Because I have always been interested in healthy church polity, I have been equally intrigued by how believers have come to think of the subject. Usually, I hear church formation and governance spoken of as the touchstone open-handed category in the New Testament. Of course there is a loose framework, we are told, and there is so much freedom, allowing each local church to determine what works best for them. Those who emphasize polity issues are often seen as hair-splitting idealists who love to exercise their affinity for intramural theological debates. While I can’t know the motives of every proponent of healthy New Testament church government, I do know that God’s prescription for the church is not bereft of intention and purpose. I believe a specific logic undergirding why New Testament polity is the way it is remains on full display when we read what Paul wrote to Titus.
These convictions are brought into particular relief when one considers the health of churches in overseas contexts. While the overseas church has challenges distinct from our own here in the states, one of the primary reasons I am compelled to engage in pastoral support and training is because of what I see in the Scriptures about how churches are kept from danger. My eyes are wide open about how challenging it can be to arrive at the biblical ideals. I am quite sure I will soon gain an even deeper appreciation for the sheer difficulty of this kind of work. Yet the call to conform our churches to the New Testament model remains, prompting us to labor no matter the difficulty. What follows is the logic I see unfolding in the Pastoral Epistles (specifically Titus).
Left for a reason
As Paul’s letter to Titus opens, the purpose for Titus’ commission on the island of Crete (and by extension the thrust of the letter itself) proves clear: “so that you might put what remained into order.”
Order.
God is a God of order. He is a deliberate God. His scriptures contain a body of logic and nothing he says can be separated from this logic. He instructs with intention and expects to be perceived as altogether purposeful if not exhaustively comprehended. Just as God brought the proverbial chaotic waters of the deep into order when he created, he also intends to bring the chaos surrounding God’s people into order through the right ministrations of the local church.
Paul emphasized to Titus the qualifications of elders and his expectation that they would exist in a plurality. But the propositional truths about these things do not hang in mid-air. There is a logic behind his polity expectations.
Protection
“For there are many who are insubordinate…”
The purpose statement of Titus 1:10 reveals the divine logic concerning why the church in Crete needed this prescription of church order: precisely because of all of the dangers that attend a fledgling (or any) congregation. Indeed, the fact that Crete was home to a young church did not constitute for Paul grounds for an exception to any prescriptions. This reality should dispel any notions that suggest that healthy polity is only a concern for churches who can “afford to spend energy on such 3rd level issues.”
Paul understands that a church’s only hope in such evil days rests in the grace that he conveys through his revealed plan for church order. Churches don’t handle polity once they reach a place of health. They reach a place of health – in part – by handling their polity.
Indeed, discussions about church order are discussions about church health and the protection thereof. But there’s more. There is a mission undergirding these prescriptions.
Mission
Paul continues his argument by shifting toward a discussion of pure doctrine in general as Chapter Two opens. “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.” This encouragement is likewise followed by a “for” purpose statement in 2:11. Have you noticed the pattern? He tells Titus in Chapter 1 to set up healthy leadership “for” certain things prove dangerous to churches. Now, he admonishes him to teach sound doctrine “for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.” This is part of his mission to “purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
These truths are profound. Paul is saying that particularly for churches on the tip of the spear of Gospel advancement and missions, strong polity and sound doctrine must remain of foremost importance. Why? Because both of these play an integral role in God’s salvation-historical plan to draw and save a people for himself. Why should we support missionaries who labor to support healthy, indigenous pastors? Because “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.”
Why do we value sound and pure doctrine? Not just to pride ourselves with our doctrinally tidy churches or out of a desire to superstitiously dot our theological i’s in hopes of God’s blessing. We do it rather because eternal things are at stake. Typically, two possible responses confront us when we are faced with difficult ideals. For our churches here and for those we care about abroad, we could become intimidated or discouraged in light of so a high standard and so a lofty goal, knowing how far we still have to go. Conversely, however, we could embrace the difficulty, trusting God to bring fruit as we seek to follow him, come what may.
Your local church deserves to have a healthy eldership and diaconate because the grace of God has appeared and has a purpose in your community. The nations must have the same opportunity because the barrios of Mexico City and the villages of Southeast Asia deserve to have healthy pictures of the Gospel. They deserve to hear an unimpeded message of salvation, spoken in words of course, and likewise preached through the witness of an ordered church.
Pray for this.
Labor for this.
Send for this.
May such churches multiply. And may we see God bring many sons to glory as the fruit of these New Testament means that have been ordained by the redeeming God of the Bible.
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