Who leads the church? Our Structure Understood in Three Ways:
1. The Bible declares Jesus Christ as the head of the church (Colossians 1:18) where He also serves as Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). As a result, First Baptist operates under the headship of Christ with the Word of God functioning as our sole authority (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
2. However, the Bible also tells us Christ has entrusted local churches with scripturally qualified men to lead as pastors/elders/overseers (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). These men dedicate themselves to shepherding God’s flock through prayer, the ministry of the Word, being examples to others, and leading in areas the congregation does not have authority (Acts 6:4; 1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-3).
Furthermore, it is important to know the terms pastor/elder/overseer are used interchangeably throughout Scripture (Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Peter 5:1-3). Whereas one church might use the term elder, another might choose the term pastor. Given the context of our church family, as well as our community, we have decided to use the term “pastor” for the office of pastor/elder/overseer.
3. While our pastors lead under the authority of Christ, the Bible also teaches that congregations exercise authority in at least three ways: 1. Selection of pastors/deacons (Acts 6; 1 Tim. 3) 2. Affirm and send out those called to the ministry (Acts 13:1-3) 3. Disciplinary matters among pastors/deacons/members (Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5:1-5; 1 Tim. 5:19-20).
-In an effort to best reflect what God has revealed to us in the Bible, we describe our church structure as follows: pastor-led and congregationally governed. In short, First Baptist is led by a plurality of pastors, but the congregation is ultimately responsible, under Christ, to select its pastors/deacons, to affirm and send out those called to the ministry, and to hold its pastors/deacons/members accountable according to the Bible.