A Case for Congregationalism
By Reverend Tom Loghry
As an Advent Christian pastor serving in Rhode Island, I have found that people are sometimes puzzled by the congregational governance of our churches. They expect that as pastor I would have unilateral power in making decisions for the church, just as one of our local Roman Catholic priests or their superiors would in their local churches. When I do explain the process, of how large decisions are made by the congregation and smaller ones delegated to a congregationally appointed board, it doesn’t take very long for it to be intuitively grasped. While the hierarchical government of Roman Catholicism has predominated the religious sphere in Rhode Island, an older Congregationalist heritage and its echo in the democratic republicanism of America offers the reassurance of familiarity. There just seems to be something right about everyone getting a say!
Advent Christians and Congregationalism
The Advent Christian denomination has been congregationalist from the very beginning. In the 1881 Declaration of Principles, the 16th principle is stated thus:
We believe the Bible teaches that the churches of Christ should be duly organized by the election of proper officers, such as elders and deacons, and that the government of the church should be congregational.
Nineteen years later the Declaration of Principles underwent complete revision, but this congregationalist conviction remained, now presented as the 8th principle:
We believe the church of Christ is an institution of divine origin, which includes all true Christians, of whatever name; but that local church organizations should be independent of outside control, congregational in government, and subject to no dictation of priest, bishop or pope - although true fellowship and unity of action should exist between all such organizations.
While no doubt influenced by the democratic values of America, we see early on that the denomination claimed biblical grounding for congregationalism. The important question then is whether congregationalism is in fact biblical.
But is it Biblical?
We will now answer this, but with certain caveats in place. For the sake of space, I will be assuming that elders do play an authoritative role in the life of the church. Our considerations here will be concerned with the participation of the congregation in decision making. The biblical texts themselves will serve as an early historical record of the church. I will not be performing an extensive historical study, which would eventually show congregationalism was abandoned. I will be bolding certain words in the texts that follow as an aid to understanding.
Matthew 16 & 18 – The Congregation is Given the Keys to the Kingdom
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus offers some early indications about the authority structure of the local church. Famously in Matthew 16:16-19, Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God, leading Jesus to say,
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”” – Matthew 16:18-19 [ESV]
Roman Catholics have taken this to be a statement about Peter’s authority and consequently the authority of all those who follow him as Bishop of Rome. There are many good reasons to question this conclusion and among them is Christ’s teaching in Matthew 18 which seems to indicate that this authority is held by the congregation of the church. After prescribing a personal approach to someone found in sin, followed by another approach with witnesses, Jesus then tells the disciples:
“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” – Matthew 18:17-18 [ESV]
1 Corinthians 5 – The Congregation Disciplines
The ultimate appeal of correction and discipline according to Jesus is the church, which is the congregation of believers. Jesus repeats in this passage the authority to bind and loose, but we now see this authority being exercised by the congregation of the church. In 1 Corinthians 5:3-5, Paul echoes this instruction in the guidance he gives to the Corinthian church to discipline a man persisting in sexual immorality:
“For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” – 1 Corinthians 5:3-5 [ESV]
While Paul does introduce his own authority and judgment into the situation, he offers it in order to spur the congregation to exercise its own authority and responsibility in disciplining the man.
Acts 6 – The Congregation Selected Deacons
Looking to the early days of the church, the apostles found it would be beneficial for there to be deacons to assist in the mercy ministries of the church. One imagines they would pick these deacons themselves, but notice what Luke says they did in Acts 6:2-6:
“And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.” – Acts 6:1-7 [ESV]
The passage explicitly states that the apostles appealed to the “full number of the disciples” to determine who would be deacons, and it is this body beyond the twelve that made the selections. The authority of the apostles is not excluded, they ordained the deacons with prayer and the laying on of hands, but they were nevertheless operating within a congregational process. We find similar accounts in Acts 11:27-30 and 13:1-3 which offer revealing descriptions of congregational involvement in determining gifts of charity and the commissioning of Paul and Barnabus.
Acts 15 & 16 – The Congregation Approved the Apostles’ Decision
Even at the Jerusalem Council found in Acts 15, we find a congregational presence beyond the leading voices of the apostles and elders. Paul and Barnabas join the council because according to verse 3 they were “sent on their way by the church.” When the council resolved that the Gentiles should not be required to be circumcised or to keep the Law of Moses, Luke says,
Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, with the following letter: ‘The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings…’” – Acts 15:22-23 [ESV]
Even while this matter was decided by the council of apostles and elders, we nevertheless see the implicit approval of the congregation and their involvement in appointing messengers to broadcast their decision. Nothing about this arrangement violates congregational government, especially since this decision was not a local matter but rather one with implications for the universal Church.
Continuing on in Acts 16:4-5[ESV] Luke says, “As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.”
Clearly there is an appeal here to authority beyond the local congregation. However, it is not apparent that the Jerusalem church had direct control over these local churches and it would be entirely consistent for the local churches to be both congregationally governed and observant of the council’s decision. The 8th principle in the Declaration of Principles does repudiate outside control and unilateral command by one figure in place of congregational governance. However, the letter from the Jerusalem council does not clearly displace congregational governance and its decision comes from a council of the church, not a singular person.
Concluding thoughts
I believe the congregational governance of the local church is demonstrated and maintained in the above passages. When it comes to authority structures beyond the local church, the Bible does not offer any clear prescription in that regard. We are without the unique authority of apostles in our own day, but it seems clear that such outside authorities can exist. Notably, we see that decisions were not confined to the apostles. In fact, they and Christ himself expected the congregation to play an active and authoritative role.
It is easy for us to avoid the question of congregationalist governance. It is much easier to not think too much about it and get on with things. However, doing this robs us of the strength of maintaining our congregationalism with conviction. When we maintain congregational governance merely out of comfort and convenience, we should not be surprised to find that leaders will cut corners and violate the spirit of congregationalism.
At its heart, congregationalism honors the church as the body of Christ. It recognizes that while some decisions and actions can be delegated to one or several parts, there are some decisions that will affect the whole which require the full presence of the body. This may confound worldly standards of efficiency which would prefer a CEO at the helm, but we have traded worldly wisdom for the wisdom of God, because we “believe the church of Christ is an institution of divine origin.”
Rev. Tom Loghry is the pastor of Rockland Community Church (N. Scituate, RI), Clerk of the Advent Christian General Conference, and Executive Editor of Advent Christian Voices. Tom holds degrees from the Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies, Toccoa Falls College (B.S. Pastoral Ministry), and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.A. Theology). His wife Sara and son James fill his life with joy.