From RodPitts@msn.comThu May 16 16:42:11 1996 Date: Thu, 16 May 1996 08:11:31 -0500 From: Rodney Pitts Reply to: garyslist@jackson.freenet.org To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Re: Cooperation Rodney Pitts here with an article about the limitations of elders. Oh yes, I just wanted to say that if all that was wrong with a missionary society is that it functions like a church, then, simply put, all that is wrong with the sponsoring church is that it functions like a missionary society! The Sponsoring Church And The Limitations Of Elders NOTE: I realize that this article is brief and not as thorough as it might be in answering specific arguments given in justification of the sponsoring church arrangement for evangelism. Yet, it does get directly to the heart of the scriptural problems of the sponsoring church arrangement. RP In the midst of multi-million dollar evangelistic and social projects being funded by thousands of "Churches of Christ" throughout America and overseen by one eldership (i.e., a sponsoring church), one is made to wonder if the Bible limits the work of an eldership in any fashion. In fact, in recent years "Church of Christ projects" of national scope and magnitude have become so commonplace among some of our brethren that the elderships of many of their churches feel that if they cannot oversee some "big" project, they are not doing their duty! Yet, with all the "good" that appears to be done within these national projects, we must ask if God has authorized (i.e., allowed) local church elderships to function on a level beyond that of overseeing only the work of the local church. For, if God has not allowed it, it is sin no matter how much "good" it might do (read Romans 3:8). Before we answer this question, however, we need to mention the nature of Bible authority. In many passages within the New Testament we are told not to "add to" or "take away from" the words God has written (Rev. 22:18-19, etc.). In relation to this we are told that those who do not remain within Christ's doctrine and who teach things that the Bible says nothing about "do not have God" and worship Him "in vain" (II John 9; Mark 7:7). God's authority is, therefore, positive in nature, not negative. In other words, God does not have to say "You shall not do this or that..." in order for a thing to be wrong. God simply tells us what He wants us to do, and we are not to change it in any way (i.e., we reject instrumental music in worship because God says to "sing" but says nothing about "playing" -Eph. 5:19). Thus, in considering the authority and limitations of elders, we must look for what God has said for elders to do, rather than looking for a "thou shalt not." Now that we have considered the need for positive authority from God, we can answer the question concerning what the Bible says about the work and limitations of elders. To do this we need to examine three basic scriptures. These are Acts 14:23, Acts 20:28, and I Peter 5:1-2. Let us consider them separately. In Acts 14:23 Luke states, "So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed." From this verse we learn that every local church is to have its own local eldership (see also Acts 20:17,28). No eldership is to oversee more than one congregation because "every church" is to have its own elders. In Acts 20:28 Paul here tells the elders of the Ephesus church that they are to "take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you oveseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." Thus, elders may oversee only the flock and its work which the Holy Spirit has given them to oversee. What is the extent of that flock? Can it involve the work of more than one church or is it limited to the one church of which they are a part? To answer this we must consider the next verse. In I Peter 5:1-2 Peter states, "The elders who are among you I exhort,...Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by constraint but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly." Since every local church is to have its own eldership (Acts 14:23), we can easily see that the flock "among" these elders must be the local church of which they are members. Also, since the Holy Spirit has said nothing about an eldership overseeing any work but that of the local church and its members, it would be adding to the word of God to willingly expand an eldership's oversight and responsibilities beyond a local church and what that local church can do and support. Thus, if an eldership chooses to oversee a "project" that is larger their flock's budget and scope of responsibilities (see II Cor. 8:12 - "For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have"), it sins and no longer functions as a scriptural eldership. It seems institutional brethren believe the Great Commission is a command that changes the wording of this to "If there is a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one does not have but chooses to take upon oneself." God has given no word, qualifications, nor duties for "elders" concerning the oversight of more than the work of the "flock among them." With this in mind let us take a minute to consider the most recent national project of "Churches of Christ" which is called "One Nation Under God." If you received this brochure in the mail and looked at it (i.e., it looks like a funny paper or sale paper), then you will quickly learn that this advertisement was brought to you as a work of the "Churches of Christ of America." Yet, if you will look at the very front of this booklet, you will see that it is a project overseen by the "Sycamore Church of Christ" in Cookeville, TN. Thus, we have a local church eldership (which is only authorized to oversee the "flock of God which is among you" - Acts 14:23; 20:28; I Pet. 5:1-2) overseeing a work of national scale for the "Churches of Christ of America." Since when did God authorize an eldership to oversee a multi-million dollar project for thousands of churches? There is simply no authority for it to be done! Thus, it is sin. These brethren want to spend a lot of time talking about whether one church can "support" another church; but, this is not the issue. The issue is whether there is authority for an eldership to willingly take upon itself a work larger than the local church. The issue is whether the scriptures authorize their decision to make themselves dependent upon the support of other churches in order to complete this work. The issue is whether they can become the agency through which this team of churches work, with themselves becoming the "overseeing board" of this team of churches (i.e., function just like the board of a missionary society). The issue is whether the supporting churches and their eldership can scripturally submit to the oversight of these elders concerning this particular work while they are part of this "team". All they can do is get out; as long as they are part of the team they have to submit to the oversight of the team--the sponsoring eldership (just like the missionary society arrangement). These are the issues that institutional brethren must address. In conclusion, I must say that it is sad to see our brethren drifting farther and farther from the truth of God's word. Although it was once said that members of the church of Christ knew their Bibles and followed it carefully, such is not the case today. These brethren in their zeal for "good" have ignored the fact that all "good" works must be scriptural and scripturally done (see II Tim. 3:16-17). Let us all be careful and diligent in our studies and prayers that such error as this will not come upon us unawares (II Tim. 2:15). Rodney Pitts RodPitts@msn.com