The church is the body of Christ. It has only one Head - Christ; and it has only one headquarters - the third heaven. In the body of Christ, every member has a function (Eph. 4:16). While some members may have a more important or visible ministry than others, every member has something valuable to contribute.
Christ has given to His church apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers to build His body (Eph. 4:11). These are ministries and not titles. Apostles are those called and sent by God to plant local churches. They have the first place in the church (1 Cor. 12:28) and are thus elders to the elders of the churches within their sphere (2 Cor.10:13). Prophets are those who uncover and minister to the hidden needs of God's people. Evangelists are those who are gifted to bring non-Christians to Christ. They must then bring these converts into the local church, which is Christ's body. (Here is where a lot of modern evangelism fails). Shepherds are those who care for and guide the young lambs and sheep. Teachers are those who can explain the Scriptures and its doctrines. These five gifts are for the church worldwide; and from among them, shepherds and prophets are the strength of every local church. The other three gifts can be itinerant (from other localities).
The leadership of the local church should be in the hands of elders. The New Testament clearly teaches this (Tit.1:5; Acts 14:23). `Elders', being plural, implies that there must be at least two in every church. A plurality of elders is necessary for a balance in the leadership of the local church and also for binding the activities of Satan through the power of the Lord's presence (as we read in Mt. 18:18-20). One-man leadership of a church is contrary to the teaching of the New Testament. One among the elders may however be the `messenger of the church' (Rev.2:1), if he is gifted with the Word. All believers in a local church must be subject to the authority of the elders of that church in all matters related to the local church (Heb.13:17; 1 Thess.5:12,13).
Jesus forbade His disciples from having titles (Matt. 23:7-12). It is against the word of God therefore, to be called Rabbi, Father, Pastor, Reverend, or Leader. The title of `Reverend', in fact, is used only for God in the Bible (Psa. 111:9 KJV). Everyone in the church, great or small, is called to be just a brother and a servant.
“The church can have meetings for teaching (Acts 20:9,11), prayer (Acts 12:5,12), evangelism (Acts 2:14-40) and also for mutual encouragement (Heb.3:13 - where believers who are gifted with the Word can encourage one another - 1 Cor. 14:26-40). The gift of prophesy must be desired by all who want to exercise it in the meetings (1 Cor. 14:1,39). The gift of tongues is primarily meant for personal edification (1 Cor. 14:4,18,19). If it is exercised in the meetings of the church, it should always be followed by an interpretation (1 Cor. 14:27). The interpretation of a tongue may be a revelation, a word of knowledge, a prophecy, a teaching, or a prayer to God (1 Cor.14:2-6). All the gifts mentioned in 1 Cor. 12:8-10, 28 and Rom. 12:6-8 are needed for the building up of the body of Christ. A church that despises or ignores the gifts of the Holy Spirit will never have them – and will be powerless.
Women are permitted to pray and prophesy with their heads veiled in the meetings. But they are not permitted to exercise authority over men or to teach men (1Cor.11:5; 1Tim.2:12). The veiling on a woman's head (taught in 1 Cor. 11:1-16) is meant to symbolise:
Women must demonstrate the purity of Christ in the way they dress – they must dress modestly and discreetly (1 Tim. 2:9).
The church also has a responsibility to preach the good news by all means possible, to all whom it can reach, with the aim of making disciples of Christ in all nations (Mk. 16:15 with Matt. 28:19). Evangelism without disciple-making, however, is not the will of God, and is a hindrance to the testimony of Christ on earth.
Every local church must also proclaim the Lord's death through the `breaking of bread' (1 Cor. 11:22-34). The frequency of this testimony is a matter on which the Word of God gives freedom to each church. But it must never be allowed to degenerate into an empty ritual.
Regarding offerings, God's Word is clear that it is wrong to receive money from unbelievers for God's work (3 Jn.7). Offerings must never be taken in meetings where unbelievers are present. All giving by believers must also be voluntary, secret and cheerful (Matt.6:3; 2 Cor.9:7). So the best way is to keep a box somewhere in a meeting place where those who want to give can give without being observed. It is wrong to send reports of the work to others, with the intention of obtaining money from them (even if such reports are called `prayer letters'), because Jesus and the apostles never did this.
A local church can be unshakable only as it leads disciples to the obedience of faith – to obedience to all of Jesus' commands, particularly the ones listed in Matt. 5 to 7. The smallest commandments in the New Testament must also be obeyed and proclaimed with zeal. This is what makes a person great in God's eyes (Matt. 5:19).
There are many matters on which the New Testament is silent. In such matters we are not to be dogmatic but must give freedom to other disciples to hold their own convictions, while holding our own convictions firmly ourselves (Rom. 14:5).
It is easy to love those who see eye-to-eye with us in all matters. Our love is however tested by our attitude to those who disagree with us. God has not intended that all His children hold the same view on every minor point. Neither has He intended that every local church have the same external form in non-Scriptural matters. The glory of God is meant to be seen in a unity in the midst of diversity. Uniformity is man-made and brings spiritual death. God does not desire uniformity but unity.
Finally we must remember that the clearest mark of the disciples of Jesus is their love for one another (Jn. 13:35). Thus the church must seek to be one as the Father and the Son are one (Jn. 17:21).
All this, in a nutshell, is the truth that we must be firmly founded on.
We know that this is the truth, for it has liberated all those who have accepted it wholeheartedly (Jn. 8:32).
Please see other articles regarding what we believe, by clicking on the links below.