We want to begin what is a very important study. It has to do with the role of elders and deacons within the local church. If you look at 1 Timothy 3 you will see that the first 13 verses are divided into the qualifications of an elder (v1-7), and the qualifications of a deacon (v8-13). You will also notice that Titus 1:5-9 repeats the qualifications for an elder. Obviously, Paul considered this to be very important, and thus repeated it twice. Invariably, this topic will of necessity address the organizational structure of the New Testament church as it relates to the leadership within a local church. We all recognize that there are many different and varied forms of leadership from denomination to denomination. Baptist churches have remained fairly autonomous, while other denominations depend on a ruling denominational clergy to appoint leaders within the local churches. The real issue is what form of local leadership does God s Word address for a congregation? What is the biblical pattern? It is important to determine how God leads and rules within a local church. There are three primary ways that God uses. Before those three are mentioned, it must be appreciated, and this is absolutely foundational to our understanding, that Jesus Christ is the Living Head of His church. He is the One who is to rule in the church. And He does that by three primary methods. The first way He rules is by His presence, by His Holy Spirit. Being led by the Holy Spirit is an absolute in church leadership. Every church must be headed where God is leading. The second way that God rules in His church is through His Word. The Word of God is the sole authority for what is right and what is wrong. It is the sole authority for godly decisions and implementation of God s will for a church. Whatever a church does, it MUST be in alignment with God s Word. When God has clearly spoken on an issue, there can be no compromise. It is one thing to compromise on matters of preference, but a church cannot compromise on matters of principle. Obviously, compromise is a good thing in most human relationships. There has to be some compromise, especially in marriages where a couple may disagree on matters of preference or opinion about an issue. There is no real virtue in being strong-willed and inflexible. However, when it comes to matters of principle clearly defined in God s Word, matters that deal with moral and ethical foundations, biblical absolutes, God s clear commands, and the truthfulness of God Himself it is NEVER right to compromise. It is certainly biblical to be kind, patient, and understanding when disagreements arise, but compromise on God s principles is unbiblical. The third way that God rules in His church is through God-ordained leaders (servant leaders, theocratic leaders). The Bible cannot be read without appreciating that God has always had Godordained leaders, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament. It was through individuals like Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, the apostles, Paul, and elders that were appointed to the local churches. The problem today is that very often churches are filled with the unredeemed, and too often critical spiritual decisions are not being determined by godly leadership, but by individuals who are not controlled or influenced by God s Spirit and by people who are not seeking the will of God, and with people who have no real business even being involved in the decision making process. That may Page 1
sound a little harsh, but it is a reality that needs to be both recognized and dealt with for God s local church to become what He intends for it to become. The issue that has to be understood is that Christ is the Living Head of the church. It is not the pastor, it is not the elders, it is not the deacons, and it is not the congregation. Christ is the Living Head of His church. He is not a figure head or an absentee leader. He is the head of His church and until a church understands that, it will never be able to be what He wants it to be. So, leadership in the local church is a very critical issue. It is not something that can just be ignored or overlooked. The ministry, the effectiveness, and the testimony of any church are generally a reflection of its leadership. Good leaders cast a long shadow and are able to have great influence within a local church and they should. That influence can be either good or bad. In Scripture there are various things that a pastor is instructed to do: preach, feed, teach, build up the church, edify, pray, watch for souls, fight, convince, comfort, rebuke, warn, admonish, and exhort. In Acts 20, it is very clear that when a person shepherds a church that that individual has been given spiritual oversight for that ministry. Paul, speaking to the elders at Ephesus in Acts 20:28, says, 28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. Every pastor is an overseer, and is to shepherd and lead the church. That is their God-given role as the pastor. A local church rarely, if ever, rises above the spiritual level of its leadership. So, for that simple reason, it is incumbent on any church to make sure that they have qualified people in positions of leadership. Leadership has to be a core element of New Testament teaching simply because Matthew 16:18 says that Christ came to earth to build His church. So, it is important to recognize the undeniable link that exists between the character of a church and the quality of its leadership. One of the critical issues is that the Holy Spirit is the One that establishes leaders in Christ s church. He is the one who separates men for a particular function in the local church. Acts 13:2-4a says, 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, Leaders have to do many things, but one of the most vital aspects of their calling is that they have to be examples for their church to follow. Paul often spoke about this aspect of leadership. For instance, in Philippians 4:9, he stated, 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. A godly leader has to provide a pattern and be a model for others to follow. I Peter 5:3 says, 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; Page 2
