Eldership at Gateway Community Church
Written by Don Cranford
Saturday, 08 November 2008 19:23
Introduction
As we look at appointing new elders at Gateway, we thought it would be helpful to look at a few questions you might have. What exactly is an elder? How are they structured? What do they do? In this article, we will look briefly at addressing those questions. If you want to do further reading, see the book list at the end.
What is an elder?
To understand what an elder is, we must look to the New Testament example as well as address misconceptions.
In the New Testament, a number of different terms are used interchangeably to refer to elders including “pastor”, “overseer”, “shepherd”, and, of course, “elder”. Each of these terms is used to refer to the same office within the church. In 1 Peter 5:1-2, the Apostle Peter exhorted the elders to “shepherd [pastor] the flock of God.” In Acts 20:28, the Apostle Paul told the elders to keep watch over the flock and to be shepherds of the church of God.
Often times, when people think of elders, they think of them as advisers to the pastor, financial administrators, a business committee, or policymakers. But this is not the Biblical concept of elders. The Biblical concept is one of pastor or shepherd, a steward of God’s work (Titus 1:7). While elders are called to lead the church and will make business and policy decisions in that process, eldership is first and foremost a spiritual role within the church.
While the terms “overseer” and “shepherd” certainly show the supervisory function of elders, we must keep in mind that Jesus Christ is the Chief Shepherd and the church belongs to Christ and not to the elders. The elders are merely under-shepherds to the Chief Shepherd.
How are the elders structured?
The New Testament pattern shows that local church leadership consists of elders and deacons. The elders are to direct the affairs of the church and the deacons are elder helpers with the primary purpose of serving the body of Christ (Acts 6:1-4).
Shared Leadership and the Plurality of Elders
The New Testament pattern was that each church had multiple elders. In Acts 14:23, Paul and Barnabas appointed elders (plural) in each church (singular). In Acts 20:17, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders (plural) of the church (singular). James wrote that anyone who is sick should call the elders (plural) of the church (singular) to pray over him and anoint him with oil. The New Testament always speaks of the oversight of the church in the plural rather than in the singular.
Equality and Diversity
All elders equally share authority within the church and responsibility for the church. This does not mean that all elders have the same gifts or serve the same function or even have the same spiritual influence. God provides a mix of gifts within the eldership, which better serves for the edification and leadership of the church.
Benefits of Shared Leadership
Having a council of elders, with equal authority and responsibility, has many benefits. For example, individual weaknesses are balanced by the strength of others when a plurality of elders works to complement one another. One elder may be strong at preaching and teaching, while another maybe more administratively gifted, and another may have stronger gifts in mercy and compassion.
The plurality of elders also helps to lighten the load. By having a shared leadership, one person does not have to bear all of the weight of leadership. The elders can strengthen one another (Eccl. 4:9-12) as well as provide mutual encouragement.
The plurality of elders also provides greater accountability. We are all ultimately accountable to God. And as believers, we are accountable to one another. As leaders, elders must recognize that they are still sinners and can tend to go astray. By submitting to one another, elders provide checks and balances to each other as well as protecting each other against their own weaknesses and faults.
At Gateway
Per our Constitution, Gateway has a minimum of 3 active elders and a maximum of 15 active elders. At least two-thirds of the active elders must be church members not in the “regular pay of the Church.” The Senior Pastor automatically serves as an elder and the remaining elders are nominated by the current elders and confirmed by the church.
What do elders do?
Elders are given specific responsibilities within the New Testament. We see these both in direct exhortations to the elders as well as the in the qualifications required for becoming an elder.
1. Teaching Biblical Truth… Feeding the Flock
The role of teaching within the church is one of the elders’ foundational responsibilities. In the Great Commission (Matthew 28), Christ told the disciples to first make disciples (28:19) and then to build up these disciples by “teaching them to obey everything” that Christ had commanded them.
When writing to Timothy, Paul noted that one of the important qualifications for eldership was the ability to teach (1 Timothy 3:2). Paul told Titus that he “must hold firmly to the message as it was taught so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine…” (Titus 1:9).
