Leadership in the Church of Christ:
CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH
As we studied last week in our lesson on Father’s Day, we need more Christian leaders today. We especially need strong leadership in the church. After speaking to so many about meeting this need I decided that we should spend some time over the next few weeks talking about church leadership and what the Bible says about church government.
What is God's intent for the leadership structure of His Church? Does the New Testament command us to work under a board of directors, congregationally appointed trustees, a singular pastor system, or a plurality of elders? First, let me explain the five most popular forms of church government, in no particular order: (1) Monarchy - rule of one = a pope, president, or supreme leader (2) Oligarchy - rule of a few = small board of directors or trustees (3) Hierarchy - rule by divided arrangement = one group rules at the top while authority is delegated down the chain of command (4) Democracy - rule of the majority of the people = decisions are made by congregational voting, (5) Theocracy or Christocracy - rule of God and Christ = the Lord’s rule is supreme and His Word is executed above man-made creeds, doctrines, laws, traditions, or articles. As we rightly divide the Holy Scriptures we find that the latter leadership style is clearly the pattern of New Testament leadership for the church.
The Biblical statements about leadership of the Church begin at the top. Jesus Christ leads His Church. He is the HEAD of the church. He established His place with authority by saying "all authority has been given to Me..." (Matthew 28:18). He declared His place in Matthew 23:10 saying "one is your Leader (Teacher), that is Christ." Paul identified Christ as the Head of the church in Ephesians 4:15, 5:23, Colossians 1:18, 2:19. Christ is also seen as the Chief Elder/Shepherd of His church (John 10:11, 14, 16, Hebrews 13:20, I Peter 2:25).
Ephesians 4:11-16 gives an overview of those that serve under Christ, not in a hierarchal way or democratic way, but by specific groups of people using their God-given talents to spiritually lead the people of God along with the Lord. It says: "And Christ gave gifts to people—he made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News (evangelists), and some to have the work of caring for (pastors) and teaching God's people (teachers)." In addition to these leaders the New Testament also mentions deacons (I Timothy 3). What are these roles? Are they offices? Are they commanded for the church today? Let's examine these titles over the next few weeks. . . . starting with apostles.