Polity

Polity is the form or process of an institution like government or a church. It is how it is run. The only way I've ever heard the word used in a sentence is in terms of church polity. What is the organizational structure of a church? The question I ask first, of course, is "What is the biblical version of church polity?" Different denominations have different structures. In the Episcopal version (where "episcopal" is derived from the Greek "episkopos" -- literally "over-seer" -- translated "bishop" in King James or "overseer" in NAS), it's a hierarchical structure with bishops on top. In the Presbyterian version (where "presbyterian" is derived from the Greek "presbuteros" -- literally "older man" -- translated "elder"), it's a representative-type government where elders are elected by congregations. In the Congregational version, it's democratic ... run by the congregation that votes on its policies and structures. But ... is there a biblical version?

As it turns out, the answer is yes ... and no. Clearly, the head of the church is Christ (Eph 1:22). Got it. But ... what about local churches? The Bible prescribes elders/bishops/pastors (used interchangeably in various places -- see Acts 20:17, 20, 28; 1 Peter 5:1-2) as the spiritual leadership and deacons as the ... servant leadership. Scripture recognizes both of these as distinct and present (Php 1:1). Qualifications for these are listed (Elders: 1 Tim 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9. Deacons: 1 Tim 3:8-13). Peter describes the elders as "shepherds" with Christ as the lead Shepherd and elders as "servants" (1 Peter 5:1-4). Scripture also references "appointing" elders (rather than "electing") (see Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). But in Acts 6 -- the first mention of deacons -- the deacons are "selected" by the congregation before being "ordained" (as it were) by the Apostles (Acts 6:1-6). Jesus described the congregation as having a part in church discipline in Matthew 18:15-17. Paul suggests the same in 1 Corinthians 7:5-13. Beyond that ... church polity is ... vague. The Bible neither commends nor forbids committees. Democracy to some degree is not banned from the church. Using some of the world's leadership principles that don't clash with biblical principles are not disallowed.

Does the Bible give us rules for church polity? Yes ... and no. Essential to church polity is the fundamental principle that Christ is the head of the Church, and that the Word of God is the "rule book," the ultimate authority in matters of faith, doctrine, and practice for Christians. The presence and plurality of both elders/pastors and deacons is a given biblical principle. The building up of the body as the primary function (Eph 4:11-16) is absolutely biblical. We need to avoid two very common errors. On one hand, we tend to ban things we think aren't "biblical" when the Bible doesn't ban them. On the other hand, we tend to allow worldly approaches to governance that the Bible specifically forbids. It's that middle road ... do what it says and don't forbid what it doesn't forbid ... that we have to walk. We often have a hard time doing that.