Chapter 7: Principles of Church Government

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Care is taken to insure proper balance in all of God's dealings with men. The same is true of principle pertaining to church government. There are two extremes used by churches to maintain proper balance in church government, which we will consider. There may be other forms of church government that we could consider , but we will limit our study to the two extremes typified in Revelation Chapters 2 and 3.

These two extremes are illustrated by the NICOLAITAN and LAODICEAN spirit (Revelation 2:6, 15; 3:14). NICOLAITANE is derived from two Greek words meaning, "to conquer the people". LAODICEAN is take from two Greek words meaning "the justice of the people". These were not the only two churches seen to utilize the two major extremes in church government. THese two forms of government have been prevalent throughout the Church Age, and are still seen today in the vast majority of churches.

Let us look briefly at the Laodicean spirit. It symbolizes the form of government that adheres to the principle of the "Justice-Rule-Democracy" of the people. Many of our churches today operate under this flag. ALL is transacted ia the voice of the people. This speaks to us of a Democratic or Congregational type of church government. All officers and matters of business are decided upon by a vote of the body of believers.

As appealing as the LAODICEAN for of government is to the natural man, and as great as it is in civil government, it is not seen anywhere in Scripture as God's order of business for the Church Age. This type of government is always run on the OPINIONS of the people.

Unfortunately, the voice of the majority is all too often a carnal voice. Under this system churches often choose, to their own destruction or at least to their own destruction or at least to their own detriment, pastor's who are not God's choice for that local assembly at that time. Often, under this Democratic, or might we say Laodicean, spirit, the pastor's hands are tied as he tries to follow the leading of the Holy Ghost when it comes to the leadership of the local assembly. As we can readily see without any further explanation, this Spirit must be soundly opposed and resisted as not being God's will for the local assembly.

Let us now look at the other end of the spectrum, the NICOLAITANE Spirit. This makes reference to a dictatorial type of of church government or the Papal type of church government. It speaks to us of the clergy becoming a ruling class. This spirit demands that people come to God through their leaders. These leaders may be called "Elders" or "Shepherds" or any number of other titles.

The dictatorial type of church government ignores the Scriptural teaching of the "priesthood of the believer," as seen in I Peter 2:9. Peter clearly teaches that each believer has the privileges and responsibility to come before God themselves as members of, "a royal priesthood". Paul also teaches this in Hebrews 4:16:

""Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.""

The individual members of the body should be taught and encouraged to seek God personally for their individual needs. However, while members should be instructed to seek the Lord themselves, they also need to be encouraged to share their burdens with and pray for each other as instructed in James 5:16. They also need to recognize that there is a need, at times, for calling upon the elders for prayer and the laying on of hands. An over-emphasis on the doctrine of laying on of hands, solely by the Elders, could have created this "Nicolaitane spirit" and error within the church. Is it possible this is why God inspired Paul to write "Lay hands suddenly on no man," in I Timothy 5:22?

Let us look at some of the consequences, which will naturally arise when the Nicolaitane spirit prevails in a local body of believers. The first malfunctioning of the assembly, will be that the leadership of the church will not only control the manifestation of the gifts in the assembly, but they themselves will often be the only ones functioning in these gifts. This monopoly on the gifts of the Spirit suppresses all other believers from operating via the gifts of the Holy Ghost.

The suppression of the operation of the gifts will not always be outward or direct but will often happen through indirect means or simply through the projection of the leadership's domineering spirit. By monopolizing the gifts of the Spirit, the leadership borders on the verge of assuming a role that is to be strictly reserved for the Holy Ghost. The Scriptural pattern, as seen in I Corinthians 12:7, is for each member to move and function as the Holy Ghost would direct, " But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to ever man to profit withal." The Nicolaitane Spirit ignores this pattern as it disregards the "priesthood of the believer".

The root cause of many men resorting to this form of leadership is twofold. It takes both "Self-Denial" and the "Crucifixion" of the "Flesh" on the part of a leader to permit the Spirit to use who He will to minster as He would. It requires faith to trust the Holy Ghost to govern the affairs of the church. It is much easier to the "CARNAL" natural man to do things in a natural way, especially if the individual is endued with natural gifts and charisma. The sad result is that this seems to be very successful.

One weakness of the modern pastorate is that he fails to produce a strong lay ministry. However, this error is being corrected in many circles today and is proving very fruitful. Praise God! He is still in the work of restoring the New Testament pattern. We can only produce "Much Fruit", as we follow the scriptural pattern.

To develop spiritual people we must permit the exercise of spiritual ministry and spiritual gifts. This isn't going to come to pass just by hearing good, meaty, nourishing sermons. There must be a moving of the spirit in the individual heart and life, which motivates the believer into service in the Holy Ghost.

