Daily Reading

It is easy to see that God’s plan for His church was for each church in each place to be self-governing. When Paul and Barnabas returned from their first missionary journey, they again visited the churches they had established. They “appointed elders in every church” (Acts 14:23). Every church had its own eldership. When Paul wrote to the church of Christ in Philippi, he addressed his letter to “the saints who are in Philippi with the bishops (elders) and deacons” (Philippians 1:1). The apostle Peter commanded elders to “shepherd the flock of God which is among you” (1 Peter 5:2). They were not to feed other flocks, but they were to shepherd the flock which was among them. This is the local congregation where they were members.