Church Polity, part 4

Note: If you are planning to pick apart every thing I say, I'm not interested. If you really want to dialogue about the subject, I'm all ears (and my ears are big, literally).

Last week, we looked specifically at Acts 6:1-7 making a couple of observations about the decision-making process of the early church, specifically as it related to a conflict that had arisen and the roles & responsibilities of elders and deacons.

Remember, the apostles’ function in Acts 6 is analogous to the role of pastors/elders in the church today with respect to primary responsibility of oversight, shepherding, guiding, and teaching. Given these responsibilities, it does not preclude the greater congregation of believers from having input nor does it say for the greater congregation to blindly follow the pastors/elders. In fact, while pastors/elders are the serving leaders of the congregation and the deacons are the leading servants, the New Testament places a heavy responsibility on the total congregation in certain situations.

Here are a few of them. In Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus gives the final authority in the decision to excommunicate an un-repentant brother or sister in Christ from the congregation rather than to the pastors/elders. While the pastors/elders would play a role in that process, the final decision is from the greater congregation.

This reality shows up in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. In this specific situation, Paul addresses the entire congregation because they have allowed a young man in the church to sleep with his step-mother without calling him and her to repentance. Paul addresses the whole congregation, not just the pastors/elders. This is a responsibility of the entire church body.

Also, while the pastors/elders provide spiritual oversight and leadership for the church body, the church body is also responsible for holding the pastors/elders accountable, particularly in their teaching ministry of the church so that they do not teach & preach false doctrine.

As the Holy Spirit leads and guides, there is a check and balance in the decision-making process of the church working through the pastors/elders and the greater congregation.