September 9, 2010 by Allen Coleman 0 comments

Posted in: Church

I know, I know, I know...I'm asking for it with this one.  Before I get into this I want everyone to understand that there are churches all over America and the world thriving and the Gospel is prevailing with them.  I am not suggesting that churches are ineffective without a particular model, I am simply painting a Biblical picture of leadership.  I am simply starting a dialogue on the issue.  So much of our church "tradition" and structures are handed down to us without consideration for whether we should adopt them.  Now...that being said, let's hit it:

Plurality?

I can't help but wonder who the first Senior Pastor in history was.  I think I would like to go back into history and pick his brain.  What was it about God's plan for the church that didn't work for him?  Were things not moving fast enough for him?  Did he have weak Elders incapable of leading?  Was he nervous that the church would not move in the direction he thought best?  Or did the men appointed to lead simply relegate decisions to him anyways, so why not?  Let's look at Peter's exhortation to Elders:

"So I exhort the elders 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 the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." -1 Peter 5:1-4

There are various forms of church government in use today. With so many of them varying greatly, discerning how the church should be governed can prove difficult. There are three models being the most common:

• The Pastor-led model where the church is led by one person, usually a Senior/Lead Pastor. The Elders provide peripheral leadership similar to a Board of Directors.
• The congregational-led model, where the congregation, in regular business meetings, votes and decides on issues affecting the church.
• The Elder-led model, where the church is led by a plurality of qualified leaders, to provide oversight and direction for the church.

It is clear, here in 1 Peter 5, that the Elders are being exhorted in plurality.  There are no indicators of one man being elevated to a position of higher prominence or authority than the rest.  Actually, that's not completely true.  One "man" was identified in this passage as chief Shepherd.  Did you catch it?  Jesus.  Jesus is our only "top-down" leadership with regard to the church.  He alone is Senior/Lead Pastor of our churches.  Therefore, He alone should bear that title.

Pastor vs Elder

I've served or been employed by four churches.  In three of them, I have always carried the title Pastor (e.g. Youth Pastor, Operations Pastor).  However, half of the time I was not seated on the Elder council.  In fact, in one case I was told that it was not appropriate for vocational pastors to do so.  It was only later in life in searching the Scriptures for answers did I discover how asinine this was.  Many churches in America have "Pastors" on staff who do not serve as Elders.  Instead, different "pastors" are allowed to function in subordination to the Elders or "Senior/Lead" Pastor of the church.  This should not be so.  In the greek, the word "Elder" is synonymous with the words Pastor, Bishop, Steward, Shepherd, Presbyter and Overseer.  In other words, these are all terms used to describe the same role. Elders are simply "servants who lead".  They are entrusted to lead the church in plurality, as equals, with their primary focus being the Scriptures and prayer.  Therefore to give anyone the title "pastor" (worship, youth, etc.) is to qualify them, Biblically speaking, as an Elder.

At our church, all those that hold the title of Pastor serve as an Elder with equal authority to all the other Elders. And all those that hold the title of Elder, function as a Pastor not merely a peripheral board of decision makers. Churches, it seems, habitually follow one of two patterns with regards to leadership:

1. Appoint people with responsibility, but not authority.  This happens when a man is appointed as Pastor, but not seated with the Elders who make key decisions.
2. Appoint people with authority, but not responsibility.  This happens when a man is appointed as an Elder, but doesn't function as a shepherd the way Pastors are required to.

Both of these patterns are not only opposed to the Biblical picture found all throughout the New Testament, but practically counter-productive.  Pastors who are expected to lead, shepherd and oversee the flock are not permitted to govern the way in which they will do so. Conversely, their are Elders who govern behind closed doors with no expectations to functionally actualize their decisions.  This naturally creates a split in leadership agenda that can harm a church. Can you now see the imperative behind functioning Biblically with the roles being one-in-the same, rather than functioning culturally and splitting them?

A Call To Restore Plurality

Our church adheres to the Elder-led model for a number of reasons. First of all, we believe it most closely follows the New Testament pattern for church leadership. Scripture throughout the Epistles contains instructions about this form of leadership. Second, a plurality of Elders helps protect against heresy, false teaching, pride and the unqualified. Finally, since different Elders have different gifts, a wide range of ideas and wise counsel are brought into each discussion. The qualifications for Elders are found in (1 Timothy 3:1-7) and (Titus 1:5-16). We have a very thorough and public process for Elder selection.

The responsibilities of Elders are spelled out all through scripture, including the often-used metaphor of a shepherd. The apostle Paul exhorted the Elders to “pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God” (Acts 20:28) and Peter said, “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you” (1 Peter 5:2). A study of the role of shepherds in the Bible (see Ezekiel 34 and Psalms 23) reveals a lengthy list of responsibilities which can be summed up as leading the flock, providing oversight and direction, caring for and feeding them, guarding them from going astray, protecting from savage wolves (false teachers), seeking the lost, and helping the weak.  Other responsibilities include that of directing the affairs of the church (1 Tim. 5:17), determining church policy (Acts 15:22), preaching and teaching (1 Tim. 5:17), praying for the sick (James 5:14), and given to prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:3).

Except for these broad parameters of shepherding the flock and providing oversight, much flexibility is used by various churches regarding their organizational structure.  At our church all Elders are equal. One person is selected as a moderator, but that is primarily to plan the agenda and facilitate meetings. Some Elders may appear more prominent than others, but that is a function of giftedness rather than position. The responsibility of being an Elder is a very serious matter. It is God’s work that we are doing (Titus 1:7), not ours, and we will have to give an account to God for the way we lead (Hebrews 13:17).