Who Decides?

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Intro:
The late Rabbi Abraham L. Feinberg, in the mid-70's moved to San Francisco to be the “rabbi in residence” at Glide Memorial Methodist Church. Questioned as to how he could hold such a position at a Methodist Church, Rabbi Feinberg answered that it was easy—as long as the Church is unconventional, doesn’t mention the word of Christ in its liturgy, and is concerned with people, not theology. And that, he said, is the philosophy behind the Glide Church, which offers its worshippers a sometimes ear-splitting combination of live jazz music, light shows, singing, and rock dancing at each Sunday’s “celebration.”
Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996).
One must ask after hearing that, who is in charge of that church? Thank the Lord that HE is the Head of our church and the universal church!
Since our local church is now without a pastor, and this church will be interviewing potential candidates for the senior pastoral position, I thought it best (with prayer) to share with you this morning the scriptural foundations as to why you, as the congregation, have the authority to choose a pastor.
After all, one might be questioning at a time like this, "does the congregation have any expertise in selecting a pastor?" or perhaps the question could be posed as "by what power, or by what authority do the members, who are laymen in the congregation, have in selecting such a suitable servant?" Perhaps to make it more poignant: what gives you the right to make a choice of this magnitude for this church, Jesus' bride?
The answer is what the common churchgoer might not know, or think much about, yet should be able to answer. This answer has to do with Ecclesiology/Church polity/Church Governing which is our topic this morning.
Lets look first to scripture 1 Peter 2:5-9
1 Peter 2:5–9 ESV
you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
v5... a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ; then v9 ... a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
To whom is the Apostle Peter writing? Usually, the quickest way to find out to whom a biblical author was originally writing is by looking at the opening words of the letter. For instance:
1 Peter 1:1 ESV
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
Peter is writing to us, to the ELECT, to believers! Which is the church abroad.
The Answer to those potential questions I first proposed is this: the doctrine of the Priesthood of the Believers--by means of Christ's once for all sacrifice on the cross and one of the Baptist distinctives found in the infallible scriptures-- this is what you may rest your God-given authority to make such weighty decisions. We ought to accredit Martin Luther for his exposition of this forgotten doctrine during his adult life.
Also, it is interesting to note that it is not just Peter in the NT who calls us Priests, but also the Apostle John (ἱερεύς - same word in the LXX for the OT priests) in Revelation 1:6 & 5:10

What is the Priesthood of Believers?

Christ, as you know, is our only and ultimate High Priest by being a propitiation or providing the true covering for our sins and becoming, by rite, the only mediator between God and us, fulfilling the role of priesthood once for all and since He sent His Spirit into us, we now can carry out the ecclesiastical functions of the priest within our local church assemblies as appropriated by Him, our high priest.
In the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Al Mohler writes about this doctrine:
"As the people of God, the church is now a 'royal priesthood' (1 Pet. 2:9), ministering together in the name of Christ. Though we do not represent one another before the Father, believers are called to pray for one another, to encourage each other to good works, and to call one another to holiness.
Central to the doctrine of the priesthood of believers is the concept of the gathered church, or congregationalism. Each church is comprised of believers who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ and now serve as priests together. In its purest sense this doctrine refers to believers gathered together under the lordship of Christ, not to individual believers standing alone. The doctrine does, however, rightly affirm that we need no human priest to stand between the individual believer and God. As mediator, Jesus Christ alone fulfills that role."
Albert Mohler continues:
"The doctrine of the priesthood of believers thus affirms the right of every believer to fellowship with God through Christ, and the obligation of every believer to be a fully functioning member of a congregation, exercising Christian discipleship among the fellowship of other believer-priests."
R. Albert Mohler, Jr., "Priesthood of Believers", Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ed. Chad Brand, Charles Draper, Archie England, Steve Bond, E. Ray Clendenen and Trent C. Butler (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003). 1328.

What did the priests do?

