Who governs your church? Who selects your pastoral leadership? Who decides how the tithes and offerings will be spent? Who determines what beliefs and practices will guide your church? Who owns your church’s property? A church’s polity or governance determines the answers to questions such as these. What Is Congregational Church Governance? Polity is how an organization, such as a church, functions—the policies that guide matters such as governance, decision making, structure and leadership. Baptists differ from most Christian denominations in matters of polity. The difference especially is evident in how congregations of Christians are governed. One major difference between Baptists and many other denominations is that no person or group outside of a Baptist congregation is to have any authority over the church in regard to beliefs and religious practices. Furthermore, all of the members within the church fellowship are to have equal voice in the governance of the church. Baptist church governance often is termed “democratic.” In a sense it is. In a democracy, all of the people have equal voices in decision making. No individual or group of persons is in control. Such is to be the case in a Baptist church. One way that democratic governance is practiced is that each member of the church has the right to vote on matters at church business meetings. To many non-Baptists, and even to some Baptists, this seems to be a strange way for a church to function. Putting the governance of a church in the hands of persons who have no special training, education or calling appears to be foolish. Why would Baptists dare to function in this fashion? What Are the Bases for Congregational Governance? For Baptists, beliefs are not only compatible with polity but are also foundational for polity. Therefore, basic Baptist beliefs relate to congregational governance. The Lordship of Christ. Strictly speaking, Baptists do not believe in democratic church governance. “Democratic” is a political term that means “people rule.” For Baptists, the ultimate authority for a church rests not in the people but in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the head or Lord of the church (Ephesians 4:15; Philippians 2:11). Perhaps an appropriate descriptive term for Baptist church governance would be “theo-democratic” meaning God’s rule through all of the people. The Authority of the Bible. Baptists believe that congregational governance best reflects the practices of those churches described in the New Testament. For example, the members of a church acting in concert, not any one person or group, made major decisions (Acts 6:1-6; 13:1-3; 15:22; 2 Corinthians 8:1-13). Salvation Only by Grace through Faith. Baptists believe that all persons who are redeemed have come by grace to saving faith in Christ, not by works, social status, or any other thing (Ephesians 2:8-10). The ground at the foot of the cross is level. Therefore, no Baptist is to lord it over another. Thus, a church is to be governed by all of the people together under the lordship of Christ. Soul Competency and the Priesthood of Believers. Persons have a God-given competence to know and to follow God’s will. Those who respond by faith to God’s grace-gift of salvation become “believer priests” (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 5:1-10). Each believer priest has direct access to God through the Scriptures and prayer and is free under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to determine God’s will. Furthermore, each believer also is part of a “royal priesthood” in which Jesus Christ is the High Priest (Hebrews 7-10). This priesthood is a fellowship in which each believer priest is to seek God’s direction as a cooperative part of that fellowship. Regenerate Church Membership of Baptized Believers. Baptists hold tenaciously to the Bible teaching that a church is to be made up only of those who have been saved by belief in Christ and who have experienced believer’s immersion. A church, therefore, is a fellowship of baptized believers or, put another way, a community of believer priests. Church governance is not in the hands of one or of a few but of all the members. Questions and Issues The bases for congregational governance are biblical and are clearly related to core Baptist convictions. However, people sometimes have questions about such polity: Who is in charge? In the business world; the president or the CEO of the organization is often thought of as being the one in charge. Thus, it is natural for many people to think in these terms regarding a church organization. However, based on the Bible and major Baptist doctrines, Baptists insist that only Christ is “in charge” of his church and that the members are to seek and follow Christ’s will for the church. Isn’t the pastor in authority over a church? The deacons? The Bible indicates that pastors have very important roles to play in a church (1Timothy 3:1-7). However, the roles are not ones of dictatorial authority but rather ones of servant, spiritual leadership “not lording it over those entrusted to you” (1 Peter 5:2-3, NIV). The Bible indicates that pastors have heavy responsibilities, and church members should respect their servant leader roles and relate to them in such a way that “their work will be a joy, not a burden” (Hebrews 13:17, NIV). The Bible also sets high standards for deacons (1 Timothy 3:8-13), but the deacons are to be servants and not governors of the church. How should decisions be made? Being autonomous, Baptist churches vary in the specific ways that they make decisions. Baptist polity calls for the entire membership to be ultimately responsible for decisions made on the basis of Christ’s will for the church. However, often it is not practical for the total membership to be involved in every decision. Therefore, churches follow a variety of procedures in carrying out the business of the church. Many churches formalize the procedures in a constitution and bylaws. In numbers of churches, the congregation delegates to committees, to pastor and/or to staff the responsibility for certain decisions. These bring recommendations on major matters to the congregation for approval. Often recommendations from committees, pastor and/or staff are evaluated by the deacons before being brought to the membership in a business meeting. Ideally, all members are encouraged to participate in business meetings. In many churches, business meetings are held following a worship service and take place periodically, such as quarterly. Special business meetings are held for major matters such as voting on a committee recommendation for a new pastor. Isn’t this pattern of governance inefficient? It may be inefficient in some ways, but it is effective because it includes all of the members in the decisions about the life and ministry of the church. Because of such representation, the church is strengthened, people feel more a part of the church than they otherwise would. A church in the hands of the people has proven to be an effective means of carrying out the purposes of a church, such as evangelism, discipleship and ministry. Conclusion This approach to church governance is clearly idealistic and difficult to implement. The next article in this series explores some of these difficulties. Baptists believe that in spite of difficulties, they should strive for the goal of congregational governance because it follows the example in the New Testament of church governance and is best in keeping with basic biblical doctrines that Baptists hold dear. “Every form of polity other than democracy somewhere infringes upon the lordship of Christ.” Congregational governance under the lordship of Christ is a basic Baptist polity based on the Bible. However, many challenges exist today to this ideal. Apparent Reasons for Weakened Congregational