There are groups of Christians in many different locales which seek to gather simply on New Testament principles and recognize no order of clergy or other man-appointed ministers. Their meetings are conducted "decently and in order" (1 Cor. 14:40) as the Holy Spirit leads to the praise and honor of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
The "Lord’s supper" or "remembrance meeting" is celebrated each Lord’s day, with each brother in fellowship being free to participate in expressing the praise and worship of the gathered saints in remembrance of the Lord’s death. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, different brothers pray, give out a hymn to be sung by the congregation, read and comment on a passage of Scripture relevant to the death of Christ, and administer the bread and the wine. While the sisters in Christ are quiet in the meeting (except for joining in the singing of hymns) according to the teaching of 1 Cor. 14:34, their role in the assembly’s worship is no less important than that of the brothers. The prayerful, worshipful attitudes and meditations of the sisters as well as the brothers are translated by the Holy Spirit_working with the willing spirits and minds of different brothers_into verbal expressions of praise and worship for the benefit of the entire assembly. As an example of how this works, a sister remarked to me following a recent remembrance meeting that during the meeting a particular hymn came to her mind as being beautifully appropriate, given the hymns, prayers, and scriptures that had preceded, and that she felt a bit frustrated not being at liberty to request the singing of the hymn. Then she went on to tell me that five minutes later I announced the precise hymn that was on her mind. This was by no means a rare and isolated incident. And so it is that the entire assembly praises and worships together_each member sharing in that worship_rather than listening to one man worship for the whole congregation.
In these gatherings of believers, the truth that God has given gifts to all members of the Church (Rom. 12; 1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4), and has a role for all to play, is emphasized. I know of no evidence in Scripture that God ever intended a local assembly of believers to be run by one man or even by a small subset of the believers in that assembly. It is true that bishops (or overseers or elders) were appointed by the apostles and apostolic delegates (such as Timothy and Titus) in the early Church period. But these were given to assure the carrying out of responsibilities of "taking care of the church" (1 Tim. 3:5; see also 1 Thess. 5:12,13), that is, nurturing new converts, instructing those exposed to false teachers, warning the unruly (1 Thess. 5:14), leading backsliders back to Christ, counselling those going through trials and tribulations, and so forth. These overseers were, no doubt, very spiritual and spiritually gifted men, but their gifts were not necessarily in the realm of public ministry. They were not necessarily gifted as evangelists, pastors, or teachers, although they had to be "apt to teach" (1 Tim. 3:2). The credentials of the overseer (1 Tim. 3:1-7) had to do primarily with his personal character and reputation, such as his ability to have his own household in order, and not his spiritual gift.
On the other side of the coin, it may have been that some in the assembly who were greatly gifted of the Lord, say as evangelists or teachers, did not qualify as bishops because of their chronological or spiritual age (bishops or overseers are often referred to in Scripture as "elders"), having been divorced and remarried (1 Tim. 3:2; compare 5:9), having a poor record with regard to ruling his own household, having a poor reputation due to past sins or indiscretions (though now restored to the Lord), etc. Such men, if truly restored to the Lord and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and control them, would surely have much to contribute to the assembly ministry even though not holding the office of a bishop/overseer/elder. Thus it is clear that the assembly overseers did not have a corner on spiritual gift and that others in the assembly who were not appointed overseers had equal privilege and responsibility to exercise their gifts in the assembly.
With a one-man ministry, if the one man is especially gifted as an evangelist there will probably be an emphasis on evangelistic ministries in that gathering, while teaching and shepherding, and discipling of new converts may be minimal. Similarly, if the leader is gifted as a teacher, the congregation may be blessed with much truth concerning the doctrines of Scripture, but may not hear much about applying these doctrines to their every day lives, and may also find that there is not much in the way of a gospel testimony. Or suppose the leader has the gift of faith (1 Cor. 12:9) (like George Muller, Hudson Taylor, and others). He may be capable by faith of starting and carrying out very bold and seemingly impossible projects, but he may not be capable of providing the needful ministry that leads to "the perfecting of the saints, . . . the edifying of the body of Christ . . . unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Eph. 4:12,13).
