Who Governs Your Church?
Blog post by Justin Nash
How does Christ direct and govern his church? After all, he is not bodily present to make decisions and give audible guidance. Moreover, special divine revelation is not provided every time we wish to visit the sick, resolve a dispute, determine questions of doctrine or buy a light bulb for the church office.
All churches have some type of governmental structure, also called polity, and everyone has some notion about how the church should be governed — about who should make decisions, what procedures should be followed, the kind of authority that characterizes those decisions or procedures, etc.
But arriving at a consensus regarding which form of polity to adopt is difficult for at least three main reasons:
- 1. There is a lack of didactic material. There is no prescriptive exposition of what the government of the church is to be like. Churches are not instructed to adopt a particular form of church government.
- 2. There is no unitary pattern when examining the descriptive passages in Scripture.
- 3. It is probably safe to say that nowhere in the New Testament do we find a picture closely resembling any of the fully developed systems of today. It is likely, in those days, church government was not very highly developed. There may have been wide variation in church polity as each church adopted a pattern that fit its individual situation.[1]
Throughout history, three primary systems of church government have dominated the ideological spectrum of Christian leadership.[2] These three basic patterns of church government are episcopalianism, congregationalism and presbyterianism.
Episcopal Government
The word episcopal is from the Greek word episkopos, which is often translated in English as “bishop” or “overseer.” This form of church government functions with a single leader, often called a bishop.
Bishops possess ultimate authority, as seen in their consecration of other bishops and their ordination of presbyters/priests and deacons. They exercise their authoritative role over numerous local churches within their jurisdiction, which is often a particular geographic area.[3]
Episcopalianism (or “prelacy”) is the rule of the church by monarchial bishops. That is, one man may govern those under him (whether members or other elders), and he need not be chosen by the people to be their leader, but can be appointed by a higher agency. Authority thus rests in the one human priest at the top (a pope or archbishop), is then communicated to his subordinates, and extends from there over all of the congregations.[4]
Inherent in the episcopal system is the idea of different levels of ministry or different degrees of ordination. The first level is that of the ordinary minister or priest. A second level of ordination constitutes one a bishop and invests that individual with certain special powers.
The role of bishops is to exercise the power of God that has been vested in them. Their authority transcends that of the ordinary minister. As God’s representatives and pastors, they govern and care for a group of churches rather than merely one local congregation.
One particular power of the bishop is ordination of ministers or priests. The bishop also has the authority of pastoral placement. In theory, this is absolute power to place a minister in a particular congregation. The bishop also has the responsibility of preserving the true faith and proper order within a particular geographic area by exercising discipline.
- Bishop – ultimate authority
- Presbyters/priests – second-order authority
- Deacons – supportive service
There may be varying degrees of episcopacy, that is to say, the number of levels of bishops varies. The simplest form of episcopal government is found in the Methodist church, which only has one level of bishops. Somewhat more developed is the governmental structure of the Anglican or Episcopal Church, while the Roman Catholic Church has the most complete system of hierarchy, with authority being vested especially in the supreme pontiff, the bishop, the pope.
Presbyterian Government
“Presbyterian” is a derivative of the Greek word for “elder.” Many churches, other than the Presbyterian denominations, employ a presbyterian church government.
Presbyterianism is the rule of the church by multiple, elected elders — not the dictates of one man, nor those of the whole congregation. These elders must be chosen by the people from among themselves (men to whom they are willing to vow submission), but also examined and confirmed by the present governing board of elders in the congregation or regional body of elders (the presbytery).
The Presbyterian system differs from the episcopal system in that there is only one level of clergy. There is only the teaching elder or pastor. No higher levels such as bishop exist.
Presbyterianism is a two-tiered system with elders/presbyters and deacons. A key reason for this two-fold polity is the New Testament’s use of “bishop,” “elder,” “presbyter,” “overseer” and “pastor” as interchangeable terms.
- Elders-presbyters – representative authority
- Deacons – Supportive service
Again, in this form of government, authority rests not with a single individual but with the body of elders or presbyters. In denominational churches, the local board of elders answers to a higher board of elders, which is made up of select elders to represent each church. Ultimately, the final board of elders (sometimes called the general assembly) has authority on matters in that denomination. In independent or autonomous churches, final authority rests with the local board of elders. In some churches with elder rule, the elders are elected or ratified by the congregation. However, once the elders are ratified, the congregation does not have power to remove them or overturn their decisions.[5]
The church body may have limited say into the major decisions of the church, but those who meet the biblical qualifications for leadership share the weight of power. Though this system can foster a “them and us” attitude between the congregation and the elders, it produces a balanced level of efficiency and accountability.
