Elders of the Church

Last week we consider the Church of Jesus Christ as a whole. We observed that the church belongs to Christ, submits to His Word, governs herself, is local, involves baptized believers who covenant together.

Our statement of Faith, the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 discusses two scriptural offices. That is to say, there are, from God’s Word to which we claim to submit, require two offices in the church: the elders and deacons.

What are elders? How does one become an elder? What role do they play in the Church? How do elders and deacons relate?

These are important questions that we will begin to answer this morning. But I ask them, and hope to begin to answer them, for two reasons.

First, eldership in the church matters because God’s Word matters. If the Church belongs to Christ, and the church is to submit to His Word, then the church must employ elders.

Our church, then, if we are to claim the name Church which includes submission to God’s Word should have elders, a goal that I prayerfully hope we will in the future.

Second, and second to the first, eldership matters because that is how God designed His church to grow. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:11–14 “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”

I want our church to be spiritually healthy, as I am sure you do as well. To do that, God’s Word teaches us that God has given His Church elders.

We will consider a general overview of the elders, their qualifications for serving as elders, the responsibility of elders, and their relationship to the deacons.

Our church will glorify God and enjoy rich growth when we follow His teachings on eldership.

I. The Elders and the Church- Eph. 4:11–14; 1 Pet. 5:1–4

Our first question is, What are elders?

We learn in Ephesians chapter 4 that Christ has gifted His Church many blessings: the apostles and prophets, evangelists, shepherd-teachers.

A. Elders are a gift for the spiritual health of the Church- Eph. 4:11–14

The apostles, prophets, and evangelists served for the period of the establishment of the church (see the book of Acts). Now that the church has been established, the work of ministry comes through the shepherd-teacher, the elder, the bishop (terms used interchangeably).

B. Elders are always plural- Eph. 4:11; 1 Pet. 5:1; Acts 20:17

Elders are given by God for the health of the church. Each church enjoys having elders, plural, as we see in the New Testament.

I have taken the deacons through a discussion on eldership, and I am currently working with a group of guys here in our church that I believe are already qualified or will be in the future.

The Church at Ephesus serves as a representative example of the whole. Paul calls the elders plural of the church, singular.

Murray Capill discusses the importance of a plurality of elders in the church,

“The church’s mission is a shared responsibility. The beauty of this is that church health does not rest on one person.” Murray Capill, The Elder-Lead Church, 45

We could go on about the biblical data, but we need to move on to the question, “How does one become an elder?”

II. The Qualifications of the Elders- 1 Tim. 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9

How does one become an elder?

As the Church was being established in the book of Acts, the apostles and their evangelists appointed elders (cf. Acts 14:23 cf Titus 1:5).

However, as the church was established, Paul gives qualifications in our two passages. Whereas the character quality is emphasized in 1 Timothy chapter 3, the doctrinal purity is the focus of Titus chapter 1.

Jeramie Rinne, in his book Church Elders: How to Shepherd God’s People Like Jesus, he summarizes these two passages with the following,

“You know you’re qualified to serve as an elder if…

You want to be an elder

You exemplify godly character

You can teach the Bible

You lead your family well

You are male

You are an established believer” Jeramie Rinne, Church Elders, 19–29

Before we move to their responsibility, let me make one more comment. This does not mean that every elder in a church will be paid. In fact, most elders in elder-led churches are not paid, they are volunteers. The three men I mentioned before will probably never receive financial reimbursement for their labor in prayer and the Word, should our church submit to Christ and His Word.

We have asked and answered, What are elders? How does one become an elder? We have two questions left.

What role do they play in the Church? How do elders and deacons relate?

III. The Responsibility of the Elders- Eph. 4:11–14; 1 Tim. 3:1; Titus 1:9; 1 Pet. 5:1–4; Heb. 13:7, 17

We have discussed several passages of Scripture, but to summarize the work of an elder, I think the Second London Confession of Faith is helpful,

“The work of pastors being constantly to attend the service of Christ, in His churches, in the ministry of the Word and prayer, with watching for their souls, as they must give an account.” Second London Confession, 26.10

Pastors, or elders, are responsible for governing and teaching. They oversee the church, and they shepherd the church.

Elders oversee the teaching of the church, both direct teaching by the elders in public and private, and indirect teaching by Sunday school teachers, children’s worker, etc.

What elders at WCBC does not mean:

It does not mean that a small group of men will dominate every aspect of life in our church

It does not mean that we will have multiple pastors on paid staff

What elders at WCBC does mean:

Having Spirit-gifted, theologically-wise and biblically-sound men to shepherd the church together

Having a variety of perspectives and ideas to shepherd the church together

Avoiding a one-man show or an over-bearing pastor

Providing multiple shepherds to counsel, pray, and teach the church together

Providing longevity to both the paid pastor and lay elders, giving stability for the church for years to come

Having men gifted and skilled in the Word to shepherd in times of sickness, crisis, and other challenges

Having access to men of different personalities to receive pastoral counsel, encouragement, and challenges

Being obedient to the Word of God, trusting that, despite the challenges of implementing eldership, God will bless and build up His church for His glory and our good

I pray for you all, and work to present the Word to your hearts and minds, and one day in the future, I hope to be joined by several more men.

Our last question is, How do elders and deacons relate?

IV. The Helper of Elders Acts 6:1–7; 1 Timothy 3:8–13

For some reason, although historically baptist churches embraced the elder-led, deacon- served, congregational-rule, a shift has occured. Deacons have replaced the elders, and a single pastor is given the charge of the church.

Since we have already established God’s teaching on the elders, we will focus our attention on how they work together to serve the Church.

Deacons serve the church, practically speaking. The elders focus on the general oversight and spiritual wellness, the deacons address the many and varied physical needs of the church.

We have a concrete example of this in Acts chapter 6, where the Hellenistic (Greek) widows were not being served. The problem threatened the unity of the church, and it also negatively impacted the elders’ ability (and God-given requirement) to minister to the Church.

The solution was men gifted, called, and approved by the church to serve both the Jewish and the Grecian widows.

We will see the congregational responsibilities, if the Lord wills, in two weeks. However, we see that the deacons take care of the physical needs of the Church in order that the elders make address the spiritual needs.

What was the result?

Acts 6:7 “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”

We have set out to ask and answer four questions. Our gracious Lord has given us the broad answers to be applied to our unique church.

There is one more question, a question that is yet to be answered: will Warrior Creek, the church that belongs to the Lord Jesus and has, historically speaking, submitted to His Word, follow God’s teachings regarding the leadership of the church?

Our church will glorify God and enjoy rich growth when we follow His teachings on eldership.