Questions and Answers on Church Leadership and Government

I. What are the types of leadership positions here at Calvary Chapel Space Coast?

• We have a governing board of men that oversees the governing of the church. This board is made up of our senior pastor, two senior pastors from other Calvary Chapels (who serve as directors), and other appointed men.
• We have elders. These are men who are responsible for the day to day governing and teaching of the church.  The elders may choose to delegate physical ministries to deacons and others as the early apostles did, but must carry out the spiritual ministries of the Word and prayer.  Pastor is responsible for the “pulpit” teaching of the church, and  serves as the church administrator.  
• We have deacons and teams who carry out the physical ministries of the church. 
• We have various individuals that head ministries within the church, and who lead or teach small groups.
• Directory of Leaders mentioned. (click)

II. What are the expectations for leadership positions?

The qualifications for bishops/overseers are listed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7:

This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife [literally, a "one-woman man"], temperate, sober-minded, of good behaviour, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

We believe that the qualifications for bishops/overseers apply to anyone holding a leadership position that is part of the governing body/oversight of the church. (See Acts 14:23) These men had oversight of the church family (this is what the word "bishop" means), took care of the church family (this is what the word "pastor" or "shepherd" means), and were pulled from the "elder" men (that is "elders‟ of the church.

The qualifications for deacons/men that serve are listed in 1 Timothy 3:8-10, 12:

Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. . . . Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

The qualifications for deaconesses/women that serve are listed in 1 Timothy 3:11:

Likewise, [the women] must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.

We believe that the qualifications for deacons and deaconesses apply to any man or woman holding a leadership position in a ministry that serves the body, as that is what deaconship is ultimately about, serving.

III. Can women serve in leadership?

Women can serve in any capacity within the church family that is under the authority of the governing board of men. Just as the man is head of his family, the man is the head of the church family. Women do not have the authority to determine doctrine of the church or to govern the church. These are the responsibilities of the governing body of men. If women have issues with the governing body of men they are to win them over through prayer and submission in the manner of the

1 Peter 3 admonition.

But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. (1 Corinthians 11:3)

Let a woman learn [holding her peace] with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be [holding her peace]. (1 Timothy 2:11-12)

Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, (1 Peter 3:1-5)

IV. Who makes the decisions here at Calvary Chapel Space Coast?

Calvary Chapel Space Coast is governed by its pastor and its governing board.

V. Is the Pastor (i.e., the Senior Pastor) over the board, or is the board over the Senior Pastor?

Our senior pastor is what we would call "first among the elders".

What we mean by the term "first" is that our pastor has the foremost, though not sole, responsibility for knowing God’s will for the church, and for obeying God’s voice and leading. In that sense, he is much like the father of a family. Pastor is the head of our Calvary Chapel Space Coast church family. What we mean by the phrase "among the elders" is that our pastor is part of a body of leaders (i.e., governing board) who together share in the responsibility to humbly seek God’s direction for our body, and to humbly serve our body. Pastor Baron does not make decisions in a vacuum and neither does the governing board. These men not only pray, but consult with other men and women in the church that have proven themselves as servants of God and of the family. God’s will is never determined by vote, but by prayer, godly counsel, and when possible and expedient, consensus. However, the buck stops on the pastor’s desk, and there are times when he makes the call. In such cases, the governing board submits to the pastor’s call unless it is seen as contrary to scripture.

VI. Is this the model of church government that we see in scripture?

We do not believe that the Word of God clearly lays out a specific model for church government, but we do believe that our model is supported by both the Word of God and the writings of the early church fathers. Additionally, we see no Biblical evidence for the concept of governing a church through voting, whether it be voting by a congregation, or voting by a board of men. It’s interesting to note that when the eleven apostles could apparently not reach a prayerful consensus on the choice of a twelfth apostle to replace Judas Iscariot, Acts chapter 1 tells us they cast lots to determine which candidate would be appointed- a clear demonstration of their trust in God’s sovereign control over all things, and possibly indicative of their distrust of man’s wisdom.

The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD. (Proverbs 16:33)

VII. Can you briefly explain why we believe the Word of God supports the concept of a local church being governed by a body of men with one man being the senior elder/pastor?

First, it is evident from both early church history and scripture that one apostle (James, the Lord’s brother) was appointed or recognized as the chief or senior of the body of apostles and elders at Jerusalem by 49 A.D.

One of the earliest church historians was Eusebius of Caesarea (he became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314 A.D.). He tells us that James the Just (Jesus’ brother and author of the book of James) was appointed as the chief/senior apostle of the mother church in Jerusalem by the three apostles of Christ’s inner circle, Peter, James and John (the sons of Zebedee). This would have had to be before 44 A.D. since John’s brother James was martyred by Herod that year (see Acts 12:1).

This lines up perfectly with what we see happen at the Jerusalem Council of 49 A.D. as recorded in Acts 15. Paul and Barnabas bring a grave matter to the apostles and elders of the Jerusalem church. After several parties have had their opportunity to address the leadership, James the Lord’s brother calls on those present to listen to him, and tells them that he is making a "ruling". He determines what is to be done and the body of apostles and elders support his decision. Acts 21:17-18 and Galatians 2:11-12 also indicate the pre-eminence of James.

Second, both scripture and church history indicate that the apostle Paul gave Titus and Timothy authority to appoint elders and to oversee them.

In Titus 1:5 Paul tells Titus that he is to set right what remains to be done in Crete, and to appoint presbyters in every town.

In 1 Timothy 5:19-22 Paul tells Timothy to handle accusations against elders, to reprimand those that publicly sin, and to not lay hands on anyone readily (the "you's" in this passage are in the singular, and therefore apply to Timothy alone).

Church history tells us that Titus was appointed the bishop of Crete, and that Timothy was appointed the bishop of Ephesus, both receiving positions that were "over" the body of the elders in these churches.

Ignatius (ig-nay-shush), the third bishop of Antioch (from about 70-107 A.D.), wrote several letters to churches addressing their bishop, body of elders (presbytery), and deacons, indicating that by the close of the first century, a bishop (i.e., chief/senior elder/pastor), had been appointed or recognized in a number of churches. Church historians and/or tradition tell us that Peter, Paul, and John are the ones that first appointed men into these "chief" positions in the churches.

This would seem likely since we have no historical documentation indicating that any of the apostles or early church leaders contested or protested this model of church government.

IN SUMMARY:

The New Testament does not offer instructions on how to set up the government of a local church. While it clearly favours a group of elders having oversight and watching after the church family, it also gives indication that the apostles thought it expedient in some cases to have one man that is recognized or appointed to lead the governing body of elders in this oversight and care. The New Testament does not suggest a specific title for this person, but Calvary Chapel Space Coast, like other Calvary Chapels, has chosen to call this person our Senior Pastor.