The elders were within the church in each church acts 14. Individual believers and house churches considered themselves part of a greater citywide church. First, christ is the head of the church and its supreme authority ephesians 1. If we want to form the structure of ministry around how it functions, we need to discover the basic functions of the church. Church government was not very highly developed, and local congregations were rather loosely knit groups. In the bible, god outlines authority structures that provide direction for the family, church, workplace, and government. No particular structure of church life is divinely ordained. This illuminating collection presents and critiques four approaches. Pdf various types of church polity chetachi godson. When god cursed the nations of israel and judah, and sold them into captivity, the issue was government. Church government revoluti on a summary lets face it, nobody thinks about a churches government when they join it.
The mission of god part 1 book structure spanning roughly thirty years of early church history and covering dozens of unique stories, geographical locations, and complex theological realities, the book of acts is what john calvin called a kind of vast treasure calvin, the acts of. At the moody church, we maintain a system somewhat similar to a presbyterianstyle of church leadership because we believe that this structure is biblically preferable. In other cases, the biblical evidence for congregationalism is less convincing, especially in acts. Dec 19, 2012 if you look at acts, youll notice that the first section covers peter acts 112 and the second section covers paul acts 28. Koren the right principles of church government page 2 his kingdom by this word, when he said. What does the bible say about the organizational structure of. What does the bible say about the organizational structure. The new testament refers a number of times to elders who served in the role of church leadership acts 14. The new testament church had a central governing body of apostles and elders in jerusalem, possibly modeled after the seventymember jewish sanhedrin, whose primary task was the preservation of. Put simply, its the system by which decisions are made in a church. In acts 6, there is a great picture of how the service performed by deacons contributes. In only three decades, a small group of frightened believers in jerusalem transformed.
When 1,019 chapters have been read, the word church has not been established. This morning, i want to focus particularly on how these offices foster unity in a church. Verse 42 lists four of the activities to which the church devoted itself. The mischiefe that prelaty does in the state i adde one thing more to those great ones that are so fond of prelaty, this is certain that the gospell being the hidden might of christ, as hath been heard, hath ever a victorious power joynd with it, like him in the revelation that went forth on the white horse with his bow and his crown conquering, and to conquer. Their work shows similarities to what christians face in nonchurchrelated workplaces today. Four church leadership systems 3 in the very first congregation in church history the ordinary believers members of the congregation were involved in the appointment of an apostle acts 1. Church the establishment of the church bible charts. These editors have assembled five essayists, each representing different forms of polity daniel akin single elderled congregational model, james leo garrett jr. All we know about church government is in the book of acts.
Mark devers little book, a display of gods glory, describes these offices in depth. Throughout history, three primary systems of church government have dominated the ideological spectrum of christian leadership. Internal structures for church governance are not the main ministry of the church, but the necessary equipping and mobilizing of the saints for the work of ministry eph. Government structure in the new testament church 4 described as follows. Christs church has no right to invent its own mission, to create its own system of. Church growth in the book of acts a church of christ can and will grow spiritually and numerically when it is faithful to the word of god. The two structures of gods redemptive mission ralph d. God isnt fond of big denominations for the same reason he discouraged israel from having a king. The true gospel message is a message about government. This seems to be the form of church government at least at the local level that was advocated in the new testament writings acts 6, acts 15. Through a social and culture texture analysis, insights on organizational design within the book of acts reveal that the early church used fairly modern. A basic overview of the structure for the book of acts. Winter i in an address given to the allasia mission consultation in seoul, korea, in august 1973 the founding of the asia missions association, ralph winter describes the forms that gods two redemptive structures take in every human society, and have taken throughout history.
Usually stones were used, either a white and a black one, or stones on which the names of the candidates were written jerusalem to rome, p. In the early church, it seems there was a plurality of elders, also called bishops or overseers. Acts is not trying to say, remember what the church used to be and do. Episcopalianism, presbyterianism, singleelder congregationalism, and pluralelder congregationalism. When 944 chapters have been read, the word church has not been mentioned. Wayne im not so sure thats its as simple as hierarchy. This is typical in catholic, anglican american episcopal, and methodist churches where the local pastor is appointed and regulated. To be very strong about this point right up front, there is not one single model of how to. This article examines the growth of the early christian church through the lens of our modern understanding of organizational design.
