It appears to me that all of the organizational structures of the modern churches today have pros and cons. My church home has a Congregational Organizational Structure. However, even this type of structure has it's advantages and disadvantages. My apprroach to effectively meeting the mission and goals of the church would be to follow the instructions given to us in the Scriptures.
The Bible says, "All scripture is God breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God would be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16). A more biblically centered approach and/or biblical teaching would bring more structure to the whole body of Christ. An understanding of how the first church in the book of Acts was structured would help in organizing the modern churches today. Going back to the roots of our faith when the early church patterns structure was setup by the Apostles. The church members grew because of the enthusiasm of the apostles to go to the nations with the gospel, preaching to the jews and the gentiles; the apostles were missionaries, evangelizing in the communities. I believe that our churches today are getting to comfortable on their beautiful cushioned pews, and forgetting that they are the church, and we are commissioned to go out to all nations baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19-20) The congregation should not have to vote it's members in, but rather go out to bring them into the church.
According to the article, "Organization Design and the Early Church: A Social and Cultural Texture Analysis of Acts," by David Burkus, Oral Roberts University, stated, "The apostles knew that the world needed Christ, and their growth was motivated by their desire to recruit and convert disciples." The early church began with the filing and power of the Holy Spirit, the bold witnesses, Peter and John, a sermon from Apostle Peter, and the love of the believers, who spreaded the gospel, which resulted in the growth of the church. According to Burkus, the structure and organization design of the early church was based on growth, persecution and change. The apostles sought to convert the world by spreading the good news.
Works cited:
Burkus, David. "Organizational Design and the Early Church: A Social and Cultural Texture Analysis of Acts."
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