Congregational Autonomy
By John Kernan
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One of the major doctrines of the Restoration Movement is congregational autonomy. "We're rebuilding the church of the 20th century," we say, "on the organization of the church in the first century--each congregation with its own elders and those elders have no authority over anybody else. Congregational autonomy means that no congregation can tell another one what to do."
"We're right," we say, "and all of you who have an episcopacy or a presbytery or a synod are wrong. We preach congregational autonomy and we stick to it."
Do we, brethren; do we "stick to it"?
Minister Smith-Jones preaches for a congregation where the women wear hats to all services because they feel it is the scriptural thing to do. On vacation, he visits another congregation. The elders ask him, as a guest minister, to preach the morning sermon. As Brother Smith-Jones prepares to speak, he notices that many of the women do not wear hats.. Here is his chance to "preach the truth" about hats. He laces into the women for 45 minutes. At the end, the whole congregation is confused, hurt and angry. A controversy develops in an otherwise peaceful, zealous New Testament church.
Doesn't Brother Smith-Jones know how to behave when he goes home for Sunday dinner with one of his congregation? Of course he does. He may not like pork; the potatoes may be burned and the Jello melted, but he eats all of these things with no complaint. He is an impeccable house guest, but an impossible church guest. How could he be so rude to his host congregation?
Let's ask Brother Smith-Jones a question: "Do you believe in and practice congregational autonomy?"
"Oh, indeed I do," he answers, and goes into an exposition of all the proof-texts for congregational autonomy. When he is finished, we ask another question: "You never would think of invading congregational autonomy?"
"What? No, I should say not. It's one of the golden rules of the New Testament church."
"Well, what were you doing this morning when you, as a guest speaker in a congregation not your own, assailed those women who didn't wear hats?"
He sputters and stammers but has no answer, for really there is none. The minute he condemned another congregation, he violated his own principle of congregational autonomy.
Brethren, we in the Restoration Movement are all too prone to exercise this type of violation.
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The visiting evangelist justifies himself by saying, "I was only preaching the gospel." Such a statement only compounds his error and deepens the tragedy of our "New Testament church," for what he really means is "I was preaching my version of the gospel."
When we mistake our interpretation of truth for truth itself, we can't see that chasm of "congregational autonomy." We just jump over it without even knowing it's there and then tuck in our waistband another scalp from a broken church.
Several years ago a missionary went to Nyasaland. There was a long-established Native church, getting along very well with its Bible and its trusted leaders. But some people in the States heard something about their "worship practices," and sent a missionary over to "straighten things out." Well, we all know that "our way is the only New Testament way, and we do want to help those poor benighted people learn the truth."
Remember, the Native Christians were content; they didn't ask for the missionary. He went of his own accord; he was not only a guest; he was an uninvited guest. The African Christians gave him a warm welcome: they felt that he was better educated than they, so he could help them.
Did he help them? In less than six months he had wreaked havoc through that peaceful, loyal band of Christians. Then he went back to the States, no doubt to boast loudly of "how he preached the gospel and straightened things out" in that country.
You know what was wrong with that man? One thing in the context of this article: he didn't care two hoots about congregational autonomy. If he had respected his own beliefs on this subject, he would never have preached in the way that he did.
God expects us to "teach the way of the Lord more perfectly," and He expects us to teach in a way that our hearers will accept. The New Testament has a lot of unpleasant things to say about the man who causes strife and division. Somehow we never seem to apply these words to ourselves.
You know the situation in the States--split churches, lost souls--over the violation of congregational autonomy. We have the same situation, unfortunately, in many foreign countries where missionaries have gone determined to preach the truth, or at least their brand of the truth, at any cost. The cost has been a staggering and tragic loss of souls. These evil results come because ministers and missionaries forget that one of their chief tenets is congregational autonomy.
Apparently congregational autonomy doesn't apply to the congregation that differs from me.