Organization design lessons from the early church john f. Over the next hour, well think about how a biblicallybased church government promotes unity, and how we can contribute to the unity of this church. Episcopalianism, presbyterianism, singleelder congregationalism, and pluralelder. When the deacons need to be picked, it is the laity that does it acts 6. The modern church has many problems, and of its problems, many are due to the way we think of pastors and elders, of church government, of music in the church, of membership and its qualifications, of service, and similar considerations.
During the early history of the church, for example, luke found it relevant to relate that the money contributed to the church was under the control of its. Have you ever heard congregational church government described in. Second, the local church is to be autonomous, free from any external authority or control, with the right of self government. Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy ghost, teaching them. Below are just a few examples of how the early church put its faith in action in the public realm. For example, i do not find it persuasive to take the description of barnabas being sent by a church in acts 11. Rethinking the governance structure at bethlehem baptist.
House churches are actually started by the holy spirit through the ministry of a house church planter or an elder, pastor, or overseer, who is given a vision for a house church by god. In acts 1, the church is growing already 120 people, acts 1. Using the terms elder and bishop interchangeably, the church government described and commissioned in the early church was marked by a plurality of elders titus 1. The book of acts was written by luke as a followup to his gospel of jesus christ desilva, 2004. There will be a future physical resurrection of the dead. We are focusing now on the structure and offices of the church.
On sunday, march 1, i argued from the new testament that there were two ongoing offices in the new testament church for the management and care of the church. Besides having the same god, christians today have the same goal that the church had in the book of acts. Think of the good that could have been done for gods kingdom if the billions of dollars spent on church buildings had been used for spreading the gospel and serving the poor. The church in antioch recognizes the authority of the jerusalem leadership in the case of settling controversies such as this one. Book of acts overview insight for living ministries. What does the bible say about the form of church government. Some questions about church organization, together with biblical answers. The traditional title for the book of acts is the acts of the apostles because of its focus on the ministries of peter and paul and the development of the early church. House churches in the new testament existed sidebyside with other house churches. Church government can thus be a great tool for unity in the churchor a great detriment to it. The social, economic, and political commitments of the. The church has a mission, a work, a worship, and an organization, and there is no better place in the bible to find these things described and proscribed than in the book of acts.
It is the elders who lead the church and are responsible for teaching the word and guiding, admonishing, and exhorting the people of god. The governance structure of denominational churches is easily observed and. Testament, we find the clearest teaching in the book of colossians. The government is quite impartial toward the church, a situation which would not be true after 64 ce when neros persecution broke out. The early christians recognized the political implications of the faith. Toward an understanding of church governance jerry gillis. I am convinced that the elder structure of government best harmonizes with and promotes the true nature of the local church as revealed in the new testament. The mission of god part 1 book structure spanning roughly thirty years of early church history and covering dozens of unique stories, geographical locations, and complex theological realities, the book of acts is what john calvin called a kind of vast treasure calvin, the acts of the apostles. Through the history of the church we have seen the development and constant reappearance of three basic patterns of church government. Within these guidelines, four main models of church structure have developed. The church was not to be patterned after the old earthly israelite kingdom acts 1. Acts is the only biblical book that chronicles the history of the church immediately after jesuss ascension.
These two principles dictate to a large degree a kind of church government which does not. Those who turn from sin and to jesus in faith and repentance will be raised to eternal reward. This is the word of the lord for the body of christ in all times and all places. God wants his people to be led by his spirit, with minimum interference from the undershepherds. The social, economic, and political commitments of the early. Furthermore, strong leadership at higher levels can often correct weak leadership or theological errancy at lower levels, whereas this possibility does not exist in the same. For example, the members of a church acting in concert, not any one person or group, made major decisions acts 6.
Todays indifference to issues of church government is at odds with the attitudes of. They are episcopal, presbyterian, congregational and non. To me in these last days, the minimum requirement of such a house church planter is that he has come to know that he has the word of god that he has the word of. Whereas the gospel of luke focuses on the life and ministry of jesus christ, the acts of the apostles builds upon what jesus did and taught see acts 1. Church government or sometimes church polity is that branch of ecclesiology study of the church that addresses the organizational structure and hierarchy of the church. When god gave israel the law at mount sinai, the issue was government. Disagreements over this issue once split denominationsbut few 21stcentury christians have a solid understanding of the principles that determine their own church leadership. So it is easy to think that if we want to continue to thrive as a church, or to grow or be impactful, that all we have to do is do what the christians did in acts. Church structure church offices the pastor literally, shepherd is the human head of a church. Dec 11, 2009 pauls church planting principles using the book of acts introduction the working of the holy spirit and the expansion of gods kingdom from jerusalem, judea, and samaria and to the ends of earth called for a radical transformation not just in apostle pauls life but to the direction of mission as a whole. A social and cultural texture analysis of acts david burkus oral roberts university abstract. Nov 23, 2014 though the forms of church government vary in the new testament, they appointed elders to continue their leadership roles. Government structure in the new testament church 2 out of egypt the issue was government. Though the forms of church government vary in the new testament, they appointed elders to continue their leadership roles.
