CHURCH AUTONOMY

The word “autonomous” simply means “having the right or power of self-government, undertaken or carried on without outside control”  This does not mean that a family answers to no-one, but that the normal family has the means of its own government, the means of its own support, and the means for perpetual propagation.  The Church in its local expression (and it must be remembered that the local expression should be a true representation of the universal expression) is to be autonomous in the sense that it is self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating.

The Local Church is to be Self-governing

God has placed in the New Testament Local Church the provision for its own government.  The issue of government is one that has divided many churches and yet we must realize that God does have a pattern for this area of Church life.  God has given a pattern for government that cannot be ignored if we are to experience the kind of “family life” that God wants for us.  In the Church God refers to “those that rule” or “he that ruleth”, or “them that have the rule” (I Timothy 4:17; Romans 12:8; Hebrews 13:17, 24).  The word rule means “to be over, to supertintend, to preside over, to care for, and to give attention to.”  Certainly it must be remembered that to be a “ruler” in the House of the Lord you must meet certain qualifications.

Dictatorship

There are many forms of government that God could have designed and prescribed for the Church.  He could have established a dictatorship or one man rule.  The problem is that when the one man fails or falls, the whole family, church or nation suffers the consequences.

Democracy

God could also have inaugurated a democracy or rule by the majority.  If the decisions of the family were made on the basis of a democracy then they would be made by those with little or no experience in life who have not been able to develop good judgment.  The same is true in the Church.  If we function in the Church on the basis of democracy it is going to be the immature and those who spiritual sensitivity and divine vision are as yet undeveloped who will control the Church.  For these reasons God’s government for the family and the Church is not a democracy.

External Control

Another form of government that God could have ordained is external human control, headquarters control or central control.  It is interesting in the New Testament Church that we have no such development.  The Church of Antioch never exercised authority over the Churches that Paul founded even though Paul worked out of the church at Antioch.  Jerusalem never exercised authority over Antioch even though Barnabas, one of the leaders of the Church at Jerusalem, had a large part in the establishment of the Antioch Church.  Many have suggested that Acts 15 is evidence that Jerusalem was the headquarters of the New Testament Church.  However, it is clear from a careful study of the context and background of this account that this is simply a case of taking an issue back to its source.  In the natural family the authority is self contained.  No family has dominion over another family in terms of family policy, discipline, expenditure and vision.  God ministers to families as individuals, leads them individually and imparts a unique vision and expression to each.  God does this as well with each local church.  God’s government for the family and the Church is not central control.

Deacon Board

Another form of government that is quite popular is control by a deacon board.  Most often these deacons are elected by popular vote and may or may not qualify under the spiritual qualifications of a deacon.  These “deacons” are often successful businessmen or men of renown among the congregation who serve on the controlling board of the Church.  This board chooses or deposes pastors, makes decisions about properties, and controls the vision and direction of the Church.  It is interesting that the word “deacon” means servant and no where in the New Testament do we ever find deacons in government in the Church.  In fact, when the qualifications for the office of the deacon are given in I Timothy 3:5 and 12 there is no mention of the function of ruling in relation to the house of the Lord as there is with elders.  The main danger of a deacon board is that it can tie the hands of the spiritual leadership appointed by God and it can be directed by men with knowledge and skill in the world of business but not necessarily having the same skill with relation to the Word of God.  It follows much decision making on the basis of the wisdom of the world and not the higher wisdom of God which is often at odds with the world’s ways.

Theocracy

God has not left us without direction in the area of Church government.  He has not left man to do that which is right in his own eyes.  God’s form of government in His house is plurality.  Every home has plurality of leadership in the parents of the children.  Every local church that has had time to come to stability should have plurality of leadership.  Those who have been given the responsibility of ruler ship and government in the house of the Lord are the elders (I Timothy 5:17; Hebrews 13:17, 24).  All of the Churches in the New Testament eventually had plurality of eldership (James 5:15; Acts 21:18; I Timothy 5:17; I Peter 5:1; Phil 1:1).  These are ministries who have a father’s burden for the local church to which they belong.  These are ministries who have had time to know the ways of the Lord and are called by God to shepherd His people.  These are ministries who are sensitive to the voice of God and have demonstrated Spirit-ruled and Spirit-led lives that the qualifications for this office demand (I Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9).  This is God’s form of Government, a Theocracy.  God rules the Church because God rules in the lives of His anointed and appointed servants.

