Cornerstone Presbyterian Church
Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)
back to Library
“In this chapter [on the presbyterian form of government] we have argued that church polity is not a matter of indifference in the bible and that the presbyterian form of church government is Biblical, historical, and practical.”
--L. Roy Taylor
Who Runs the Church? Four Views on Church Government, Steven Cowan, General Editor, Zondervan, 2004.
From the book cover:
“Churches have split and denominations have formed over the issue of church government. Yet while many Christians can explain their particular church’s form of rule and may staunchly uphold it, few have a truly Biblical understanding of it. What model for governing the church does the Bible provide? Is there room for different methods? Or is just one way the right way?
“In Who Runs the Church? four predominate approaches to church government are presented by respected proponents:
-
Episcopalianism (Peter Toon)
-
Presbyterianism (L. Roy Taylor)
-
Single-Elder Congregationalism (Paige Patterson)
-
Plural Elder Congregationalism (Samuel E. Waldron)
Each view is followed by critiques from the other contributors, and its advocate then responds.”
- - -
The proponent of the presbyterian view is the stated clerk/coordinator of administration of the PCA. He has been professor of practical theology at Reformed Theological Seminary for ten years. This book was being given away to delegates to the 2005 PCA General Assembly.
About presbyterian government, Taylor gives a history and later fills in the details:
“Presbyterians do not argue that the minute details of church government are to be found in the Bible, but that the general principles of ecclesiastical polity are to be derived from Scripture. Presbyterian church government is found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Presbyterians believe that the principle of representative church government by elders originated in the Old Testament, was continued into the New Testament, was practiced in the early church, fell in to disuse in the mid-second century, and reappeared in the church in the sixteenth century in the Protestant Reformation … “ (p. 76)
He describes its principles:
“The presbyterian system of church government is representative and connectional. The congregation elects the elders to the session of the church. The local church is governed by the session.
“The congregation votes on calling a pastor. The presbytery approves or disapproves of the establishment of a pastoral relationship between a minister and a particular church.
“Presbyterian churches also have deacons, who do not have a governing role, but rather a ministry of mercy.
“By ‘connectional’ we mean that local churches see themselves as part of the larger church, that local churches are not independent but are accountable to the larger church, and that local churches do not minister alone but in cooperation with the larger church.” (p. 75, paragraphing altered)
Yet the whole matter is one where there is disagreement among believers. The reader will be aware that the book contains vigorous arguments by the proponents of the other three views of church government against the presbyterian system. They have their points. Yet the presbyterian system has Biblical evidences which are well presented in this book. It is historical, and it is practical.
—Dean Brown
“The abuse of power is one of the recurring sins through the long history of the church. Most Reformed Christians believe that sin taints the entirety of human personality.
… The presbyterian system of representative-connectional government by a plurality of elders in a gradation of church courts poses an effect check on the abuse of power by an individual leader.
Moreover, the presbyterian system features not only majority rule, but also preserves the rights of a minority within the local church and the larger church.”
--L. Roy Taylor
471 Mathews Rd, Boardman, OH 44512 Phone/Fax 330-758-5628
email: info@cornerstonepch.org