Other than offering sacrifices to the LORD and being a mediator between God and man for sin, what else?
They were to:
Keep charge of the tabernacle - Numb 18:1-7. --and so the members of a church are to keep charge of Church.
Keep the sacred fire always burning on the altar - Lev 6:12,13 --and so the members of a church are to continue worship without ceasing.
Bless the people - Numbers 6:23-27. --and so we are to bless our community with the gospel hope.
Purify the unclean - Lev 15:30, 31. We are to make that distinction between the holy and the unholy, the secular from the sacred.
Decide in cases of jealousy - Numbers 5:14,15
Decide in cases of leprosy - Leviticus chapters 13 & 14
Judge in cases of controversy - Deut 17:8-13; 21:5. --here, our authority to exercise church discipline is founded from the OT
Teach the law Deut 33:8,10; Malachi 2:7. --how are we to teach the law today?
Blow the trumpets on various occasions - Numbers 10:1-10; Joshua 6:3,4.
Carry the ark - Joshua 3:6,17; 6:12.
Encourage the people when they went to war - Deut 20:1-4.
Value things devoted to God - Lev 27:8.
As you can see, this is quite a lofty position to fulfill and all members of this congregation are priests as Christ is the High Priest.
What else were Priests?
Priests were sometimes sinful:
Greedy - 1 Sam 2:13-17
Drunken - Isaiah 28:7
Profane and wicked - 1 Sam 2:22-24
Unjust -Jeremiah 6:13 and
Corrupters of the law - Malachi 2:7-8
Malachi 2:7–8 ESV
For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts,
This is why the whole congregation must be working together in vital decisions--we are all sinners and sometimes blinded by our sin and we must count upon all the members to see past our corruption to God's leading.
Is there other scripture to back up the congregation's authority? THERE IS-- this is why Baptists and "non-denominational" churches have their church piety/government as Congregationalism.

What is Congregationalism?

It is one of three structures of Christendom's church Piety/government that happens to have the most scriptural support.
There is also Episcopalian which catholicism modified & Presbyterian with the General Assembly as the ruling authority.
But for Congregationalism, the line of authority is simple:
first the congregation, who elects the Deaconate and the Elderships/Pastors,
then the Deaconate and the Elderships/Pastors LEAD, NOT RULE, the local church.
So what do I mean about the Pastor leading and not ruling? Well, you'd need to study the pastoral epistles (the two Timothy's and Titus) for the complete answer, which I will assume you will with this opportunity to select a senior pastor for this church.
But for this morning, we see best scriptural support in the book of Acts, but instead of turning to the popular chapter 2 for the picture of the church, let's take a quick run through of the middle of Acts starting in Chapter 6 and ending at chapter 15.
Acts 6:1–7 (ESV)
Acts 6:1–7 ESV
Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 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. 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. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 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. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
3Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute...
5And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and...
6These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
We clearly see here that it was the congregation who chose the men!
Acts 11:19-22
Acts 11:19–22 ESV
Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
22... and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.Here, it was the congregation sent out the men.
Acts 14:21-27
Acts 14:21–27 ESV
When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 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. Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
26and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.
27And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
--- The sent men reported back to who? To the congregation!
And now Acts 15 - Acts 15 is used as a proof texts for all three of the Church government structures because when you come to this chapter, it is easy to read it with whatever your ecclesiological bent may be and quickly walk away supposing that it supports it. So to prevent dogmatism from prevailing interpretation, we must slowly consider what is happening here in Acts 15 and let the scriptures speak to us about the direction of the flow of authority in the first century Church.

What is happening in Acts 15?