There seems to be some confusion today concerning the difference between TEACHING people and LEADING people in to an actual ministry of exercising of their gifts and callings. LEADING must occur in public and in private counsel. LEADING must include encouragement to help the believer cooperate with the Holy Ghost, as He would use them. The spiritual effectiveness of a church can only be measured by its ability to function effectively as a body. We need a thorough restoration of the body ministry today, which will produce an increase of the body through the salvation of souls.

One last error which prevails as a result of the Nicolaitane spirit today is the funneling off of promising young ministries to the Bible Schools. This directly results from the failure to nurture a body ministry within the local church. Those with promise arise in our assemblies during times of spiritual renewal and show yieldedness to the moving of the Holy Ghost. Due to the lack of capable leaders within the local body who will take them under their wing and train them for the work of the ministry, we ship them off.

Many problems arise for local assemblies, which encourage promising young men to attend Bible School rather than remain in their local churches to receive training. First, we are taking the lifeblood and vitality out of the local assembly. This leaves the assembly much like a home where the children have grown and all the teens have finally left leaving the home without the excitement and life which once radiated in it.

Second, this practice places the promising young enthusiast into a false atmosphere. I am not using the word "false" in the sense that it is error but rather that it is not a "Real Life Experience". In the Bible School atmosphere an abundance of young, lively, energetic, anointed believers are thrown in together. Students do not experience the real tests, trials, and responsibilities of every day life.

When many students come out of the Bible School atmosphere to take leadership in the local assembly, their lack of any practical experience in the everyday life of the Christian results in disappointment at the absence of the high gear, hyper-spiritual atmosphere which they are accustomed to in the Bible School. I am speaking primarily of those who have had little or no local church affiliation previous to the Bible School experience.

Third, the Bible School now is overloaded with what we might call "The Cream of the Crop," as far as zeal and enthusiasm is concerned. As a result, the church is robbed of its vitality. Fourth, since the local church is God's order for this age, the Bible School acts as a parasite. The Bible School not only has no scriptural means for bodily members since each Christian is directed to be a part of a local church but also has no Scriptural means for financial support. If the local church is God's order for this Church Age, our tithes and offering are to be brought into the local church. The faculty of the Bible School should be attached to a local church as well.

If Bible School teachers were active members in their local assemblies it is possible that the local church would have enough teachers to carry on the ministry she was intended to carry on--to train her own promising young recruits under the existing Elders. This is clearly God's "IDEAL" for the present Church Age.

Having spelled out some of the errors of the dictatorial or Nicolaitane form of church government, let us briefly compare this erroneous spirit with the spirit of theocracy. The dictator is no-submissive to other leadership ministries. The spirit of theocracy not only submits to these other ministries but also even seeks their counsel in the decision making of God's program. The dictator sees challenges of his decisions as a threat instead of a check, which may bring balance within the assembly.

We have looked at the Democratic and the Dictatorial types of church government and the problems associated with these is that they are not God's order. The secondary problem is that both of them are run on the opinions of men, whether it is by one man or a number of men. God does not have opinions, God KNOWS. We must not replace God's order with something of our own making.

God's order is a theocracy, where God is able to govern his people the way he chooses. It is not the Pastor being run by the Deacons and the Elders, nor is it the Pastor lording it over the Deacons and Elders, but rather where God rules through a multiple of of ministries, a plurality of Elders through which God governs the local assembly. Jesus is the only perfect dictator. The Nicolaitane spirit violates God's order for multiple ministries.

We must understand that the Dictator might simply lack understanding of what God's ideal is. It may not be that his motives are wrong. Out purpose here is to reveal what God's ideal is. We must always be aware that just because something works is no sign we must accept and embrace it. It must be Scriptural. Isn't the Word of God our supreme and final authority?

Quality must always be the standard and not quantity. Success--as an Elder or as a local body-must be measured over a long period of time by its fruitfulness. What about churches which should come from our work? This is truly a Scriptural means of evangelism. Are we mothering any new works? Healthy growth, which always tales time, is a good measuring stick for success.

There are definite problems, which arise when leadership predominates the body ministry. An assembly may survive, even for a prolonged period, with these problems evident internally, however she will be a weak assembly. The domineering spitit steals initiative and joy from the body and replaces it with fear, frustration, antagonism and resentment. A ministry of this type attracts weak, overly dependent believers and creates division and a lack of harmony.

Good church government must begin in the heart. For God can only govern through a man if he is able to govern the man himself. For the church to function effectively each member, including the leaders must be completely governed by the Lord. Each member must be submissive to the Lord and His order of church government. This is the reason why the qualifications for Elders are so rigid.

