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 Do the churches of Christ report to a central headquarters or governing body?
Why are elders only men?
Why don't females preach to the congregation?
Do
the churches of Christ report to a central headquarters or governing
body? The churches of Christ have no earthly central headquarters.
During the infancy of the early church, apostles, being Christ's
hand-picked ambassadors on earth, exercised authority over all
churches. After the apostles died, however, churches were what we
refer to as "autonomous." Each congregation selects men, who must
first satisfy biblical qualifications, to serve in positions of
spiritual leadership. These men are referred to as "elders,"
(Acts 14:23; 20:17, "shepherds," (Acts 20:28; Ephesians
4:11) and "overseers" (Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:1-7). These terms describe various attributes
and duties that each elder must possess. It is proper for one
congregation to request various types of support from other
congregations; however, no congregation has God-given authority to
legislate over other congregations. [top]
Why
are elders only men? The apostle Paul instructs Timothy that
only qualified men may serve as elders. (1 Timothy 3:1-7) The fact that
only a man may serve in the office of an elder is but one of
a number of qualifications God requires. The other
qualifications eliminate many men from serving in this
capacity. For example, the elder serves as an
"overseer" to "shepherd" God's church, much as a shepherd of
sheep continually watches out for dangers that might make
its way to his sheep. The shepherd guides sheep from
dangers and battles against outside foes. The
terms "elder," "shepherd," "pastor," "overseer," and
"bishop" all refer to the same person, but indicate
descriptive functions or responsibilities each elder is to
have. A number of religious organizations today,
however, automatically refer to their pulpit minister as
"pastor." This title of honor does not necessarily or
automatically reside with the preacher, as a preacher is not
required to have a wife or believing children. Paul also instructs the early church that women are not to
exercise authority over the men in the church. (1 Timothy
2:12) This idea is foreign to many today, as many
religious organizations have given in to societal pressures.
However, Christ is still the head of the church and His
direction for us has not changed. [top]
Why
don't females preach to the congregation? There are many opportunities
within the church and community to serve God and one another. In fact, Jesus
taught that the greatest among men would be servants to all.
As the church belongs to Christ, we have not the authority
to modify the framework by which it functions. Not all
duties in the church are open to everyone. For example, a young man may not
serve as an elder until he's older, the husband of one wife, has
believing children, etc. (1 Timothy 3:1-7) The young man ought not to feel
maligned because he cannot, yet, serve as an elder. Adhering to biblical
instruction, women in the church were not permitted to
speak, but were to keep silent in the churches. In
fact, the apostle Paul stated, "for it is improper for a
woman to speak in church." (1 Corinthians 14:34, 35)
Further, the apostle Paul, in his letter to Timothy, gave
instruction that a woman was to "quietly receive instruction
with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman
to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain
quiet." (1 Timothy 2:11, 12) A few verses earlier,
Paul reminded Timothy that he was appointed a preacher and
an apostle, that he was telling the truth and not lying." (1
Timothy 2:7) Men were charged with the responsibility to serve as elders
and preach to the churches. Social change today has permeated throughout many
"churches" that fall under "Christendom." Jesus body,
His church, was not built on the societal norms of the day.
Society should not influence
the construct of the Lord's church, else it ceases to be the Lord's
church. Because one has the talent to speak and impart knowledge does
not, by itself, qualify one to do so in the Lord's church.
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