It seems to me that there is some biblical expectation that the membership of a local baptist church ought to have opportunity to express themselves in some of the decisions that the church makes. For example, we see church members involved in the process of recognizing potential leadership within the church. We also see that when we receive new members into our local body of believers each of us is individually accepting responsibility for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Being family members in a local church includes holding one another accountable which may include church discipline. Christ himself tells us that the church has a role in church discipline (Matthew 18:15-17).
As with all elder led churches, there are going to be struggles with deciding what decisions need to come before the church and what decisions should simply be made by the elders. I think there are dangers in a church where the elders are never willing to consult the church and dangers in a church where the elders bring everything before the church for a decision. Presently, the elders of TRBC are attempting to strike the balance between absolute elder authority, and the opposite extreme where the elders bring every issue before the church membership for a decision.
If the elders never inform the membership of any pending decision we would rightfully be concerned about the possibility of authoritarianism. On the other hand, if decisions are always made by popular vote of the congregation there would be a concern that we might be making decisions merely as a matter of popular politics. Obviously there are times when we need to accept this tension and do our best to walk this tightrope for the sake of unity and transparency.
So how should we make biblical decisions in this church? Many decisions are made internally. That is, some decisions are made without bringing them before the church. This is why the church has selected its own leadership – there remains accountability for decisions made but there is also trust that leadership will be looking to the best interest of the church. Most of us have neither the time nor the inclination to meet and consider every decision that a church must necessarily make during the year. We have the biblical office of elder which the Bible speaks of as being devoted ‘to prayer and the ministry of the Word’ (Acts 6:4). One of the reasons the elders preach and teach the Word is so that the church may make biblically sound decisions both personally, within their own families, and corporately, as a church body. The deacons are given as servants of the church. Due to the nature of the church as a Christ led organization, we expect the elders to provide leadership to the deacons. And among the elders, the full-time pastor/elder is expected to lead them as the first among equals.
Since we have called our elders with the biblical qualifications in mind, we hold them in high esteem and value their insight especially in matters pertaining to scripture. The elders take great care not to abuse the basic trust that exists between members and church leadership. It would grieve them greatly to think that the trust between the members and the elders might be broken due to poorly thought out decisions or poorly phrased words. The elders’ sincere hope is that the church will continue to trust them to do what is right and that the fellowship will continue to pray that the Lord will guide them in all wisdom. However, we may disagree with the elders from time to time - in these cases we owe it to them to thoughtfully listen to their arguments.1 Any disagreement ought to be handled in a Christ-like manner.2 The elders owe it to us to explain their biblical reasons for whatever decisions or policies that they make on behalf of the church. If there remains a disagreement: may the best biblical argument win! Church rule should not be based on the rule of power but rather the rule of Christ through His Word. Even during elder meetings, this is the rule – it is not about personality or position, it is not who is right; the godly answer comes down to a careful analysis of what is right according to the Word of God. Even then, the elders recognize the plain fact that a full-time elder will generally lead due to the nature of his full-time vocation. He owes the other elders an explanation for his positions and we owe him our full attention and respect along with our own study of scripture. All doctrine and practice comes first from the Bible, as well as our secondary standard, the 1689 London Baptist Confession, which gives us a concise guide for what we believe the Bible teaches. The membership holds the elders accountable to Bible and the Confession and when the elders teach they are guided by the same.
Deacons likewise, have been called by the church membership and are accountable to them. Since we have called our deacons with the biblical qualifications in mind, we also hold them in high esteem and value their insight. Admittedly there are times when the deacons will be called to make decisions where the Bible does not give direction. But if the church has done due diligence prior to calling them as servants of the church we should have confidence in their ability to make wise decisions. Even though we trust the deacons to make these wise decisions they ought to be willing to offer a rational explanation when questioned. Biblically the deacons are responsible for the care of orphans and widows but by good and necessary consequence we take that to include the physical care of the church, the church property, and the people related to the church. They relieve the elders and the church membership of concerns such as benevolence, finances, and property. So they are to be the servants of the church and are commissioned to make decisions for the church. Wise deacons will, in some cases, present thoughtful plans to the church membership for advice or approval/disapproval. It is reasonable to expect that church members would give weight to what the deacons suggest.
