The Importance of Biblical Elders
The local church's structure of government
makes a profound statement about the nature of the local church and its
philosophy of ministry. The local church is not an undefined mass of people; it
is a particular group of people that has a unique character, mission, and
purpose. I am convinced that the elder structure of government best harmonizes
with and promotes the true nature of the local church as revealed in the New
Testament. We will consider four ways in which the elder structure of
government complements the nature and theology of the local church.
The Church Is a Close-knit Family of Brothers
and Sisters
Of the different New Testament terms used to describe the nature of the church—the body, the bride, the temple, the flock—the one most frequently used is the family, particularly the fraternal aspect of the family—brothers and sisters. Robert Banks, a prominent leader in the worldwide, home-church movement, makes this observation in his book, Paul's Idea of Community: “Although in recent years Paul's metaphors for community have been subjected to quite intense study, especially his description of it as a ‘body’, his application to it of ‘household’ or ‘family’ terminology has all too often been overlooked or only mentioned in passing”.
Banks further comments on the frequency and significance of these familial expressions:
Of the different New Testament terms used to describe the nature of the church—the body, the bride, the temple, the flock—the one most frequently used is the family, particularly the fraternal aspect of the family—brothers and sisters. Robert Banks, a prominent leader in the worldwide, home-church movement, makes this observation in his book, Paul's Idea of Community: “Although in recent years Paul's metaphors for community have been subjected to quite intense study, especially his description of it as a ‘body’, his application to it of ‘household’ or ‘family’ terminology has all too often been overlooked or only mentioned in passing”.
Banks further comments on the frequency and significance of these familial expressions:
“So numerous are these, and so frequently do
they appear, that the comparison of the Christian community with a ‘family’ must
be regarded as the most significant metaphorical usage of all.... More than any
of the other images utilized by Paul, it reveals the essence of his thinking
about community”.
The local Christian church, then, is to be a
close-knit family of brothers and sisters. Brotherliness also provided a key
guiding principle for the management of relationships between Christians (Romans
14:15,21; 1 Corinthinas 6:8; 8:11-13; 2 Thessalonians 3:14,15; Philemon 15,16;
James 4:11). Jesus insisted that His followers were true brothers and sisters
and that none among them should act like the rabbis of His day who elevated
themselves above their fellow countrymen:
“But they do all their deeds to be noticed by
men; for they broaden their phylacteries, and lengthen the tassels of their garments.
And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the chief seats in the
synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called by
men, Rabbi. But do not be called Rabbi;
for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers” (Matthew 23:5-8; italics
added).
In complete obedience to Christ's teaching on
humility and brotherhood, the first Christians resisted special titles, sacred clothing,
chief seats, and lordly terminology to highlight their community leaders. They also
chose an appropriate leadership structure for their local congregations—leadership
by a council of elders. The first Christians found within their biblical
heritage a structure of government that was compatible with their new,
spiritual family and their theological beliefs. Israel was a great family,
composed of many individual families. The nation found leadership by a
plurality of elders to be a suitable form of self-government that provided fair
representation to its members. The same is true of the local Christian church.
The elder structure of government suits an extended family organization like
the local church. It allows any brother in the community who desires it and
qualifies for it to share fully in the leadership of the community.
The Church Is a
Nonclerical Community
The local church is not only an intimate, loving
family of redeemed brothers and sisters, it is a nonclerical family. Unlike
Israel, which was divided into sacred priestly members and lay members, the
first century, Christian church was a people's movement. The distinguishing
mark of Christianity was not found in a clerical hierarchy but in the fact that
God's Spirit came to dwell within ordinary, common people and that through them
the Spirit manifested Jesus' life to the believing community and the world.
It is an immensely profound truth that no
special priestly or clerical class that is distinct from the whole people of
God appears in the New Testament. Under the new covenant ratified by the blood
of Christ, every member of the church of Jesus Christ is a holy saint, a royal
priest, and a Spirit-gifted member of the body of Christ. Paul teaches that a
wide diversity of gifts and services exists within the body of Christ (1 Corinthians
12), but he says absolutely nothing about a mystical gap between sacred clergy and
common laity. If it exists, surely something as fundamental to the Church as a
clergy-laity division should at least be mentioned in the New Testament. The
New Testament, however, stresses the oneness of the people of God (Ephesians
2:13-19) and the dismantling of the sacred-secular concept that existed between
priest and people under the old covenant (1 Peter 2:5-10; Revelation 1:6).
Clericalism does not represent biblical,
apostolic Christianity. Indeed, the real error to be contended with is not
simply that one man provides leadership for the congregation, but that one
person in the holy brotherhood has been sacralized apart from the brotherhood
to an unscriptural status. In practice, the ordained clergyman—the minister,
the reverend—is the Protestant priest.
