NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH LEADERSHIP PART 1

NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH LEADERSHIP PART 1 Acts 20:17-38 April 13, 2008 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction A man was stranded on a tropical island for 10 years when he was finally spotted and a rescue team arrived. They found a weathered, thin man and three small buildings made of sticks and palm branches. One of his rescuers asked him what the buildings were. He said, “Well, that one on the left there is my house. And the one on the right is the church I go to.” “Fascinating,” the other man said, “But what is the third building, the one in the middle?” “Oh, that’s the church I used to go to.” I’ve been doing a good deal of reading on the subject of the church lately, and have become convinced more than ever that a key ingredient for healthy congregations is leadership. Not leadership as defined by the world—strong-willed, forceful, good salesmanship, forward-thinking, kinds of leaders who strategize, manipulate, use people and grow their organizations, making a name for themselves. Not that kind of leader. The kind of leadership Jesus called for—more than that—insisted on is the kind that serves, centers on God’s will and puts people and the will of God in their lives first. It strikes me that the kind of leaders Christ is wanting to raise are not high-profile, media-famous evangelical heroes, but regular people who genuinely love Him and His purposes in their world. Real people in Fairview Heights, mainland China, Argentina, Zimbabwe, Uzbekistan, New Zealand and East St. Louis who love Jesus and are so grateful for His grace in their lives that they are committed to serving Him. These kinds of people, who will likely never get their names in the headlines are faithfully growing in their faith and sharing their faith with others, and the kingdom of God is, just as Jesus promised, spreading like leaven in a loaf. And do you know where these kingdom heroes are getting their motivation? Do you know where they go for strength and encouragement? Do you know how they maintain spiritual health and vitality? They are part of one of the millions of neighborhood churches, where they study the Word of God, pray with and for other sojourners, contribute to God’s missional work, and grow deep in their faith. What are the ingredients for that kind of sustaining spiritual health? What exactly does Joe Believer, who is hungry to grow and serve His Lord, find at the local watering hole we call church? He finds other believers with similar struggles and victories, he finds a stable place of faith and vision, and most importantly he finds a few seasoned, strong, mature leaders who are willing to take the time to disciple him. And there is the kernel of what makes the New Testament Church work: Leadership. That is how Christ leads His church: through godly leaders who have prayed and served and suffered and failed and got back up and hung in there, clinging to God’s Word and His Spirit. Leaders who’ve learned a few lessons along the way and are ready and able to lead others along the same path. Today and next Sunday I want to celebrate church leaders—and in particular, elders. Christ leads His church through His Word. That is why He spoke the word through His apostles and prophets, that ultimately that Word would become the foundation of His beloved church. Any church that tries to build on anything but the solid Word of God revealed in the Scriptures does not have a solid foundation. That Word and its transmission is so important, yet God chose to deliver it through people. Central to His plan were leaders who know the Word well and can communicate it effectively. That’s why Paul insisted to Titus that elders must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. (Titus 1:9) He told Timothy: these things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2) He has given His Word to His church for her leaders to teach. But He has also given His Holy Spirit, the very life of God to each believer and to the corporate church to lead them into all truth. The Spirit bears witness to the Word and convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment, and He does so especially as He fills and leads mature leaders who train others in the things of God. They are the leaders who will not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is… who will be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:17-18), who will teach and admonish in all wisdom with the goal of presenting everyone perfect in Christ. (Colossians 1:28) He has given His church the Word and the Spirit, but He has also given her leaders who will rightly handle the Word of Truth and who will make sure that the spirit the church is filled with is the HOLY Spirit. God gave the church elders. I want us to get acquainted with these men because it is important to know who your local church leaders are. If you’ll turn to Acts 20, I’d like to confuse you just a bit on the way to making something clear. We will begin reading at verse 17, where we find the apostle Paul making his way back to Jerusalem. Here he stops for what he feels is a very critical visit with the church leaders at Ephesus—one of the churches he established on his missionary journey. READ ACTS 20:17-38. For the rest of