Polity of the New Apostolic Movement considering Biblical and Historical Precedents in the Christian Church

Abstract

The New Apostolic Movement (NAM) is marked by two tenets: the legitimacy of the ministry of modern-day apostles and “theocratic single-headship” of churches by apostolic leaders. There is a lack of specialized research regarding the polity of NAM networks and NAM churches. What is the polity of the New Apostolic Movement and how can that polity be evaluated in the light of biblical and historical precedents? New research found that local-church polity in NAM churches is consistently autocratic but with enough plurocratic function to provide a measure of accountability. There is little to no democratic function in NAM churches. Research into the polity of the trans-local networks of the New Apostolic Movement found an absence of autocratic control, contradicting previous assumptions in the literature. Biblical exegesis concluded that the primacy of apostolic ministry is given to building the church, not governing it, and that the governing role of New Testament apostles was conducted collegially, not autocratically.

Keywords

• new apostolic movement
• local church polity
• autocratic church governance