Elders and the Sheep

Elders Should Shepherd

What is an elder?

First, historically…a typical Jewish community would’ve been led by older, wise and mature men

Further, it was common for a group of elders to preside over the churches in an entire city, regardless of the number of house churches in the city

Titus is instructed to appoint elders in every city

Philippians 1:1 “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus: To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.” seems to point to one group of leaders in a mature church

Historically, the role of a single bishop developed in the 2nd century developed long before the role of a single local church pastor (6th century), seeming to indicate multiple elders overseeing churches in the city for several hundred years

Should a church have more than one elder today?

Yes, the church should.

From the roots in Jewish culture where there seems to always be an indication of a group of men, to the book of Revelation where there are 24 elders mentioned, it seems there should be a shared role in pastoral ministry.

Further, five NT authors mention elders, and only John mentions it in the singular, and when John does so, he uses it as a title to refer to himself. James, Peter, Paul, and Luke all presume that there are/will be/should be multiple elders in a congregation.

Add to the fact that Timothy and Titus (both pastoral letters) are instructed on what to look for as they appoint more elders, and even Peter writes the church here as “a fellow elder.”

It seems then that the direct evidence of the NT was that it was common and expected to have a multiple elders in each local church.

Is there a “first among equals?”

There are glimpses of the idea of “first among equals” in the NT.

Timothy and Titus were both men who traveled to churches in order to assume a leadership role by assuming primary teaching responsibilities.

There were some who were financially supported for full-time work while others retained secular vocations while performing their duties as elders.

Paul wrote to Timothy alone with instructions for the Ephesian church, even though we know from Acts that there were multiple elders in place.

Jesus did address the single “messenger/angel” of each of the seven churches in the seven letters of Rev.2-3.

So, while there is no explicit command regarding “first among equals,” it does seem common in the NT for there to be one individual from among the elders set aside for the primary teaching responsibilities of the church. He does not operate in isolation and is an equal, a partner, working within the group of elders as a whole. The group of elders seem to round out the ministry’s spiritual gifts, making up for any one elder’s shortcomings. And the elders support, supplement, and encourage the congregation in following the leadership of the elders.

What does it mean to shepherd?

Mark Dever, who is a phenomenal scholar on the church, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church and president of IX Marks, notes that most fundamentally, the elder (a term used rather interchangeably with pastor and bishop in the NT — see Acts 20 for the clearest intertwining of the terms) is a minister of the Word. Hence, the necessity of being able to teach. Those who would lead the church as elders/pastors/bishops, whatever the term, must have a better-than-average grasp of the fundamentals of the faith, he should be able to accurately communicate those truths, and should live according to those truths.

Acts 6 and the call of the first deacons to oversee an aspect of church ministry lends understanding — it was necessary for the apostles, among whom was Peter, to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.

The ones appointed to the role of pastor/teacher, according to Eph.4:11-12, are to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, building up the body of Christ.

If a shepherd is to feed, lead, and protect his sheep:

Nourish the congregation well on the Word of God.

Lead the congregation to live according to the wisdom the Word of God.

Protect the congregation through earnest prayer and guarding against false teachings of the Word of God.

How does an elder shepherd well?

Properly motivated

Properly living

Properly submitted (to the chief Shepherd)

Sheep Should Submit

Those who are younger must be willing to learn from the mature

Submission is a gift freely offered, not a service demanded (that warning was already given to the elders!)

Submission is an act of faith, because it trusts God’s plan and who He has called to direct and lead the congregation

Humility Should Prevail

An old, familiar picture — Jesus washing the disciples’ feet

Fertile soil for the seeds of humility

rightly view ourselves in light of God’s holy perfection

give preference to others, over and above our own desires and opinions

requires death to self

does not pertain to matters that violate the conscience before God