Proper church governance

Update: I no longer have confidence in any church hierarchy, given that the Lord Jesus is recorded as saying in Matthew 23 that all disciples are siblings, none of whom should be called rabbi or guide, because we have one teacher (the Christ), and that anyone who exalts themselves will be brought low. In John 21, the Lord's commission to Peter can be read without any permission for hierarchy: the two Ancient Greek verbs used there, bosko and poimaino, had several senses each, such as "feed" and "tend" respectively.

____________

Why is there so much disappointment surrounding church pastors, and church governance in general? Why is there widespread evidence of churches failing in their duties?

One factor may be that churches ignore and disobey God's Word on how a church is to be led. Ignorance of God's Word and disobedience toward God's Word will usually lead to the lack of God's blessing. One can choose blessing and order, with God's Word, or chaos and curse, without God's Word.

How are churches to be governed, according to the New Testament? 

(1) Christ Jesus is the head of the church (Eph. 4:23; Col. 1:18).

The implications of this are that there is no room for disobedience to Christ, who warns of consequences such as loss of church status through the removal of the Holy Spirit (Rev. 2:5), loss of eternal salvation (Matt. 7:21-23), and divine punishments like illnesses even unto death (1 Corinthians 11:30-32). 

Many churches replace Christ in the head position with their own favourite "theologian" / "bishop" / "pastor" whose false teaching veers away from the New Testament.

(2) Elders are overseers responsible for obedience to Christ (1 Tim. 3:4-5).

These men are compared to parents or shepherds, responsible for the wellbeing of those in their care. They have responsibility for teaching, alongside church discipline, and they are to be compensated economically for this work. 

Οἱ καλῶς προεστῶτες πρεσβύτεροι διπλῆς τιμῆς ἀξιούσθωσαν, 

The elders who are leading well must be deemed worthy of double honour, 

μάλιστα οἱ κοπιῶντες ἐν λόγῳ καὶ διδασκαλίᾳ·

especially they who are working with the word and teaching. 

λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφή· Βοῦν ἀλοῶντα οὐ φιμώσεις, 

For the Scripture says, "An ox treading you shall not muzzle",

καί· Ἄξιος ὁ ἐργάτης τοῦ μισθοῦ αὐτοῦ. (SBLGNT)

and, "Worthy is the worker of his wage." (1 Tim. 5:17-18, CFB)

What this and related NT texts appear to show is that each church is to have conciliar leadership: not a pastor who dictates, but a council of elders who together take the vital responsibilities for the wellbeing of the church. 

Πρεσβυτέρους οὖν τοὺς ἐν ὑμῖν παρακαλῶ 

Elders, therefore, who are among you, I exhort,

ὁ συμπρεσβύτερος καὶ μάρτυς τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ παθημάτων, 

I who am a co-elder and witness of the sufferings of the Christ,

ὁ καὶ τῆς μελλούσης ἀποκαλύπτεσθαι δόξης κοινωνός, 

who am also a sharer of the glory destined to be revealed, 

ποιμάνατε τὸ ἐν ὑμῖν ποίμνιον τοῦ θεοῦ, 

shepherd the flock of the God that is among you,

ἐπισκοποῦντες μὴ ἀναγκαστῶς ἀλλὰ ἑκουσίως κατὰ θεόν,

overseeing not compulsorily but voluntarily according to God,

μηδὲ αἰσχροκερδῶς ἀλλὰ προθύμως,

nor shamefully for gain but zealously, 

μηδ’ ὡς κατακυριεύοντες τῶν κλήρων ἀλλὰ τύποι γινόμενοι τοῦ ποιμνίου·  (SBLGNT)

nor as bemastering the lots but being models of the flock. (1 Pet. 5:1-3, CFB)

So whereas the NT appears to provide a simple, transparent and fairly wolf-proof model of governance, where God's Word is applied by church co-governors (elders, overseers) whose work can be evaluated by simply comparing it to what the New Testament says, many churches veer away into complex and perverse set-ups, where for example a professional "pastor", with his own Bible interpretation, is given the responsibility to run the church by elders with little knowledge of God's Word. 

A key mistake here appears to be that people misunderstand the New Testament's terms of "elder", "pastor", and "overseer"/"bishop". These appear to be terms for one and the same office. That is to say, an elder is described by the New Testament as a pastor and as an overseer. One of several indications of this is that the apostle Paul addresses the church in Philippi as follows:

Παῦλος καὶ Τιμόθεος δοῦλοι Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ 

Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, 

πᾶσιν τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Φιλίπποις 

to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,

σὺν ἐπισκόποις καὶ διακόνοις, (SBLGNT)

together with overseers and deacons.... (Phil. 1:1, CFB)

Paul mentions only two types of church offices. Likewise, and perhaps even more compelling, the Letter to Titus (1:5-7) describes an elder as an overseer:

Τούτου χάριν ἀπέλιπόν σε ἐν Κρήτῃ ἵνα τὰ λείποντα ἐπιδιορθώσῃ,
For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting,

καὶ καταστήσῃς κατὰ πόλιν πρεσβυτέρους, ὡς ἐγώ σοι διεταξάμην,
and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

εἴ τίς ἐστιν ἀνέγκλητος, μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἀνήρ,
if any be blameless, the husband of one wife,

τέκνα ἔχων πιστά, μὴ ἐν κατηγορίᾳ ἀσωτίας ἢ ἀνυπότακτα.
having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.

δεῖ γὰρ τὸν ἐπίσκοπον ἀνέγκλητον εἶναι ὡς θεοῦ οἰκονόμον,
For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God;

μὴ αὐθάδη, μὴ ὀργίλον, μὴ πάροινον, μὴ πλήκτην, μὴ αἰσχροκερδῆ, (SBLGNT)
not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; (AKJV)

__________________________
Notes

CFB: Scripture quoted from the Christ Family Bible. Copyright © 2018 by J.J. Thomas. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

AKJV: Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.

SBLGNT: Scripture quotations marked SBLGNT are from the SBL Greek New Testament. Copyright © 2010 Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software.