This article is the thirty-second installment in our series "Christian, What Do You Believe: The Belgic Confession of Faith." Find the whole series here.
The church of Jesus Christ is a political organization. It certainly operates differently from civil governments and secular organizations and must respect its God-ordained sphere. But the church is a body politic, a body of people under an organized government. The church has a King named Jesus, a constitution called the Bible, and officers—elders, deacons, and ministers—who promote the King’s will.
The way God’s officers exert influence and how they are chosen and honored by the people they lead (BC 31) is crucial to the health of any congregation. Church politics can be ugly. But we can counteract that problem by understanding and submitting to Scripture’s vision for leadership in Christ’s church.
The Election of Church Officers
God’s people must not be led by those merely “claiming to be somebody” (Acts 5:36). “Everyone must be careful not to push himself forward improperly” into leadership (BC 31). Christ, the head of the church, chooses officers by “a legitimate election of the church” (see Eph. 5:23; Acts 13:2).
The church sometimes chose officers by lots (e.g. Acts 1:26), but that method of decision-making was always abnormal and was used in lieu of God’s complete revelation and prior to the outpouring of the Spirit. The normal method for choosing leaders in the Christian church is by election.
Like the lot, the vote is simply a means for reaching a conclusion not explicitly revealed in Scripture, trusting God to produce a good outcome (Prov. 16:33). Jesus Christ, “the only universal bishop, and the only head of the church,” oversees church elections. Because of this, men elected to office and the congregations they serve, “may be assured of [their] calling and be certain and sure that [they are] chosen by the Lord.” Likewise, those not elected can rest in God’s good providence.
While God controls the outcome of officer elections, voting is still a “solemn responsibility calling for much thought, prayer, and consecration that only Christ’s will be done.” All nominees presented to the congregation must meet the biblical requirements for the various offices (see 1 Tim. 3:1–13). But God uses the conscientious decisions and deliberate prayers of voting members in choosing the right man “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).
An orderly election appoints God’s officers. But what kind of influence should they exert?
The Influence of Church Officers
Soon after its founding, the church of Rome and her bishop increasingly gained influence over the other churches. The result was an ecclesiastical government in which the bishop of Rome, who became known as the pope, was at the top of an elaborate authority hierarchy. The pope took the title, Vicar of Christ—the one who rules in the place of Jesus. How does this square with Scripture?
Ironically, Peter, whom the Roman Catholic Church names as the first pope, spoke to the churches as “a fellow elder.” He warned church leaders against “domineering over those in your charge” (1 Peter 5:1, 3). Ministers today must neither “lord it over” members or other ministers; the same is true for deacons and elders (Matt. 20:25). Instead, ministers of the word “have the same power and authority no matter where they may be, since they are all servants of Christ, the only universal bishop,” or overseer (see 2 Peter 2:25). Ministers are not lords, but servants (Matt. 20:26).
This is not to deny that all church leaders are influencers. They do wield power, but it is the spiritual power of Christ exercised through godly words and example. “Every leader in the local church [must] become God’s change agent” within the congregation. All leaders should marshal the church’s “gifts and life for outreach to the world” and to “enlist others to help in this cause.” Ministers, elders, and deacons are consecrated by God to be culture-shapers and pacesetters in the church. To do this well, biblical leaders never project a personal vision for church life but a vision that grows out of Scripture and is energized by the gospel. Church leaders believe that “All actual authority stems from Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1–2; MSG). Still, they say with Paul, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” They must use their influence to promote Christ, not themselves. As they do, they are worthy of honor.
The Honor of Church Officers
First Thessalonians 5 says about those who “labor among you and are over you in the Lord…esteem them very highly in love because of their work” (vv. 12–13). This does not mean that church leaders should demand honor. Few things are more repulsive to the offices than a leader who constantly insists on being respected. Good leaders earn respect by dedicated, gracious service and wise decision-making. They are willing to entertain appropriate criticism and eager to work toward a solution (e.g. Acts 6:1ff.).
But we may never forget that the ministers of the word and the elders of the church work for Christ. The role they fill as Christ’s ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20) makes honoring them a way that we honor Christ. For this reason, Paul once apologized for speaking ill against a clearly evil high priest. He remembered that Moses had written, “You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people” (Acts 23:1–5; cf. Ex. 22:28).
One important way of honoring church leaders is to “be at peace with them, without grumbling, quarreling, or fighting.” This does not require always agreeing with leaders. But it does mean that we work with them as teammates and not as adversaries. Godly church members learn the spiritual discipline of submission to decisions they disagree with but which are biblically defensible. They refuse to complain about decisions they dislike. When they object to a decision that they feel must be addressed, they talk with their leaders, not about them. Godly congregants cannot abide unbiblical decisions, especially ones that compromise the gospel. But on such matters, they honor their leaders by humbly following the church’s biblical mechanism for appeals.
Satan wants congregations that downplay the significance of the election of church leaders, whose leaders fail to influence the church or lead it wrongly, and whose members grumble, quarrel, and fight against their leaders. For the sake of our prosperity and the honor of God, don’t give Satan what he wants. Instead, view God’s officers as gifts and revere his plan for the use of church leaders in cultivating healthy, growing, God-honoring churches.
Footnotes
For a fuller argument in favor of choosing offers by way of elections instead of lots see William Boekestein, Stubborn Prophet Faithful God (Leyland, England: EP Books, 2022), 108–111.
Luke’s word for appointing elders (Acts 14:23) means “to vote by stretching out the hand.” That Paul was accustomed to casting votes on important matters is clear from Acts 26:10.
J. L. Schaver, The Polity of the Churches (Chicago: Church Polity Press, 1947), 187.
C. John Miller, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Ministry Resources Library, 1986), 15, 109.