The word in that passage for examples is a word that means to provide an example that someone can trace over. It is like the letters that young children have in school when they are learning to write. The teachers give them a pattern, and then the children trace over that pattern. So, one of the primary functions that God-ordained leaders have is to be a pattern for others to follow, examples for others to watch, and a biblical model for others to see on a consistent basis. The church at Ephesus was a church that had been blessed with great leadership. Paul was the founder and ministered there for three year before he turned the pastoral leadership of the church over to Timothy his young protégé. However it was during those three years that Paul trained a core group of godly leaders to lead the church. He had passionately warned the church that after he left that what he called savage wolves would come in and try to destroy the flock, as well as corrupt men from within the body. So, he spent a lot of time training the men that would be taking his place. He actually stated in Acts 20:29-30, 29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Obviously, one of the primary roles of godly leadership is to provide protection to the flock from false teaching. However, in order to do that they themselves have to be well-grounded in the Word. In fact, as the qualifications of both elders and deacons are carefully studied, it will be obvious that the only difference in the qualifications is that the elders must be gifted to teach. The primary biblical pattern is that the elders are responsible for the overall teaching authority in the local church and the deacons are to serve under them in a support role. Obviously, the office of a deacon can certainly serve as a training ground for elders. As a deacon develops his skill in teaching (which is directly related to his willingness to study) and his ability to handle the Word, then they may become an elder at a later time. However, the individual has to first prove themselves through serving. Men who are not servants are not qualified for spiritual leadership. The office of deacon provides a meaningful training ground for biblically defined spiritual service. In the Gospels the word elders is used quite often, but always in a very negative light. The following are just a few examples from Matthew: Matthew 15:2, 2 Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. Matthew 16:21, 21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Matthew 26:3-4, Page 3
3 Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. Matthew 26:59, 59 Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death. So, within the Gospels the term elder had a very negative New Testament connotation. However, as the church began to grow and as the New Testament leadership patterns were developed and became doctrine, the connotation of the word changed to something very positive. Almost without exception the term elders (plural) vs. elder (singular) is used. There are only four occasions where the term elder is used in the singular, and two of those are the beginning words of II John and III John. The other two uses are 1 Timothy 5:19 and I Peter 5:1. 19 Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. 1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed. That is it and the significance is very simple. God obviously designed the leadership within a church to be a plurality of leadership, not just a single individual. Whenever Paul appointed elders in the various churches, it was always in the plural. For instance, Acts 14:23, speaking of Paul and Barnabas, states, 23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. And in like manner, whenever they spoke about the leadership of churches, it was always in terms of elders (plural). For instance, Acts 21:17-19 says, 17 And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. Acts 15:6 says, 6 Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. The point is that whenever the historical narrative of the New Testament is provided, it always speaks of a plurality of elders. There are interchangeable terms that represent the same office. There are the terms elder, bishop, pastor, overseer, and shepherd. Each of those terms represent the same office and the same function. For instance, Acts 20:25-28 says, 25 And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the Page 4
blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. According to Acts 20:17 Paul is talking to the Ephesian elders in these verses about his leaving after having spent three years with them at Ephesus. 17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. So, he first calls them elders then overseers, and then says they are to shepherd. The terms become interchangeable. In 1 Peter 5:1-4, the same interchangeable terms used, 1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. In 1 Peter 2:25, the terms shepherd and overseer are used of Jesus, 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. So far in 1 Timothy 3, it has been seen that Jesus Christ is the Living Head of His church. Every physical body has a physical head. And the Head of the local church is Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 4:15-16, Paul wrote these words, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Christ 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. And so, even though believers are involved and do everything that they can in the church, it is still the power of Jesus Christ that makes everything work. Hebrews 13:20-21 says, 20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Every time that the word Lord is used is speaks of One who is in complete authority. He is the Lord, the Sovereign Head of His church. Ephesians 1:22-23, speaking of Jesus Christ as Lord (v15, 17), says, 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Colossians 1:18-19 says the same thing, Page 5
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, God sovereignly rules within His church. This is a very critical issue and the truths related to this issue need to be fully understood. As previously seen, He rules by His presence (Holy Spirit), His Word, and God-ordained leaders. However, even though He rules through those different vehicles, He is still the Lord of His church. He is the ruler. It is not anyone else, or any group of people who are the ruler. Christ is the ruler, the Living Head of His church. Ephesians 5:23 says very clearly that Christ is head of the church. A pastor s job is not to give personal opinions on spiritual matters. Pastors are not to always be talking about social issues that are not related to the Word of God. Their job is to open up the Word of God and teach in such a way that people can know what the clear will of God is for their life. There are many things that the Bible does not address, and for the most part, neither should pastors be addressing those issues. At best, any conclusions would simply be opinions, presumption, and conjecture. It needs to be appreciated that in addressing the issue of leadership within the church that God is at work in believer s lives. Right now, today, this moment, God is working in His church. Believers may or may not be responding to that work, but God is still working. Hebrews 13:21 says, 20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 5:25-26 gives just one of the ways that He does His work. Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, In Acts 20, it is very clear that when a person shepherds or oversees a church that that person has been given oversight for that ministry. Paul, speaking to the elders at Ephesus in Acts 20:28, says, 28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. God has made a pastor to be an overseer, and they are to shepherd and to lead the church. That is their God-given role as the pastor of a local church. Christ rules the New Testament church through a plurality of leaders, through a plurality of godly men called elders. It is never through just one person, through someone who is a dictator, or heavy handed in their leadership. The goal of any godly leader or any elder within a church is very simple to do what Christ wants them to do and to do what Christ wants the church to do. Leaders should know mostly what it is that they should be doing as a church simply because God has provided clear instruction in His Word. However, at times when Scripture may be silent on a certain issue, then it is up to the elders of that local assembly to discern the mind of God through prayer, discernment, patience, and unanimity. It Page 6
should be understood that in every situation that God only has one will on a matter, and so discerning that will is very important. It is also important to appreciate that a local church rarely, if ever, rises above the spiritual level of its leadership. So, for that simple reason, it behooves any church to make sure that they have good, qualified people in positions of leadership. Leadership has to be a core element of New Testament teaching simply because Matthew 16:18 says that Christ came to earth to build His church. So, we have to recognize the undeniable link that exists between the character of a church and the quality of its leadership. Anyone who is to become a leader within a local church must be first proven. There has to be a period of evaluation, a period of time where a person s character, integrity, gifts, calling, and commitment to the things of God have been attested. There are legitimate qualifications that are listed here in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 and those qualifications have to be confirmed, and that takes time. This is the biblical methodology and it cannot be by-passed without serious repercussions. Baptists are absolutely notorious for violating this mandate. We are a denomination of pastor stealers. We send out pulpit committees to other churches to literally steal their pastors. I almost consider that to be an abomination to God. It is a very broken system and has had disastrous results over the years. The ideal is for godly leaders to be raised up from within their own congregations and for the godly leaders to be men that have been proven over an extended period of time. One of the critical issues that we have to appreciate is that the Lord is the one that establishes leaders in His church. He is the one who separates men for a particular function in the local church. Acts 13:2-4a says, 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, Now, one of the basic tasks of the local church is to teach sound doctrine. It is not for pastors or leaders to just give their opinion or to recite tear-jerking stories or to raise funds or to develop programs