The Congregational
form of government empowers the church to “execute its own rules of conduct and
appoints or elects its own leaders, who act for or in behalf of the church.”[1] In this form of government, Welch argues,
“the church…will rebel at any attempt by a denomination- or leader-imposed
hierarchy…administrators must become change agents rather than directors of
change”[2] He
goes on to discuss a pastor becomes a change agent using a small, family-led
church as an example. He instructs the
change agent to “find the matriarch or patriarch of the family and change them
if you want to effect change. When the
church is called to vote, then you want Grandma Hunter to raise her hand if you
want all the other Hunters in church to vote.”[3] This example is an example of why the
congregational model is ineffective in administration. This example emphasizes the congregation and
places the authority of the church in the matriarch or patriarch rather than
the pastor God has called to lead the flock.
To be an effective change agent, the pastor must be a visionary leader
who casts vision to the membership and leads the church leadership team with
authority being sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance following the will of
God. The church, in turn, should follow
his direction and vision. However, the
pastor cannot be allowed a free reign. [4] This is where a modified Presbyter model is
most effective. In this model, the
senior pastor can cast vision to the congregation and lead the church team. “This approach commends a plurality of
leaders among which the pastor serves as an elder and is the ‘first among
equals.’”[5] The
elder board has both the training and shares the vision for the church with the
pastor. This model of elder rule is part
of the changing face of Southern Baptists.
“Among Southern Baptist churches today there is evidence of major
erosion or overt rejection of Congregational polity in actual practice.”[6] However, the congregation can still maintain
authority in a modified Presbyter model by controlling the approval of the
yearly budget and the hiring of the senior pastor.
[1] Robert
H. Welch, Church Administration,
(Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman, 2005), 67
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
Ibid., 68.
[4] In
the congregational model, I have witnessed too many pastors fearful of losing
their jobs based on the whims of the congregation. Grandma Hunter and her family dictate the
vision and direction of the church often using the pastor as the change agent
for their agenda. On the other extreme,
the monarchial model of government gives too much power to one person without
accountability.
[5] Ed
Stetzer, Planting New Churches in a
Postmodern Age, (Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman, 2003), 85.
[6]James
Leo Garrett, Jr., Perspectives on Church
Government Edited by Chad Owen Brand and R. Stanton Norman, (Nashville, TN:
Broadman and Holman, 2004), 190.
No comments:
Post a Comment