Biblical Church Leadership

NOTE:

This is a manuscript, and not a transcript of this message. The actual presentation of the message differed from the manuscript through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is possible, and even likely that there is material in this manuscript that was not included in the live presentation and that there was additional material in the live presentation that is not included in this manuscript.

Engagement

This morning we’ll be having our church’s annual meeting right after the worship gathering. For many of you, this is nothing new since you’ve been a part of these meetings for many years. For others, you might be wondering why we have such a meeting every year and what its purpose is. And that’s a fair question.

Tension

One of the questions that often comes up when it comes to a congregation meeting like this is how this process aligns with the Biblical model of church leadership. So this morning I’d like for us to study together the Biblical model of church leadership and talk about how we apply those principles right here at TFC. Although we cover our leadership structure in our new members’ class and we occasionally talk about it from time to time, the last time I preached on this topic was nearly nine years ago, so it’s probably good for us to take a look at it again this morning.

Truth

Unfortunately we don’t just have one place we can go in the Bible where all the principles for Biblical leadership are grouped together, so we’re going to be jumping around in the New Testament this morning.

In particular we’re going to focus on two different leadership roles in the New Testament church - elders and deacons. We see both roles mentioned in Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi:

Philippians 1:1 ESV

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

We’ll begin with...

ELDERS

One of the most important keys to understanding how the New Testament church is to be led is to be aware that...

The New Testament uses three different words to describe the same leadership role:

I am convinced that the failure to understand this principle is responsible for the development of all kinds of unbiblical models of church leadership throughout history. And to comprehend this idea fully, we’re going to have to take a look at three different Greek words that are used to describe the role of an elder.

“presbuteros” = elder

This Greek word is used 67 times in the New Testament. It literally refers to one who is older than another. So in the New Testament it often merely describes one who is chronologically older than another. It is also used frequently, especially in the gospels, to refer to the Jewish religious leaders.

But it is also used to refer to church leaders. As you will see this morning, when it is used in that sense, the New Testament writers are emphasizing the spiritual maturity of these leaders. It is also important to note that when referring to church leaders, it is always plural, indicating that church leadership is to be a team effort and not a dictatorship.

“episkopos” = overseer or bishop

This term is used 5 times in the New Testament. And perhaps the best way to understand what it means is to see how Peter uses that term to refer to Jesus.

1 Peter 2:25 ESV

For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

The word literally means “to look at something intensely”. In the ancient Greek world it was used to describe a general making a detailed inspection of his troops. But it also came to have a figurative meaning of “accepting responsibility for the care of someone”. And certainly all those aspects of the word apply to what Jesus does in our lives.

The other 4 uses of this Greek word all refer to leaders in the church. In most translations, including the ESV, it is rendered “overseer”. But in 3 of those 4 uses, the KJV renders it “bishop”, most likely using a term that was well known at the time that translation was completed because it referred to a particular office within the Church of England. In the Church of England the position of a bishop had evolved over time into that of a “supervisor” of a group of churches under their authority. Unfortunately, that particular translation is still used today to justify similar positions among a number of denominations even though, as we’ll see more fully as we proceed this morning, that kind of position and structure is clearly not Scriptural.

“poimen” = pastor or shepherd

This word is used 18 times in the New Testament and in every case it is rendered “shepherd” except in Ephesians 4:11, where most translations render it “pastor”. I guess that is appropriate given that our English word “pastor” comes from the Latin word for “shepherd”. However the ESV keeps it consistent with the other 17 times it is used and renders it “shepherd”.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers…

Ephesians 4:11 (ESV)

The ESV does contain a footnote that reads “or pastors”

Although we use the term “pastor” today as a title, Biblically it is certainly more of a description of the role of an elder or overseer than a title.

There are a number of places in the New Testament where all three terms are used together in a manner that makes it clear that they all refer to the same leadership position. We’ll look at just a couple of them.

Acts 20 describes Paul’s meeting with the elders of the church in Ephesus and we find all three terms used in that chapter:

Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders [presbuteros] of the church to come to him...

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers [episkopos], to care for [verb form of poimen] the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

Acts 20:17, 28 (ESV)

The role of the elders in the church in Ephesus was to oversee the church and care for the spiritual needs of the people.

We see a similar use of all three terms in 1 Peter:

So I exhort the elders [presbuteros]among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd [verb form of poimen] the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight [verb form of episkopos] , not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;

1 Peter 5:1-2 ESV)

As Peter addresses the elders here, he reminds them of their roles as shepherds and overseers of the flock, in a manner very similar to the way Paul addressed the elders in Ephesus.