this morning’s teaching we will focus primarily on verse 28. There in that single verse we have a synopsis of biblical church leadership—three different terms referring to these church leaders who gathered with Paul. The first term we are considering is Pastor. That’s what you call me, and appropriately so, because that is what I am uniquely called to. The Greek word is POIMEN, or “shepherd.” Secondly, there is the title “Presbyter,” from the Greek word PRESBUTEROS or “elder.” This biblical word has two applications: one is in reference to “older men” who have wisdom gained from life’s experiences. Culturally, they were the men with the white hair on their chin. But the word specifically refers to the men who direct the affairs of the church. This is the term used in the 17th verse of our text when it says that Paul sent for the elders of the church. This word is a bit slippery in another sense. And that is that it is used also of the wider group of church leaders, including the pastor and the bishop, which we look at now. The term “Bishop” is taken from the Greek word, EPISKOPOS. You probably recognize the modern equivalent, “presbyterian, that identifies one denomination that adopted the name because of their stress on the leadership of “bishops” in the church. You need to know that all three terms are used in the 20th chapter of Acts almost interchangeably to refer to the leaders of the church. That’s the confusing part. There are three different appellations, but one group. I want you to think of Kleenex, Coke and Pampers. They refer to specific brands of items, but each of those words has taken on a universal application. If you’re ready to sneeze because of allergens, you reach for a …Kleenex. Actually, a tissue but Kleenex is the first word that jumps to mind. ‘Want a dark cola? Just ask for a “Coke” and you may end up with a Pepsi. Those plastic and paper lifesavers we know as disposable diapers that moms strap onto their babies? Could be any brand, but for convenience, we just say “Pampers,” right? So, the “elders” of the church mix up the brands of particular giftings and callings. Let’s look a little more closely and see if we can differentiate them a little. But be careful, because the terms are, biblically speaking, interchangeable. Not only here in Acts 20, but also in 1 Peter 5:1-4. There again, all three words are used to refer to the same group. But why three different words? I don’t know, but most scholars agree that the Holy Spirit was trying to preserve the nuance of calling of the three kinds of gifts you find among the elders of the church. So what are New Testament elders, these God-appointed spiritual leaders of the church? Verse 28 says, “Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood.” This is Paul’s impassioned plea, emphasizing how important it is that these men carry on the teaching he began among them. And he is particularly strong about their protecting the church against the false teachers he says are coming and, in fact, will come even from among them! We are given a very clear picture of the “feed-lead-and-protect” job description of elders. Think of it this way: how many errant teachers and cult leaders could have been stopped in their destructive tracks if a few godly leaders would have confronted them with clear doctrine and strong opposition? POIMEN is the same word the Bible uses for the person who keeps sheep. The shepherd is the one who guards and protects his sheep. He provides for them, leading them to food and water. He defends them against wolves and other predators. What a fitting image for a spiritual leader. It is the God-given role of the elder-pastor to teach sound, balanced truth from God’s Word and to stand up to those who introduce error. When the wolves circle the flock, the shepherds don’t just sit and watch—they diligently and valiantly fight them off. The devil is always looking for ways to subtly introduce sub-Christian doctrine. He is also quite adept at creating disunity in church congregations. When a person signs on to disunity he has aligned himself with Satan, and for his sake, and the sake of the flock, he must be corrected and if that doesn’t work, disciplined. For that task it takes a strong, confident believer with a good handle on the truths of God’s Word, and a mature balance of truth and love to deal with the situation. At Joyce Guin’s memorial service on Thursday we read from the twenty-third Psalm where God reveals Himself as the shepherd of His people. Jesus said, “I am the good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep.” [webmasters note: John 10:14-15] When Jesus commissioned Peter He told him to feed His sheep. [webmasters note: John 21:17] Years later Peter would write to the church leaders and say, To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder…Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers… [webmasters note: 1 Peter 5:1-2] It was important to God that the leaders of His church would be most identifiable as shepherds—those who care for the members of the church. They are charged with feeding, leading and protecting them. They feed the church with the Word of God, not just in sermonizing, but in the quiet counsel of those who are hurting and need wisdom and prayer—someone who will listen to them and help them pastorally through the seasons