{"id":27720,"date":"2020-11-17T15:23:06","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T21:23:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=27720"},"modified":"2020-11-17T15:23:06","modified_gmt":"2020-11-17T21:23:06","slug":"who-is-supposed-to-guide-local-congregations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-is-supposed-to-guide-local-congregations\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is supposed to guide local congregations?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

I am from a church of Christ that is normally referred to as one cup, no Sunday school, no divorce and remarriage, etc.<\/p>\n

My question is this:\u00a0 If there are no positions of pastors nowadays, who is supposed to guide the local congregation?\u00a0 Who can we go to in the time of struggle, problems, issues, questions, if no man steps up to be an elder or whatever the positions should be called?<\/p>\n

I know to pray.\u00a0 I know to ask my husband, but he knows nothing about the Scriptures except what he had heard.\u00a0 Certainly, nothing he has studied on his own.\u00a0 He doesn’t do that.<\/p>\n

I respectfully submit that even married women need someone to ask questions of, get help from in a time of need.\u00a0 I would carefully consider the counseling of a married elder and would not consent to counsel without his wife present.\u00a0 \u00a0I know the implications of that and it just shouldn’t be done.<\/p>\n

Who then shepherds the congregation?\u00a0 We have some men in the local body who preach sometimes.\u00a0 We have visiting preachers.\u00a0 But help! I do not want to lead myself astray and continue to study by myself. I don’t stand a chance!<\/p>\n

Please offer me some guidance.\u00a0 \u00a0Thank you.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:11-16).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Regarding elders and their duties, see Vacant Chairs<\/a>. Every congregation doesn’t have men qualified to be elders but no congregation with qualified men should be avoiding having men serve as elders.<\/p>\n\n\n

I doubt you will convince the congregation you are attending to get closer to what the Bible actually teaches. Thus, you’ll have to consider attending a different congregation. See Congregations of the Churches of Christ<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: I am from a church of Christ that is normally referred to as one cup, no Sunday school, no divorce and remarriage, etc. My question is this:\u00a0 If there are no positions of pastors nowadays, who is supposed to guide the local congregation?\u00a0 Who can we go to in the time of struggle, problems,…<\/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,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[358,123,570],"class_list":["post-27720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-bible-class","tag-elders","tag-one-cup"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":34903,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/you-seem-to-have-two-articles-giving-two-different-positions-on-whether-an-elders-unfaithful-child-makes-him-disqualified-which-is-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":27720,"position":0},"title":"You seem to have two articles giving two different positions on whether an elder’s unfaithful child makes him disqualified. Which is it?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've been restudying the issue of elder's children who fall away. The La Vista website has an article \"The Elder and His Children\" by Brett Hogland that concludes that an elder whose children leave the Lord would still be qualified to serve, and another article, \"Does an elder need\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":65196,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-this-elder-step-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":27720,"position":1},"title":"Should this elder step down?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We have a very difficult situation on our hands. I was hoping to get some advice on this. My husband and I attend the church of Christ and we have two elders at our church. One of them has an adult daughter who left the church. She was married\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":25060,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/husband-of-one-wife\/","url_meta":{"origin":27720,"position":2},"title":"Husband of One Wife","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 21, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Carl A. Allen Sometime in 1974 or 1975, while living in Colorado, I was invited to attend a gathering of brethren who believe in the \"no Bible Class\" arrangement. We met at a prominent restaurant for a noon meal. When I arrived, I noticed the table was filled with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35535,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-a-preacher-sins-is-he-permanently-disqualified-from-preaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":27720,"position":3},"title":"If a preacher sins, is he permanently disqualified from preaching?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, What is the proper term to call the speaker on Sunday? Is it a pastor or a preacher? Also, to be a preacher you basically have to have all the qualifications of an elder correct? And if for some reason a preacher sins, such as adultery, they would\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":3121,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-old-does-a-person-need-to-be-to-become-an-elder\/","url_meta":{"origin":27720,"position":4},"title":"How old does a person need to be to become an elder?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 21, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How old does a person need to be to become an elder? Answer: The word translated as \"elders\" in the New Testament comes from the Greek word\u00a0presbuteros, which refers to an older person. No set age is implied by the word and it is sometimes used to denote relative\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":96567,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-congregation-ask-its-preacher-to-step-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":27720,"position":5},"title":"Can a congregation ask its preacher to step down?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Sir, I greet you in the name of Christ, and thanks for all that you do for the church.\u00a0I would like to ask a great question that has been bothering me. Can a congregation tell a preacher to step down from his role because of old age? 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