Featured Goverment of a Baptist church

I think all Churches should be Elder-led. God placed Elders to be our shepherds and we need to submit to them more often than we "vote" on items.

Elders in an Elder-led congregation should be appointed to serve for life via a supermajority (2/3) vote of all male Church Members.

Church Decisions should be made by a supermajority of Elders.

Elders should be removed by the recommendation of other elders, which should then be voted on by all men in the congregation since these men installed the Elder.

I would be for an annual business meeting for the congregation to ask questions and debate.

I think the Men -> Elder -> Christ submission order is clear in Scripture unless you have competing governments on an issue.

 

Our church is elder-led but not elder-ruled.
It seems evident from 1 Corinthians 5;4-5 that the incestuous man should have his name brought before the general meeting by the elders, but actually expelled by the membership.
We have appointed a new church worker (assistant pastor). He was chosen by the eldership who interviewed several applicants, but was accepted by the vote of the members who had the power to reject him 9our church constitution specifies 90% acceptance as being necessary.

 

Matthew 23:8, ". . . for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. . . ."

Ephesians 4:11-16, ". . . evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. . . ."

 

Those congregational churches tend to become dominant family lead churches filled with cronyism. They are not biblical in their government structure as they look to democracy as their method of discernment where the majority rules.
Elder rule can also have it's issues if elders are chose via cronyism rather than biblical giftedness.
In all churches the sin of "wish dreams" can break apart fellowship and community.

May we abandon corporate government of churches and return to biblical government. I recommend a book titled, "The Deliberate Church" as a must read for biblical church government and community.

The Deliberate Church: Building Your Ministry on the Gospel https://a.co/d/6O6Zror

 

Baptists typically hate the concept of Elder les churches only to have Deacons perform the duties of Elders

eldership is the model and yes supermajority is the way to go not 5-4 splits in voting

you should have an even number of Elders to force the fact

 

And something which is very upsetting is having a “music minister” who is a decision maker

he’s either an elder or not

hopefully not since I’ve still yet to meet a good one

 

Is there no church to ask for help?

what about your Association?

Seems like 7-8 people would help you out tremendously

 

In our big church, we don't have any qualified men willing to be deacons, so we have unqualified ones, new converts or divorced and remarried men . The qualified ones, won't deal with the pastors temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way. We also have grown weary in trying to mature him. It's just easier to watch him cause disaster after disaster and then have to fix them himself. (Usually his wife ends up having to fix them, she is a precious lady) My kids love the youth group, so I can put up with the pastors nonsense. It's actually pretty entertaining at times.
"Ain't my problem" has become my usual response.

 

Matthew 20:25-28 [NKJV]

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave-- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."​

Mark 10:42-45 [NKJV]

But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."​

Personal observation … people being people, there is a propensity of Elder-led / Pastor-led to resemble the “Gentile” example in the quoted verses rather than the “Son of Man” example held up. We are more like the Apostles than is comfortable to admit, sometimes.

 

I belong to a church that is an small elder-led congregation.
Questions like how many? or how long? are answered a church’s constitution.

The congregation where I attend votes ever 2 or 3 years on our ruling elders.
Currently we have 6 or 7 elders, our constitution simply says we must have at least 3.

Decisions in the group are discussed until a consensus is achieved.
Disagreements are not to leave the assembly of elders.

The constitution states we need to hold an annual business meeting.
Yesterday we voted to reaffirm two our elders (both are our full-time paid pastors).

The annual meeting Sunday afternoon lasted 25 minutes, (including prayer), 60% of our members attended.

Rob

 

Deacons. Deacons supposed to run SBC churches. Way it's always been. If the pastor thinks he is running it, he is mistaken.

 

This is a thoroughly unbiblical church government model, regardless of whether it works or not.