Elders and Administration
I had to write a short paper on biblical eldership for a class called Introduction to Research. I decided to research the question of pastoral responsibilities and administration related to the use of the επίσκοπος word group (“overseer”) in Acts 20:28 and 1 Peter 5:1-2. In these two passages, the authors use the noun επίσκοπος (“overseer”) and the verb επισκοπÎω (“oversee”) respectively to help define the functions and responsibilities of the Ï€ÏεσβÏτεÏος (elder). I concluded that these two terms do not indicate that elders function as “administrators,” but that they should care for and guard the people from false teachers.
Is this important, or is it semantic gymnastics? To me, it is very important. An organization or an institution requires an administrator. But, Scripture does not describe the church as an organization or institution. Instead, Scripture describes the church as a community of people. People do not need administrators. Instead, according to Luke and Peter, people need to be cared for and protected.
If this is correct, then God requires pastors to care for and protect HIS flock. God does not require pastors to handle administrative responsibilities. If a “church” asks a pastor to take on responsibility for managing the organization, that is outside the bounds of Scripture. If a pastor does not handle administrative responsibilities well, it is NOT because he is not fulfilling his responsibilities as a pastor. There may be other responsibilities (responsibilies expected by the “church” or taken on by himself) that he is not fulfilling, but these responsibilities are not related to his function as a pastor.
What do you think?
Two discussions of interest…
There are two on-going discussions concerning the church that you may find interesting:
Sharing in the Life: Should pastors be paid?
The Interrelational Church: Interrelation between the teacher and student
I’ve posted a few articles concerning this last issue:
Companionate Leadership
Dave Black has a great essay on Companionate Leadership on his site. This information would have been very helpful two years ago when our group of believers were studying Scripture to determine how God desired for us to set up our leadership. There was very little written about shared leadership. Even those who prefer “multiple elders” usually set one of them as “senior pastor” or “first among equals.”
Shared leadership is certainly interesting and dynamic. Our main concern with shared leadership was the lack of real examples. We’ve learned to wait on God and to trust Him to bring the body to unity in a decision. Also, as Dr. Black pointed out in his essay, we’ve learned to rely on God to work through the gifts and talents of others. Of course, that means that we must allow others to fail or make mistakes, and we must not try to do everything on our own. We’ve learned patience, acceptance, and forgiveness. Perhaps there is a reason that shared leadership is not found in any human institutions.
Who is responsible for speaking during the meeting?
Yesterday, I asked the question, “Who is qualified to speak during the meeting?” Today, I want to take this farther: Whose responsibility is it to speak during the meeting? Within most groups of believers, this responsibility falls upon one man (or at most a few men). What does Scripture say?
1 Corinthians 12-14 teaches that every believer is gifted by the Holy Spirit, and during the assembly of the church, these gifts are to be exercised in order to build up (edify) the body of Christ (not the individual). So, all believers are qualified to speak during the meeting.
Furthermore, Ephesians 4:1-10 confirms this. Gifts are given to each believer by Christ (through the Spirit). Gifted individuals are given to the church (Eph. 4:11-12) to equip the body for works of service in order to edify the body towards maturity, which is measured by the stature of Christ himself.
Ephesians 4:16 is an interesting verse. Removing the modifying phrases, the main clause is “the body… causes the growth of the body” (to soma … ten auxesin tou somatos poieitai…). Adding the modifying phrases, this body growth only happens when the body is in Christ, the head, and when each member of the body is doing his own part, which is “measured” by Christ.
Combining these two passages (1 Corinthians 12-14 and Ephesians 4), every member is instructed to take responsibility for the growth of the body.
Are pastors responsible for being filled with the Spirit and speaking during the meeting in order to edify the body? Yes! But, so is every other member. If one man (or a few men) dominates the meeting time, then he is not allowing the body to function as God desires it to function-he is usurping the responsibility given to every member of the body. If a group of people allows one man (or a few men) to dominate the meeting, then they are not fulfilling their God-given responsibility to edify the body.
Pastor Search…
This summer, one of our elders and his family will be moving out of the country. We look forward to continuing our relationship with them and partnering with them in a new service for the Lord.
So, how should we attempt to search for another pastor/elder? (We use the terms “pastor” and “elder” interchangeably. Some of our brothers and sisters prefer the term “pastor”; some prefer “elder”. I prefer “elder”, since it is the term that Scripture uses most often. However, “pastor” is also a scriptural term. We do not use the term “senior pastor.” We do have a senior pastor… his name is Jesus Christ.)
Scripture does not tell us exactly how to “select” pastors/elders. We have decided to allow the Holy Spirit to make the final decision. We believe that he will reveal his will to the body. We are adhering to the following scriptural guidelines:
1) He must meet the qualifications found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9
2) He must be recognized by others in the body as a shepherd, teacher, and example (1 Peter 5:1-4; Hebrews 13:7,17)
3) He must desire to serve the Lord and the body as a pastor/elder (1 Timothy 3:1)
Are Pastors Part of the Body?
Consider the following (imaginary) statement:
Bro. Smith: Well, Bro. Jones, several of the men met together. We believe that it is time for you to move on to another ministry. Yes, we know that God called you to this church, and we believe that. However, we believe that God is now telling us that it is time for you to leave.
If this statement was made to a pastor, it would be troubling. But, what if this statement was spoken to someone who was not the pastor? What if “Bro. Jones” was just a “regular member” of the church? Would our feelings about this statement be any different?
Statements such as this are made to pastors far too regularly. We do not like it, but we understand that it happens, and we accept it. Why do we accept it? Because, we understand that, in reality, the pastor is not truly part of the body. We understand that the pastor came to our body from somewhere else, and we understand that eventually the pastor will move on. The pastor is not a “regular member.”
However, Scripture indicates that pastors ARE members of the body. And, pastors should be recognized from AMONG the body, not from OUTSIDE the body. There is not one instance in Scripture of a PASTOR/ELDER coming from outside the body. (Yes, I know that many times Timothy and Titus are considered elders, but Scripture does NOT call them elders. As a matter of fact, they were to appoint elders for the churches, not be elders themselves.)
Perhaps, when churches are seeking pastors/elders, they should seek those men among their own body instead of hiring others from outside.
Called into full-time ministry…
Yesterday, in discussing ecclesiology, I made the following statement:
We should not begin with our practices, then justify them with Scripture. We must begin with Scripture when we are developing our ecclesiology.
Today, someone mentioned being “called into full-time ministry.” From the context, I know that he did not mean that God has called him to serve others (minister) full-time, just as God has called all believers to serve and not to be served. Instead, he meant that God had called him to find a vocational position in a local church (probably other than his own local church) in order to earn a living. This is a normal understanding of what it means to be a preacher / pastor / minister – at least among the people that I know.
Did this understanding come from Scripture? Will reading Scripture lead someone to understand that God specially calls some people to stop working a “secular” job in order to be part of a paid staff at a local church? Does Scripture describe the pastor as someone hired from outside the body?
If this idea does not come from Scripture, then from where does it come? And, more importantly, why is this the “normal” practice in our churches today?
Questions…
There are many questions concerning the church that I hope to address on this blog. My desire is to interact with readers so that I can continue to learn about God’s plan for the church. Here are some possible discussion questions:
- What is the church (essence, nature, purpose, etc.)?
- When does a group of people become a church?
- Is one church dependent, independent, or interdependent on other groups?
- What is the purpose of the gathering of the church?
- How are the various spiritual gifts exercised in the meeting of the church?
- What is the nature of church leadership?
- How should church leaders interact with others in the church?
This is a very short list. There are so many others. But we can get to those in due time…