church polity | Blind Man's Fancy

Why Your Church Should Have Elders (Part 4)

June 24, 2015June 24, 2015 B.J. MaxwellChurch Life, Pastoral Ministry

Jesus loves the church and has richly provided for her eternal health and glory (Eph 4.7-16). He sustains the church through a well-ordered, humble, Spirit-wrought polity. The New Testament teaches and demonstrates that local church leadership should be entrusted to a plurality of qualified men who, though gifted differently, are equal in authority and responsibility. Both biblically and practically, your local church benefits greatly by having a group of men […]

Why Your Church Should Have Elders (Part 3)

June 23, 2015June 24, 2015 B.J. MaxwellChurch Life, Pastoral Ministry

Parts 1 and 2 introduced and briefly defended from Scripture that local church leadership is best entrusted to a plurality of qualified men who, though gifted differently, are equal in authority and responsibility. Both the biblical vocabulary and pattern indicate the local church is best led by elders (a.k.a. overseers, bishops, pastors-shepherds) rather than solo pastors or other pastoral hierarchies. A church without elders is no less a church, but she should […]

Why Your Church Should Have Elders (Part 2)

June 22, 2015June 23, 2015 B.J. MaxwellBiblical Meditations, Church Life

The New Testament teaches and demonstrates local church leadership should be entrusted to a plurality of qualified men who, though gifted differently, are equal in authority and responsibility. The local church is most healthy when she is led by elders who defend and teach sound doctrine, and encourage gospel progress through careful pastoral oversight. As introduced in Part 1, until a local church installs a plural eldership it is lacking. It […]

Why Your Church Should Have Elders (Part 1)

June 20, 2015June 23, 2015 B.J. MaxwellBiblical Meditations, Church Life, Pastoral Ministry, Titus

For many a churchgoer church polity (how a church is governed) is not of great concern. As long as there are plenty of programs, pennies and people then why fuss over a secondary issue. But is polity as secondary as we assume? Church polity does not rise to the level of salvific importance. Whether or not a local church has a plurality of elders does not determine if it’s a […]