According to Millard J. Erickson, there are several forms of church government that have appeared as the church developed. This four most basic forms are episcopal, presbyterian, congregational and a form of nongovernment. Churches around the globe have been probably debating which is the best form of church government. No doubt the Bible does talk about church leadership but there is no prescriptive exposition of what government of the church is to be like comparable to. The churches are not commanded to adopt a particular form of church order. The closest to it probably is when Paul mentioned the basic qualifications for offices that already existed (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9). If it is so, how then are we to decide on which form we are to follow?
The issue here is not about which form of church government is greater than the other. But rather, which church government is suitable for the individual churches. Each church has a different set of culture, people, vision and mission. With this reason, it is hard to make it as a rule that there is only one way to run the church. As long as the principals of governing the church is in synced with the Word of God, methods can be changed. After all, systems and methods are man-made. So who are we to judge and to compare?
Interesting read! I'm afraid I don't know very much about this topic so I did a little bit of reading on it here- http://www.theopedia.com/Church_government
ReplyDeleteWhatever form church organisations are in or moving into, I believe the ministry must always allow God's Word (ie: scriptural validity) and revelations to be put first at all times and over all things.
I completely agree that sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in being legalistic and declaring one government as superior to another. That judgmental attitude is not biblical and more importantly, does nothing to edify anyone! God gave us creative minds for a reason and every church unit is different in its needs and vision :)
I'll add more as I continue to think about this. Thanks for the post!
I read your post with interest. When most are talking about what is the church, you have brought about a secondary issue of its governance. Governance is a big word for churches. For the Catholic church it is always centralized to the Pope and the Vatican and his representatives around the world. For mainline churches there is centralized control with limited prowess given to local church community and lay people. With the more modern churches, the church board has the final say and rule. So its important not only to see the style of governance but the factors of centralization and decentralization that the structure of the church practices. Which then boils down to the primary question : is this the church that God has ordained from the start?
ReplyDeleteA Bible scholar once said, "God is indeed sovereign but he is usually the God of means." What his statement means in the context of his address is that in the Bible, God frequently works through the affairs of human being. Having said that, then it will be natural for the church as the people of God to come up with certain form of governance because that is precisely how human being functions since the dawn of civilization. However, even as redeemed individuals/community, we still have weaknesses and will always struggle with the flesh until Christ returns. In that sense, no man-made system is perfect or suitable for all situations. Therefore it is important to acknowledge that no church governing system is superior to one another and all is subjected to human frailty. As the church grows from years to years alongside sociological development, surely contextualization had to take place. However, adaptation does not necessarily equal assimilation. For example, although the early Jewish Christian church mimic their Jewish heritage in the way they run things, the Gentiles church might not necessarily follows the same policy simply because they were of different background. However, the essence of what they do is still the same, that is worship, evangelism, community life etc. I guess as long as a Christian community correctly observed what is the essence/centre of the faith and its implication in their respective society, different Christian society has the freedom to set up Church governance that can faithfully facilitate the practices of their central mandate.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mei Fong for your interesting post. Yes, there are various forms of church government throughout history, but I believe the ultimate criteria of the appointment of church leadership should be based on the original essential quality in Acts 6, the seven men appointed to leadership are "full of the Spirit of God and wisdom". For centuries, we have to face the fact that church governments have not been very rosy. There were church politics, squabbles, splits, rivalries, betrayals, even if no dissensions, then it would probably be bureucratic or even now some boards running the churches like business corporations. Whatever form of government that fits the culture, size, people, vision or mission, the church should come back to the original quality, i.e. "full of the Spirit of God and wisdom" above all other qualifications mentioned in 1 Tim 3:1-13 and Titus 1:5-9. If only the church had maintained these qualities in their leadership and government, church history would be a very different story. First and foremost, church government needs God's anointing.
ReplyDeleteSorry if my previous comment may sound a bit critical, it was simply impromptu without any malice...the thought just arose as I reflected on the governance of the church (universally in church history...the church went through much upheavals and topsy-turvy situations...from the early centuries through the dark ages and reformation) and the real conditions in the modern day church globally, to an extent, is not without struggles either. Erickson stated, "While the church is a divine creation, it is made up of imperfect human beings. It will not reach perfect sanctification or glorification until its Lord's return." This is comforting to know and be reminded of God's love and grace for His Bride, that Jesus is coming back for His Perfect Bride, ready for Him, holy and without blemish, prepared and beautifully dressed. (Rev. 19:7; 21:2) What matters most while His Bride is still on earth, is that the church being the Temple of the Holy Spirit, is divinely created for the continuation of God's presence and Jesus' ministry in the world until He returns. The church should then always realign her visions and missions to the work and ministry of Christ.
DeleteI agree Eva that church governance has been one of the biggest downfall of the church in the eye of the world. It has not only shame christianity but the God we represent as well. There has been too many ugly conflict and it has not ended well. Where did we go wrong? was it the structures or the fact that we're just human?
Delete