“You will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” (1 Tim. 3:15)
We have briefly explained that the Church is a spiritual organization. Therefore, the structure of the Church will not follow the worldly concept. Christ is the head of the Church; the organization of the Church should then be respectful and submissive to His authority. The establishment of the structure and organization of the Church is not based on historical background and traditions. It is also not created for the division of ranks or distribution of power. In the house of God, all believers were originally sinners saved by grace, regardless of differences in their background. All believers have become the children of God with no favoritism. Everyone will, according to his obligation and gifts, serve God co-operatively in different positions.
According to Biblical teachings, there should be elders and deacons in the Church. “Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.” (Acts 14:23). “They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons” (1 Tim 3:10). The Bible also mentioned about overseers, but it also has verified that overseers and elders were the same post (cf. Acts 20:17-28; Titus 1:5-9). God has not set up a complicated system for the church, mainly because Christ is the Lord of the church. He is the highest authority in the organization. He is able to unite and connect all and to act freely in all events, big or small. In order to build and edify the visible church on the earth, God will appoint elders (or overseers) so that such trustees may learn to teach and to hold fast the Word, to nurture and to exhort in spiritual life, to oversee church administration, and to be examples in daily living. God also wants to choose some people, who have been proven and are steadfast in the Word, to be deacons, so that they may faithfully carry out various functions in the house of God.
Since God establishes the offices of elders and deacons, their appointments should follow His requirements. First, we know that it is God who generates the desire in our heart to serve Him. “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” (1 Tim. 3:1). When the Lord inspires us, we will love Him and His church. When we understand His sacrifice for the church, we will desire to take His yoke upon us and to serve the fellow members. Second, the Lord will edify these people so that they may be adequately equipped with true knowledge of the Word, to be mature in life, to be apt to teach and be skillful in management of their own house, to be able to exhort and to convict that the direction of the church may remain in line. Third, the Bible provides a full description of the requirements for elders and deacons with respect to their behavior in the church, their social reputation, their personal discipline and their family responsibility. They should be blameless examples, and their lives should also be representations of their spiritual depth (cf. 1 Tim. 3; Titus 1).
For the building and growth of the Church, the Lord will also call some people to lay down their earthy business in order to serve Him full-time. These workers are commissioned by the Lord and are therefore directly responsible to Him alone. Having received the calling from the Lord, they will carry out various assignments in the Church to edify, to preach, to evangelize, to nurture and to teach. God’s workers are independent of the church organization with respect to their serving positions. Therefore, they are received as “fellow-workers” in the church. They are neither employed by the church organization, nor are they under the administration of the Church. Nevertheless, they all belong to the same Lord, working co-operatively in the Church, complementing one another.
In our understanding of the Bible, there should be no clergy system or titles such as “The Reverend”. Servants of God who are gifted to teach and edify will bear the responsibilities of tending and teaching, but it is unnecessary to convert such gifts and services into titles and ranks. Also, according to Biblical teaching, we do not concede to have sisters to act as elders. However, the Bible mentions about deaconesses (1 Tim. 3:11). Consequently, we do look forward that God will inspire some sisters to become deaconesses in this Church, so that we may serve Him together.
According to Biblical teachings, we should establish elders and deacons to manage the Church and to carry out daily tasks. However, at the present stage, we are still young in our spiritual growth. Therefore, we have formed an interim working committee with several brothers, so that together they may learn to be responsible to oversee, to teach, and to administrate. In principle, this committee is responsible for making arrangements or accepting recommendations for members to carry out all church functions. There could be imperfect management at times, and we sincerely accept corrections and improvements. This committee is not a requirement from the Bible; it is only a temporary measure for this church during such period of development. It was initially formed by several brothers at the founding of this church. Although it was a temporary system, we did not take the appointments lightly at all. Thereafter, all changes and additions in the appointments were done through much praying and waiting, along with the acknowledgment of our members. It is our hope that the Lord will confer His blessings on us, that we may grow appropriately through different stages, that the gifts for various functions be manifested among us, that we may eventually fulfill the Biblical requirements, and that God may be satisfied. The above-mentioned structure does not fit entirely into the “democratic” system adopted by the present society. We perceive that the Church belongs to God. She is not subject to human concepts, but is commissioned by the free will of our Lord. Therefore in our church practice, we learn to trust the Lord in much prayer and wait till God reveals His will in our hearts. We also seek verification from Biblical teachings and if it receives the unified acknowledgment by the members.
Presently, all the various activities and services in the Church are borne by devoted members who have offered much of their time and effort to serve. May God reward them abundantly in return for their sacrifice. “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Cor 15:58).
Since the Church is a spiritual organization, all her worships, services, and meetings should correspondingly be functions of the spiritual life, and not merely a display of form and pattern. “The true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and His worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24). Since true worship is spiritual, it does not depend on material value and formats. Since the centre of our worship is the Lord, it will not be bound by settings. Arrangements of meetings should be based on practicality. Magnificent edifices, elaborate decorations, or luxurious comfort will satisfy only the feeling of the natural being, and are irrelevant to the spiritual realm.
We learn to speak about the Lord Himself in our messages. (Regretfully, we are very shallow in the knowledge of His life). We believe that when the Lord reveals His glory and goodness toward us in our gatherings, constraining us to follow Him in love, then all those enticing worldly gains and lusts will lose their charm and binding power over us. This is well expressed in the following verse:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in His wonderful face.
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace. (Hymnary 509)
For this reason, we try to minimize eye-catching and man-pleasing programs in our gatherings. The sermons that we share and the messages that we deliver are not intended to gratify men, but rather we are striving to be “servants of God”, learning to communicate the will of God with vigilance and fear.
We do not organize church choirs in our gatherings, mainly because singing and praising God are privileges of all members rather than part of a program. Our voices may not be melodious enough, but the Lord can help by giving us a singing spirit, and our singing will become lively and meaningful. Also, we do not stress on the observation of days and festivals. Many of the celebrated occasions are actually not recorded in the Bible and there are no teachings to observe them specifically. Therefore, we do not put emphasis on such celebrations. The Bible shows us that “observing special days and months and seasons and years” (Gal. 4:10) were bondage in the dispensation of the law, which followed the principle of works. “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Col. 2:16-17). Since, in the New Testament, we have been redeemed from the curse of the law, we should then be careful and vigilant, lest we allow any carnal religious zeal to rebuild another type of religious cast among us. Anything made “according to the pattern shown you on the mountain”, be it in the Old Testament or in the New Testament, is by nature only an imitation, and cannot be treated as the original image. Only Christ is rightly “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.” (Heb. 1:3). He Himself is the object and goal of our worship. He is the Spirit of Life. He dwells in our hearts and He guides us into the principle of worshipping in spirit and truth.
Started with twenty some members, this Church has grown up to what we have become today. In terms of structure and organization, there have been new developments both in the system and in its operation. However, the Lord does not change. The fact that He is the head of the Church is also unchanged. Our gathering of the believers is still the body of Christ, and continues to be a spiritual organization. Therefore we should maintain a constant communion with the Lord, letting Him accomplish His every will and plan directly among the members. We should also make “every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3). May God be glorified in us.