Originally Posted by py3ak

Some are very easy: the uniqueness of the Bible and the uniqueness of Christ are entirely non-negotiable, are of foundational importance, and should be insisted on from day one. Appointing elders is very important, and really ought to happen at some point: but it's not going to happen on day one (no one meets the qualifications: at the very least, they are all novices), so you may not talk about that until day 2. And since the question included deacons, and I'm not sure that having deacons is a requirement in a small church, or one that is just getting started, obviously I couldn't be very firm about that question.

In regard to working with other people, an awful lot is dependent on context. If someone who would let women speak if duly veiled invites me to preach, I'm working with them, in one sense: if I invite them to preach, I'm working with them in another sense: if I plant a work and turn it over to them, I'm working with them in still another sense: and if we collaborate to plant and pastor a church, then I'm working with them in a fourth sense. I think I would preach for people whom I wouldn't have to preach for me; I think I would have someone speak for me to whose oversight I would not commend my people (many Presbyterians will have a Baptist preach, or vice versa). So there are different levels of cooperation, and that makes the question of working with others rather complex.