Government and politics, like two prongs of a horn, have been at the forefront of human existence since the beginning of time. Mostly in modern times, the two have not performed as advertised, and certainly not as people hope for.
That would appear to be the situation in 2016. High in everyone’s mind these days, are the two candidates representing their respective political parties, each hoping to govern the United States of America. Seems only reasonable that two such people would be of stellar character, imbued with an abundance of credibility, trustworthiness, skills and qualifications to do the job they’re being elected to do. Not the case... based on the evidence of conduct and behavior.
Thankfully, God did not leave His church, the body of Christ, in such uncertainty when it was born and would need to be governed to carry out its mission of proclaiming the gospel. The Lord was very clear in His Word the Bible about how He wishes His church on earth to be organized and managed.
First, Christ is the head of the church and its supreme authority (Ephesians 1:22; 4:15; Colossians 1:18). Second, the local church is to be autonomous, free from any external authority or control, with the right of self-government and freedom from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations (Titus 1:5). Third, the church is to be governed by spiritual leadership consisting of two main offices—elders and deacons.
“Elders” were a leading body among the Israelites since the time of Moses. We find them making political decisions (2 Samuel 5:3; 2 Samuel 17:4, 15), advising the kings of Israel in later history (1 Kings 20:7), and representing the people concerning spiritual matters (Exodus 7:17; 24:1, 9; Numbers 11:16, 24-25). The early Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, used the Greek word presbuteros for “elder.” This is the same Greek word used in the New Testament that is also translated “elder.”
The New Testament refers a number of times to elders who served in the role of church leadership (Acts 14:23, 15:2, 20:17; Titus 1:5; James 5:14) and apparently each church had more than one, as the word is usually found in the plural. The only exceptions refer to cases in which one elder is being singled out for some reason (1 Timothy 5:1, 19). In the Jerusalem church, elders were part of the leadership along with the apostles (Acts 15:2-16:4).
It seems that the position of elder was equal to the position of episkopos, translated “overseer” or “bishop” (Acts 11:30; 1 Timothy 5:17). The term “elder” may refer to the dignity of the office, who a man is within the governance of a congregation, while the term “bishop/overseer” describes the authority and duties fo said elder (1 Peter 2:25, 5:1-4). In Philippians 1:1, Paul greets the overseers and deacons but does not mention the elders, presumably because the elders are the same as the overseers. Likewise, 1 Timothy 3:2, 8 gives the qualifications of overseers and deacons but not of elders. Titus 1:5-7 seems also to tie these two terms together.
The position of “deacon,” from diakonos, meaning “through the dirt,” was one of servant leadership to the church. Deacons are separate from elders, while having qualifications that are in many ways similar to those of elders (1 Timothy 3:8-13). Deacons assist the church in whatever is needed, as recorded in Acts chapter 6.
Concerning the word poimen, translated “pastor” in reference to a human leader of a church, it is found only once in the New Testament, in Ephesians 4:11: “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.” Most associate the two terms “pastors” and “teachers” as referring to a single position, that of elder, who would be a pastor and a qualified teacher.
It would seem from the above passages that there was always a plurality of elders, but this does not negate God’s gifting particular elders with the teaching gifts while gifting others with the gift of administration, prayer, etc. (Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:11). Nor does it negate God’s calling them into a ministry in which they will use those gifts (Acts 13:1). Thus, one elder may do the majority of visiting members because he has the gift of compassion, while another may “rule” in the sense of handling the organizational details, while yet another may be gifted in preaching and teaching.
Many churches that are organized with a governing board can guide the administrative functions of the church, leaving a plurality of elders to care for the spiritual needs of a flock and watch over the adherence to true doctrine. In Scripture there was also congregational input into major decisions. Thus, a “dictator” style leader who makes all the decisions is unscriptural (Acts 1:23, 26; 6:3, 5; 15:22, 30; 2 Corinthians 8:19). So, too, is a congregation-ruled church that does not give weight to the elders’ or church leaders’ input.
In summary, the Bible teaches a leadership consisting of a plurality of elders (overseers) along with a group of deacons who serve the church. But it is not contrary to this plurality of elders to have one of the elders serving in a major “pastoral” role. God calls some as “pastor/teachers” (even as He called some to be missionaries in Acts 13) and gives them as gifts to the church (Ephesians 4:11). Therefore, a church may have many elders, but not all elders are called to serve in the pastoral role. But, as one of the elders, the pastor or “teaching elder” has no more authority in decision making than does any other elder.
Thank God for a blueprint of leadership and church governance that works... not perfectly, but a far cry better than the machinations of man-made governments and politics.
