proudpapa, et.al.:
I grew up in what could be deemed a pretty closed off fellowship of churches. There was no real central leadership. Each church in the movement varied to some degree in minor doctrines. Yet all held to the central tenants of the doctrines of the movement and all supported a common Bible College that taught these doctrines. Organization consisted of each church having a certain number of votes in the business of the Bible College. Most every church was run by a board and pastors were often little more than hirelings who were sometimes under pressure from the congregants if they did not preach certain things or if their preaching strayed too far from the accepted norms.
God led me from there to a work where one man pretty much ran the show. It was a non-denominational work, connected to no other work. There was not board, and the pastor and his wife were the only ones who were viewed as elders. There was another leader who performed as an elder, though this leader was not officially recognized. In many ways this leader wielded a great amount of influence to the point of almost being the tail that wagged the dog.
We now fellowship in a church that is part of a well established, large pentecostal denomination. This denomination has a bishop over bishops who are over regions with groups of churches. But the leadership structure does not seem to effect the individual church much at all. This church is healthy and growing.
I have also had the privilege of moving among many other churches in our area. One in particular has a five man leadership team. One man seems to carry the vision primarily, but all five are in submission the one to another in decisions pertaining to the church. This place is healthy and growing.
My point in relating this is that I have found that each organizational structure has its strengths and weaknesses. However the main weakness of every structure seems to be the flesh of the men that are part of the structure. God is so marvelously longsuffering with our ideas of good organization. He seems to move powerfully among people whose hearts are completely his regardless of the particular governmental structure of the church.
Structure is a necessary framework. Paul established churches and ordained elders in every city to oversee the church in that city. He often waited until the church has rocked along on its own for a year or two before he went back to ordain these elders. I assume this allowed him to choose men who had already filtered to the top spiritually and showed signs of being capable spiritual leaders in the city. Much is said in the New Testament about leadership structure. Whole chapters are devoted to bishop/elders and to deacons. God has ordained leadership and governmental structure within the church.
But structure can vary based on the factors that press upon the individual church. House churches in China, where our concept of church buildings with ministry programs is impossible, will have a structure that is suitable to overseeing and leading those people. A large church in America with many ministry programs will have a structure that looks very different from the Chinese house church structure. A small, rural church may look different from either of these.
The real issue is not the structure, but the spiritual condition of the men within the structure. We are told to lay hands on no man suddenly. This is in the context of ordination for leadership. We must never be hasty about ordaining men into leadership positions within the structure of the church. To do so can easily cause us to be bogged down in the effects of their own sinful condition.
I personally believe that in any body, local or larger, that a plurality of eldership who are carefully and prayerfully ordained and who are committed to being in submission one to another is the best governmental structure. I personally believe that pastors, evangelists, teachers, apostles, and prophets are not necessarily supposed to be the ones who serve as the CEO's of ministries, but rather are gifts in the body who do the work of teaching, training, and maturing the body so that the body can do the work of the ministry. They can fulfill the roles of eldership, but do not necessarily do so.
But my personal belief aside, I see the Holy Spirit moving in a wonderful way, people being won to the Lord and discipled to maturity, and great fruit coming from all sorts of different systems of organization and government.
Its not the system, its the leaders within the system.
One more quick note: I am not convinced that the harlot in Rev. is necessarily the Roman Catholic church, although I do believe people from the Roman Catholic church, along with the Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Pentecostals, Evangelicals, etc. will comprise the false church. I also believe that the true and living church consists of people who attend fellowships that bear the name of Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, Pentecostal...well, you get the idea.
