CHURCH GOVERNMENT “For unto us a child is born, Unto us a Son is given: And the government will be upon His shoulder, And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace         (Isaiah 9:6) Christ told Peter and the apostles that  He  would  build  His  church  in   Matthew 16:18.  Now, either Christ did this or He has failed.  Christ did not delegate Peter to build Christ’s church for Him.  “For no other foundation  can  anyone  lay  than  that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”   (1 Cor. 3:11).   Having said this, we must keep in mind at all times that Christ Himself must be central in everything that can ever be said regarding the church He says He built.  The organization of the church must in every way reflect not upon itself but rather upon the head of the body which is Christ (Eph. 1:22, 23).  The head must be honored and exalted as the head does function to add the saved daily to His church body  (Ac. 2: 47).   Is there to be in the first century church or in the twenty-first century church any organization larger than the local congregation?  If there is, where is the    example or the authority?  We have in Acts 15 the historical event where Peter, Barnabas, Paul, and James all came together to discuss the question of circumcision.  These apostles and elders of the Jerusalem congregation sent letters explaining how Christians need to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.   Circumcision was decreed a non-issue.  The church you and I belong to is established upon the teachings of the apostles and prophets of the New Testament (Eph. 2:19, 20).  Things not formerly known are now revealed to us by the writing of the holy apostles and prophets (Eph. 3:5).  The Jerusalem meeting of Acts 15 is not a precedent for their being a government under Christ larger than the local congregation. Jesus teaches his apostles that His government will not be like the governments of everybody else.  The government of Christ will be superior.  Jesus speaks of his government to Peter and the rest of the apostles in Luke 22:25-26, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.”  Peter says in his first letter in 5:2, 3, “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, nor for dishonest gain but   eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;”  Peter calls himself an “elder” in verse one of this passage.  He speaks of shepherding the flock and overseeing.  Peter apparently is not only an apostle but he is also an elder, shepherd, overseer of the Jerusalem church.  We see here an example and a pattern that we in the twenty-first century can duplicate.  Peter uses three terms to describe one work.  These terms come from three Greek words 1. Presbuteros – elder/presbyter, 2. Episkopos – overseer/bishop and 3. Poimen – shepherd/pastor.  These terms speak of men who must meet certain qualifications before they can serve Christ and his church and are found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9.  With this teaching from Peter and the qualifications given by Paul for this congregational office of the first century church, the twenty-first century church can fulfill the idea of both Christ and the inspired apostles regarding the subject of church government.   Let it be observed that after the first century the church quickly digressed from the government ordained by Christ and the apostles and prophets.  Terms like bishop and pastor were given new definitions and the pattern of the Roman Empire was taken by many as being the pattern for church government with all the political intrigues and back room deals that are to be found in this world.   Additional religious leadership rolls were developed wherein we have found there now to be Cardinals, Archbishops, and Popes.  Christ was no longer found to be head of His church but his so-called church chose to be head of itself and chose to usurp the authority of Christ setting up their own hierarchy or religious establishment as the Jews through their Pharisees, Sadducees, and Sanhedrin had done.  God’ s perfect, inerrant, inspired word was no longer good enough.  Someone had to take God’s word and evolve it as if it were flawed in some way.   Jesus established His church for plain simple people, not theologians.      Theologians often seem to muddy the waters though they are well meaning.   I don’t know about others, but for me I often seem not to have enough time to get into the perfectly- inspired word.  I definitely don’t have enough time to read all the religious theories that are out there by sincere religious men like Aquinas or Augustine any more than I have time to read good things of my own brethren like Alexander Campbell or David Lipscomb.  God’s word alone satisfies my simple mind.  His word is all I need! Today in the church Christ built, we have in our congregations qualified men to serve Christ and His church called elders, pastors, or bishops who govern.