Restoring the New Testament Church

In Government

In the Book of Acts, we find that the Apostle Paul, in his travels to expand the Kingdom of God, appointed Elders in every church [Titus 1:5]. The Scripture is quite explicit concerning both the qualifications and the ministry of the Eldership as Pastors and Shepherds of the flock of God's people [I Timothy 3:1-7 and 1 Peter 5:1-3].

In Acts 6 We find that as a specific problem arose within the body, Servants, sometimes called Deacons were established to care for those specific situations. Decision making within the body of Christ was left mostly to the individual congregations. There was no formal national government. Significant spiritual difficulties brought the Elders together to make decisions based upon God's Word. Exactly how those decisions were made or the body governed is not detailed anywhere in scripture except by the leading and influence of the Holy Spirit.

At NRCC, we have found, as many are, that making decisions by majority rule through a vote is cumbersome, divisive, and often ineffective. The selfish sinful nature too easily prevails. For over a decade now we only hold votes on our annual budget. All decisions are made through ministry teams and held by unified consensus.

Each team has been given specific responsibilities through a job description, and has the authority to dispense and implement those responsibilities, whether financially, or physically. Each team also is given the trust of the body to be good stewards of those responsibilities. We have found that without faith in God, AND trust in one another, unity is impossible.

In the making of decisions, we pray and talk until we have a plan that everyone on the team finds workable and is willing to do their best to make it happen. When we don't agree, we don't move. We pray, ask for prayer, and continue talking in the spirit of mutual ministry together. We have very few conflicts, cooperate with, and serve one another with surprising effectiveness. The unity of the body at NRCC has become our strength to move us into effectiveness in all we undertake. When problems or conflicts arise, we resolve them effectively, after a biblical pattern, and continue to grow in our relationships as a result. To the best of our experience -

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY.

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