Hopefully this will give you some insight why at church meetings we sometimes simply announce decisions and sometimes call for a congregational discussion with a vote to approve or disapprove. Elders naturally want to give the membership opportunity to ask questions and also to give us some feed-back on particular issues that come before the church. In one sense we are a voluntary assembly of like-minded believers. In another sense, we are commanded by our Lord to meet together regularly for public worship – we are members of this particular church not simply because we ‘like’ one another (I hope we do!), but our allegiance to this church is for the sake of obedience to our Lord, the King of the Church.
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1 ‘Argument’ I am using the word, ‘argument’ not in the negative sense such as, ‘an angry or heated argument’ but rather as a process of reasoning for or against a particular point in question. Christian use of the word ‘argument’ simply means that we are attempting to convince or persuade someone of the truth of a proposition. In the context of a biblical church, arguments are properly resolved on the basis of biblical truths, the confession, church history, general wisdom, or church practice. For the sake of efficiency and fairness our church meetings use a modified Roberts Rules of Order. So when a motion made proposing a particular decision or course of action it is followed by orderly discussion. The one who makes the motion is first given time to argue for why the motion ought to be approved. Following this opening statement opportunity is given for any who may have questions or who may be against the motion to address the moderator with their opposing arguments. In this way both sides of an argument are presented. Following such a discussion a vote is taken – again, the most biblically persuasive argument ought to prevail. Perhaps it need not be said, but in your selection of the eldership you have acknowledged that they are spiritually mature men who should have proven insight into what the scripture teaches. Not that the elders get double votes but rather that their teaching on the subject should be given extra weight due to their calling (Hebrews 13:17) ‘… for they will give an account’.
2 ’A Christ-like manner’ Elders are not elevated beings who must be treated differently than any other church member. Elders and deacons are church members who have been called to lead the church so the following description of how we handle disagreements applies to all believers, including elders and deacons.
Love for one another is not only a command of Christ but also the principle mark of the believer (John 13:34-35). We may, of course, disagree with a brother or sister in Christ but according to Jesus we are still to love them. The Apostle Paul tells us to ‘walk in a manner worthy of the calling … with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the bond of peace’ (Ephesians 4:1-3). The fact that there will be times when we disagree and times when we will feel the need to resolve such disagreements does not abrogate the command for us to behave lovingly toward one another. In cases where we think there is a disagreement we ought to go first to the individual to determine whether we actually have a disagreement or whether we simply do not understand the other person’s position. ‘The first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him’ (Proverbs 18:17). In humility, we ought to consider the possibility that we may be on the wrong side of the issue! I think Christ’s direction in church discipline cases suggests the wisdom of going to your brother privately rather than going before the church with an accusation (Matthew 18:15). Having a friendly discussion with our brother or sister will hopefully help us to understand the actual issue in question. If we discover a true disagreement exists, then we are free to make loving attempts to convince one another of the rightness of our own position. In cases where there is no sinful behavior and we are unable to convince one another of our position there should be an expectation that we continue to remain brothers (or sisters) in Christ. There are biblically essential matters which will be found in our Confession and there are non-essential matters. There are a vast number of non-essential matters ranging from what color to paint the foyer to whether or not to home school your children, etc. If the issue is a matter of non-essentials we should be able to disagree and live together in peace. If an essential matter remains unresolved, both individuals might consider taking the issue to the elders for assistance. If the elders are unable to resolve the issue or are unable to come to a consensus among themselves, the issue may need to come before the church for judgment. As a last resort, a disagreement of what is perceived as an essential matter may be taken to a sister church for advice or in extreme cases; a dispute may be adjudicated by requesting an associational church council to resolve the issue. Disagreements about non-essentials ought to be covered with love for one another. Matters of sin are resolved by the church according to Christ’s directions in Matthew chapter18, verses 15-18.
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