A Theology of Admin Meetings
Tonight, I want to talk about unity from John 17. This won’t be a full exposition of the text, and I won’t even be dealing much with the church unity vs. broader unity, but I do want to approach it pastorally for our church.
One thing that’s been bouncing around in my mind for a couple of years is this thing about a vote. I assume the early churches had some form of democracy, which means there must have been a few dissenting votes among the congregations, but here’s the thing… we don’t read about the “nay” votes.
That’s not to say people aren’t allowed to vote “nay.” I’ve heard of some who vote “no” just to make sure the vote is counted.
But, pastorally, I think there’s a beauty in unity represented in some of the Scriptures we’ll look at tonight. Here’s the thought that’s been bouncing around in my head a while: there might not have been unity before a vote, but there was after the vote. Meaning, even if the vote didn’t “go their way,” it was still “the church” that was in “one accord,” or “perfectly joined,” etc.
The Holy Spirit can lead through a congregation. We are congregational in polity, with pastoral guidance and influence. We don’t have a presbytery or synod or council or bishop of Temecula overseeing us. We are autonomous—self-governing—as were all the churches in the New Testament. The only office that had some para-church connections was the office of apostle, which is no longer functional after the church was established, Christ being the chief cornerstone.
So, we, the congregation, decide together on these things, being led of the Holy Spirit and guided by shepherds. “Well I’ve never liked…” The Bible doesn’t record anyone who said that. It just records the final tally, which seemed to show that the churches were unified.
I suppose we could never keep everyone happy if it was man’s church. But this is Christ’s church. As we focus on HIM, lesser things take their rightful place. The proverbial fights over “carpet color” need not be when we have the right theology of unity.
-Pastor Ryan