Church Polity - SPECIAL TOPIC

SPECIAL TOPIC: LEADERSHIP AND CHURCH POLITY OF THE EARLY CHURCH

New Testament Leaders
The term "elder" (presbuteros) was an OT designation of leadership, while the term "overseer" (episkopos, cf. 1 Tim. 3:1) was a Greek city-state designation of leadership. These two terms are used synonymously in the NT. They are used of the office/function of pastor in the NT (cf. Acts 20:17,28; Titus 1:5,7; 1 Pet. 5:1-2).
Philippians 1:1 clearly asserts two leadershp functions/positions in the first century churches (i.e., pastors/overseers and deacons).
The New Testament Polity
The NT cannot be used to establish a divine church polity. It records all three developed forms, especially in the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15.
1. episcopalian (James as authoritative leader, cf. Acts 15)
2. presbyterian (a group of elders reviewed, cf. Acts 15)
3. congregational (the congregations voted, cf. Acts 15)
House Churches
The PLURAL in 1 Tim. 5:17, Acts 20:17, and Titus 1:5 could possibly point toward house churches. The early church did not have separate buildings until the third century. No one home was large enough to accommodate all the believers, therefore, different Christian homes around the larger cities opened their doors for the regular meetings of the Christian community. This approach also protected the church from being arrested all at once.
Exactly how the leadership of a city with several house churches was organized is unclear. 1 Corinthians 11-14 speaks of a large group Lord's Supper, but local house church meetings. As the church grew, organization was needed. The form of that organization is not as crucial as the godliness of the leaders (cf. 1 Timothy 3).