Passages and quotes on New Testament organization

This upcoming Sunday is going to be a day filled with many great things. We've got my youngest son's baptism, the worship of the Almighty God, fellowship, and proclaiming God's Word regarding organization within the church. 

Today, rather than leave you with much commentary and my own thoughts, I'll simply provide you with some quotes from scripture and a few books I've been reading through. My only comments will be as follows. The New Testament church is (shockingly) disorganized compared to modern organizational structures. We see each town in which the gospel was received as being an independent body, capable of both making it's own decisions, as well as seeking out wisdom from others. We see that there were Apostles as hand picked and originally appointed by Jesus, as well as Deacons and Elders. We see that these servants in the church were not a separate class within the body of believers, but instead were regular, common members of the body of believers who had been called to a specific work (as either deacons or elders). Beyond that, the New Testament is delightfully and wonderfully silent on overbearing, tyrannical, and presumptuous human pride postured as wisdom. The New Testament church was flexible, organizationally, adaptive relationally, and firm in it's charge to remain steadfast in the faith of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 

Here we read of the establishment of the first deacons in the historic account of the early church in Acts 6:

6 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:1-7 NIV)

Here we see Paul and Barnabas, during their first missionary journey, appointing elders in the churches they planted:

21 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. 23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. (Acts 14:21-23) 

Here we have instruction from Paul to his younger friend Timothy regarding elders and deacons: 

3 Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap. 8 In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. (1 Timothy 3:1-10 NIV)

Here we see Paul giving instructions to his fellow partner in the gospel, Titus, regarding elders.  

5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 6 An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7 Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8 Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. (Titus 1:5-9)

Here in the letter to the Philippians, Paul and Timothy address their letter directly to the whole congregation of God's people and by name the elder's and deacons:

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

The following are quotes from Alexander Strauch in his book "Minister Of Mercy: The New Testament Deacon":

"In Scripture these two broad classifications of ministry are described as 'word' and 'deed' (Romans 15:18; Colossians 3:17). In Acts 6, Luke defines these classifications as the 'ministry of the Word' (v.4) and the 'serving of food' (v.2). Peter defines them as speaking and serving, which is the same as word and deed. He writes, 'Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ...' (1 Peter 4:11). In both cases, speaking or serving, God is the source of power, the One who receives glory from what is done. Some people are strong in both word and deed. For example, Scripture says that Moses and Jesus were 'mighty in deed and word' (Luke 24:19; Acts 7:22). But most of us are stronger in one area than the other (although we must not neglect our weaker area of spiritual development). We must understand that the work of Jesus Christ demands both kinds of people. Both are essential to the work of God." (Page 30)

The question of whether deaconship is an office or work is easily answered: it's both. It's obviously a work to perform, yet it's an office because it requires qualifications and an examination for entry, and it entails appointment to an official, public position with prescribed duties and designated authority. Thus the diaconate is an office in the church". (page 71)

"Because the shepherds are to take the lead in examination procedures does not suggest that the congregation is left out of the evaluation process. Absolutely not! New Testament elders should never act like dictators, bureaucrats, or a ruling oligarchy. Rather, they actively lead as loving shepherds among God's people. They must listen to, consult with, and seek the wisdom of their fellow believers. A good shepherding body also wants an educated, involved congregation, not a passive one. The appointed deacons will serve the congregation, so the people must have a voice in evaluating them". (Page 107)

The following quote is also from author Alexander Strauch. Within the quote Strauch wrestle's with an opposing view on church leadership by an author named "Ladd" and puts forward two other author's words as arguments for eldership. The quote comes from Strauch's book "Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call To Restore Biblical Church Leadership":

"I conclude, therefore, that the instructions given to elders and about elders, as well as the eldership structure itself, are to be regarded as apostolic directives (Titus 1:5) that are normative for churches today. Ladd is quite wrong when he claims, 'there was no normative pattern of church government in the apostolic age and that the organizational structure of the church is no essential element in the theology of the church'. We would do well to heed the sober warning against doubting the full sufficiency of Scripture to direct the practices of our churches today that is offered by Alfred Kuen, a Bible teacher at the Emmaus Bible Institute in Switzerland: Has not the history of twenty centuries of Christianity proved that the plan of the primitive church is the only one which is suitable for all times and places, is most flexible in its adaptation to the most diverse conditions, is the best able to resist and stand against persecutions, and offers the maximum of possibilities for the full development of the spiritual life? Each time that man has believed himself to be more intelligent than God, that he has painstakingly developed a religious system 'better adapted to the psychology of man,' more conformable to the spirit of our times, instead of simply following the neotestamentary model, his attempt has been short-lived because of failure due to some unforeseen difficulty. All heresies and deviations in the church spring from the abandonment of the Scripture and of the model for the church which they present.' In short, as Alfred Kuen concludes, 'the churches established by the apostles remain the valid models for churches of all times and places'". (Page 117)

I'm very much looking forward to preaching about the organization of the church this upcoming Sunday and celebrating God's covenant, steadfast, loving, and gracious faithfulness to his people.