Part one in a five-part series about church leadership structures. UPDATE: Links below.

Some days I wish the Holy Spirit would inspire an appendix to my Bible. That would make it so much easier to find all the answers about how church leadership should be organized and structured.

The Bible is filled with many principles and clear teaching on elders, deacons, and members, and how these leaders are to be godly, qualified, and approved. Certain passages even list specific responsibilities. The legalist in me wants more details, but ultimately I am thankful for the freedom God has allowed; the Bible includes many truthful, necessary, and wise principles without prescribing precise methods. It is therefore up to a church’s elders to determine their local mission, and how their leadership should best be structured to accomplish the work—specific policy, if you will.

A leadership structure is an important way to provide stability for the church, but I firmly believe that you must hold your structure with an open hand; it is not inspired of God in the same way the Bible is. As a church grows, changes, and matures, your structures must evolve to accommodate and reflect the new reality.

That said, at Mars Hill Church, we’re often asked how we organize the church leadership and staff. This week I’d like to provide a series of posts to give a more in-depth explanation of how we do things.

For our Mars Hill members and regular guests, this series will help you better understand our church. For pastors and church-planters, hopefully you’ll be able to glean some helpful principles—borrow away, but be cautious and remember your cultural context and the specific mission God has given your church. For those just here to read, enjoy this somewhat different glimpse into who we are and what we’re about.

Here’s what’s coming over the next few days:

• Biblical principles – what scripture informs our leadership structure?
• Structure – specifically, how does MHC apply these principles?
• Local expression – why multi-site?
• Advice – what have we learned in our experience?