delegates Through his missionary work the apostle Paul raised up churches in many scattered locations. He preached, some responded, and Paul would move on. The new brethren met together for fellowship, and through evangelism their numbers grew. The apostle had a loving care for all these assemblies. He couldn’t be regularly with them bodily, so he wrote to them to encourage and guide. Also, in his place he sent out those he had personally trained: to combat error and to generally promote order and sound teaching. Timothy, for example, labours temporarily in Beroea, Corinth, Ephesus, Thessalonia, Rome and is last seen headed for Jerusalem. He was well-known throughout the areas where Paul had ministered. Titus, too, accompanied Paul, for example, to Jerusalem but was also sent to trouble-shoot in Corinth, Macedonia, Crete and in Dalmatia. To the Philippians he sent Epaphroditus. Assembly Leaders The other major responsibility of the apostolate was to appoint leaders – elders – to the local congregations (Titus 1:5). These elders were men from the local assembly – men who were suitably qualified for the task (I Timothy 3, Titus 1). Paul’s model was the original pattern used by the Twelve for appointing leadership in Jerusalem: “…choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them…. This proposal pleased the whole group…. They presented them to the apostles who prayed and laid their hands on them” (Acts 6:1-6) Paul also drew on the inspired methods of Moses (Deuteronomy 1:9-17): “Take you [Moses said to the people] wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers [Heb. rosh=head] over you”. Paul used this, for example, in Antioch and elsewhere (Acts 14:23). He would apply the qualifications for office, the same guidance he outlined to Timothy and guided by the congregations, who were best placed to know the man, he appointed elders in each city. (Leaders in the church are not churned out from some distant denominational or other institution and arbitrarily assigned to an assembly with which they have no previous connection.) Mature Guides Some have seen in this a form of ‘apostolic succession’. According to the Roman Church, apostolic succession is ‘the authoritative and unbroken transmission of the mission and powers conferred by Jesus Christ on St. Peter and the Apostles from them to the present pope and bishops’. That is considered to be effective through an unbroken succession of bishops passed on by ordination (laying-on of hands). Roman ‘priests’, contrary to Scripture, are deemed to be ordained till death whatever their lifestyle. The need for ‘letters of commendation’ witnesses to the independence of local assemblies. There was no ‘corporate headquarters’ to authenticate traveling elders, evangelists etc. Each assembly had to ensure that visiting brethren were authentic. They had to ‘test those who claim to be apostles’ (Revelation 2:2, III John 5-8). The notion of an unbroken chain, by means of ordination, of authentic ‘apostles and elders’ is a myth. Elders are appointed locally to fulfill a need in each local assembly. There is no mystery attached! After the Apostles, ‘ordination’ was overseen under the mature guidance of ‘an elder statesman’ of the church, a ‘wise head’ with experience and discernment. It was later abused by power-hungry leadership. But such oversight is no less necessary in our day. It is vital that the appointment of an elder in a local congregation be supervised by someone who is highly respected in the wider church of God. In a ‘start-up’ assembly he should be from outside the new group. The procedure helps to authenticate the appointment in the eyes of the church at large. For the church is indeed ‘one Body’ though separated in varied organizations. A leader appointed internally and without input from an outside experienced hand is more likely to be viewed with a degree of suspicion. He may, for example, have been appointed because he is sympathetic to a peculiar, and unbiblical, destructive false doctrine cherished by that assembly. Paul had divine wisdom guiding his instructions (see I Timothy 5:22)! Of course, such an heretical group will probably ignore ‘intervention’ from outside. If so, their credibility as an authentic part of the Body would be noted, and it may become impossible to co-operate with them. In sum, when an assembly is of sufficient size to require a formal structure (perhaps ten or so families in regular committed attendance) an elder ought to be appointed in accord with these criteria. They are reliable local men of proven worth and ‘known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom’ (Acts 6:3), and ‘famous in the congregation’. The Presbytery Clearly, to have multiple elders presiding over a dozen or so brethren would be a redundancy. So why ‘elders in every city’? In Paul’s day unlike today there were no ‘denominations’. There was one visible body of believers, one flock. But they assembled independently in small groups, meeting in houses (see, for example, Romans 16) which may have been, as with the synagogues in Jerusalem, common language groups. Or perhaps brethren mostly assembled in various nearby locations in each city. However, divided, each independent group had a presiding elder. But being at that time visibly ‘one church’ the elders worked in concert. They acted together, for example in appointment of new leaders, as with Timothy (I Timothy 4:14). They were, too, familiar with one another (see Acts 2: 42-47, 20:13-37). In modern terms, all church of God elders and assemblies in, say, Greater London or in Los Angeles or in Sydney would be in harmonious co-operation! While meeting independently, yet they all came together on various occasions. An example is for the purpose of taking part in the Lord’s Supper (I Corinthians 11:18) and at other times. Also in times of crisis as in the church at Antioch (Acts 14:27) or in Jerusalem (Ch. 15:4, 12). Indeed, in Jerusalem in that first flush of fellowship they came together joyfully in the Temple daily. Spiritual Gifts As an assembly begins to grow, it will become apparent that the brethren are each gifted in some way by Jesus Christ. Wrote Paul to the infant Roman church: “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us-” (Romans 12:6-8). He lists them and perhaps surprisingly ‘leadership’ doesn’t head the list! But all the gifts in an assembly are vitally needed. A mature assembly will be ‘fitly joined together’ to accomplish the work Jesus has set for it. [Each Christian should seek ways within or outside of a church institution by which he or she can hone their inborn skills and spiritual gifts for the benefit of the church, for example, speech or music or accountancy training.] It’s essential that brethren ‘don’t forsake the assembling of yourselves together’ (Hebrews 10:25). Only by regular contact and committed involvement by everyone in the work of a local assembly can Christ achieve his purpose for it. A huge failing of the Body of Christ in our day is the ‘butterfly