The importance of submitting our entire lives to the will of the Lord is emphasized in Proverbs 25:28, "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls." Christ must govern His kingdom. He has His own chosen means of doing this. We must individually recognize and yield to His government:

" "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder:---of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even for ever,"(Isaiah 9:6-7) "

There are certain principles of church government which must be observed if we are to have a healthy church. There are principles to be observed in the formation of a governing body. We must somehow find ways as a leader to share our vision, doctrine, and faith with "key men". We must inculcate this into them if at all possible, and, as we do, permit God to draw the team together he so desires. He will put in those who will help give the whole "balance". Every building needs a solid foundation. It is imperative that leaders move slowly but steadily toward the goal of building a team which will bring honor to God and His building.

As we are attempting to build a solid foundation, we need to be on the lookout for common mistakes which occur in these early stages which create problems for years to come. First, the old saying that, "haste makes waste," holds true in the ministry. Do not over-structure too soon. It is better to do the work yourself until you have qualified men to place in position.

Second, don't create jobs that require leaders until you have qualified leaders to fill the jobs. It is better to under-program than to over-program and put unqualified men in leadership, thus lowering the quality of the work. For that is exactly what will happen if the qualifications for leaders are not met.

Third, too many get so involved in the program that they fail to become real spiritual feeders. They fail to create a true atmosphere of worship and intercessory prayer. Worship binds the body together like no other force. Begin now to feed, pray and worship and see what God will do in your assembly.

Fourth, all too often leaders are afraid to encourage fellowship among the flock. Their fear of this may be justified. The fellowship of members can create problems because of gossip. Leaders may also fear that new leaders may arise and cause division in the flock. Despite the potential problems, nothing will encourage body ministry, prayer and worship like the saints coming together for mutual fellowship on other than scheduled church times.

Fifth, one predominate mistake among leaders in these early stages is that they busy themselves with "waiting on tables". The result is that leaders are overworked. This error conditions the body to the spirit of "letting the leaders do it". This makes it difficult for the people to move effectively and responsibly into "body ministry". They will always wait for the Elders to do it.

Proper growth requires quality leadership, so we must work for quality and not quantity. Never institute a "program", we'll call it that for a lack of a better word, until you have a definite need of it for the nurture and admonition of the flock. Only begin a new program if you have qualified leaders to carry it on.

Many are still asking, "How can I develop or produce a body ministry within my flock?" A leader's ultimate success or failure seems to rest on his ability or lack of ability to produce a body ministry in his assembly. If you are not able to do this, there are only a few alternatives left for you. None of them sounds attractive to me. All of the alternatives I am going to discuss are contrary to God's pattern for His church so fast and pray, and work and worship until you develop God's pattern.

The alternatives are to either drop out of the ministry, to retrogress to the Laodicean or Democratic type of church government, or to become a spiritual dictator. The first is a sad alternative when you the Word burning in your hear. The second is contrary to the teaching of the Bible--another sad alternative. Some have seemed to be successful at the dictatorial type of church government as long as they have lived, but what happens when the "dictator" dies? The work generally crumbles and the sheep scatter-some lost forever. Personally, I'll settle for God's pattern as difficult as it is at times to develop. It is worth all the discipline and effort involved, for it yields tremendous rewards.

We need the ability to draw people out and not suppress them. In this process we need a balance between a strong hand of restraint and guidance, while leaving room for freedom of expression. To do this effectively, the Pastor must be totally involved with the flock in prayer, fellowship, and worship. This should include times of extracurricular activities when possible. It is imperative for the pastor create a relaxed atmosphere if the flock is to feel comfortable and at ease around him. It is only as people are at ease that the Holy Ghost will be able to effectively flow through them to minister to others.

I firmly believe that this attitude can be developed without sacrificing the "Pastor's authority". It is sad the way some Pastors degrade their position in an effort to build friendship in the flock. These friendships can be built without demeaning the Pastoral position.

As we are building the body ministry we must be careful to build a "balanced" body ministry. We need both the sensational (Evangelistic) type of ministries as well as the stability of the teacher. Whichever type of ministry we are called to, we would be wise to build some around us in a ministry that would help bring balance and augment our ministry. Complimentary ministries fill in that gaps, which our ministry may leave in nurturing the body. Serious problems arise if all we have is one type of ministry.

There are many that will not pay attention at all unless there is a sensational preacher on board. They need real excitement in the air continuously. However, a continuous diet of this will definitely stunt a believer's growth.Growth of any lasting effect comes from a solid intake of the Word. It is not that we don't need the spectacular--we do--but a steady diet of this is not conducive to spiritual growth.

People nurtured in the "revival atmosphere" will only go so far in their spiritual growth and then they will level off. In order to keep them, the Revivalist will have to think up all sorts of "gimmicks" to keep things moving. The greatest danger to this kind of ministry by itself is that its adherents seem, more often than not, to live inconsistent lifestyles. This occurs because much, if not all, of their motivation is external rather than internal. This type of ministry could easily create frustration in the leadership, for without a doubt they will be overworked since there will be a lack of qualified men to share the workload.