and entertainment. In Titus 2:1 Paul wrote these words to Titus to help him understand his God given role as an elder, 1 But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: If churches are going to be protected from false doctrine, then leaders must be faithful to teach sound doctrine. There are a lot of other good things to do, but they are not priorities. As a pastor, as an elder in my church, my first and foremost responsibility is to God for the correctness and the purity of the message that is preached and taught. The primary ministry that God has given to every pastor is to teach sound doctrine. A little later on in this course, we are going to provide us a detailed study for the different words elder, bishop, overseer, shepherd, pastor, and deacon. For instance, the term elder emphasizes a man s title, whereas the term bishop meaning overseer refers to his duty. His responsibility is to Page 7
oversee the flock. The New Testament describes it as a spiritual ministry that is concerned with two things prayer and teaching God s Word. Now, I want to make a statement that I think goes against the grain of conventional teaching within many churches. The elders who provide leadership in the local church are ultimately and primarily responsible to Jesus Christ, and NOT to the congregation. That certainly is not to say that they have no responsibility to the congregation, but rather that their primary responsibility is to the Head of the church. Christ is the Living Head of any church not the pastor, not the elders, and not the congregation. The church is NOT a democracy. The term that the New Testament uses to describe this function is the term rule. 1 Timothy 5:17 says, 17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. The term rule is proistēmi and Strong s Dictionary says that it means to stand before, i.e. (in rank) to preside, or (by implication) to practice, to maintain, to be over, to rule. Vines Dictionary says literally to stand before, hence, to lead, attend to (indicating care and diligence). It means to be a leader, to have authority over, to manage, to care for, and to give help. I Thessalonians 5:12 says, 12 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you. Elders are responsible for making decisions, but ONLY after much prayer and Bible study. They are to find the mind of God and the will of God for their local church. The only thing that is important is that a church does what God wants it to do. It is critical and essential to the life of any New Testament church. However, an elder has to do what 1 Timothy 5:17 says rule well. He has to be faithful, diligent, serious, disciplined, committed, caring, and non-lording over the flock. 1 Peter 5:1-4, Peter speaking to the elders, says, 1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. The moment an elder lords over his flock, the moment he starts to take advantage of the God-given role that is his, the moment that he abuses his calling, at that moment he is disqualified from leading. He has to lead, he has to make difficult decisions, but he is absolutely forbidden to lord over the church. It is not his church. It is God s church, and Christ is the living head not the elders. So, whenever a major decision needs to be made, it needs to be made unanimously by men who have the mind of Christ and are living faithful and obedient lives under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It comes after prayer, after Bible study, and sometimes after fasting. Page 8
So, the over-riding principle is simply that Christ is the LIVING HEAD of His church. Everything builds off of this doctrinal position everything. Everything must, or a church cannot function as a New Testament church. In fact, I am not sure that a church could even be considered a New Testament church if that is not the case. How can a church be considered a legitimate New Testament church when it is not being led by its head? An essential requirement for what I have called God-ordained theocratic leadership within the local church and I know this will sound grossly elementary to you - is that a church leader must be a man, a male. Not everyone is cut out for leadership, and so that is why Paul gives these instructions in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. What he does is to systematically layout the requirements and qualifications that a leader must have. These are not what would be called soft qualifications. They are unchanging qualifications and they are very demanding. The individual must be living a blameless life, be a one woman man, have personal self-control, be sober minded, be of good behavior, be hospitable, be able to teach, does not drink, is not an angry person, not greedy, not covetous, not someone who is prone to arguing, one who rules his family well, not a novice, one who is gentle, and one who has a good testimony. Just for my personal benefit as a pastor, I want to assert that no one individual is perfect. There is no perfect leader. However, having stated that, God-ordained theocratic leaders still must meet these qualifications. A man cannot be a good leader and have bad character flaws in their life. Every leader will fail, but there are some areas in which if they do fail, then they are disqualified from that theocratic position of leadership. They can be forgiven and restored as an individual, but a leader who falls into, let us say, moral failure that man is immediately disqualified from leading, both now and in the future. Disqualification is the price he has to pay for his lack of self-control. We had a pastor in our association who was caught trying to seduce a young lady in his church, and unfortunately this was not the first time this had happened. He is permanently disqualified from leading. 