Episcopal form of government is common in some mainline denominations where regional bishops or denominational heads supported by various church councils have a great deal of authority over the local congregation. Many continue to argue the qualities of this system and the biblical merits. Second, the presbyterian or elder led model includes the church selecting elders who represent the church as decision makers. Episcopalianism or prelacy is the rule of the church by monarchial bishops. Just read its early history acts and its correspondence epistles.
They are episcopal, presbyterian, congregational and nongovernmental, but it should be noted that those terms are by no means restricted to their corresponding denominational name e. The four church leadership systems be built up ephesians. Book structure spanning roughly thirty years of early church history and covering dozens of unique stories, geographical locations, and complex theological realities, the book of acts is what john calvin called a kind of vast treasure calvin, the acts of the apostles. It could also have been titled the acts of jesus christ, because it describes what jesus continued to do and teach through the church after he was taken up to heaven acts. This is why in the first chapter of the book of acts, the first century church replaced judas iscariot with matthias after the former had committed suicide. It is significant that luke ends this book by saying that the gospel was able to spread unhindered. Seven characteristics of an effective church structure dr. The church has frequently mimicked the political constructs of the presiding culture. In the early church, some regarded christians as jews who have received jesus as the promised saviour. Through the book of acts, youll notice that both apostles perform miracles through the power of the spirit, see visions, suffer, preach powerfully, and were imprisoned and later miraculously set free. The local church is not an undefined mass of people.
The biblical pattern of church government ministry127. The acts of the apostles depicts the early church working hard to grow itself and serve others in the face of opposition, shortages of people and money, government bureaucracy church bureaucracy came later, internal strife, and even the forces of nature. To prove this point, let us take a quick look at church growth in the book of acts, with a special view to the church in jerusalem. Different forms of church government moody church media. Issues of church governance appear in the first chapters of the acts of the apostles. Todays indifference to issues of church government is at odds with the attitudes of the new testament church. Baptists believe that all persons who are redeemed have come by grace to saving faith in christ, not by works, social status, or any other thing. We are studying the new testament teaching about the church on sunday evenings. Ludlowthe book of acts was written by luke after his gospel as the second part of a great twovolume work on jesus christ and the early christians.
At first, when you ask someone to serve as an elder, trustee, or. Introduction to acts bible commentary theology of work. That governance structures should be lean and efficient to this end, not aiming to include as many people as possible in officeholding, but to free and fit as. Episcopal government as early as the apostolic father ignatius the bishop of antioch until the beginning of the 2 nd century ad, solitary leadership structures flourished, and bishoporiented churches spread throughout the christian world.
Feb 18, 2014 you can find lots of references to church government if you want to call it that in pauls letters, but you can also find other structures, methods, dynamics, and ways of doing things in the book of acts. The bible is deliberately vague on the subject of church government. At the same time, it was likely the primary reason for many of the abuses that led to the reformation. In the book of acts, gods purpose was to build his kingdom in christ through the apostles. The lord was very clear in his word about how he wishes his church on earth to be organized and managed. As such, it provides us with a valuable account of how the church was able to grow and spread out from jerusalem into the rest of the roman empire. This is the difficulty of definitively deciding church structure on the 1st century church there are too many options and too much flexibility for american sensibilities.
Jan 29, 20 this form of government was the rule in the early church until the time of the reformation. After the holy spirit was given, theres no evidence that lots were cast to make similar decisions. If you look at acts, youll notice that the first section covers peter acts 112 and the second section covers paul acts 28. Study what the kjv holy bible has to say, and teach your institutional church. First, the episcopal model includes churches in which church leaders are appointed by the denomination. There are basically three types of church government that have developed in the various christian denominations. There are four basic forms of church government in existence today. Mar 05, 2014 in other cases, the biblical evidence for congregationalism is less convincing, especially in acts. Episcopal government as early as the apostolic father ignatius the bishop of antioch until the beginning of the 2 nd century ad, solitary leadership structures flourished, and bishoporiented churches spread. Our concern with biblical church governance desiring god. They worked toward this goal by nurturing the church and increasing the size of the church through the gospel.