2. Modeling Christ-like Behavior
When writing to the Thessalonians, Paul emphasized two dimensions to his ministry to them. First, he modeled the behavior and reminded them of how he, Silas and Timothy and lived and worked among them (1 Thessalonians 2:10). He then encouraged them to follow their example. When writing to Timothy, he exhorted him to “set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).
3. Maintaining Doctrinal Purity & Protecting the Flock
Throughout the history of the church there have been those that would try to pull believers and the church away from truth. As shepherds protect the flock, so Paul admonished the Ephesian elders to watch over and guard the church. In Acts 20:29-31, Paul alerted the Ephesian elders that “savage wolves” would try to come in and harm the church and that even men from within their church would “arise and distort the truth in order to draw disciples away after them.” So Paul warned them to be on their guard.
When giving instructions to Titus regarding appointing elders, Paul told Titus that the elders he appointed must be able to “encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (Titus 1:9) and that false teachers “must be silenced, because they ruin whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach” (Titus 1:11).
4. Disciplining Unruly Believers
In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul told the believers “to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you” (1 Thessalonians 5:12). In Galatians 6:1, Paul instructs spiritual leaders (“those who are spiritual among you”) to restore those who are caught in sin. While those “who are spiritual among you” certainly isn’t limited to elders, the spiritual leadership of the church certainly must have been uppermost in his mind and would have been a part of his charge to elders in leading the church.
5. Overseeing Financial Matters
In Acts 11:30, we see that the first mention of elders’ responsibilities was to distribute the offering from the church in Antioch sent to the church in Jerusalem. Luke (the author of Acts) does not give specific details as to how the elders administered the funds. But the fact that the elders received the funds on the church’s behalf indicates that they were the church’s official representatives and responsible for administering the funds.
6. Praying for the Sick
According to James, believers who are sick are to call upon the elders (plural) to pray over them and anoint them with oil (James 5:13-15). James specified the elders, not because they have specific gifts of healing, but because they are the official representatives of the church who are responsible for shepherding the church.
7. Providing Counsel and Resolving Conflict
In Acts 21:18-25, we see that Paul went to James and the elders at Jerusalem and gave a report on what God had been doing among the Gentiles. James and the elders were under heavy pressure from both believing and non-believing Jews about fraternizing with the Gentiles and perceived threats to the Mosaic Law. There were those who were against Paul and were spreading rumors that Paul was teaching Jewish Christians not to circumcise their children and to forsake the Law of Moses. These were distortions of Paul’s actual teachings. The elders had to help to resolve this conflict in a way that would protect Paul, the Gentile mission, and the church at Jerusalem. So, they devised a plan whereby Paul could publicly disavow the false rumors and still protect the Gentile mission and the Jerusalem church.
Conclusion
Elders play an important part in leading and shepherding the local congregation. While it is an important role, it is equally important to recognize that we are all on equal footing before the cross of Jesus Christ and are all a part of the body of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-27). We are brothers and sisters working together in God’s Kingdom, encouraging one another in Christ, and building and edifying the body of Christ.
References
Biblical References
Plurality of Leadership
- Acts 14:23; 20:17, 28
- Philippians 1:1
- Titus 1:5
- James 5:14
- 1 Timothy 5:17
- 1 Peter 1:1; 5:1
Functions of Elders
Teaching
- Matthew 20:19-20
- 1 Timothy 3:2
- 1 Timothy 4:13
- Titus 1:9
Setting an Example
- 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12
- 1 Timothy 4:12
Maintaining Doctrinal Purity
- Acts 20:30-31
- 2 Timothy 2:23-26
- Titus 1:9; 1:11; 3:9-11
Disciplining Unruly Believers
- 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13
- 1 Corinthians 4:14
Overseeing Financial Matters
- Acts 11:30
Praying for the Sick
- James 5:13-16
Providing Counsel and Resolving Conflict
- Acts 21:18-25
For Further Reading
To explore these ideas further, here is some suggested reading:
- Alexander Strauch, Biblical Eldership: an urgent call to restore biblical church leadership, Lewis and Roth Publishers, 1995.
- Gene A. Getz, Elders and Leaders: God’s plan for leading the church, Moody Publishers, 2003
- William J. Knaub, Biblical Leadership and the New Covenant Priesthood, http://www.batteredsheep.com/leadership.html
- Gateway Community Church Constitution and Bylaws