Elders

I've attended both Baptists churches where everyone has an equal vote on important issues and church matters.  I have also attended a neo-Charismatic church where the "overseer" had supreme, almost dictatorial, authority.

When I came to attend my current PCA church I was introduced to what I believe is the appropriate and biblical model for church leadership.   

The PCA maintains the historic polity of Presbyterian governance set forth in The Book of Church Order, namely rule by presbyters (or elders) and the graded assemblies or courts.  These courts are the session , governing the local church; the presbytery, for regional matters; and the general assembly, at the national level.  It has taken seriously the position of the parity of elders, making a distinction between the two classes of elders, teaching and ruling.  It has self-consciously taken a more democratic position (rule from the grass roots up) on presbyterian governance in contrast to a more prelatical form (rule from the top assemblies down).

 John MacArthur,a reformed Baptist who believes in the elder model, says:

"Because of its heritage of democratic values and its long history of congregational church government, modern American evangelicalism often views the concept of elder rule with suspicion. The clear teaching of Scripture, however, demonstrates that the biblical norm for church leadership is a plurality of God-ordained elders, and only by following this biblical pattern will the church maximize its fruitfulness to the glory of God."

Read more of  thoughts on this in Chapter 8 of the PCA's Book of Church Order or at MacArthurs webpage...Both have useful and thought-provoking material for you to digest.