Some time ago, someone in our church family sent me a note asking this question: “If the church is not a democracy, what is it?” As I drafted my response, I realized that many others in NAC may be asking the same question. So here is how I answered the question in that note:
Democracy means “rule by the people.” (The word comes from two Greek words: demos, meaning people and kratos, meaning rule.)
Who rules the church? Church tradition has produced three very different forms of church government:
Episcopal. Ultimately, the bishop rules. Churches that follow this form of government see the bishop as sitting in the place of Jesus’ twelve apostles. Problem: Jesus never called for any automatic transfer of authority from apostle to bishop. This is the system that made the pope supreme ruler of the Roman Catholic Church.
Presbyterian. A group of clergy, called the “presbytery,” rules over the churches in a region. This system is based on the idea that God ordained the clergy to rule the churches. Problem: the New Testament makes no distinction between “clergy” and “laity.” All believers in Christ are the people (laos) of God.
Congregational. Here, the church is seen as a democracy. The people make the major choices by majority vote. Problem: The church contains young and immature believers. They are not yet thoroughly grounded in the words of Jesus and his apostles. They are not yet able to distinguish what God’s Spirit is saying from what other voices in the world are saying. Yet the vote of the most immature person counts just as much as the vote of the mature believer.
Here’s an illustration of how a church-as-democracy went wrong. Years ago, Sharon and I attended a small church in which the people decided not to have communion any more because it had offended someone in the past. Obviously, they were not mature in their understanding and application of Scripture. In a democracy, if a majority of immature believers want something, they can overrule those who know Scripture and the mind of Christ far better.
The New Testament reveals that Christ is the Head of the church. God has given all authority in heaven and on earth to Jesus. When it comes to making decisions concerning the direction of a local church, the New Testament shows a consistent pattern: Jesus delegates his authority to a group of elders—men who are mature in the faith and have demonstrated their character in the way they live and manage their families. Jesus does not delegate authority in the church to just one elder—but to elders, plural. This way, they can correct each other and hold each other accountable.
This does not make the group of elders infallible. They can still make mistakes. So this places responsibilities on the congregation. The people in the church are to submit to the leaders (Heb. 13:17). When they do not do so, the people make the elders’ work a burden. The people, as well as the other elders, are to hold elders accountable (I Tim. 5:19-20).
Ray Stedman, who served as a pastor in the Peninsula Bible Church, wrote:
“Are we just to leave the church to be run by these men, with the congregation never allowed to decide anything at all? The answer is, No. This group is not to decide all questions within the church. On spiritual matters and matters of essential policy within the church their job is to determine the mind of the Lord. They are not to determine their own will, or the will of the people, but the will of the Lord. We believe this is best determined by seeking unanimous action on decisions . . . . Sometimes we must wait quite a while before the Lord gets some of the lions and the bears around to the place where they agree, but it has always been accomplished. When there is unanimity, we believe the mind of the Lord is made manifest.”
In our recent discussions about the future of NAC, the seven elders have asked for and received input from the church family. We have welcomed and considered all the questions, objections, corrections, comments and interpretations of Scripture received to date. These help us understand where the congregation is—which helps us discern the mind of Christ for this congregation at this particular time.
On some matters, church members vote. For example, the original twelve apostles directed the church in Jerusalem to choose seven men to provide food for the widows who were being overlooked. But in the broad, ministry-shaping decisions—such as its overall direction and mission—the church is not a democracy. Those decisions are made by the elders. This is reflected in I Tim. 5:17, which speaks of the “elders who direct the affairs of the church.”
This is a rather long answer to a short question. But I hope it helps to clarify the biblical need for and place of elders under the headship of Jesus Christ.
Larry Peabody