I read\u00a0the reply by Ney Rieber<\/a>, to the question posed by one that was having a problem reconciling with a congregation that does not have elders. These questions come to mind and I hope you can help answer them when you have time or maybe point me toward a similar question you have answered. There is no denying that the whole church is there during these examples. But who calls for the congregation to conduct a congregational meeting? How often do we have them?\u00a0 What was the purpose of the congregation being assembled in Acts 15? Which scriptures do we use to know who is allowed to speak? Do we conduct it like we would do a Bible study? How do women show their approval in light of I Corinthians 14, 11, and I Timothy 2? Do we conduct this during our worship service? Thanks for the opportunity to submit the questions.<\/p>\n\t See:<\/p>\n Basically, the work continues and the congregation does what is expedient (what is within the bounds of the law that works most efficiently for the group). Details aren’t given because God is allowing some freedom of choice in this temporary situation. We know, for instance, that women did somehow indicated their approval along with the rest. We also know that women are not allowed to usurp authority over a man (I Timothy 2:11-12). It would be up to a congregation to figure out the best way to accomplish both. The end of I Corinthians 14 deals with worship service, not all gatherings of the church. The beginning of I Corinthians 11 deals with women showing submission, as does I Timothy 2:11-15. Neither passage states or implies absolute silence on the part of the women.<\/p>\n In Acts 15, the congregation gathered to hear the report of Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:4). In this particular case, there were elders in the church and when a problem became apparent, a special meeting was called. “Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter<\/em>” (Acts 15:6). But we find it was not a “closed-door” meeting. Though it was the apostles and elders who wrestled with the problem, we find that the rest of the congregation was listening in. “Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles<\/em>” (Acts 15:12). That is why the whole church could stand behind the conclusion. “Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren<\/em>” (Acts 15:22).<\/p>\n I would not suggest blending anything with the worship service, but worship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I read\u00a0the reply by Ney Rieber, to the question posed by one that was having a problem reconciling with a congregation that does not have elders. These questions come to mind and I hope you can help answer them when you have time or maybe point me toward a similar question you have answered.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[667],"class_list":["post-20760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-organization-of-the-church"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":92369,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-congregation-deny-someone-who-desires-to-be-baptized-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":20760,"position":0},"title":"Should a congregation deny someone who desires to be baptized again?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day Jeff, I hope you're doing well. I have a question. A brother stood up in church to confess that the reason he got baptized was to marry a sister in the congregation, not that he was convinced that it would give him salvation. He requested that he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34562,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-if-a-church-doesnt-have-studies-during-the-week\/","url_meta":{"origin":20760,"position":1},"title":"What if a church doesn’t have studies during the week?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi brother, I hope you are still holding fast to Him. I have just moved to a place where there's a small congregation of about nine members, who don't meet during the week, only on Sundays. I have asked them to meet at least twice a week but to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33481,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-churches-of-christ-register-with-the-government-as-a-whole-or-each-congregation-independently\/","url_meta":{"origin":20760,"position":2},"title":"Do churches of Christ register with the government as a whole or each congregation independently?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a member of the church of Christ in Malawi. I would like to find out how the churches of Christ in the USA register with the government. Is it that every congregation registers independently? or is there one registration for all congregations of the churches of Christ?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16921,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-the-preacher-use-his-time-to-conduct-a-bible-class-during-the-worship-service\/","url_meta":{"origin":20760,"position":3},"title":"Can the preacher use his time to conduct a Bible class during the worship service?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 1, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm a young man of seventeen and have been raised and brought up in a very conservative Christian home. I could go on and on about my father, the efforts of my mother, and the great strides I've been extremely blessed to make in being an active member in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17133,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-church-choose-men-to-lead-when-there-are-no-elders\/","url_meta":{"origin":20760,"position":4},"title":"Can a church choose men to lead when there are no elders?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 31, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When there are no elders in a congregation and the church chooses certain men to lead, is this scriptural? Answer: I probably would need more information to answer your question. Much depends on what you mean by \"lead.\" During worship service, there are men who lead various parts of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42614,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-we-notify-the-congregation-that-the-preacher-was-asked-to-leave\/","url_meta":{"origin":20760,"position":5},"title":"How do we notify the congregation that the preacher was asked to leave?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How do we notify the congregation that a minister has been asked to leave? It has not grown over the last several years, and we want to move forward. 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