1 Timothy 1:1-3

All Christians are construction workers, or more accurately, all Christians are supposed to be construction workers. God has given Christians the task of building his kingdom. Each individual congregation is in the midst of a building project. They are not all building according to the same blueprints because blueprints are adapted to the building material and the environment. However, all are building on the same foundation; all are building on the foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Anyone who has ever been part of an actual physical building project recognizes that someone must be in charge. There must be a project manager to make the daily decisions on the building site. However, a single individual or a group of people can oversee the larger scope of the project. This is true as well, for the spiritual work of the church. From Paul’s letter to Timothy, we learn that Timothy was a project manager of the church of Ephesus. He had the authority to command certain people not to teach. Paul left Timothy at Ephesus for that very purpose.

Most modern churches do not recognize Timothy’s authority as a rule that applies in today’s time and culture. We are comfortable with a pastor having limited authority on the daily work of church, but for the larger scope and direction of the local congregation most depend upon a local church board. A large number of local congregations are part of a denomination and the ultimate authority resides with a central form of church government.

Most Christians do not see church leadership and authority to be an issue where agreement is essential to righteousness. We recognize that the rules that apply to the authority in one congregation can be right for them without being right for a congregate in another location or another denomination. We do not declare our form of leadership as Christian and all others heretical.

By principle, congregations require people in authority. That authority can take many forms, as long as God is the ultimate authority.