We teach that elders are appointed in local congregations and that no congregation oversees another congregation. Neither does the elder of one congregation have overseeing power or responsibility over another congregation.<\/p>\n
In Acts 15, we know that there were Jewish Christians who insisted that Gentile Christians must circumcise and observe the law of Moses. Consequently, they decided “that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question” (Acts 15:2). Some argued that Jerusalem became the council that oversaw\/decided the interpretation of church doctrines and church instructions, just like the hierarchical or monarchical bishop structures adopted by the Roman Catholic church or some other denominations today.<\/p>\n
How would you deal with this question?<\/p>\n\t
Acts 15\u00a0is an interesting study of solving problems within and between congregations.<\/p>\n
Members of the church in Jerusalem had been going to other congregations stating that Gentiles had to be circumcised. After confronting the false teachers, Antioch sent representatives to discuss the issue at the source of where this false doctrine apparently originated (Acts 15:1-4). Take note that it was the church in Antioch that sent members to Jerusalem to discuss this matter. The church in Jerusalem did not invite them to come to a conference. Even though Antioch had elders (Acts 14:23), the church made the decision to send Paul, Barnabas, and a few others.<\/p>\n
When the brethren arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church, the apostles, and the elders (Acts 15:4).\u00a0This was not a private session with the church leaders. Everyone was there. In that assembly, some of the Pharisees insisted that the Gentiles be told to be circumcised (Acts 15:5). The problem that others saw in other congregations was now seen by the church in Jerusalem coming from some of its members.<\/p>\n
Subsequently, the apostles, the ambassadors from Antioch, the elders, and the leaders of the church in Jerusalem from which these troublemakers came gathered to discuss the matter (Acts 15:6). Again, it was not a closed-door meeting because all the multitude listened to Peter, Paul, and Barnabas discuss the matter (Acts 15:12). They all heard James apply the prophet Amos to show that circumcision of the Gentiles was unnecessary.<\/p>\n
Was the autonomy of the church in Jerusalem violated because men came from Antioch seeking to persuade them to follow God’s teachings? No, because the church in Jerusalem weighed the evidence and determined the solution. This was a problem in the church. It was a concern of the church.<\/p>\n
What took place was not a sequestered council of the church hierarchy. Only Antioch sent representatives to Jerusalem. No other churches were involved. It was not a private elders’ meeting that deliberated and announced its conclusions to the assembly. The congregation was present, heard the convincing evidence, and joined in the conclusion and in sending greetings to the Gentile converts. Those sent with the letter were also selected by the congregation (Acts 15:22-23). Notice how the congregation’s participation is reiterated repeatedly in this chapter. The oversight of the church in Jerusalem did not preclude the congregation’s involvement.<\/p>\n
While one church is independent of others, churches can advise each other.\u00a0They decided to send a warning to other churches that these members of the Jerusalem congregation were acting without authority (Acts 15:23-24). Jersualem’s announcement of their rejection of these men’s teaching did not violate the other churches’ autonomy. They merely set the record straight about what the church in Jerusalem taught. The Holy Spirit did add His thoughts (Acts 15:28), and thus, the letter became a part of the church’s official teaching universally. The church in Jerusalem announced that they agreed with what the Holy Spirit stated. They advised the other churches that they would do well to also follow the Holy Spirit in this matter.<\/p>\n
The result is that the false teachers who tried to give authority to their teachings by saying that this was what was being taught in Jerusalem had the rug pulled out from under them. Paul made sure the letter was widely circulated among the Gentile churches so everyone knew that the church in Jerusalem did not agree with the position of the false teachers.<\/p>\n
Compare this with the Catholic or Orthodox church councils. A council is declared to discuss a matter. Letters go out inviting various churches to send their representatives. After much deliberation by these representatives, a decision is made, and a document is written telling the churches what they must teach on the matter. This is not what happened in Acts 15.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: We teach that elders are appointed in local congregations and that no congregation oversees another congregation. Neither does the elder of one congregation have overseeing power or responsibility over another congregation. In Acts 15, we know that there were Jewish Christians who insisted that Gentile Christians must circumcise and observe the law of Moses.…<\/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":[1289,448,123,1076],"class_list":["post-83178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-autonomy","tag-church","tag-elders","tag-independence"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61801,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-autonomy-of-the-local-church-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":83178,"position":0},"title":"The Autonomy of the Local Church (Hamilton)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 9, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One area that sharply distinguishes the Lord\u2019s church from the various denominations is its organization \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The church is the organization through which God\u2019s wisdom is made known - Eph 3:9-11 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is a product of that wisdom and is organized by God. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The head of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66857,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-one-congregation-withdraw-from-another-congregation\/","url_meta":{"origin":83178,"position":1},"title":"Can one congregation withdraw from another congregation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Can a church withdraw from Christians who are not members of the local congregation? 1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Mark those who cause division and hindrances -\u00a0Romans 16:17 2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Philippians 3:17\u00a0- Mark those who are good examples 3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Galatians 5:15\u00a0- Don't bite and devour each other. C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Can a church withdraw from another church? Hey Brother Hamilton!\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":16170,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/may-a-church-without-elders-appoint-deacons\/","url_meta":{"origin":83178,"position":2},"title":"May a church without elders appoint deacons?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 26, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: May a church assign to a servant or servants (deacons) a specific task or tasks in which they will serve the congregation and for which they will be responsible and answerable to the congregation for performing if the church does not have elders. In other words, may they set\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":96218,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/in-a-disaster-should-congregations-help-a-congregation-rebuild\/","url_meta":{"origin":83178,"position":3},"title":"In a disaster, should congregations help a congregation rebuild?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Brother Hamilton, I have already read several of your articles on benevolence, and they are quite useful.\u00a0I was hoping that you could provide some answers to the following. A church is hit by a natural disaster, and brethren have damage to their homes and vehicles. There is also damage\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":6706,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/must-a-preacher-move\/","url_meta":{"origin":83178,"position":4},"title":"Must a Preacher Move?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 22, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Over the years, I have heard various individuals argue against preachers being located in a particular area and working with one congregation. Typically, they will point out that Paul, and those with him, worked with many congregations, moving from city to city. In their view, elders\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/07\/WagonTrain-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17133,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-church-choose-men-to-lead-when-there-are-no-elders\/","url_meta":{"origin":83178,"position":5},"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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83178\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}