In seminary (50+ years ago), my professors taught me there were three basic types of church polity (governance): episcopal (rule by bishop), presbyterian (rule by elders), and congregational (congregation self-rule). Denominations that employ the episcopal form of church government include the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Anglican Church (among others). Denominations that use the presbyterian form include the Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Traditionally, Baptist and Bible churches have employed the congregational approach. Of course, many Southern Baptist churches use some form of the elder polity today, though that varies a lot from church to church. The rise of the non-denominational evangelical churches affects this considerably. Those churches govern themselves in various ways, though they do share church autonomy as a common denominator.
What Bible passages support the three historical church polities? The Roman Catholic Church cites Matthew 16:18-19.
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock[a] I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 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[c] in heaven.” (ESV)
The Roman Catholics believe that by these words Jesus Christ made Peter the first bishop of Rome (pope). They further believe that Peter had the authority to ordain the bishop that followed him, and that man the next. Thus, you have apostolic succession, which means there is a line of properly ordained bishops that goes all the way back to Peter. They believe Christ entrusted the care and administration of His church to this unbroken line of bishops. To be accurate, the Catholics do cite the Matthew passage, but they also cite pronouncements from the Fathers of the Church and popes. These pronouncements form the Magisterium, which Catholics believe has as much authority as the Scriptures.
Presbyterian and Reformed denominations and churches are ruled by boards of elders. They base their practice on Acts 14:23.
23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. (ESV)
“They” in the verse above refers to Paul and Barnabas. On their first missionary journey, they planted churches in southern Asia Minor. Before they returned to Antioch of Syria, they visited the new churches and “appointed” elders to lead each church. In the New Testament (or apostolic) church, I believe most churches were led by several elders, sometimes referred to as “plural elders.” They served as bi-vocational church leaders. What complicates this picture a bit is the nature of the apostolic churches. They were house churches, not churches with buildings. So, the church in Corinth, for example, was a cluster of networked house churches each led by one or more bi-vocational elders, probably several.
Since 1900, Southern Baptist churches have mainly employed the congregational form of church polity. More than one Baptist writer has described a Baptist congregation as a “spiritual democracy.” Baptists find the biblical basis for their polity in Acts 6:1-6.
Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists[a] arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 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. 3 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. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 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. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. (ESV)
Advocates for congregational polity point out that the twelve Apostles recommended a course of action to “the full number of the disciples.” The believers affirmed the Apostles’ recommendation and chose seven men to lead the church’s benevolence ministry. When I was beginning in ministry, almost sixty years ago, nearly all SBC churches practiced congregational polity. I surely cannot make the same declaration now. In the past thirty years, many SBC churches have switched to some form of elder leadership or rule. I attribute this shift to the influence of the 9 Marks organization and Southern Baptist Seminary. Mark Dever, founder of 9 Marks, and his associates have promoted elder leadership. The same is true for Southern Baptist Seminary. The faculty there teach the superiority of elder leadership and encourage their students to implement that in the churches they will serve.
Well, which approach to polity is better? It depends on whom you ask. I once consulted Dr. John Polhill about the main form of polity found in the New Testament. My friend, John Polhill, taught New Testament and Greek at Southern Seminary for 40 years, and he wrote the commentary on Acts in the New American Commentary. He replied that there are three forms of polity mentioned in the New Testament, and that is why we see a variety of polities today. So, back to my question. Which is best? Personally, I favor the congregational approach, probably because that is what I’m used to. I’ve never been part of a church with elders, so I don’t have any personal experience. I’m hoping some of our readers will share their experiences. Also, be aware that I plan to write my next post about church elders. So, stay tuned for that.
