CHAPTER ONE GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Jesus declared to his disciples: “I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18).1 He used the metaphor of a building to describe how his followers, from different backgrounds, would become an ‘assembly’. Similarly, the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor 3:10 uses the idea of God’s church being a building to ad- dress the issue of factionalism and division in Corinth. He points out that he and Apollos are co-servants with different roles directed towards the same goal of build- ing the church of God. They have both been empowered by God to exercise specific ministry or leadership duties in the church towards the fulfilment of the church’s di- vine mandate. Thus, the church Jesus seeks to build has within itself people with dif- ferent abilities exercising different leadership authorities and roles.
One key feature of every church is its leadership and administrative structure or poli- ty. Church polity is “how a particular church is structured for the purpose of providing effective church leadership”.2 Church polity deals basically with the government of the church. Enns asserts that, though the church is a living organism with Christ Him- self as the head giving it direction, there is a structure that governs the church.3 A church’s polity is influenced by its interpretation of the scriptures and historical events. Darko and Addae write:
A church’s polity is developed from its interpretation of scripture (doc- trine) and its application in the form of structures for the organization and
1 The Greek ἐκκλησία usually rendered church in the New Testament refers to an assembly or a gather- ing.
2 Nicholas Darko and Abraham Addae, “The CoP Polity and Governance” in The Church of Pentecost Lay Leadership Training Manual: Foundation Level (Accra: Pentecost Press Limited, 2016), 37.
3 Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (LaSalle Boulevard: Moody Publishers, 2008), 368.
governance of the church. The church’s sociological, doctrinal beliefs and traditions inform a particular choice of church polity.4
The basic forms of polity, generally identified, are the Congregational, Presbyterian and Episcopalian systems. Others include the views of Quakers and Darbyites and the Eras- tian System.5 The Congregational system of church governance has authority resting in the hands of the entire local church, and not with any representative individual.6 Thus, officers are only functionaries appointed to teach and administer the affairs of the church. Each congregation is a complete church, independent of every other. Where the church exercises communion with other churches, it does so because of its common in- terests.7 The key features of this system are democracy and autonomy.8
The Episcopal system is characterised by governance in the hands of office holders, overseers or bishops at each level of administration. The bishops and overseers pre- side over a group of churches. The Roman Catholic, Anglican and Methodist Church- es use this system. However, while the Roman Catholic Church posits that the author- ity is derived from apostolic succession based on their interpretation of Matt 16: 18- 19, the Methodist Church does not subscribe to the doctrine of apostolic succession.9
The Presbyterian10 system of church governance emphasises representative rule by elders appointed or elected by the people. There are presbyteries constituted at various levels of church governance responsible for policy decisions. Louis Berkhof writes that the Reformed or Presbyterian system of polity is influenced by the following principles: (i) All authority flows from Christ who is the head of the Church; (ii)
4 Darko and Addae, “The CoP Polity”, 37.
5 Ibid., 37-38.
6 Enns, The Moody Handbook, 270.
7 Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (East Peoria: Versa Press Inc., 2005), 580.
8 Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985), 3: 1078 – 1079.
9 Enns, The Moody Handbook, 369.
10 The word presbyterian comes from the Greek, πρεσβύτερος meaning “elder”
Christ exercises his authority by means of the royal Word; (iii) The Church is en- dowed with power by Christ, the king; (iv) Christ, through the Church calls Repre- sentatives’ Organs to exercise this power.11 In other words, the Presbyterian system recognises that Christ has called and bestowed spiritual power and ecclesiastical au- thority in the hands of a Representatives’ organ. This organ, duly constituted at vari- ous levels, is responsible for the administration of the church at those levels.
The Church of Pentecost (CoP), an international Christian denomination with head- quarters in Accra, Ghana, employs the Presbyterian system of church polity.12 The Church’s adoption of this leadership system is greatly influenced by its conception and position on spiritual gifts which it posits is closely connected with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Haroutunian suggests that while Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and session13 are each integral to the gospel, the ascension and subsequent session of Christ serves as the source of em- powerment for Christian leadership.14 Brumback15 observes that Pentecost is a prima- ry, and not secondary, benefit of the session. For Bayes: “The key to the success of the church was the result of Pentecost.16 Pentecost initiates divine leadership empow- erment by means of equipping believers for ministry through gifts often referred to as spiritual gifts.17