A properly functioning assembly is one in which all of the members are assuming their God-given role and serving and ministering by means of their Spirit-imparted gift. "The body is not one member, but many. … If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him" (1 Cor. 12:14-25).
In an assembly where leadership is granted to the Holy Spirit alone, there is liberty for all of the gifts to be manifested in appropriate, Spirit-directed balance. In the assembly Bible studies, there is liberty for those gifted in knowledge and teaching to bring out the doctrinal aspects of the passage, and those gifted in wisdom, shepherding, and exhorting to point out the practical applications to people’s lives. Those with other gifts are likewise free to share lessons from the passage that may have impressed them and that others with different gifts, different sensitivities, may have failed to notice. This liberty is not thwarted but is often enhanced in instances where a brother may take the responsibility to open the discussion, keep bringing it back on the track of the particular passage or topic under study, keep the group from bogging down on one verse or part of a verse, and draw out the participation of others by asking various questions concerning the passage or topic.
In most of the assemblies there are meetings set aside for different brothers in the assembly to give lectures on various scriptural topics. Again, these may include lectures on doctrines of Scripture, practical applications of Scripture and exhortations, meditations on the Person and work of Christ, presentation of the gospel of salvation, etc., according as the Lord may lead the brother.
Yet another type of ministry meeting is patterned after 1 Cor. 14:23-34. Instead of a Bible study with a particular passage or topic decided on beforehand, or a lecture prepared in advance by a brother, the assembly gathers to wait upon the Holy Spirit to lead as in the remembrance meeting. One or two or three brothers may be used as the Lord’s mouthpiece (1 Pet. 4:11) to bring messages from the Lord (through the Holy Scriptures) that are suited to the present needs of the assembly. These need not be long, involved, erudite messages. Often, the most penetrating, helpful, convicting, memorable messages are those consisting of a few well-chosen, Spirit-guided words that draw our hearts closer to the Lord. "In the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others" (1 Cor. 14:19).
Other typical activities and duties of a so-called "pastor" or "chief elder" of a local church, such as visiting the sick, exhorting backsliders, baptizing converts, conducting weddings and funerals, etc., are likewise carried out by different ones in the assembly who, by virtue of spiritual gift and desire to be of service to the Lord, will take responsibility to see that these needful activities are carried out.
The sisters clearly have a role to play in the assembly, perhaps less public than that of the brothers, but equally if not more important. "The aged [or older] women likewise . . . [exhort] that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands" (Tit. 2:3-5). "I thank God . . . when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice. . . . From a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 1:3,5; 3:15). "I commend unto you Phebe our sister … for she hath been a [helper] of many, and of myself also. Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus, who have for my life laid down their own necks. . . . Salute the beloved Persis, who labored much in the Lord" (Rom. 16:1-4,12).
It is beyond the scope of this article to go much into the scriptural reasons why the clergy-laity distinction is wrong. This is covered to a large extent in the preceding article by Stan Thompson and perhaps can be covered in greater detail and specificity in a later issue of Words of Truth, if the Lord be not come. It is also beyond the scope of this article to discuss other aspects of those assemblies that seek to be true to the principles of the New Testament, such as the scriptural notion of a unity of assemblies (as opposed to "independent Bible churches") and the exercise of scriptural discipline upon those brothers and sisters in the assembly who give evidence of holding and spreading false doctrine concerning the Person and work of Christ or of living in a wicked, ungodly manner. It has been my desire here mainly to bring to the attention of any of our readers who may be used to a one-man ministry that there are alternative approaches that work, and also, I believe, are more in keeping with the teaching of the Word of God.
If any reader would like to learn more about gatherings of believers which do not have clergy-laity distinctions, and where they might find such a gathering in their locale, please write either the editor in Baltimore or the publisher in Minneapolis at the addresses given on the inside front cover of this issue.
FRAGMENT The main qualification for service for the Lord is a deeper acquaintance with the heart of Christ.
FRAGMENT The more you honor God by keeping man in the background the more blessing you will have in the work.