John Wycliffe—A man who believed the Pope was unnecessary and unbiblical

This was no small complaint by the Oxford scholar. This would be similar to mentioning "a bomb" at any U.S. airport.

Wycliffe's biographer states, 

“Wycliffe is no longer in favor of bishops. He thinks that the only orders of ministry ought to be those of priest and deacon, since, although the vocabulary of the New Testament is hard to interpret, it does seem to be consistent in referring to only two orders, deacons and presbyter-bishops (elders). Wycliffe lays down the important principle that a distinction of duties or office does not necessarily require a difference in order. ‘For as far as the power of the order is concerned all priests are equal in power’. The simple priest has as much ‘plentitude of power’ as the Pope.”

Well….that will do it. Tell everyone the Pope’s authority is invalid and your common priest is just as powerful as the Holy Vicar of Rome. This will put you on Rome’s most wanted list.

Here are a couple questions for the Christian today: Is church polity (i.e. church government) even necessary in the local church? Should church polity influence the Christian as they look for a place to worship?

The local church needs leaders and structure.

The anti-authority people in the church are often the first to disregard or demean the need for leaders. For them, leaders and structure means “control” and “oppression”. Their skepticism is often based in poor examples in the past or disqualified leaders in the present. Sadly, their cynicism is understandable, though it is harmful to their spiritual growth.

The reality is God creates and calls human leaders to shepherd His flock.

Acts 14:23 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.

1 Peter 5:1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: ² shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; ³ not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

So, according to scripture, the local church needs leaders, but leaders can’t lead without implementing structure.

1 Corinthians 14:40 But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.

Though I believe some churches take this verse too far, out of context or apply too broadly, this is a necessary principle for the local church.

Wasn't this simply said by the apostle Paul to prevent excesses in the local church? Well….yes, but it is more than that. Structure is meant to enhance our worship of God, not hinder it. For many churches, structure means squelching the Spirit, inhibiting the “fresh” experience of the presence of God. Yet the reality  is, especially outlined in the OT, God cares about the way He is worshiped. Some worship exalts Him, other forms of worship exalts the program, the people or the experience. 

The congregation must have some influence in church polity.

Is this because America is a democratic society? No, it is because the church is the body of Christ, not the leaders of the body of Christ.

Here are a few verses where we see congregational influence:

Acts 6:3-5a 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…”

Acts 16:1-3 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. ² He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. ³ Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

So obviously, there is biblical data that assumes the congregation has a part in electing and/or commissioning their leaders. In other words, the congregation has influence in the decision-making of the local church.

How much influence? Hard to say….since scripture doesn’t give us specifics. If you are a Baptist, you will say a lot. If you are an elder-led church, you will say not very much.

I guess the main thing is that if the leaders are striving to be biblical, communicate, encourage, serve and protect, then the congregation will find it easier to respect, submit, pray and encourage their leaders.

Numbers of leaders are not as important as the maturity of leaders.

A church should never feel pressure to fill the gaps with spiritually immature leaders. Ultimately, ministries created and led by these premature leaders will likely produce the façade of stability, but the ground is nothing more than shifting sand.

This is not to say that every leader has to be at an official level of spirituality. Obviously, Paul took Timothy with him because he (and others) saw great potential within him. This is why if the local church is a disciple-making church, then leaders are constantly being groomed and their spiritual growth monitored by the mature Saints of Christian faith.

Need more leaders? Pray and disciple those in your midst. Programs can wait, because a program without mature leaders is like a model home; it is enticing to seekers, it may even look real, but in the end…..it is just a show.

The type of church polity is important, but not a primary issue.

This has taken me a while to embrace. The pride of my youth drove me to dogmatism with regards to issues that are not primary.

If a local church has a church polity that elects qualified elders and deacons and involves the congregation (to some degree), this is a New Testament church that pleases its Head, Jesus Christ.

Methodology is liquid.

Liquid can be put in any container. Some like the gallon jug. Some prefer the square carton. Some like the 20 oz bottle and others prefer the carafe. In a similar way, every local church does church polity different. Some churches need the approval of 3/4 of the congregation. Some need just 2/3. Some churches do not involve the congregation in everyday decisions, some do. Some churches have terms for their leaders and some have indefinite terms of service. Which one is right? Which one is wrong? Hard to say. Are some methods that are unwise or cultivate cliques, rather than unity? I think so. But again, since the NT does not give specifics, the Christian should be concerned more about the maturity of the leaders themselves, rather than the mechanism of church polity itself.

Church polity is not a cardinal doctrine of the Christian faith....so let's not treat it as such.

The local church must have godly leaders and structure. If we do that, our churches will be healthier and more effective for the gospel.