IMPLICATIONS FOR BIBLICAL CHURCH LEADERSHIP

Pastoral oversight of the church is to be a team effort

There are a number of different church leadership structures that exist today. Many of them are top-down authoritative models similar to what one might find in a business organization that has a board of directors which sets policies and overall direction for the business and then a Chief Executive Officer who is responsible for carrying out the wishes of the board, usually through numerous levels of management. In that kind of structure there is a clear distinction between “clergy” – those who govern the church - and “laity” – those who are subject to the governing authority of the “clergy”. But not only are the terms “clergy” and “laity” never used in the Bible, that entire concept is never seen in Scripture.

Although Paul was instrumental in planting many churches, especially among the Gentiles in Asia Minor, we find that one of the most important parts of his ministry was to develop teams of leaders in those local churches. In Acts 14 we read the account of how Paul and Barnabas ministered among the churches in Derbe, Iconium, Lystra, and Anitoch. At the end of the account, we see that Paul and Barnabas appointed a group of elders in each of those churches:

Acts 14:23 ESV

And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Paul’s consistent practice was to develop a group of elders to lead each local church. There is absolutely no evidence that there was just a single authoritative leader in any of these congregations. That is confirmed by the fact that Paul always refers to “elders” (plural) and never to “an elder” (singular). The clear evidence of Scripture is that in the early church, local bodies were governed by a team of elders.

However...

The concept of shared leadership allows for a “first among equals”

This is a concept that we find demonstrated throughout the New Testament. We’ll look at just a couple examples.

The example of Peter

Throughout the Book of Acts we find that Peter ministers along with his fellow apostles. But it is also clear that he has been gifted by God as a teacher. So when the church is gathered together for the purpose of receiving the Holy Spirit, it is Peter who rises to teach:

Acts 2:14 ESV

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.

Notice that Peter is with the other eleven here. He is not ministering on his own. But because he has been gifted by God for that particular purpose, he is the one who does the public teaching.

The fact that Peter had an important leadership role in the early church is also seen at the Jerusalem council in Acts 15:

Acts 15:6–7 ESV

The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

Here we find that Peter also had a tremendous amount of influence among his fellow apostles and elders. But it is instructive how he used that influence. He waited until everyone else had a chance to express their opinions before he spoke. And even then, he certainly doesn’t demand his way.

The example of Paul

Because of his role in establishing many of the early local churches, Paul certainly had an influential role among the elders in those churches. We find one example of that influence in Acts 20, which we looked at briefly earlier. When Paul understands he is probably not going to be able to return to the church in Ephesus to minister there he calls the elders of the church together and gives them instructions:

Acts 20:17–18 ESV

Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia,

As Paul speaks to the elders of the church in Ephesus, it is clear that he has a great deal of influence among those men. But as one reads that account, we are struck again by the fact that Paul never lords it over those men or acts in an authoritative manner. We find that is consistently how Paul dealt with the elders in the churches he had helped establish.

We also find this principle revealed in Paul’s writings. Paul wrote his first letter to Timothy to provide some guidance on the operation of the church in Ephesus. Near the end of that letter, Paul addresses the concept of a ‘first among equals”.

1 Timothy 5:17 ESV

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

One of the qualifications of an elder is that he must be able to teach. But Paul recognizes here that there will be some among the elders who are particularly gifted at teaching and who will therefore be able to devote more time to preaching and teaching the Word of God. And because of that role they will have a more visible leadership role within the body and usually a greater degree of influence within the elder team. As a result they are to receive “double honor” which implies that they should be compensated for that ministry.

That does not mean, however, that those men do all the thinking and decision making for the group. It also doesn’t mean that they are the pastors and that others are merely elders or that they are in any way superior to the other elders.

Here at Thornydale Family Church we have attempted to incorporate these principles in our leadership structure. That means that I am just one elder among a team of four men. While I may have a more public role than the other elders, I am certainly not their “boss”, nor do I have any more “authority” when it comes to making decisions. All four of us share the role of shepherding and overseeing the flock here in this local body.

Although I think most of you are familiar with our Elders here at TFC, I want to take this opportunity to introduce them, so I’m going to ask them to come to the front.

