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Church Matters: What kind of government is this?

This is the second in a series of posts on church leadership. On July 1st I preached a sermon from 1 Thess. 5:12-13 considering what it means for leaders to be "over you in the Lord." This topic is too broad to be surveyed in a single sermon, therefore I offer this series and pray that we will meditate on what God considers to be a healthy leadership in the local church.

In my reading about healthy leadership in the church I came across a reference to the polity of the church as a mixture of three types of government: The local church is like a monarchy in that Christ is our king; it is like an aristocracy in that it is governed by a body of elders, an elite group of leaders; and it is like a democracy in that the congregation has authority and responsibility to decide matters of discipline and doctrine.

Local church government is like a democracy in that it is the assembled church, not just the elders, who make the final decision in matters of discipline:

"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector." - Mt. 18:15-18

And when it comes to the interpetation of doctrine, it is the church, not the elders or the preacher alone who are responsible to discern truth or error:


"Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said." - 1 Cor. 14:29

"Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good." - 1 Thess. 5:21

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." - 1 John 4:1


So, what does that mean for us? It means that the church is unlike any other human institution. We already knew that, but we often fail to recognize the assumptions and prejudices that color our understanding of the church. It's not a just democracy. It's not just an aristocracy. Nor is it just a monarchy. Church is more complex. But just as a well cut diamond has many facets through which to scatter light, so also we will see true spiritual beauty as we discover the many facets of church.

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