Daily Reading

QUESTION: In light of a statement in your correspondence course that “Nowhere do you read of a pastor (preacher) being head over a congregation,” would you explain Ephesians 4:11?
ANSWER: The thrust of the paragraph in which this statement was made was to show that the denominational world has departed from the scriptural pattern for the organization of the church. The denominations have rejected the divine pattern by assigning the title of “pastor” to the preacher, or the evangelist, thus giving him the rule over the local congregation. First the word “pastor” is never scripturally applied to the preacher or evangelist. The words preacher and evangelist refer to the same function in the church. In other words, the evangelist is the preacher! Note that Paul told Timothy, in II Timothy 4:2, to “preach the word,” and then in II Timothy 4:5, he told him to “do the work of an evangelist.” Therefore, they are the same!

Daily Reading

QUESTION: If one does not meet the qualifications to be an elder is he allowed to do or carry out the duty of an elder if there are no other elders in the church?
ANSWER: A man who is not qualified to be an elder should not conduct himself as an elder. Neither should the congregation accept him as an elder. Even if the man was qualified to be an elder, he could not scripturally function as such, unless there were others also qualified and appointed. The Bible demands that there be a plurality (more than one) of elders in each congregation (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). This does not mean that one who is not qualified to be an elder, but yet is a faithful Christian, cannot lead in worship and participate in collective decision-making relative to congregational matters on an equal basis with the other faithful men in a congregation until such time as qualified men can properly be selected to serve.

For Further Information Contact:Truth For The World P.O. Box 5048Duluth, GA 30096-0065e-mail: info@tftw.org

Daily Reading

QUESTION: Is it scriptural for an elder or deacon to be appointed by his fellow elders and deacons without input from the congregation?
ANSWER: No! Some men in the sixth chapter of Acts were to be selected to perform a particular function within the church. These were not to be elders, but, nonetheless, this scriptural selection process was at the direction of inspired men. These told the disciples in Jerusalem to “select ye out among you” the men to serve. Man can devise no better way! The congregation, under the oversight of the elders, then should make the selection with extremely careful consideration to the qualifications of elders and deacons as detailed in I Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:6-9. Certainly, however, this should not be construed to mean that the present elders who “watch for your souls” (Hebrews 13:7) do not have the right (collectively) to reject from the eldership those against whom valid charges are brought, whether as to qualifications or conduct of life!

For Further Information Contact:Truth For The World P.O. Box 5048Duluth, GA 30096-0065e-mail: info@tftw.org

Daily Reading

God’s way is best! The church belongs to the Lord. He purchased it with His own blood (Acts 20:28). Often men are not happy with the way God has organized His church. They think they can improve upon it. They must understand they have no right to change what God has done (Galatians 1:6-9; 2 John 9; Revelation 22:18,19). If they change the organization, name, worship, or work of the Lord’s church, they are disobeying God, not man. Let us be content to do the things God has told us to do. Let us do them in the way God has told us to do them. Let us call them by the names God has given in His Word. When we do this, we can be sure we are pleasing the Lord (John 14:15).

Daily Reading

God’s wisdom is seen in the way He has organized His church. If a window is made of a single piece of glass, just one stone hitting the glass will break the whole window. If the window is made up of several panes of glass, a stone hitting one pane will break only that one pane. The rest of the window will not be broken. The same thing is true of God’s church. If there is a central organization of all the churches, and false teachers come in, all the churches will be led astray. If there is no central organization, then false teachers might lead one congregation astray, but the others will not be harmed.

Daily Reading

Congregations can cooperate with one another in doing the Lord’s work. We have examples of this in the New Testament. The Jerusalem church sent Barnabas to help the church in Antioch (Acts 11:22-26). The congregation in Antioch sent help to the churches of Judea when they were in need (Acts 11:27-30). Paul received support from other churches in order to be able to preach the Gospel to the church at Corinth (2 Corinthians 11:8). Titus and another brother were chosen by the churches to take a contribution from the churches in Macedonia and Achaia to Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8:16-24). These churches cooperated with one another to do the Lord’s work. However, they did not form a separate organization apart from the local church. There was no city, province, state, or regional organization.

Daily Reading

Always, in each local church, we read of more than one elder. Paul and Barnabas “appointed elders in every church” (Acts 14:23). Never do we read in the New Testament of a church having only one elder! In order to serve as an elder, a man must have the qualifications God has given in His Word (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). It is wrong to appoint men to serve as elders who are not qualified!