Christian’ who wings from group to group, never settling for long in one place and forever sampling but not becoming rooted and attached! He or she frustrates the work of Christ. Their spiritual gifts cannot be properly integrated into His work, nor his or her gifts, for example, of evangelism identified. Real Relationships The intimacy of a small group favors fellowship, prayer, personal growth. Here’s Paul’s instruction: “Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing; but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). By face-to-face encounter perhaps literally across a table! We can indeed encourage and pray for one another, learn one another’s needs, share their joys and their sorrows, deploy our spiritual gifts. Such a format aids our understanding and participation, as the brethren or visitors can have dialogue with one another. You might like to check the ‘one another/each other’ verses in the Bible! The only conceivable way for us to adequately follow God’s guidance in the Scriptures is through intimate, regular face-to-face contact in a small intimate and loving group. This kind of interaction favors and enhances the growth of the individual and of the whole church. The impersonality of a large assembly is a barrier, and favors cliques, boredom, ignorance. In this sense the assembly is ‘congregational’. Everyone has a part in its activity according to their gifts. But the whole congregation in turn is to honor and submit to its leadership. What Do Elders Do? To maintain godly order in an assembly, therefore, demands someone who is properly gifted. They are not chosen from the ‘old boy network’ or because of their generous financial support, etc. Elders must have the gifts of the Spirit necessary to be an overseer (Acts 20:28). They will have demonstrated to their brethren these gifts along with proven godly character. While being aware that we are all brothers, the shepherd must shepherd – he leads. That’s his job (see Psalm 23). Each is responsible for that part of ‘God’s flock that is under your care’ (I Peter 5:2). He is to ‘feed my sheep’. He is to guard the brethren from predators from within and without. He is to maintain that assembly as a beacon of probity in its neighborhood. He is to be an example to the flock of righteous living. He must be a mature Christian ‘not a novice’ able to boldly defend the Word in face of false teaching and be sufficiently Biblically literate to teach sound doctrine defined as good basic Christian practice (Titus 2, 3). He is to counsel, and to anoint the sick. He guides and encourages the assembly and nourishes the spiritual gifts of each of the brethren, preparing them for ‘works of service’. He is, in a sense, the ‘father’ of that church family and presides over its spiritual and material welfare. No small task, indeed! And it isn’t surprising that he is to be open to scrutiny from others. All of us should ‘weigh carefully what is said’ (I Corinthians 14:29). Responsible To Christ It’s very clear that the strict Biblical guidance for eldership is by no means superfluous. One of the qualifications of an overseer, for example, is ‘able to teach’ (I Timothy 3:2). James writes that anyone who presents himself as a teacher of the people of God bears heavy responsibility: “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1, Jeremiah 23). By his brethren and by Jesus! Everyone, but especially those in positions of leadership in the assembly, is directly answerable to Jesus Christ for his conduct, and for what he teaches. Now that could be more scary than answering to a mere man or group of men! But scrutiny by the church at large is essential for maintaining order and guarding against heresy (for example, III John 10). It’s noteworthy that assemblies and individual brethren often separate and isolate themselves. They reject commonly held teachings and do not submit their doctrinal innovations for the greater church to judge. Such vanities are a major cause of division in the church of God. What We Must Do Given the heavy charge laid by God on the local church leadership, it’s vital that all brethren be vigilant to ensure that anyone appointed to any church office is fully equipped for that work. All of us need careful vigilance to ensure that the leadership of our assembly is of top quality and fulfills the Bible criteria. A checklist based on the Biblical guidance is a must. Probing questions must be asked before an appointment is made and without embarrassment! Too often a candidate for appointment to a church office can be superficially plausible. He may have a pleasing personality, be well-liked in his assembly, be ‘academic’ and perhaps the richest or smartest. Such qualities can blind the brethren to his real motives. Hence the value of external scrutiny! It doesn’t guarantee a good appointment, but it does help us to avoid costly error (Acts 20:30-31). Respect Your Elders! On the other hand, with such a burden of responsibility on elders, it’s not surprising that the inspired Scriptures urge the brethren to support them. “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith” (Hebrews 13:7). The inspired writer continues: “Obey your leaders and be submissive. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you” (v. 17). Paul adds: “Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you and are over you in the Lord and who admonish [counsel] you. Hold them in highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other” (I Thessalonians 5:12, 13). The purpose is not to elevate the leadership on a pedestal – but simply to ensure a proper environment in which they can exercise their responsibilities. For some reason many brethren find it painful to accept these clear instructions from Jesus Christ! There can be no Biblical argument for thinking that leadership within an assembly of Christians is superfluous. What is unbiblical is men and women (whether officially ‘appointed’ or not) lording it over the flock for personal advantage whether financial or to deliberately undermine the faith or for personal power and influence. What is unbiblical is a local assembly torn by indecision and doctrinal squabbles through lack of, or lack of voluntary submission to, a qualified leadership and focused inwardly rather than fulfilling the role for which Jesus Christ has raised it up. So – maintain vigilance. An assembly that’s at peace with itself and willingly subject to wise and compassionate leadership is an assembly well fitted to fulfill its assigned work for the Savior locally, and within the wider Body of Christ. (This article has been updated and re-printed from “The Church of God Messenger” March/April 2002—Issue No. 8) ———————————————————————————————————- See James McBride’s other articles at: McBride, James – Church of God, Bismarck (church-of-god-bismarck.org) Reprinted with permission from: The Churches of God Outreach Ministries http://www.cgom.org/ ———————————————————————————————————- |
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