I'm not a Baptist but....

...I think they got it right when it comes to church government. When I read Scripture, I am persuaded that the congregational form of church government (church decides) is more biblical than the presbyterian form (elders decide) and the episcopal form (the bishop decides). Of course, all churches would agree that Christ Himself is the true head of the church. As I talk to Arab brothers, it seems that one of the major barriers to them planting a house church is related to the issue of authority. From whom should they get permission to do so? Should they be formally ordained by a registered denomination, or is it enough to receive the informal blessing of other Arab pastors whom they know? Should they follow their evangelical cultural norm of a single pastor, or is it more biblical to have a plurality of pastors/elders? If the congregation has ultimate decision-making authority, what does it mean to "obey" and "submit to" the elders? This article has been helpful in answering some of those questions so I had it translated to Arabic and share it often with Arab brothers.

For most of May, I was in the Middle East. I was able to visit friends in Nazareth for the first time since covid began. Therefore, I was also able to connect with brothers in Irbid in northern Jordan before traveling down to Amman. Please pray for continued conversations online with both old and new friends. I was unable to visit Sudan last month. Especially, pray for brothers there who are all struggling economically & socially.