3Polity BreakdownThe structure of a church and the government in place is highly debated amongChristians. These arguments seem pointless, yet their still a source of frustration to many people.Despite these views of differences, each of them respectively has earned their place whileshowing success, or they would no longer be around. The success of each of these alone allowsthem to remain in the conversation for what someone might argue is the “best” churchgovernment. Regardless of a person’s preference as a leader, your responsibility is to serve thechurch, and if you are to be in a church with a particular polity, you must at least support it. Assaid by Welch, “Good administrative leaders know the polity within which they will function. Inhierarchical church organizations, leaders must lead out because the congregation will expectthem to provide the form and function for what they do.”1As a leader in your church, you shouldunderstand your polity to the point that you know your boundaries and can do all yourresponsibilities with what you have. To fully break down each of these polities, they will bedefined, and specific strengths and weaknesses will be discussed.Single Elder-LedIn our Brand and Norman text, the author Daniel L. Akin was responsible for supportingthe single-elder-led church. What ends up happening is that he heavily argues forcongregationalism while also supporting single-elder-led churches. When speaking of single-elder-led churches, he is referring to someone who might be labeled as a pastor and a teacherwho, although equal to everyone, is the church's point person. This makes them the single mostimportant person in the church, so although they might not intend for them to be seen as moreimportant than others, it would almost inadvertently happen. It’s also confusing to say someone1Robert H. Welch,Church Administration: Creating Efficiency for Effective Ministry(Nashville, TN: B&HAcademic, 2011).
