WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF CONGREGATIONS ACCORDING TO PROGRESS?

1. Scripturally Unorganized. All congregations should be working toward being fully organized with qualified elders and deacons. But this may take many years in some places. A church may be scripturally unorganized for some time, while men are becoming qualified for the eldership and deaconship. In this case the church is scriptural in that they are in the process of qualifying men to serve. It is not a bad condition for a church to be in for a few years while they grow toward the end of having qualified men. But, after many years of existence and there are still no qualified elders and deacons, one begins to wonder about their scripturalness in the way they might be going about things or not going about them.

2. Unscripturally Unorganized -- having qualified men for the eldership and deaconship but not appointing them to the work. The reason that this condition is unscriptural, is because men have worked to qualify themselves but after qualifying themselves; the congregation is not interested enough in becoming scripturally organized to appoint them. Just as soon as men are truly qualified, they should be appointed. A church cannot function as well without scriptural elders and deacons as it can with them. It is God's plan that every church shold be striving to qualify and appoint men to the eldership and deaconship. So, an unscripturally unorganized church is one that has qualified men but will not appoint them to the work.

3. Unscripturally Organized -- unqualified men appointed. This type of congregation is organized but with unqualified men. This is unscriptural. Some churches are in too big a rush to be fully organized therefore they appoint unqualified men to the eldership and deaconship. In this, they bring upon themselves much corruption and trouble. Such a condition is far worse than having no appointed men at all.

4. Scripturally organized -- qualified men appointed. A scripturally organized church is oen with qualified men appointed as elders and deacons. Such church refused to appoint men until they were fully qualified. Every congregation should strive zealously to qualify and appoint men to the work of elders and deacons so that they may be scripturally organized to do the work that God intends for the church to do.

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