God's people have a decision-making mandate.  A church is fundamentally a body of Kingdom citizens who are authorized (and expected) to weigh issues, make decisions, and pass judgments.  Though decision making will not occur at every meeting (there aren't always issues to resolve), an understanding that the church corporately has the authority and obligation to settle things is important. 

There are many examples in the New Testament of God's people making decisions as a body.  That Jesus expected decision making from the church (Greek-ekklesia) is seen in Matthew 16:13-20.  After promising to build His church on the rock of Peter's revealed confession, Jesus immediately spoke of the keys of the kingdom of heaven and of binding and loosing.  Keys represent the ability to open and to close something, kingdom is a political term, and binding and loosing involves the authority to make decisions.  Then, in Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus said that the church (v.17) is obligated to render a verdict regarding a brother's alleged sin, and once again, binding and loosing authority is conferred upon the church.

Scriptures that support Leaders of the church:

&   Acts 1:15-26: Peter charged the Jerusalem church as a whole with finding a replacement for Judas.

&   Acts 6:1-6: The apostles looked to the church corporately to pick men to administer the church's welfare system.

&   Acts 14:23 (marginal translation) indicates that some churches elected their own elders.

&   Acts 15:1-4: The church of Antioch decided to send to Jerusalem for arbitration, and then the whole church in Jerusalem was in on the resolution of the conflict (14:4, 12, 22).

&   I Corinthians 14:29-30: Paul continued this idea where it was made clear that judgment was to be passed on prophetic revelation when "the whole church comes together." (14:23).