From City to City (or "City Oversight")

The New Testament pattern has teachers, starting with Jesus, going from city to city preaching the gospel of the kingdom. This episode's focus is to cause you to think that the city oversight of spiritual shepherds was the pattern of their sphere of influence and work.

However, to make this work, you must dismiss a local church organization. To add a local church organization to this pattern causes problems because you have added a new level of leadership similar to Jesus' description of "Gentile rule" that would not be endorsed by Him. The change is so impactful that new rules must be adopted.

The difference between these two patterns of rule are so distinctive that it is quite obvious just from the terms that are used in each context. For example, we never learn of decision makers except for the meeting in Jerusalem recorded in Acts 15. Even then, the decision was a consensus among all the brethren concerning an issue impacting saints all over the Mediteranean world, not one local church. This was neither a regularly scheduled business meeting of a local church nor an ecumenical council of decision makers to pass policy to all local churches down a command chain. Further, the decision was not made in the context of a regular church business meeting or over the binding of circumcision. "It seemed good" to them all to send a letter to the Gentile saints, identifying areas of compliance set in a context of Jew/Gentile fellowship.

Starting with Titus 1:5 to Acts 14:23, the selection of elders that establishes their sphere of work was the city where the gospel had been preached and where saints now lived. At that point, the logistics of oversight was entering house to house where daily life would be overseen and instruction could be given. This approach may have been more easily expedited by saints "hanging out," and sharing their goods and food in one or two homes (cf. Romans 16). This could be organized just like any other work where a work would be divided up in sections to accomplish. Yet, being organized is not to be equated with the establishment of an organization. As an individual, I organize my daily activities and create a schedule of work. Still, I am not an organization nor is it necessary for me to establish one to accomplish the goals of each day. Similarly, the shepherds' "local" work was their individual affairs of daily oversight of souls and this was accomplished in the household.

Even if this oversight could be accomplished by scheduling a time for all saints in a city to meet at one place where shepherds could teach, it would not accomplish his agendas. His work involved more than passing information. It was living among them as an example and where he could be vigilant over their souls. This required their willingness to submit and explains why it was necessary for him to do his work. In our society, it would be so invasive and transparent that we would scarcely approve. Still, these men were Spirit guided overseers that one could pl ace theirconfidence. Secondly, if he could accomplish his work of oversight at one place and time when all gathered together, it would be independent of an organization through which he functioned during the hours of operation.

City oversight of souls independent of any local church organization required submission of saints and their support of him. He would eat at their table, rest under their protection when needed or care for any physical need in exchange for the comfort of his spiritual care. We can only imagine this arrangement as it so totally foreign to our times. Yet, this is another example of present-day saints trying to force a first century practice into our life without realizing that it was "until they came to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man, to the fullness of the stature of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). All of these gifted men were first century gifts during this transition from one age into the next. When you try to force this arrangement in the new age of kingdom living, you have to adapt, modify, innovate and create rules that are foreign to the Scriptures. This is the product of human wisdom that creates problems for which their is no biblical antidote.