Authority is exercised in a series of governing assemblies. At the level of the local church the session (Presbyterian) or consistory (Reformed) is the decision-making group. All the churches in one area are governed by the presbytery (Presbyterian) or classis (Reformed), which is made up of one lay elder and one minister from each consistory (Reformed) or one lay elder from each session and all the ministers in the area (Presbyterian). The next authoritative body is the synod, which is made up of an equal number of lay elders and clergy chosen by each presbytery or classis. Decisions are made by the governing body at each level. These decisions are subject to review and revision by the next higher body.[6]
Congregational Government
Congregationalism (or better: “independency”) is the rule of the church by every member and the independence of every congregation from all others. Authority now rests with the many at the bottom. Technically speaking, for any given decision which the church may make, every member within the congregation has the same authority as every other; ruling boards are simply an administrative convenience (whose decisions can by overthrown by the congregation as a whole). Moreover, no individual congregation is subject to external jurisdiction; associations of churches are voluntary and have no independent power over the internal affairs of their member churches.[7]
Every member of the local congregation has a voice in its affairs. They possess and exercise authority. Authority is not the prerogative of a lone individual or select group. Each church is an autonomous entity, with no person (a bishop) or structure (presbytery or synod), except for Christ, above it.
This form of church government usually maintains the presence and title of elders/pastors and deacons/trustees, but the power resides with the members of the congregation, who vote concerning yearly budgets, church programs and leadership appointments. Divisiveness can be a negative result of this format, but the added accountability can stave off blatant corruption.[8]
There is only one level of clergy. The titles bishop, elder and pastor are believed to be different names for the same office.
Congregationalism is based on two principles: (1) autonomy, that is, each church is independent and self-governing, being responsible for its own leadership, finances, building and ministries; and (2) democracy, that is authority in each church resides in its members, who together participate in congregational decisions through some process of affirmation or denial.[9]
The principle of autonomy means each local church is self-governing. Each congregation calls its own pastor and determines its own budget and owns its own property. Any cooperative affiliations are strictly voluntary in nature. Any leaders engaged are servants, not masters, of the churches and their members. [10]
There are some elements of representative democracy within congregational church government. Certain persons are elected by a free choice of the members of the body to serve in special ways. They are representatives and servants of the church, answerable to those who have chosen them. They are not to exercise their authority independently of or contrary to the wishes of the people. All major decisions, such as calling a pastor, purchasing or selling property and church discipline, are made by the congregation as a whole.[11]
The Non-Negotiable Doctrine of Church Governance
While there may be different views on the most faithful way to govern a church, one doctrine must rule over them all: Christ is the cornerstone, the principle piece that provides direction and shape to the rest of the building. The apostles and prophets are the foundation, the substructure on which the superstructure is constructed. Christians are the individual stones, that when joined together by the Holy Spirit, compose the superstructure, the building or temple of God. From this metaphor, the government of the church is implied: it is the church of Jesus Christ, and its initial human founders are the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:19-22).
The most important issue is that those who are in leadership positions must submit to the authority of Christ and obediently follow his lead as revealed in Scripture (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2). Christ is the Head of the Church, and if any system, board, individual leader or congregation begins to displace Christ and the Word with their own beliefs and desires, then that leadership is no longer legitimate.
[1] Millard Erickson, Christian Theology: Third Edition (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013), 1003.
[2] Erwin W. Lutzer, “Different Forms of Church Government” https://www.moodymedia.org/articles/different-forms-church-government/
[3] Gregg R. Allison, The Church: An Introduction (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021), 97.
[4] Greg L. Bahnsen, “Church Government Briefly Considered” https://opc.org/OS/html/V4/1d.html
[5] Gregg R. Allison, The Church: An Introduction (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021), 99.
[6] Millard Erickson, Christian Theology: Third Edition (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013), 996.
[7] Greg L. Bahnsen, “Church Government Briefly Considered” https://opc.org/OS/html/V4/1d.html
[8] Erwin W. Lutzer, “Different Forms of Church Government” https://www.moodymedia.org/articles/different-forms-church-government/
[9] Gregg R. Allison, The Church: An Introduction (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021), 101.
[10] Millard Erickson, Christian Theology: Third Edition (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013), 998.
[11] Ibid, 999-1000.