1 Timothy 3:1 begins with these words This is a faithful saying: If a man.. The actual Greek word is tis, and it is an indefinite pronoun; some or any person or object. Both Strong s and Vine s say that the definition could be rendered someone or a certain one. However, in the Greek language it is a masculine singular pronoun, and that is why, along with the fact that the man has to be a one-woman man, and that all of the adjectives in 1 Timothy 3:2-6 are in the masculine form, that it is translated man. God s theocratic leader within the local church has to be a man and is limited to male leadership. Titus 1:5-6ff says the same exact thing. 5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you 6 if a man is blameless. Now, it is important to appreciate that we the modern church is in a major culture shift. With every culture shift, there are inherent major and critical theological issues that are at stake. Churches today are in one of the most complex and challenging cultural contexts ever experienced by the Christian church. We have the same problem that a fish has. A fish has always lived in water, so it does not Page 9
realize that it is wet. Likewise, most Christians never realize that they are in a cultural shift simply because they have always lived in the culture. In America, every day Christians are literally bombarded with cultural messages, advertisements, entertainment, and products - and it is not just an academic issue. It touches every area of life and especially children. In fact, children are the target. They are considered soft targets, gullible, easy to convince, trusting, and generally naïve. To make it worse, there is no place to hide. In fact, the liberal laws are changing so fast that it has become almost impossible to even keep up with them. It just sort of happens, and then the individual finds themself living in a very liberal, ungodly culture that does not want to retain any of their values. I received an e-mail on FOCA the Freedom of Choice Act that is pending in Congress. The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would eliminate every restriction on abortion nationwide. FOCA will do away with state laws on parental involvement, on partial birth abortion, and on all other protections. FOCA will compel taxpayer funding of abortions. FOCA will force faith-based hospitals and healthcare facilities to perform abortions. The United States President believes this legislation will end the abortion wars. To him, "ending the abortion wars" means eradicating every state and federal law on abortion laws that the majority of Americans support. Please recognize the cultural shift that this represents from 40-50 years ago. So, here is the problem. A believer may try to remove themself and their children from the culture, but eventually the culture will find them. The culture is a vast network of institutions, laws, customs, and language that is a part of everyone s life whether they like it or not. Take the Amish in the northern states. The culture has invaded their children, and the kids are leaving in droves. A Christian cannot just be an autonomous individual in a culture that is constantly invading their life. So, here is the problem. The church has an evangelistic commission. Every single person it tries to reach with the gospel is embedded in this culture, and it is antagonistic to the Christian and to their gospel. The culture, for instance, is ready to put the institution of marriage up for demolition and transformation. The culture is ready to use human embryos for medical experimentation. The culture has reached a place where everyone has the right to not be offended, and we are now involved in what is known as hate crimes. Churches will be targeted by homosexuals and lesbians. At some time, once the laws have fully changed, they will invade churches and sue them for hate crimes against them. It is not too far down the road that churches will be required by the government to perform same sex marriages or have their exempt status removed, or even have the pastors thrown in jail. We, the church, are fast becoming the lone, remaining people who know the difference between what is eternal and what is temporal, and between what is right and what is wrong. Now, back to the subject of male leadership in the church, and how the culture affects this position. The following is from a book called Megatrends for Women and a chapter on women in religion. Page 10
Women of the late 20 th century are revolutionizing the most sexist institution in history organized religion. Overturning millennia of tradition, they are challenging authorities, reinterpreting the Bible, creating their own services, and crowding into seminaries, winning the right to ordination, purging sexist language in liturgy, reintegrating female values, and assuming positions of leadership. Well, that is a mouthful to say the least, however that is not all. Here are the statistics reported: March 1993. Women account for 12% of Episcopal priests, Presbyterian ministers, Methodist ministers, and Reform Jewish rabbis. They represent 9% of Baptist pastors. Fully ordained women doubled between 1977 and 1986 to 21,000, and that number is expected to double again sometime in the late 1990 s. They will soon reach 25-30% of the ministerial population. One-third of the 56,000 students in seminaries accredited by the Association of Theological Schools are women, compared with 1/8 th 10 years ago, and almost none 20 years ago. The trends associated with this