Biblical eldership cannot exist in an
environment of clericalism. Paul's employment of the elder structure of
government for the local church is clear, practical evidence against
clericalism because the eldership is nonclerical in nature. The elders are
always viewed in the Bible as “elders of the people” or “elders of the
congregation”, never “elders of God”. The elders represent the people as
leading members from among the people.
When establishing churches, Paul never ordains
a priest or cleric to perform the church's ministry. When he establishes a church,
he leaves behind a council of elders chosen from among the believers to jointly
oversee the local community (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). Obviously that was all he
believed that a local church needed. Since the local congregation of his day
was composed of saints, priests, and Spirit-empowered servants, and since
Christ was present with each congregation through the person of the Holy
Spirit, none of the traditional, religious trappings such as sacred sites,
sacred buildings, or sacred personnel (priests, clerics, or holy men) were
needed. Nor could such be tolerated. To meet the need for community leadership
and protection, Paul provides the nonclerical, elder structure of government—a
form of government that would not demean the lordship of Christ over His people
or the glorious status of a priestly, saintly body of people in which every
member ministered.
The Church Is a
Humble-Servant Community
I am convinced that one reason the apostles
chose the elder system of government was because it enhanced the loving,
humble-servant character of the Christian family. The New Testament offers a consistent
example of shared leadership as the ideal structure of leadership in a
congregation where love, humility, and servanthood are paramount. When it
functions properly, shared leadership requires a greater exercise of humble
servanthood than does unitary leadership. In order for an eldership to operate
effectively, the elders must show mutual regard for one another, submit
themselves one to another, patiently wait upon one another, genuinely consider
one another's interests and perspectives, and defer to one another. Eldership,
then, enhances brotherly love, humility, mutuality, patience, and loving interdependence—qualities
that are to mark the servant church.
Furthermore, shared leadership is often more
trying than unitary leadership. It exposes our impatience with one another, our
stubborn pride, our bullheadedness, our selfish immaturity, our domineering
disposition, our lack of love and understanding of one another, and our
prayerlessness. It also shows how underdeveloped and immature we really are in
humility, brotherly love, and the true servant spirit. Like the saints at Corinth,
we are quick to develop our knowledge and public gifts but slow to mature in
love and humility.
I believe that churches today desperately need
a revival of love, humility, and the servant spirit. Such a revival must begin
with our leaders, and biblical eldership provides the structure through which
leaders learn to work together in mutual love and humility. Since the eldership
represents a microcosm of the entire church, it provides a living model of
loving relationships and servanthood for the entire body. Thus, leadership by a
plurality of elders ideally suits the humble-servant church.
The Church Is Under
Christ's Headship
Most important, biblical eldership guards and
promotes the preeminence and position of Christ over the local church. Jesus left
His disciples with the precious promise that “where two or three have gathered
together in My name, there I am in their midst” (Matthew 18:20). Because the
apostles knew that Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, was uniquely present with
them as Ruler, Head, Lord, Pastor, Master, Overseer, High Priest, and King,
they chose a form of government that reflected this distinctive, fundamental,
Christian truth. This truth was not a theoretical idea to the early Christians—it
was reality. The first churches were truly Christ centered and Christ dependent.
Christ alone provided all they needed in order to be in full fellowship with
God and one another. Christ's person and work was so infinitely great, final, and
complete that nothing—even in appearance—could diminish the centrality of His
presence among and sufficiency for His people.
So, during the first century no Christian would
have dared to take the position or title of sole ruler, overseer, or pastor of
the church. We Christians today, however, are so accustomed to speaking of
"the pastor" that we do not stop to realize that the New Testament
does not. This fact is profoundly significant, and we must not permit our customary
practice to shield our minds from this important truth. There is only one flock
and one Pastor (John 10:16), one body and one Head (Colossians 1:18), one holy
priesthood and one great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14ff), one brotherhood and one
Elder Brother (Romans 8:29), one building and one Cornerstone (1 Peter 2:5ff.),
one Mediator, and one Lord. Jesus Christ is the “Senior Pastor”, and all others
are His under-shepherds (1 Peter 5:4).
To symbolize the reality of Christ's leadership and presence over the local church and its leaders, one church places an empty chair at the table next to the chairman during all elders' meetings. This is a visual reminder to the elders of Christ's presence and lordship, of their position as His under-shepherds, and of their dependence on Him through prayer and the Word.
To symbolize the reality of Christ's leadership and presence over the local church and its leaders, one church places an empty chair at the table next to the chairman during all elders' meetings. This is a visual reminder to the elders of Christ's presence and lordship, of their position as His under-shepherds, and of their dependence on Him through prayer and the Word.
