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Church Bulletin 04-06-08 "PDF"

Part III

  

The GOVERNMENT of a New Testament Church

Introduction: Our church must make a decision about its form of government.  The model in the Bible is simple.  As we saw last week, the church has three “parts”, the congregation, the elders, and the deacons.

The Raw Data:  NAS95 – Christian references to elder(s), 17, overseer(s), 5, pastors, 1 in the NT (citations last week)

These terms are INTERCHANGABLE references in the NT (all three words refer to the same office), Acts 20:17, 28; 1Pet 5:1-2.

 The congregation elects its own elders and entrusts the leadership of the church (WHOSE FUNCTIONS ARE defined Scripturally) into their hands.

How many "elders" did a NT church have?  It is clear that singular churches had multiple elders, e.g., Acts 14:23 ("elders in every church"); 20:17 ("elders of the church" in Ephesus); Jas 5:14 ("call for the elders of the church" to which the sick person belonged). The pattern of the NT is a plurality of elders in each local church.

Here are summaries of the biblical responsibilities of the elders to their congregation and vice versa.

  

WHAT ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ELDERS/OVERSEERS/PASTORS TO THEIR CONGREGATION?

  • Teach biblical truths, Acts 6:4
  • Equip - mend a broken part Eph 4:12
  • Pray as a ministry, Acts 6:4; Jas 5:14
  • Oversee  - be responsible for, 1 Pet 5:2, etc.
  • Lead – lit. to stand before; to manage; to direct; 1Thess 5:12b; 1Tim 5:17
  • Govern – to rule; to lead, Heb 13:7, 17
  • Shepherd - care, protect, feed, guide, Acts 20:28
  • Stand guard - watch over, Heb 13:17
  • Admonish – to warn or give counsel, 1Thess 5:12b
  • Manage – supervise the church, Titus 1:7
 		  

WHAT ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF EACH CONGREGATION TO ITS ELDERS?

  • Know them –  give respect, 1Thess 5:12
  • Esteem them very highly in love – 1Thess 5:13
  • Honor them –  with adequate remuneration, 1Tim 5:17-18
  • Imitate – their faith, Heb 13:7; 1Pet 5:3
  • Obey them – with a submissive heart, Heb 13:17
 		  
  • Manage – to be a steward of God’s household; one in charge of running a household, Titus 1:7

 Titus 1:7  For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God;

 WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP OF ELDERS TO DEACONS IN THE NT CHURCH?

 Deacon – a compound word meaning “through dust”.  It is the common NT word for “servant” and refers to one who does lowly service.

The origin of the deacon office – appears to be Acts 6:1-6.  The apostles needed help with the practical ministries of taking care of poor widows in the church.

The existence of the office of deacon is seen clearly in two references:  the greeting in Phil 1:1, and the list of qualifications for deacons found in 1Tim 3:8-13.  That deacons must be godly, spiritually qualified men is apparent from the qualifications enumerated in Acts 6 and 1Tim 3.

 Acts 6:3  Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

 The function of deacons is not spelled out anywhere in the NT.  The best we can do is look for hints or suggestions from the meaning of “deacon”, from the account of Acts 6 and from the qualifications in 1Tim:

  • Deacon means “servant”, not one who functions as an elder
  • Administration of practical ministries delegated by the elders (promoting unity), Acts 6:3
  • Able to care for the finances of the church (offerings, benevolence), 1Tim 3:8
  • Manage ministry projects (facilities; ordinances), 1Tim 3:12.

Deacons were set apart by the congregation (Acts 6:3), with the approval of the apostles (v6) to serve in a way that allowed the apostles (and elders) to focus on their duties (Acts 6:4) for the benefit of the church (Acts 6:7).  DEACONS ARE A DISTINCT, COMPLIMENTARY SERVING TEAM WITH THE ELDER LEADERSHIP TEAM.

 WHERE DO WE SEE THE ELDERS AND CONGREGATION FUNCTIONING TOGETHER?

 Several passages provide a picture of leaders and church body acting together:

  • Acts 6:1-6 > the congregation elected the first “deacons”
  • Acts 14:23 > the congregation voted to elect their elders
  • Acts 15:6-29 > the apostles and elders included the congregation in the process of solving a difficult issue

In each of these cases they trusted their leadership and the Holy Spirit led them to joyful peace.

 Here is a simple graphic model:

  

CHURCH BODY

ELDER LEADERSHIP TEAM

LEADERS OF THE CHURCH

(Elected to teach, equip, pray, oversee, lead, govern, shepherd, guard, admonish and manage the congregation)

 

DEACON SERVANT TEAM

SERVANTS OF THE CHURCH

(Elected to help the leaders and congregation in practical ways)

  

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

  1. The risen Lord is head of the church (Eph 5:23; Col 1:18).  All authority belongs to the Lord Jesus (Matt 28:18).
  2. The Church, and each local expression of it, possesses the power of the risen Lord because He is present in them (Matt 18:17, 20; 1Cor 5:4).
  3. Each local church elects its own elder leadership team (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5) and in so doing hands over leadership to trustworthy men (1Tim 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9).  The deacons are a servant team elected by the church to help the leaders and the body with practical ministries (Acts 6:1-6).
  4. The electing of an Elder Leadership Team in a church does not exclude the use of committees or work groups as the church may have need.
  5. One difference between a staff elder and non-staff elder is the amount of time expected weekly in service to the church.
  6. Churches do not make men Elders.  The Holy Spirit makes men overseers (Acts 20:28).  The church humbly and prayerfully looks for men whom God has called to be Elders.
  7. The members of Fellowship must decide the form of government for our church family.