At the same time there are some problems, which may arise, if all we have is a "teaching ministry". The greatest of these problems could well be the lack of true vitality. As Paul so aptly points out in II Corinthians 3:6, "The letter killeth but the Spirit giveth life." People need to be motivated from within but they also need an amount of external motivation.

The "sensational preacher" must continue to be sensational and at the same time build and develop a teaching ministry around him. As he does this, he must build the credibility and authority of the other leaders among the flock. The same theory is true if your ministry is basically a "teaching ministry". You must strive to build a spectacular ministry around you and at the same time build the credibility and authority of other leaders among the flock. Whoever you put into leadership, you must be able to direct your congregation's "respect" and "submission" toward them.

What about building what we might call an "Organization" or "Administration"? "MEN" are the tools God always uses--they were what Jesus used to build His church. As with machinery, so with organization; there must be power to make it function effectively. The purpose of organization is to channel life into the body. If we keep this in mind we will be less apt to over-structure. Always be careful to keep the organization as simple as possible. It is better to under-structure than to over-structure. The goal is to sturcture as needed with qualified leaders.

Church organization can easily be flexible enough to adjust to changing needs and conditions. However, the organization will only accomplish God's work to the degree that God is permitted to work in and through the whole body. Each organ must be alive and functioning. Organization is a means to an end but the primary emphasis must be placed on the final results.

Should we close down a branch of the organization if it is not producing life? There are various possibilities to be examined before finally deciding to close a ministry down unless we get direct counsel from the Holy Ghost to do so. Without the direct intervention of the Spirit, it is necessary to consider the aim of our organization. Don't look upon this as a failure. It could be that the Lord is leading to greener pastures and more fruitful ground. It is also possible that said program has simply come to the end of its life for the need of the organization.

In the closing remarks of this chapter, let us consider some principles involved in the delegating responsibility and authority. The unhealthy delegation of authority can cause problems, which the body may never outgrow. I would advise that you proceed with care or you could carry a deformity with you for all of your spiritual life as a body of believers.

The success or failure of any branch of the work reflects on the immediate leaders and then on the Elders and Pastor of the assembly. This awesome thought makes delegating responsibility and authority one of the key areas of church government. There are several precautions that can be taken in the undertaking of this task, which I will now discuss. First, we must always avoid making snap decisions. Let God lay the plans slowly and steadily concerning what and who he would have you delegate the responsibility of a particular outreach to. Remember that the world wasn't created in one day.

Second, make sure that one and only one person does not decide important decisions. We must always consider the counsel of the Elders.

Third, each individual assigned to a task must be given a clear and useful job description. They must feel their job is important and useful, and that it is channeling life to those involved. They must also feel that it is adding to the fulfillment of the whole body.

Fourth, always radiate the attitude that we are laborers together. Never let other receive from you the attitude that, "I'm the chief". This is true whether we be pastor or an under-shepherd overseeing an arm of the body of believers. We never outgrow being a servant.

Fifth, always assign tasks to fit the individual's "faith", "vision", and "ability". Nothing is more frustrating than doing that for which you have no vision or ability. Over-loading a willing worker could easily be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Sixth, time spent in communication with workers is time well spent. The lack of communication has destroyed more homes and churches than any of us realize. Others must not be shrugged off. They must sense your sincere interest in what they need, are doing, and even how they feel.

Seventh, be sure any individual you choose tu put in a job or give responsibility has the proper training to perform the task successfully before you leave them alone. Possibly one of the most frequent reasons for the failure of various branches of the organization is the lack of sufficient training.

Eighth, when assigning a task of responsibility to an individual, inform him of the scope of his responsibility. Let him know how far he can go in decision making before it is necessary for him to consult the Elders. Make sure that they not only know when they should call the Elders, but that they may call upon them at any time without being thought of as incompetent.

Ninth, make sure that you can and do trust the one you are delegating authority to. If you don't trust them problems will arise in you relationship with them at a later date. It may not be their fault; it may be that your lack of confidence could create suspicion. Make sure he is ethical, loyal and stable in life and doctrine.

Tenth, the wisest counsel is to seek out those who are one with you in spirit and vision. This is even more important than their ability to do a job. We cannot build a strong body if some organs are diseased or out of joint (functioning independently). Cancer is nothing more than organs of the body that are moving independently, in rebellion, to the well being of the whole body. We need to find balance.

A person may have a good heart but may not have "spiritual ennablement" or "power to perform". This could be very damaging both to the individual and to the brach they are leading. If you have any question concerning the life or attitude of one you are considering for leadership, you should be open with him. Discuss your questions with him hoping to find a solution, even considering the possibility that you are in error concerning the question. You know it is possible you are wrong.