When we talk of a town council or a school or a railway we are talking organisation. We have in mind, perhaps a federal state, a hierarchy, a chain of command, with qualifications and seniority. We may have a president, a chair, a CEO, a vice-chancellor or a commander presiding over the make-up. The titles may be absent but the job and its responsibilities are likely to exist none the less. It is like the difference between English and American law courts. One has horse-hair wigs as emblems of its authority; the other eschews such things. A similar organisation is present, whether tradition comes into it or not.
So it was in the group led by Jesus. There were no ranks, with stars, crowns or stripes. But there was an allocation of responsibilities. God used the analogy of a body, a human body, to explain what he envisaged. In 1 Corinthians 12 we find an outline of the scheme.
Interestingly, it is not quite what we usually expect to see in a church (not the building but the people in it). First come the apostles, unmistakable and where the buck stops. In second place come prophets (bringing news and messages from top management). Then come the third rank – teachers, explaining Christianity. They are followed by miracle-workers, healers, mentors, and those familiar with tongues of all kinds. Paul covers this list with a general proviso that there are better characteristics than these particular ones, so the list is not exclusive or prescriptive.
The early Christian believers were on their way to sort things out. Organisation and office do not come into being of their own accord. A variety of problems need a variety of treatments. Not all experts are equipped for the different tasks. Neither are all organisations equipped with the same features.
It is precisely at this point that the Church is at its most vulnerable. If there is one thing that incurs suspicion in society it is institutions. This may be unreasonable. It may be regrettable. But it is a fact. Individual Christians may be respected but the institutions they belong to fail to gain the same approval. We have to deal with the history of the Church along with the achievements of individuals and special groups. This means investigating compromise and self-serving and other unpleasant things.
At its best the institution preserves the Christian Gospel inherited from a previous generation. Individuals unite in a common cause and glorify God.
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