What has been said in the preceding chapters pertains wholly to the polity of the local church--to its organization, its officers, its government and its discipline.

      This was the extent of church organization in New Testament times. And our people, in the very early years of their work, striving for "the restoration of primitive Christianity" and taking the Scriptures as their "only rule of faith and practice," had no thought of any wider organization. This will explain why Winebrenner, in his Brief View of the Formation, Government and Discipline of the Church of God, published in 1829, confined himself wholly to the government of the local church and expressed himself as an opponent of ecclesiastical organizations above the local church.

      But it was Winebrenner who, in 1830, brought the ministers of the churches together in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and organized the first annual Eldership. It was called the "General Eldership," in distinction from the Elderships, or boards of [46] elders of the local churches. Later the name was changed to the East Pennsylvania Eldership. And it was Winebrenner who, fifteen years later (in 1845), was chiefly instrumental in bringing ministerial and lay delegates from the East Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Pennsylvania Elderships to the city of Pittsburgh, where they organized the General Eldership. This is sufficient to show that Winebrenner had become a proponent of ecclesiastical organizations. It was the transition period of his life, and was marked by a change of views, such changes as gradually and naturally grew out of the development of his thought and work, and the needs of this work as they appeared from time to time.

      It was felt then, as we fully realize now, that the local churches of a given territory need some kind of an organization for united effort, an organization which can do better for them in certain things than they could do for themselves, and by which they can carry on enterprises which they could not promote successfully by acting separately. These organizations were called Elderships because they were originally composed entirely of elders--ministers and laymen, the [47] former being teaching elders and the latter ruling elders.

      This brings us to the consideration of the subject of church polity as it operates in the larger organization of local churches into a religious body. Broadly speaking, there are three forms of church government among Protestants:

      1. The Presbyterial, or government by presbyters, or elders.

      2. The Congregational, by which each congregation controls its own affairs, independent of all other congregations and of any superior authority.

      3. The Episcopal, or government by bishops.

      Our church government is not, strictly speaking, analogous to that of the Presbyterian denomination. The Presbyterians have three ecclesiastical bodies above the local church--the Presbytery, the Synod and the General Assembly, while we have but two--the Eldership and the General Eldership. They have the call system between pastors and churches, while our pastors are appointed to the churches by the Elderships. It is true that we have always spoken of having the presbyterial form of church government, because ours, like theirs, was a government by [48] presbyters, or elders. But by action of the General Eldership of 1921 the lay representation in that body, as well as in the annual Elderships is no longer confined to elders; other persons, including both men and women, are eligible. So it would hardly seem proper to continue to speak of ours as a presbyterial form of government, or government by elders. Neither do we have the congregational form of government, for our local churches, as we shall see later, are subject to the authority of the annual Elderships and the General Eldership. And while our churches receive their pastors by appointment of the Eldership, as churches of the Methodist and certain other denominations receive their pastors by appointment of the conference, we, unlike these denominations, have no bishops. From this brief glance it will be seen that our church polity is a combination of principles and provisions to be found in different religious bodies, but not in any one of them in exactly the same combination. It is the product of a selective process designed to meet our needs as a religious body. And that it has served this purpose satisfactorily is a tribute to those who formed our first ecclesiastical organizations. [49]

      The principal part of this service pertains to the ministry--the most important single element in the great cause of Christianity. The Eldership--

      1. Selects the ministry for the churches. It is by the Eldership, through its proper board or committee, that those who feel called of God to preach are examined, conducted through a course of studies, and, if found worthy and capable, invested with the authority and responsibility of the sacred calling by a solemn ordination to the gospel ministry.

      2. Provides pastors for the churches. From the ministers selected as just indicated, pastors are appointed by the Eldership to the various churches. These churches, in their annual congregational meetings held shortly before the meeting of the Eldership, express by vote their preference as to a pastor. This vote is for the information of the Eldership, or its appropriate committee, usually called a Stationing Committee, and is to be considered as a request, to be complied with, if practicable. But this may not always be [50] wise, and in some cases is impossible. So the final authority in the appointment of pastors is vested in the Eldership, to whose actions the churches should loyally adhere as an essential element of their genuine co-operation.