Under God’s form of government the New Testament Local Church can be said to be self-governing.  It looks to no outside authority, no special group functioning outside or above the local church to effect decisions.  The Local Church is the final court of appeal for disputes between believers (Matthew 18:15-17), for questions of doctrine (Acts 15) and for the discipline of moral conduct (I Corinthians 5:1-5).

The Local Church is to be Self-supporting

God has given principles of finance to the Church that makes it possible for every New Testament Local Church to be self-supporting.  In the natural family in a normal society every family should be able to care for its own needs.  This does not mean that in times of crisis one family will not rush to the assistance of another family as the churches of Galatians sent aid to the Jerusalem church in a time of famine.  The Local Church of the New Testament depended on no hierarchy for financial support, nor did it have to go to the government for any special financial grants.  Each Church grew and with it grew the financial base to fulfill God’s unique call.

To understand God’s financial plan for the Local Church better it is necessary to be familiar with God’s financial system in the Old Testament.  This does not mean that the new Testament Church must follow all the Mosaic admonitions in regard to finance but it is significant that there is only one financial system that God ever gave to any nation in the world and that is the system of the tithe that God gave to the nation of Israel.  God was very concerned about the plan of giving in the nation of Israel.  The tithe consisted of ten percent of all their increase before anything else was taken out (Numbers 18:21-24).

In Israel’s history the tithe was not always maintained because the people themselves were not always stable in their personal relationship with God.  When Israel back slid the neglect in the area of tithing was usually one of the first symptoms of their spiritual condition.  In these times it was not uncommon for the Levites to have to go to work at regular jobs to provide for their own material needs, neglecting the ministry (Nehemiah 13:10-12). When there was spiritual revival in Israel there was also a restoration of the system of tithing (I Chronicles 31:5-12). The New Testament requirements in giving:

• Generously (II Corinthians 8:2; 9-6)
• Willingly (II Corinthians 8:3,12)
• Proportionately (II Corinthians 8:14-15; 9:6)
• Loving (II Corinthians 8:24; I Corinthians 13:3)
• Cheerfully (II Corinthians 9:7)
• Systematically (II Corinthians 9:7)
• Thankfully (II Corinthians 9:11-12)
• Sacrificially (Hebrews 13:16; Mark 12:44)
• As unto the Lord (Matthew 25:40)

Any New Testament church that follows these basic New Testament principles of giving will never have a financial problem.  In addition, their members will begin to experience the blessing of God on their lives in a new and exciting way.  Any church that fails to teach biblical principles of giving to their members is robbing their people of the blessing of God that can only come when God’s principles are followed (Malachi 3:6-12). This includes missions that are established in poor countries. Whenever a poverty-stricken people is deprived of biblical teaching concerning giving it is being deprived of the very means that God uses to bless His people financially.  We are hurting them and not helping them.

The Local Church is Self-propagating

It is the responsibility of every New Testament local Church to adhere to God’s first

command to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature

(Mark 16:15). Reproduction is part of the normal family process.  Not only is it the responsibility of the  parents to have children, but it is also their responsibility to raise those children that they too can be heads of households themselves one day.

If the church is to be successful in this aspect of its responsibility, the church must be a training center for those that are born in its house.  It is only as the Church accepts a vision for the training and equipping of its constituency,will there be a surfacing of ministry and a thrusting out into the harvest field.  For this reason each local Church should support and maintain Christian education for its young people. Each local church should support and maintain a training program for prospective ministries.  And each local Church should encourage and be willing to make sacrifices to fulfill the commission set before the Church.  Often times this will mean sacrificing their very best for the furtherance of the Gospel of Christ (Acts 13:3).¹