[Introduce Ryan, Steve and Joel]

Now let’s move on and talk about deacons:

DEACONS AND DEACONESSES

Today, the role of a deacon in a local church can vary greatly. In some denominations, a deacon may function in a role that is very similar to the Biblical role of an elder that we talked about earlier. In other cases, you will hear of a “deacon board” where the deacons function in more of an administrative role. In some churches a deacon functions as an “assistant” to the pastor. I would suggest that most of those structures don’t really adhere to a Biblical understanding of the role of a deacon.

Once again, an understanding of the underlying Greek is helpful, but in this case, we need only consider one Greek word:

“diakonos” = servant or minister

This word simply means “servant” or “minister” and that is how it is most often translated in the New Testament. In fact, it is only translated “deacon” three of the 29 times it is used in the New Testament. So we see right away that the role of a deacon is not primarily to be in a position of authority but rather to serve.

Most would agree that the first appearance of a deacon in the New Testament is in Acts 6 where the verb form of diakonos is used to describe those who were serving tables. There the apostles appointed seven men to assist in the distribution of food to Greek widows so that they could focus on they work of teaching and prayer:

Acts 6:3–4 ESV

Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

From this and other passages we see that in the early church it appears that the role of the deacons was primarily to help with the physical needs of the people in the church and to provide support to the elders so that they could spend their time teaching and tending to the spiritual needs of the flock. We also know that there were female deacons, or deaconesses, in the early church, like Phoebe:

I commend you to our sister Phoebe, a servant [diakonos] of the church and Cenchrae,

(Romans 16:1 ESV)

Here at TFC, our Constitution and By-Laws allow the Elders to appoint deacons and deaconesses from time to time and over the years we have had a number of people serve in that role. Currently our church has three official deacons, although obviously we have a lot more people who serve faithfully on a consistent basis:

Steve Jacob is a deacon who oversees our Hospitality Team. Those of you who join us in person see Steve’s smiling face as you enter the building every week.

Jon Settlemeyer is a deacon who provides support for our worship team in our sound and tech booth every week. You probably don’t see him as much as you see Steve, but without him, we couldn’t do what we do every Sunday.

Paul Schneider. Paul is our church administrator. In that roll he oversees the operation of our facilities and handles other administrative duties. Most of his work occurs behind the scenes, but it is crucial for us as a church.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR CHURCH LEADERSHIP

We don’t have time to cover this in any kind of detail at all, but I did want to take a moment for a brief overview. Paul lays out the qualification for elders in both 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. The qualifications for deacons are also found in 1 Timothy 3.

Both elders and deacons are to be spiritually mature disciples of Jesus who are above reproach and have a good reputation with those outside the church. The primary focus is on the present character of the leader and not what he or she was like before becoming a disciple of Jesus.

Elders have a couple other requirements beyond those for deacons. First, an Elder must be able to teach. That is consistent with the idea that the elders are responsible for overseeing the spiritual condition of the flock. That doesn’t mean that they need to be able to preach in front of a large group, but they should be able to take God’s Word and help people apply it in their day to day lives.

Second, although it may not be a popular idea in today’s culture, the role of an elder is clearly limited to men, both by the qualifications listed in the two passages I just mentioned as well as the examples of the ministry of Jesus and the early church that we find in the Bible.

I am grateful for the men in our church who serve as elders and deacons because I can say without reservation that they fulfill these Biblical requirements. That doesn’t mean they are perfect, but it does mean that their lives are characterized by these traits on a consistent basis.

Finally, let me briefly address the purpose of...

THE CONGREGATIONAL (ANNUAL) MEETING

I’ll just be right up front here. There is really no Biblical basis at all for democracy in the church. We never once see a church congregation voting on budgets or approving those appointed to the role of elders. And I can tell you from experience that there is a reason for that. In the very first church I pastored, the congregation met monthly, and basically micro-managed every aspect of the operation of the church. And as you can imagine, that really hampered the ministry of the church because every single member, regardless of their spiritual maturity, had an equal say.

However, as a practical matter, there are some legal requirements imposed on us as a non-profit corporation that require us to obtain congregational approval for our yearly budget, for spending on unbudgeted items that have a cost exceeding 5% of our budget and for the hiring of a senior pastor. All other decisions are normally made by the Elders.

But just as a practical matter I think it is really beneficial for us to gather as a church once a year to be reminded of our mission and to give people a chance to see how we are working toward carrying out that mission through our budget. And from time to time, the Elders have also brought other important matters before the church body when it is important to get buy in from the church as a whole. We’ll be doing that this morning as we present a pastoral transition plan. So regardless of whether you’re officially a church member or not, I hope you’ll join us shortly for our meeting.