      3. Functions in the discipline of ministers. Ministers are amenable for their moral and official conduct to the Eldership with which they are identified. If there is a moral lapse or an official irregularity or offense it is the right and the duty of the Eldership, or its Standing Committee in the interim between the meetings of the Eldership, to exercise discipline. This may be done with or without charges, in substantially the same way as outlined in a preceding chapter for the discipline of a lay member of a local church by its official board. When guilt is confessed or established, the penalty should be in keeping with the gravity of the offense. The offending minister may be admonished, reproved, censured, suspended definitely or indefinitely, or expelled from the ministry. The latter penalty (expulsion) the Eldership reserves to itself; the other penalties may be imposed by the Standing Committee, in the interim, as well as by the Eldership in its annual session. [51]

      4. Aids in local church discipline. In the discipline of ministers the Eldership is the court of original jurisdiction. But it also functions as a court of appeal in matters of local discipline. If either party in a case of local church discipline or difficulty is not satisfied with the decision of the church council, an appeal can be taken to the Eldership or its Standing Committee. This higher court to which an appeal is taken can either affirm or reverse the decision of the church council, with such instruction as the case, in its judgment, may seem to require. This ends the matter unless, by the same process, an appeal is taken from the decision of the annual Eldership to the General Eldership.

      5. Assists the weaker churches financially. This the Eldership does by appropriating missionary money to supplement the pastoral salaries paid by weak churches and church extension funds to aid in the building of houses of worship. This is one of our most important lines of endeavor, the movement by which weak churches are built up and our borders extended by establishing churches in new places. And it is through the Eldership as an organization, and its board of missions and board of church extension, that this [52] work is systematized and made effective. It is in these ways that the Eldership renders its principal service to the churches.

      And what service do the churches render to the Eldership? This question betrays a distinction between the churches and the Eldership which is more imaginary than real. The work of the Eldership is the work of the churches. The Eldership, composed of the pastors and representatives of the churches, with its boards and committees, is simply the organized ecclesiastical machinery through which the churches operate. The churches produce the prospective ministers for the Eldership to examine, ordain and appoint. They provide the funds for the Eldership to appropriate. They furnish the personnel without which the Eldership could not exist and the co-operation without which it could not function. The Eldership, as a whole, is vested by the churches composing it with a greater authority than any one of its parts. In this way the churches are able to carry on their work for "the greatest good of the greatest number." The Eldership is not something separate and apart from the churches. It is their own established and recognized organization by which they govern [53] themselves and through which they support their enterprises and promote their activities.

      The annual Elderships (unless State laws do not permit) are chartered, usually in the names of the officers and certain boards or committees and their successors in office, so as to give them a legal standing. These charters are usually wide in their latitude, permitting the Elderships to adopt their own constitutions, by-laws, rules and regulations as they may think wise, provided they do not conflict with the constitution or the laws of the United States or the State in which the Eldership is located. These rules and regulations are published in full by the different Elderships in their respective constitutions and by-laws, which are available to those who desire a more detailed account of the government of any particular Eldership.

      In some cases the Eldership holds title to local church properties in trust for the respective churches, especially where local churches are not incorporated. In other cases the property is held by local trustees, with the customary reversion clause in the deed, to the effect that "in case the church should become extinct, or cease to maintain an organization in harmony with the [54] doctrines, customs and polity of the Church of God in North America, it shall become the property of the Eldership." It is generally held, however, that even without such a reversion clause in the deed, in case the local church becomes extinct, or ceases to maintain an organization as just indicated, the property naturally and properly goes to the larger religious body of which the church was a part.

      While speaking of property titles and the legal affairs of local churches, it seems pertinent to suggest that no church property should be purchased without employing a competent attorney to examine the title and prepare or approve the deed. A few dollars spent at the beginning may save the trouble and greater expense of trying to correct mistakes later on. The old adage, "penny wise and pound foolish," has probably had more exemplification in connection with church properties than in any other sphere.

      It is in order, also, to repeat the familiar fact that the civil law carefully guards all church properties for the purpose for which they were originally established, taking into account the doctrines, practices and polity of the Church. This means, from our own viewpoint as a religious [55] body, that if a factional contest for the possession of the property arises in a local church, the law will award the property to that part of the church which is true to our doctrines and practices and loyal to our polity or government. This holds good, no difference how small a minority that part of the church may be. And, if there is none true and loyal, the property goes to the larger body (the Eldership) of which the local church was a part, the proceeds to be used elsewhere for the purpose for which the church was originally established. In reaching a conclusion in such a case the court does not inquire whether the doctrines, practices and polity of a Church are wise or unwise. The religious liberty of our country leaves that question wholly with the Church itself. The court extends its inquiry only far enough to ascertain what the doctrines, practices and polity of the Church in question are, and renders its decision accordingly. [56]

[PCG 46-56]