Governance Observers of Baptist church life cite a number of factors that are testing congregational governance. A corporate business model exists in some churches. The pastor functions as a sort of CEO with the power to make major unilateral decisions regarding church finances, personnel, programs and sometimes even qualifications for membership. In some churches, a group, such as deacons or ruling elders, serve in a capacity similar to that of a board of directors in a business corporation. Often the primary justification offered for such a top-down approach to church governance is that it is efficient. Decisions are made by one person or a few without the necessity to involve large numbers of persons in committee and business meetings. Of course, sound business principles ought to be welcome in a church. But expediency should not be the guide for the basic organization of a church. The CEO and board of directors models may seem to be efficient, but they often lead to destructive conflict in a Baptist church. The majority of major church conflicts arise over the issue of leadership, and many of these erupt when a pastor endeavors to control. Often these conflicts result in the dismissal of the pastor. Church splits also occur over this issue. Of course, the fault is not always with any one person or group, but a basic cause is often the attempt to undermine congregational governance. The challenge to congregational governance may come not from pastors, deacons, or elders claiming authority but from a few members of the church who gain great power. Whenever a few persons gain control, congregational governance flounders. Some Basic Factors Undermining Congregational Church Governance Observers of Baptist churches point to other factors that contribute to failure to achieve the biblical ideal of congregational church governance. A basic factor may be numbers of church members who are immature in their Christian growth. Effective congregational church governance depends on the congregation being comprised of persons who have not only been redeemed by Christ but who are also growing to healthy maturity in Christ. Persons who lack the experience of salvation by grace through faith will not embody the qualities necessary for effective participation in congregational governance, such as the biblical concept of the priesthood of believers and soul competency. Similarly, persons who have not experienced Christian growth and discipleship in a meaningful way (1 Corinthians 3:1-14) may also lack a servant attitude with a deep commitment to follow Jesus as Lord (Philippians 2:5-11). The effective exercise of congregational church governance requires that persons desire to follow the will of Christ for the church and that they seek insight and wisdom from other believer priests. Apathy and indifference also undermine congregational governance by contributing to small attendance at business meetings and other church- governance functions. Such lack of participation creates a vacuum, allowing those who are willing to participate to control the life of a church. Another basic factor in the lack of true congregational governance may be that many people simply do not understand how it functions. Lack of education about Baptist beliefs and polity have left many persons with scant knowledge of the how and why of congregational governance. Why Congregational Governance Is Important Another reason for the failure of persons to make the effort to see that congregational governance functions in a church is that they do not consider it of real importance. But congregational government is extremely important. Congregational governance is important because it says a great deal about the basic beliefs of a church. For example, to fail to follow what we believe the Bible teaches about polity calls into question commitment to the authority of God’s word. Lack of congregational governance may also demonstrate that a church is not committed to soul competency and the priesthood of believers; for one person or a handful of persons to govern a church undermines these basic doctrines. Congregational governance is also important for the development of Christian maturity in the members. Failure to practice congregational governance can stifle the spiritual development of believer priests by taking away opportunities to exercise their soul competency and priesthood. Full participation by all members in the life of the church enables each to develop his or her God-given ministry qualities (Ephesians 4:1-15). Such development benefits not only the individual member but the church as a whole. Thus, congregational governance is important because it can contribute to the vitality of a church. As persons feel a sense of ownership, they are likely to be more responsible members. Having a voice in church decisions often energizes persons to help carry out the decisions. Congregational governance also is important for society in general and not just for the church. Participation in the democratic processes of such governance equips people for participation in our political democracy. In fact, our political democracy owes much to the Baptist concept of congregational governance. Some historians have taught that congregational governance emerged at the time that western civilization was experiencing the move toward democracy in political life. Thus it has been asserted that Baptist democracy simply mirrors secular democracy and is not an essential ingredient of church life. However, Baptist congregational governance is not based on secular democracy. It is based on the teachings of the Bible. In fact, political democracy owes much to the spiritual concepts of Baptists and others who championed freedom and individual rights and responsibilities on the basis of biblical truth. For example, a historian wrote in the 1800s that Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, attended business and other meetings of a Baptist church near his home, observed democracy in action and acknowledged the significance of Baptists in the development of American democracy. Ways to Strengthen Congregational Church Governance Since congregational church governance is essential to Baptist identity and is important for the well-being of churches, individual members and our society, steps should be taken to strengthen congregational governance. Several ways have been suggested: Strive to maintain a church membership of regenerate and spiritually mature persons. Place a major emphasis on evangelism and Christian growth. Pray for the healthy participation of all members in governance. Educate members about the importance of congregational church governance and its relationship to other basic Baptist beliefs. Teach members how a Baptist church is to be organized and function; a new member’s class should include this information. Include in the process of selection of pastor and deacons an emphasis on congregational church governance, the priesthood of believers and soul competency. Admittedly, churches, especially those with large memberships, may face special challenges in involving the entire membership in congregational governance. However, through involving persons in groups and committees, delegating certain decisions to these groups, and holding business meetings at which all members can express themselves and vote, it is possible to maintain the basics of congregational governance. Conclusion Congregational church governance is closely related to other Baptist convictions based on the Bible. Each Baptist can play a part not only in preserving but also in enhancing this cherished conviction. “Although Baptists traditionally hold strongly to the concept of congregational church government, threats to its continued practice and effectiveness exist—both from outside and inside the Baptist family.”