of their growth. Elders are called to instruct in the truths of God’s Word, to counsel the church with wisdom, to declare the whole counsel of God so the sheep can be healthy, mature ad ready to lead others. PRESBUTEROS – “presbyters” are elders who take care of the life and ministry of the church family from the perspective of wisdom. This is the responsibility of the eldership at large, but some elders just have a wisdom about them that is so necessary to the elders’ group. Joe Kniepman was that kind of an elder. He had this spiritually trained sixth sense about him that came in very handy at times. He was also quite capable of discerning good and not-so-good. Presbyter or “elder” is the word most commonly used to refer to the wider body of leaders, including the pastor and the bishop, which we will look at now. Brent filled this role very well. More often than I can count were the times when following a season of prayer, he would say, “Now, wait a minute. I think we may be missing something.” The third title is EPISKOPOS, the bishop. This particular calling has to do with giving oversight: epi – “over” and skopos – “to see or look”. That is the word used in verse 28 when it says, Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. It is also the word used in 1 Timothy 3 where Paul tells Timothy, If anyone has his heart set on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. (3:1) He then follows up with a list of character and service requirements that qualify a man for the role of elder. Billy Mathews is the very definition of an overseer. I marvel often at his ability to size up a situation, bring a spiritual principle to bear on it, and almost immediately suggest a good course of action. What a blessing to have a man like that alongside me! We often assume that the “pastor” of the church is the one—perhaps even the ONLY one—who does this. But that is simply not so. The New Testament always pictures the elders of the church collectively as teachers, mentors, counselors and servants of God’s people. And it is always in a plurality. That is, the church is always seen as having not one elder or pastor, but more than one. As a church we currently have only two. Four years ago Joe Kniepman went to be with the Lord. I still miss him and his godly wisdom. Three years ago, Brent Gregory was called to the mission field of Brazil, where our short-term team is meeting with him and his family right now. I miss him deeply, as well. But it was the Lord’s will to let him go, though the Gregory’s are every bit a part of our church family as they were. Billy Mathews, whom I love deeply (better, I cherish), serves alongside me as an elder of this congregation. He is a man with a huge heart for God and His Word, who loves God’s flock in this place and has on hundreds of occasions proven that with his caring ministry, his wise counsel and insightful administrative skills. These men have ”pastored” this flock, including me and my family. I thank God for each of them. Billy and I agree that the Lord seems to be raising up new elders among us as well. For that I am grateful. Titus 1:7 teaches that an overseer is entrusted with God’s work. As such it demands that that man be mature, trustworthy and of godly character. These characteristics are laid out in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. What is important to see, I think, is the BLEND of these three ministry nuances. In some senses, all the elders pastor the church, teaching and encouraging. Each of them is called upon to share godly wisdom in personal and corporate matters. And all of them have a part in the spiritual direction/guidance of the church. I’d like to make a couple of comments about my unique leader- ship role. If all the elders do these things, why am I singled out as “the pastor” at MECF, serving in a paid position? Very simply, it is that I fit a very peculiar niche. My unique gift mix is the same as referenced in Ephesians 4:11 as the “pastor-teacher.”   Those two gifts are sort of “hyphenated” and often show up in the same person as twin giftings. That gift appears there in the list of “equipping gifts,” and also over in 1 Timothy 5:17. There Paul teaches that certain men who have this gift-blend are to be set apart in a special way. The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain…” It appears that when an elder who preaches and teaches gets busy enough with effective ministry that it begins to take away from his other work of earning a living, the church should take on the subsistence of that elder by replacing what he would have earned at another career, so that he can be free to serve that ministry on a full-time basis. So, though I am not “hired” by the church in the classic sense, I am remunerated so that I can do the discipling, teaching and preaching (as well as the time-consuming study that requires) without the interruption of working elsewhere. So, in one sense, I am an elder at MECF; in another, both the community and the congregation see me as “the pastor” of the church. I am comfortable with that arrangement, and very grateful for it. I am so certain that this is my calling, this “pastor-teacher” role. And I am blessed to be able to do what I love to do on a full-time basis. I want to deal with this topic of eldership in more detail next Sunday.     [Back to Top]