Elders in relation to the Church

Elders and Staff

Not all staff are elders and not all elders are staff

Pastors/Elders and Deacons

Differences

Roles:

Servants of tables

Servants of the Word

Elders are “deacons” of preaching and prayer.

1 Timothy 3:1–7 AV 1873

This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Deacons are “deacons” of the practical and physical

I Tim. 3:8-

1 Timothy 3:8–13 AV 1873

Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

The deacons, therefore, should not act as a separate power bloc or second house of legislature through which bills need to be passed. If the elders say, “Let’s drive to Pittsburgh,” it’s not up to the deacons to come back and say, “No, let’s drive to Philadelphia instead.” They can legitimately come back and say, “Our engine won’t get us to to Pittsburgh. Perhaps we should reconsider.” That’s very helpful. But in general their job is to support the destination set by the pastor/elders.

Relationship of the Elders and “the Pastor”

Senior Pastor in the Bible?

To some degree we should be looking at common sense. Scriptural discernment illustrates that there is a specific role among a group of elders for one to be a lead public teacher/leader.

Some elder-types moved from place to place (Timothy & Titus), while some didn’t. So Timothy came from outside, while others were appointed within his local congregation.

1. Some elder-types moved from place to place (Timothy & Titus), while some didn’t. So Timothy came from outside, while others were appointed within his local congregation.

Some

Some elders were supported full-time by the flock (see ; ), while others worked at another job. It seems unlikely that everyone Titus appointed for the churches in Crete could have been paid full-time.

Some

Some

Paul wrote to Timothy alone with instructions for the church, even tough we know from Acts that there were other elders in the Ephesian Church. Timothy seems to have possessed a unique function among them.

Finally, the letters of Jesus to the seven churches in and 3 are addressed to the messenger (singular) of each of these churches.

These are an example of church practice, where the lead pastor is set aside and supported. This helps him faithfully teach and affords him the authority “first among equals.” This would allow him to set direction for the ministry and the roles of other elders, deacons and the congregation.

The Lead pastor is fundamentally one of the elders. All of them have Holy Spirit assigned oversight, such that he possesses only one vote along with each of them.

Such plurality makes leadership more rooted and permanent and allows for continuity in leadership when the senior pastor departs. It encourages the church to take more responsibility for raising up its own members and helps make the church less dependent on its employees. In essence the plurality model, calls for discipling and raising leaders.

Congregationalism