Church
Polity
&
Membership
Polity at Heritage Baptist Church is congregational. Our understanding of a biblical church polity is that the congregation, under Christ, is the last rule and authority on earth concerning all matters in the local church. We do recognize that Elders, (bishops/overseers/pastors), have been given special authority to not merely lead, but also to ‘rule’ over the local church (1 Tim. 5:17). However, we believe that the definition of this ‘rule’ must also harmonize with the rest of Scripture.
We believe that the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” that Jesus mentions to Peter in (Matt. 16:18-19), concerning the building of His church, is the same thing mentioned a few chapters later when Jesus is discussing church discipline. We believe that it is not Peter alone who has been given the keys, but all believers who are together united as a local assembly.
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
– Matthew 18:15-20 (ESV)
We believe, therefore, that the authority and power to exercise church discipline and ex-communication resides in the church, not the Elders. Elders are simply not mentioned nor addressed here (or in 1 Cor. 5).
1 Corinthians 5:1-5,9-13 (ESV)
“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. 3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord… …9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
The church, (assembly/congregation), is who Paul is addressing regarding church discipline being exercised, not Elders. According to Jesus and Paul, the assembly is who has the authority to remove its members. We believe the congregation also has the authority to authorize and receive new members based upon the witness of the rest of Scripture.
“Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.”
– 2 Corinthians 2:5-8 (ESV)
We believe that if the congregation has this authority, then it is not biblical for a sole Elder or a board of Elders to remove from or add to the membership of the local church by their power, for they alone do not have the power. We believe that it is up to the church to do these things, for they together have the authority and power, which has been given to them by Christ Himself, as laid out in the Scriptures.
What Authority Do Elders Have?
In short, we believe Elders have the authority to teach the congregation how they are to rightly exercise the keys of the kingdom of heaven and how they ought to live as God’s people.
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ”
– Ephesians 4:11-12 (ESV)
We believe that it is the work of the Elders to rightly handle the word of God (2 Tim. 2:15).
We believe that the Elders are responsible for devoting themselves to reading, exhorting, and teaching from the Scriptures (1 Tim. 4:13).
We believe that the Elders are under obligation to be able to hold firm to the trustworthy word, so that they may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and rebuke those who contradict it (Titus 1:9).
We believe that it is the Elders who are to properly lead the congregation into wisdom and discernment because the members bear a great responsibility.
We believe that it is important to recognize that the individuals who occupy the office of Elder do not possess authority in and of themselves, but wield authority through the office in which they reside. In other words, the authority of the office resides in the office.
Is “Congregationalism” Democracy?
The Cambridge Platform of 1648 may have answered it best;
“This Government of the church, is a mixt Government (and so hath been acknowledged long before the term of Independency was heard of): In respect of Christ, the head and King of the church, and the Sovereaigne power residing in him, and exercised by him, it is a Monarchy: In respect of the body, or Brotherhood of the church, and power from Christ granted unto them, it resembles a Democracy: In respect of the Presbytery and power committed to them; it is an Aristocracy (X.3).”
Williston Walker, The Creeds and Platforms of Congregationalism (New York: Pilgrim, 1991), 217-18.
We have to recognize that there are several layers and spheres of authority in the church; Christ is Head (Eph. 5:23; 1 Peter 2:24-25), Elders are undershepherds (1 Peter 5:1-4), and the congregation as a whole holds the keys (Matt. 16:13-19; Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5; 2 Cor. 2:6-7).
All of these authorities mentioned work in concert with each other. The church is all under Christ (1 Cor. 11:3), all members are under their Elders (Hebrews 13:17), and yet the local church has the authority to ‘bind and loose’ (Matt. 16:13-19; Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5; 2 Cor. 2:6-7). If the church appears at times to be a democracy it is in efforts to follow God’s Word and obey His commands of them. Mark Dever explains it this way;
“A church is not just straightforward democracy, for churches recognize our fallen state, our tendency to err, as well as the inerrancy of God’s Word. So the members of a local church are democratic, perhaps, only in the sense that they work together as a congregation to try to understand God’s Word.”
Mark Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (3rd edition) (Illinois: Wheaton, 2013), 238
Can a Woman Be An Elder?
We believe that the Scriptures are clear on this issue. Elders must be able to teach the congregation (1 Tim. 3:2, 5:17; 2 Tim. 2:2,15, 4:2; Titus 1:9); it is, therefore, impossible for a woman to exercise the role and office of Elder since women are forbidden to teach or exercise authority over a man (1 Tim. 2:12).
We also see that Elders must be a ‘husband of one wife’ which would automatically exclude women from this office because they are not male and therefore cannot be a husband of one wife (1 Tim. 3:2, Titus 1:6).
