The Organization of the Church

The church is not a democracy; it is a monarchy, with Jesus as its king. Hebrews 1:8

But of the Son He says, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom."

Jesus Christ is the head of the church.Ephesians 4:15

Thus, Jesus, (and God, his Father, who is above him) is the only one with the right to make rules and regulations for his church. They have done so through the Bible. Many have tried to change their will in many ways, such as relaxing or tightening the requirements for citizenship in this kingdom, or the way members of the church must conduct themselves. However, the Bible expressly forbids any who would try to take the place of God in this regard. It also predicted that one would do so. I I Thessalonians 2:3-4

... the apostasy [falling away] comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

I Timothy 4:1-3

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods.

Some have tried to appoint men as church rulers, saying that jesus is the invisible head of the church, and these men are visible heads. Ask yourself, did you ever see a body with more than one head?
God did appoint some as church leaders. Ephesians 4:11
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.

This might seem a contradiction to some people. Notice, there is a difference between church leaders and church rulers, or "lords," if you will. I Peter 5:1,2,3
... I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder ... shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight ... nor yet as lording it over those alloted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.

You might notice that "elder" was not mentioned in Ephesians 4:11. Let's take a look at this verse. Not all of these positions are in effect today. There are no more apostles; these were men specially chosen and "sent out" by Jesus. (The word apostle is from the Koiné Greek words "apo," which means "out" and "stellein," which means "to send") All of the apostles Jesus chose are dead today.
Likewise, there are no more prophets. In the first century, apostles could lay their hands on people to impart special gifts from the Holy Spirit, who allowed people to do many miraculous things to prove that they were sent by God and spoke His message. I Corinthians 12:8-10
For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowlefge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.

The scriptures predicted that the gift of prophecy would cease: I Corinthians 13:8
... if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away.

Other than this, we have evangelists, pastors, and teachers left. Evangelists are those who spread the gospel of God. Teachers are those who teach God's word. Pastor, on the other hand, is a word that many have confused.
Webster's 9th Collegiate Dictionary defines pastor as "a clergyman serving a local church or parish." Most people use "pastor" to mean a preacher and sole leader of a church. The Bible does not use the word this way. Webster's Dictionary lists the original meaning of pastor as "shepherd." The word "pastor" in the Bible is a translation of the Koiné Greek word meaning "shepherd," which elsewhere in the New Testament is translated "shepherd." Who are these shepherds? What are they supposed to do? If we are members of the church of the New Testament, our church must have New Testament shepherds.
The job of "shepherding" is referred to in Acts 20, along with several other responsibilities. In this passage, the apostle Paul speaks to the elders of the church from Ephesus, according to verse 17. In verse 28, he says:
Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherdthe church of God which He purchased with his own blood.

Notice the connection between this verse and Ephesians 4:11; in Ephesians, the Holy Spirit caused some to be pastors, which we have seen means shepherds. In Acts, the Holy Spirit makes some be overseers, who are charged with shepherding the flock. These are the same people. They are also called elders, according to verse 17. We have found three synonyms for a church leadership office, and three job descriptions:

Elders
Elder
The Elders must be older Christians. Think, "older brother."
Shepherd
The Elders' job is to be shepherds for Jesus's flock, the church.
Overseer
The Elders' job is to oversee the church.

By the way, if you look up the instances of the word "overseer" in the New American Standard Bible, and then check its footnotes and compare with the same verses in the King James Version, you will find that a synonym for "overseer" is "bishop." Have you heard this word before? Was it used correctly?
If we continue to study elders, we will discover that passages such as I Timothy 3 and Titus 1 show qualifications for elders. Note that both of these texts require that an elder be "the husband of one wife," and raise his children well. This is in direct contrast to some today who would teach that church leaders (or rulers, if you will) should be unmarried. The charge has been made that these verses only mean that an elder should not be a polygamist or divorced; they permit an unmarried elder. This, however, does not explain these elders' children. Did God want His church leaders to have children out of wedlock? Consult also I Timothy 4:3.
Further study on elders also reveals that there is always a plurality of elders in each church, and that no elder is above another. Acts 14:23
And when they [the apostle Paul and others] had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Titus 1:5
For this reason I left you in Crete, that you might set in order what remains, and appoint elders in every city as I directed you.
I Peter 5:1
Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder.

Peter was an apostle of the Lord, as well as being an elder. Yet, he was just, "your fellow elder," not "the next elder up," or "the Bishop over this district." Some today would love to have some kind of heirarchical structure on earth for the church, but in the Bible, the only shepherd over these shepherds was "the Chief Shepherd," Jesus Christ. I Peter 2:25;5:4
If we look back in I Timothy 3, we will see that after Paul gives qualifications for elders, he lists qualifications for another group of people: deacons.
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