Who rules and governs the church?⤒🔗

The Pope of Rome←↰⤒🔗

Recently Pope Francis I, the reigning pontiff of the Ro­man Catholic Church, made headlines as he visited Cuba and the United States, both for the first time. As usual he delivered a great many speeches, presided over numerous masses, met many dignitaries, and kissed not a few people. In Cuba he sought rapprochement with the Communist Par­ty and with its leader, Raoul Castro. In the United States he stressed issues related to race, justice, and the environment.

Of course, the press failed to report in depth on most of this as they were in a lather about the Pope meeting with Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who defied the Ameri­can legal system and refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. Once this news took over the headlines, the denials and protestations poured forth from the Vatican. "It wasn't quite what it looked like," said the spokesmen of the Holy See.

Not the only pope←↰⤒🔗

Still, as all of this was unfolding there is another re­lated issue that deserves our attention. It has to do with the fact that the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church does not have a monopoly on the position he holds. Of course, there have been many popes in the past and there may well be more to come in the future, nevertheless the point that I want to direct your attention to is the fact that Protestantism too has its popes. As a matter of fact it has many, many more popes then does the Church of Rome. It even has popes all over the world, popes with varying skin colours, popes that speak different languages and come from diverse cultures.

What do I mean? Well, think about it for a moment. Who is the Pope of Rome? What role does he play? Ac­cording to Roman Catholic dogma the Pope is the Vicar of Christ and the successor of Peter. He is the leader of that church. He is said to be clothed with special spiritual powers, powers that allow him to speak infallibly from time. We are told that what he says carries as much weight as what is said in the Bible.

Yet the Pope has more than just spiritual power. He exercises church political power as well. He rules effec­tively as the supreme head of the Roman Church.

Adding it all up one could say, and I mean no disre­spect, but the Pope is the "boss" of this church on earth.

Protestantism←↰⤒🔗

Yes, and here is the connection to Protestantism. For in the many churches who call themselves "Protestant" there are all sorts of bosses as well. There are innumerable men who stand before their congregations on a Sunday morning and declare that they too are speaking infallibly. God spoke to them directly, they claim, and now they are telling the people all about it.

Naturally, the making of such claims has consequenc­es. If your pastor speaks for God in a direct and infallible manner, then you had better listen to him and do what he tells you. If he has these types of "divine connections" then it does not take long for him to increase in power and for people to be awestruck and mesmerized by him. He begins to dominate and people even encourage him in his domination.

The result is that in many Protestant churches around the world we see the rise of pope-like figures. These are men who are placed on a pedestal, whose every word is deemed superior, and who are allowed to exercise unre­strained power and influence. What they want, they get. What they teach is embraced without reservation. The or­ders they give are said to be beyond reproach and to be met with instant obedience.

The bitter fruits←↰⤒🔗

Now, this situation has created consequences. In the African nation of Nigeria we find certain Pentecostal pope-pastors being given jet airplanes by their parishioners as a sign of their esteem. In China there are pope-pastors who come to their congregations claiming that the Lord has spoken to them about how the congregation should provide them with a mansion and a Mer­cedes. In the United States we have pope-pastors leading efforts to build massive worship centres and even erecting statues of them­selves on church grounds.

From all over the world we are receiving word that there are large numbers of pastors and preachers in a wide variety of Protestant churches who are not pastoring but pandering, not serving but domi­neering, not humble but arrogant, not honest but crooked, not holy but immoral. Indeed, in many places pastors are giving their churches bad press and the gospel a black eye.

What's the problem?←↰⤒🔗

Why is this so? What accounts for these distortions of the real thing? The first reason as to why this sad state of affairs has arisen relates to biblical ignorance and non­compliance. What I mean by that is that churches are fail­ing to turn to the Bible and to listen to what it has to say about the topic of true biblical leadership. If they would but read and take to heart what the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy (1 Tim 3) and Titus (Tit 2), what Peter says to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20), and what is written in so many other places in the Bible as well, the people in the pew would be demanding quite a different leadership style.

The failure of leadership in so many Protestant churches is directly related to rejecting or ignoring what the Bible says and to accepting and esteeming what the world dictates. It represents a crisis of authority. Who rules and governs the church? Does God or man? Does Holy Scripture or unholy human opinion?

Governance←↰⤒🔗

Yet shunting Scripture aside is not the only problem here. There is another and it relates to church governance. There are countless churches in the world that arise and that never bother to go to the Bible and to inquire about what it says about the structure, the offices, the assemblies, the worship and sacraments, the practices and procedures of the church.

Now in some ways this is amazing. After all, the Bible is not exactly silent on these subjects. It may not give us all of the ins and outs of everything, but when it comes to who really governs the church (Christ), who should rule the church on earth (elders), who should preach and teach (qualified men), who should direct the affairs of mercy (deacons), it is not exactly mute. The same goes for the number and nature of sacraments, the elements and cir­cumstances of worship, the need for biblical instruction, the singing of psalms and hymns.

In light of all this it is rather startling to hear of churches who have senior pastors but no real elders to hold them accountable. Or what about churches that speak often about mercy but have no ministry of mercy in their midst? Or what about churches who have elders who never interact with members or deacons who are more concerned with the maintenance of church property than with the sufferings of the saints?

The way forward←↰⤒🔗

So where do we go from here? It is either in the di­rection of greater and greater disobedience and abuse of power, or it is in the direction of a return to biblical norms and standards.

Team leadership←↰⤒🔗

What does the latter look like? A number of things come to mind. The first is that there will be a return to team leadership. What I mean is that elders will be elected, appointed, and ordained to rule the flock together with the pastors. No pastor will be allowed to usurp authority, to pursue his own agenda, to claim supreme power, or to fat­ten his own wallet. Together the pastor and the elders will work as a team — listening to one another, learning from one another, respecting one another. Or, to put it in church orderly language, there will be no lording it over each other.

Servant leadership←↰⤒🔗

Along with team leadership, the Bible also espouse servant leadership. It takes its cue from its Lord and Sav­iour Jesus Christ. In Philippians 2 the church is told to look closely to Christ and to note that while he was "in the form of God" he made himself nothing "taking the form of a servant" (Phil 2:6, 7). The most exalted figure in the world opted to serve.

He expects the same of his followers. The Apostles Paul and Peter understood this well, as did the other New Testament leaders. They were not adverse to calling them­selves "servants," even "slaves" in the service of Christ and his people. In other words, they did not lust after pal­aces or covet fancy cars and speedy jets. They did not ride around in pope-mobiles. They were servants. They looked like them. They talked like them. They lived like them.

Shepherd leadership←↰⤒🔗

Why, we can even ratchet it up a notch and say that to team leadership and servant leadership, there needs to be added shepherd leadership. What's the difference be­tween a servant and a shepherd? A servant is someone who serves others. A shepherd is someone who is even willing to sacrifice himself in the service of others.

This emphasis becomes obvious when we listen to the Lord Jesus speak in John 10. There he makes it clear that in the eyes of a true shepherd the sheep matter more than the shepherd himself. He leads, feeds, and bleeds for them. Why, he is even willing to risk his life for them (John 10:11, 15, 17). In short, the sheep come first.

Imagine now for a moment what a witness it would be if churches and churches leaders everywhere adopted and exhibited this threefold approach to church leadership? What a witness it would be in this selfish world! What a blessing it would be in so many struggling churches! What a glory it would bring to the name and reputation of our great God and Saviour!