We see that women are instructed to teach the ‘younger women’ in the church specifically (Titus 2:3-6), not the men. This means that under no circumstances can a woman preach, teach, or exercise any kind of authority over a man in the assembly of Christ’s church during Lord’s Day worship.
Old Testament Patriarchy: In the Old Testament Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David were the ‘patriarchs‘ of the people of God. Peter refers to David as a ‘patriarch‘ (Acts 2:29). The Apostle Paul referred to them as the ‘patriarchs‘ (Rom. 9:5; 15:8) and the writer of the Hebrews specifically refers to Abraham as ‘the patriarch‘ (Hebrews 7:4). And Stephen calls Jacob the father ‘of the twelve patriarchs‘ (Acts 7:8-9).
Israel was organized into 12 tribes and these tribes were named after the 12 sons of Jacob. Only Jacob’s sons were blessed by him before his death and it would be from only their tribes that men would be chosen as elders.
“Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt”
– Exodus 3:16 (ESV)
“Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel.”
– Exodus 4:29 (ESV)
God was still using men as his viceregents on earth over His people when He called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness and would continue this pattern by having Joshua succeed Moses (Deuteronomy 31:1-8). Moses and Joshua were serving as both ecclesiastical and civil leaders in Israel during their time. This is important to note concerning the 12 judges God would give to Israel.
All of the judges were men except for Deborah (Judges 4:4-5). This appears to present a change or at least a problem in the patriarchal pattern. This is what Zachary M. Garris notes about this apparent difficulty;
“God then sent 12 judges to “save/deliver” Israel. All of these judges were men, except Deborah, who is described as both a prophetess and judge. However, Deborah is not described in the same way as the male judges, and she did not serve as a military leader, which was the primary role of the judges. Instead, Deborah urged Barak to fight (Judges 4:6-9), and it is Barak who is mentioned alongside the judges later in Scripture (1 Samuel 12:11; Hebrews 11:32). Thus, Deborah is not a model for female civil or ecclesiastical leadership.”
– Zachary M. Garris, Masculine Christianity (Michigan: Ann Arbor 2021) 81
Samuel was then raised up by God to lead and judge Israel (1 Samuel 7:6,15-17). Israel would then demand a king to rule over them so they could be like the other nations (1 Samuel 8) and God would establish Saul as the first king over Israel (1 Samuel 10). All of the kings in Israel would be men and so would all of the priests in Israel (Deuteronomy 21:5; 33:10; 2 Chronicles 17:7-9; 35:3; Nehemiah 8:7-9; Malachi 2:4-7).
New Testament Patriarchy: Being built upon the foundations, patterns, and types found in the Old Testament Scriptures, the New Testament reveals the church is established in an identical form to Israel. Jesus Christ called 12 disciples who were men and then appointed 12 apostles who were men. The apostles of Jesus correspond to the 12 tribes of Israel, which were the 12 sons of Jacob. Jesus is the new and greater Israel with 12 apostles, who will actually judge the 12 tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28).
We then see that husbands are over their wives just as Christ is over the church (Ephesians 5:22-33). Concerning male leadership in the church, it makes no sense to break the pattern of Scripture by allowing women to fulfill roles of authority. This, of course, does not happen and Paul clearly states in 1 Timothy and Titus that men alone are allowed to fill the offices of Elders (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9).
In short we, at Heritage Baptist Church, do not believe that women can be Elders. The office of Elder, (bishop/overseer/pastor) is reserved by God for men only.
Membership
Membership at Heritage Baptist Church is held in high regard. By us having a high view of church membership we hold a high view of our church members. Because of our view of biblical church polity (see above), and our Statement of Faith, we require all those considering membership to undergo our Church Membership Course. The Church Membership Course consists of (x4) in-person classes and interview(s) with the Elder(s). We also will need the individual considering membership to provide permission for the Elders of Heritage Baptist Church to contact the individual’s previous church (if applicable).
Under Christ, this congregation is governed by its members. Therefore, it is the privilege and responsibility of members to attend members’ meetings and vote on the election of Elders and Deacons, on accepting others into membership, on decisions regarding membership status, and on such other matters as may be submitted to a vote. An election or motion is considered ‘affirmed’ by achieving a two-thirds vote.
The church shall recognize the termination of a person’s membership following his or her death, and it shall also recognize the termination of a person’s membership following his or her self-professed apostasy as confirmed by congregational vote. Additionally, the church may recognize the termination of a person’s membership after he or she has voluntarily resigned or joined with another church. Membership may also be terminated as an act of church discipline (ordinarily, but not necessarily, at the recommendation of the elders) upon the vote of at least two-thirds of the members present at any regular or special meeting of the members. The church shall have the authority to refuse a member’s voluntary resignation or transfer of membership to another church, either to proceed with a process of church discipline or for any other biblical reason.