cultural shift within the at-large church in America is that their theology teaches that God is not male, God does not exist in a Trinitarian form, Jesus was a feminist, and the true history of women have been edited out of the Bible. It is believed that because of this emergent change that women will attain greater power that will signal revolutionary changes in church policies. For years there has been a surge of attempts to purge male terminology out of Bible translations. THE MODERN CHURCH OF OUR DAY AND TIME IS MUCH MORE CULTURAL THAN BIBLICAL. That is exactly why churches and denominations have endorsed all of these seekersensitive churches. It is because they are much more concerned with being culturally relevant than biblically relevant. Do you know what is at stake? It is God s design for the church and it is a design that reflects the principle of authority and submission. We fully recognize that the equality of men and women as believers in Christ, but as stated before, it is critical to embrace the fact that both have different God-ordained roles both in the home and the church. God s design for primary leadership in the local church is men godly men, God-called men who serve as theocratic leaders. That is God s standard, and it will not change. The term in v1-2 for bishop or overseer (based on what translation you are using) refers to men who are called by God to lead His church. Among the responsibility of these leaders is the responsibility of ruling, preaching and teaching. 1 Timothy 5:17 says, 17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. Elders are to pray for the sick James 5:14. They are to care for the church and set an example for people to follow. 1 Peter 5:1-2 says, 1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock Page 11
of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; Leaders are to establish church policy. Acts 15:22ff sets that example where the leaders in what was known as the Jerusalem Council gave these four requirements to the new believers in Acts 15:28-29, 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Obviously there are many other responsibilities that an elder has, but it seems from a careful consideration of all of the New Testament references, that the primary role is provide godly leadership conforming solely to the Word of God, and to guard the church from false teaching. Looking at the church landscape today is frightening to say the least. Churches are not healthy and 80% of them have either plateaued or are declining. Men are leaving the ministry in droves (and many of them should). Certainly, both the character and effectiveness of any church is directly related to the quality of its leadership. So, it is critical to know what God s standards are and then follow them explicitly. Now, the following is a very important element that needs to be clearly seen. When reading the requirements and qualifications for both elders and deacons, what is found is that the qualifications focus on character and not on function. That is because a man is qualified by who he is and not what he does. In fact, if an elder openly sins against the Lord, then he is subject to discipline in front of the whole congregation. 1 Timothy 5:19-20 says, 19 Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. 20 Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. If there is anything that has to be guarded in the life of a local church, it is the integrity of its leadership. A man who does not possess these qualities in 1 Timothy 3 is NOT called into the ministry by God. A seminary can help equip a man for ministry, but only God can call him into the ministry only God. It is not a matter of talent. It is a God given compulsion. Those who God truly calls will meet the qualifications. So, why are the standards so high? It is because whatever the leaders are, the people become. In general, God calls on every believer to have these same qualities in their life. These standards, in one place or another, are equally applied to all believers (male or female) throughout the New Testament. Now, one last thing. It is important that the church affirm a man s qualifications by measuring him against God s standard for leadership as delineated in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. That is why Paul stated in 1 Timothy 5:22 Do not lay hands on anyone hastily. A man must be first tested. 1 Timothy 3:10, speaking of the deacons, says, 10 But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Obviously, if that standard applies to the lesser calling of deacon, then certainly it applies to the higher calling of elder, bishop, overseer, pastor, or shepherd. Page 12
I want to give you what I believe is the model for the leadership of the New Testament church. It is a very simple model, but one that I believe is the Scriptural standard. The church should be pastor led, elder approved, and congregationally accepted. The church is not pastor dominated, not pastor controlled, not pastor dictated, not pastor directed but pastor led. The pastor is to lead in such a manner that the people will want to follow because they trust him. The decisions and direction of the church are to be approved by the elders of the church, the Godordained men who are theocratic leaders. Direction and decisions are to be prayed over and once unanimity has been reached (and only after unanimity has been reached), then those decisions and direction are provided for the church for their input and acceptance. If there are issues within the congregation, then the leadership should take those matters into full consideration and make any necessary