I. THE DEBATE IN JERUSALEM -- A special council is called by the Jerusalem church.
What's the debate?
(15:1): There is a disagreement concerning whether saved Gentile believers should be circumcised.
The pro-circumcision advocates (15:5) : These men were Pharisees before they became Christians.
The anti-circumcision advocates (15:2–4, 7–18)
Paul and Barnabas’s defense (15:2–4, 12): They review how God saved many Gentiles apart from circumcision during their recent missionary journey.
Peter’s defense (15:7–11): He speaks of Cornelius’s conversion and that of his Gentile household.
James’s defense (15:13–18): He reminds all present that the conversion of Gentiles was predicted by the Old Testament prophet Amos (Amos 9:11–12).
The resolution from this council (15:19–34)
The decision (15:19–21): James announces that saved Gentiles will not be forced into circumcision and will be encouraged to abstain only from a few activities.
The delegates (15:22–34): Godly representatives such as Silas and Barsabbas are commissioned to carry letters announcing the council’s decision to the various churches.
So at first glance, one might think from this passage, "oh, well you have the apostles and disciples over the church, and the council of the Jerusalem church must be over all the other churches since they make the final decisions. So… perhaps here show some basics to either Episcopalian governing or at least Presbyterian since the council acts as a General Assembly does." BUT HOLD ON! Let's dive in the Word for a closer look.
Acts 15:2-3
Acts 15:2–3 ESV
And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.
2...Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem...
3So, being sent on their way by the church ... and brought great joy to all the brothers.
What does this mean? this means the elders (Paul, Barnabas, and others) were appointed by the congregation
Acts 15:22
Acts 15:22 ESV
Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers,
"Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers,"
---The church agreed (same authority) with the apostles and elders to choose the men
Acts 15:30
Acts 15:30 ESV
So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.
---the letter from the Council was to the church, not the elders
Other Scriptures which we won't turn to now for the sake of time are:
2 Corinthians 2:6 - "by the majority" is the vote of the church to decide the discipline
Matthew 18:15-17 --disciplining steps goes forward to the whole church
1 Corinthians 5:4 the church is charged to act in disciplining immorality
1 Corinthians 6:1-4 when two Christians have a dispute they are to take it to the church/the saints Also, the church is to judge angels!
And finally, Paul writes to the whole churches in all of his epistles--not to the heads of the churches
But we cannot ignore God's work in selecting His leaders.
First, Christ selected the Apostles in the Gospels
Second, Ephesians 4:11 tells us that it is God who gave the evangelists, shepherds, and teachers as well as the apostles and prophets.
Third, 1 Corinthians 12:28 show us that GOD appoints the leaders in the church
Congregationalism can be divided as some see up to five ways, but in my personal studies, I see only two real distinctions.
Single-Elder Led Congregationalism:
In this polity, the senior pastor is called by the church, but after that, he exercises most of the authority. In a larger church, he typically hires and fires all ministry staff. The lead pastor is as much a CEO as he is a shepherd. Members meetings are kept to a minimum; in some churches, only once a year. The pastor is the leader and the people follow his lead.
Plural-Elder Congregationalism:
In this polity, which is not as common as the others, a plurality of elders rules the church in much the same way as the single-pastor-ruled option. The difference is that the authority is vested in a small group rather than a single individual. In many ways, this polity could be called “poor man’s presbyterianism.” The church is ruled by her elders, but there is no presbytery or classis beyond the local congregation. This polity also frequently makes a presbyterian-like distinction between teaching elders and ruling elders; only the former are considered pastors.
So let's take a moment to end with what is expected from pastoral leaders:

What the leaders must be

They must be blameless,
Their families must also be blameless,
They must be sober-minded (stable in all things)
They must love good things
Titus 1:5–9
Titus 1:5–9 ESV
This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
(KJV)
5For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
6If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
7For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
8But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;
9Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

What the Leaders must do

Preach the gospel
Teach sound doctrine
Lead in church life
Be an example in loving service
Train other leaders
And pray for the sick

What the Congregation must do

Respect and submit to its leaders (Acts 16:4; 1Thess 5:12-13; 1Tim 5:19; Heb 13:17)
Pray for its leaders (Eph 6:19; 1Thess 5:25)
Support its leaders financially (1Cor 9:7-14; Philip 4:15-19; 1Tim 5:17-18)
1 Corinthians 9:7–14 ESV
Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
Conclusion:
The biggest problem to be aware of and avoid is when the pastors and/or the deacons cross over the line of leading into ruling--which is usually born out of their fear that the MEMBERS of the congregation don’t have the wisdom to apply to the significant decisions and so they overrule the congregations' vote or say. BUT if the members are truly born-again, then they have the Holy Spirit in them to enable them to make God-lead decisions and to act as NT priests-- as Christ designed His bride. Can you see how important it is that all the church members are authentically born-again?
Your capacity for choosing a pastor is God given and I have total confidence that God will use you to select the leader of your flock.
PRAY!
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