How do Congregationalists explain 1st Tim 1:3 and Titus 1:5?

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Christians who consider each congregation to have no higher authority structures than its own elders or ministers do not think that these verses suggest anything else. These were new churches, having just been started by Paul and his associates, but without sustainable endemic leadership, so they needed to be kickstarted by Timothy and Titus. Once they appointed the first generation of leaders in each congregation, those leaders would be responsible for appointing the next generation. Each generation teaching, training and appointing the next is the model given in 2 Timothy 2:2:

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (NIV)

The same thing happens today when missionary church planters start new churches. At the beginning they will form the leadership, but the goal for many of these church planters is that the churches will become self-sufficient and self-governing. (Though not if they are planting churches for an existing denomination of course.)

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We can see this structure:

The Apostle Paul -> Titus -> elders of every church in Crete. (Titus)

The Apostle Paul -> Titus -> elders of the church in Dalmatia. (2 Timothy)

The Apostle Paul -> Titus -> elders of the church in Corinth. (2 Corinthians)

The Apostle Paul -> Timothy -> elders of the church in Ephesus. (1 Timothy)

The Apostle Paul -> Timothy -> elders of the church in Corinth. (1 Corinthians)

The Apostle Paul -> Tychicus -> elders of the church in Ephesus. (2 Timothy)

The Apostle Paul -> Artemas/Tychicus -> elders of the churches in Crete. (Titus)

The hierarchical structure has the same origin, the Apostle Paul. Therefore, the authority that they have to rule over these churches comes from the authority that Paul had over them.

There are three kinds of interventions of the Apostle Paul with the churches, 1) Establishing churches, 2) Ordaining elders (Acts 14:23), 3) Correcting deficient things (Titus, 1 Timothy). For this third class of temporary interventions, Paul sent one of his collaborators to set in order the things that are wanting. This does not create a supratemporal structure, but is used for a specific purpose, at a specific time. We can corroborate this with the various commissions that Timothy and Titus have had in different churches.

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