adjustments that they believe the Holy Spirit would lead them into. No one person and no one body always has all of the right answers, so the leadership has to be understanding of other concerns. In many churches, the reason that they develop splits and contention and dissension is really very simple. They have individuals who are not walking faithfully, who are not studying the Word, who are not engaged in meaningful prayer, who are not faithful in attendance and personal spiritual preparation, and who are only giving their fleshly and carnal input into something that they have not even sought the mind of God on. To make it worse, there are many churches in which they have a good number of members who are not saved. Many churches are full of unredeemed people who have been made a member of the church, but who give no evidence of salvation in their life. Yet under the democratic form of government within many churches, those individuals have just as much say and input as those believers who are filled with God s spirit and walking in obedience to Him. The church is never presented as a democracy, but as a theocracy in which Christ as the living head of His church is the One who rules. The issue is not that everybody have input in the decision making process. The issue is what is the mind of Christ on an issue and on a decision. Until churches understand that, until they understand that Christ is the Living Head of His church, until they are fully willing to yield themselves to His leading and His direction, the church will never be what God wants it to be as a church NEVER. The church must find the will of Christ for their church and that only comes through committed prayer and Bible study and through leaders and members who are fully committed to the will of God for their church. Now, the following are the definitions of each of the various primary terms used to describe leadership positions within the local church. This allows us to see the nuances of meaning in each as compared to the other - elder, bishop, pastor, overseer, and shepherd. These terms, in most cases, represent the same office. They just have different nuances of meaning. In English we have 5 terms, but in the Greek language there are only three terms. Elder: presbyteros. Literally, it means, an older man, an elder. In the Christian churches it represented those who were raised up and qualified by the work of the Holy Spirit, and were appointed to have the spiritual care and general spiritual oversight over the churches. The term presbuteroi Page 13
speaks of the maturity of their spiritual experience, hence the use of the term elder. The Divine arrangement seen throughout the New Testament was for a plurality of these to be appointed in each church, Acts 14:23; Acts 20:17; Philippians. 1:1; 1 Timothy 5:17; Titus 1:5. 23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. 17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. 5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you They were appointed according as they had given evidence of fulfilling the divine qualifications, Titus 1:6-9, 1 Timothy. 3:1-7; 1 Peter. 5:2. Bishop or Overseer (same Greek word): episkopoi. Literally an overseer (epi, over, skopeō, to look or watch ). This term describes the duty of the elders. Translators have also used the word bishop because in English the word bishop has precisely the same meaning. It is found in Acts 20:28; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1-2; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 2:25. 28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (episkopous), to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops (episkopon) (Overseers) and deacons: 1 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop (overseer) (episkopes), he desires a good work. 2 A bishop (overseer) (episkopon) then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 7 For a bishop (episkopoi) must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quicktempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer (episkopon) of your souls. The term overseers or bishop indicates the nature of their work. I prefer the word overseer, for that was their task to oversee the local assembly. Whenever the singular is used, the passage is always describing what a bishop should be, 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:7. The corresponding verb form of the same word is episkopeō, which in reference to the work of an overseer, is found in 1 Peter 5:1-2, RV, exercising the oversight, AV taking the oversight. 1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock Page 14
of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; So, the term presbyteros, an elder, is simply another term for the same person as a bishop or overseer. He is someone who has the spiritual maturity to oversee God s work in a local church, but always with a plurality of other elders. Pastor and Shepherd (same Greek word): poimēn. A shepherd is one who tends herds or flocks and the term is used of Christian pastors - Ephesians 4:11. 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, As a pastor, I am considered to be an elder, but not a super-elder. I am just one of the elders, but I have a spiritually defined and distinct role as a pastor, as a shepherd. Pastors are to provide spiritual guidance and feed the flock, they are to comfort, to protect, and to correct. A pastor is not a business person, not an entertainer, not a psychologist, not a philosopher, and not a lawyer. In fact, the real measure of a pastor is not how clever or how interesting he might be, but how well he guards the truth. My greatest fear, always, is that I might present the Word of God to my congregation inaccurately. Every pastor has to handle the Word accurately. Both a pastor and the congregation are accountable. Pastors are accountable for how they lead, and the congregation is accountable for how they follow. In 2 Timothy 2 Paul uses 7 different metaphors to describe what is required for biblical leadership. In this passage, he is specifically talking to Timothy, who is the pastor at the church at Ephesus, and he is describing what is required of his ministry. The words that he uses are teacher (v2), soldier (v3), athlete (v5), farmer (v6), a workman (v15), a vessel (v20-21), and a slave or servant (v24). What a pastor does does not have a mantle of status with it. It is not something that is earned, it is not a position given because someone was successful at something. It is not something given because of intelligence or talent. Pastors simply have been called by God and gifted by God for their work. However, there are requirements blameless character, spiritual maturity, and above all, a willingness to serve God and His church humbly. Church leadership is ministry, not management. Pastors are not a governing monarch in a church. Pastors are men who must labor diligently in God s vineyard. It is not enough for any pastor to simply proclaim the Word of God, but he MUST live those truths out in his life. The problem in the ministry is that few seem to excel. Pastoring a church, or being an elder in a church, demands that the individual exemplify sacrifice, devotion, submission, and humility. There has to be integrity at every level. I must say that being the pastor of my church has had great rewards for me personally. I feel loved, appreciated, needed, and trusted. In many of my members, I sense that they have a deep hunger for the things of God to be operating in their life and that means everything to me. I believe that many of them pray for me, and that they care for me. I am honored to be there. I am honored that they come and listen to me week after week. It is an incredible honor that I could Page 15
never describe and I have thanked them from the very depths of my being for the privilege that they have entrusted to me. Now, for obvious reasons, it is very important that each local congregation have a biblical form of church government. The following is a fundamental statement: THE BIBLE IS THE CHURCH S ONLY STANDARD FOR FAITH AND PRACTICE. Unfortunately, the church has drifted from the biblical model of how a church should be organized, thus indicating that the church has basically lost confidence in the sufficiency of Scripture. Now, the organizational structure of a church is a very important issue, but it is NOT the most important issue. The most important issues deal with the deity of Christ, justification by faith alone, the inerrancy of Scripture, and the like. However, the more biblically aligned a church is to the biblical standard for all areas of church life, then the more healthy and vibrant they will be as a church. Any time that a church either ignores or even abandons biblical patterns and principles, then the corresponding impact is that they will reap negative consequences. A church should not expect that they can be unbiblical in their practice, but reap maximum biblical benefits. They just need to be as properly aligned with Scripture as possible. There are several specific issues. First is the different forms of church government, and secondly there is the issue of authority who has authority with the local church. The two subjects cannot be divorced from one another. There are four major forms or styles of church government. Each has its own complexities, but we want to try and provide a very simplified overview beginning with the most complex and progressing to the simplest. EPISCOPAL: This form of church government is hierarchical autocratic. I.e., it has a very defined chain of command or levels of authority, and those within that chain of command have distinct levels of power and authority to make decisions for the whole. This form of government is practiced by Episcopalians, Methodists, Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and some Lutheran churches. All of these denominations believe that authority resides in the office of the bishop, or the term we studied call episkopos (the Greek word for bishop or overseer). This bishop has authority over the local officials of a church. He both ordains and appoints the leaders within local churches, called priests and rectors, and is normally responsible for a number of local churches called a diocese. Ultimately, this form of church government believes that these men are successors to the apostles (apostolic succession). The Methodists have the most simplified form of this government and the Roman Catholics have the most complex (pope, bishops, archbishops, etc.). The authority of the church rests with the bishops. PRESBYTERIAN: This form of church government is basically hierarchical, (i.e., it has various levels of authority above the local church normally called a session, a presbytery, a synod, or a General Assembly) and is primarily practiced by Presbyterians and other reformed denominations. The word Presbyterian comes from the Greek word we studied called presbuteros which means elder. In the local church, there is only one level of local leadership, the elder. The church is led by a group of elders known as the session. So, in this form of government, the elders (who are elected or appointed) have the authority in the church as representatives of the congregation. According to this Page 16