Who’s in Charge of the Church (Part 3): Elders
Who is in charge of the church? We have already seen how Jesus is in charge and the members of the church also play an important role. In this third article, we will see the role that elders play according to God’s design.
Members are in charge, but members are led. This is where the leadership of the elders becomes vital in order for the members to carry out their responsibilities faithfully.
The role of elders
Scripture also teaches that there is another group in the church responsible for the church's life and ministry. In Acts (Acts 14:23, 15:4, 20:17), we read of a plurality of elders (plural) in every church (singular). The common New Testament practice is for churches to not be led by simply one elder, in a solo pastor and deacon kind of model. The biblical model from these texts seems to expect a plurality of elders who serve together in any given church.
What we read in Acts is not merely descriptive, but is also repeated in other places in the New Testament letters. In Philippians 1:1, Paul writes to the overseers (plural) of the church (singular) at Philippi. In Titus 1:5, Paul tells Titus to appoint elders (plural) in every town. The understanding is that as Titus establishes a church in that town he ought to help the church appoint elders (plural). In James 5:14, elders in the church (plural) are called to pray for the sick – not just one pastor. Praise God for that. 1 Peter 5:1 also tells us that the elders (plural) shepherd.
Let us take a closer look at Titus 1:5-9. Firstly, notice that a church does not need elders to be a church as a church has already been established without elders. But Paul writes to Titus to instruct him to appoint elders to put the church into order, implying that a church without elders is not quite in order, not quite according to the biblical order that God has instituted.
Notice the language used here. Titus was told to appoint elders again plural in every town – one church, multiple elders. In Titus 1:7, the term used is “overseer”, implying that overseer and elder is the same person with the same office and not a different office. The elder is God's steward.
The elder is God's steward who represents God.
Who does he represent? God. He does not represent the people. That is really crucial because sometimes we think that in congregationalism, the pastor serves at the pleasure of the congregation. This is not true – the pastor serves at God's pleasure. It is not a democracy and we do not merely vote in pastors that we like. Hopefully our pastors are likeable but this voting process is not a popularity contest. The pastor is God's steward. He's responsible to God and His word.
Members vote, not based on preferences, opinions, likes or dislikes. Rather, members are stewards of God’s word and act based on this responsibility. Both groups in the church – elders and members – are stewards unto God.
Qualities of elders
In Titus 1:5-9, Paul also pays attention to the qualities of the elder/overseer. The qualities are focused mainly on character. This indicates the kind of role that elders have and how they exercise their authority. How do they lead? They lead by character, by example, modeling faithful discipleship to Christ.
Paul highlights how they need to be able to teach, able to give instruction in sound doctrine. This is very, very important. Remember the members' role is to grow and guard the gospel and it is the elders’ job to help them do so. The elders need to be sound in order to help the members carry out their job. Elders have a job to show the members what a faithful gospel believer looks like. While elders are not perfect, their lives should give a faithful picture of what it looks like to be a true confessor of the gospel.
Elders lead by teaching God's word and by living God's word out. They give oversight, which implies that they have real authority to make decisions regarding the church and its ministries.
Elders work in a team to equip members
Similarly in Acts 20:28, we see how elders are overseers and pastors and a plurality of elders exist. Their job is to pastor God’s church by guiding, growing and guarding. They are to follow Paul’s example of faithfulness to the gospel and God’s word (Acts 20:18-27). Elders are God’s provision for His church, by His Spirit. In appointing elders, a church is carrying out the Spirit’s work. The church recognises and affirms God’s gift to His people.
Paul writes in Ephesians 4:11-12, 15 that pastor-teachers (elders) are gifts of the risen Christ to His church. The elders are to equip the saints (us!) for ministry to build up the church. Elders are like coaches, trainers who model what it looks like to follow Jesus. We all have a job. The ultimate goal is the Christ-like maturity of God’s people.
In Ephesians 4, we also see how elders teach God’s word to the church so that the members can rightly discern the “what” and “who” of the gospel. Elders train the church to exercise the keys responsibly and biblically.
God has not left his sheep without shepherds. Under the leadership and oversight of godly elders, the members of a church are equipped to make disciples. Elders are entrusted with the authority to teach. They lead, counsel, persuade, guide God’s people according to God’s word. Elders use their authority to enable and equip the members to faithfully use their authority
Elders and members work together
Practically, we live it out at Members’ Meetings. Some of you may wonder how you can vote to affirm one that you do not know personally. How do we faithfully make a decision when it can seem like we are going in blind? This is where we try to connect the role of the members and the elders together.
You may not know the person coming in, but I hope you know the elders, because the elders are the ones who are speaking to this person, assessing, working these things through that person. The invitation here is to also trust the elders as the elders lead you to follow Jesus.
Congregationalism works not only when the members exercise their responsibility, but also when they trust and submit to the godly decisions of the elders God has placed over the congregation.
This idea of submission may be a dirty word in our day, but it is so important. Even among the elders, with a plurality of elders, there is a submission to each other. God has placed the elders in a room together so that their collective wisdom is much better than just an individual's take on things. Plurality is a really, really helpful safeguard.
Church, pray for more godly elders. Pray that God will raise more men with these biblical qualities because we need a plurality of godly leaders in the life of the church. And pray for members to be well equipped as well, to exercise godly responsibilities, to follow godly leaders, to exercise the responsibilities well as led by godly leaders.
Putting it all Together
Hebrews 13:7, 17 call us to obey and submit to faithful under-shepherds, for they are watching over God’s sheep. Whose agenda and mandate? God’s, not man’s. Hebrews 13:7 calls us to consider the outcome of their way of life, imitate their faith and ensure that we have elders worth imitating.
Elders and members are partners and co-labourers in the work of growing and guarding the gospel. The elders teach and model healthy ministry, and the congregation does ministry. The elders lead, and the congregation follows. Elders teach—by word, by example—and the congregation imitates their faith. As Hebrews 13:17 says, the elders are responsible for the souls of the members.
If the congregation is constantly at odds with the elders, then the church either has ungodly elders not worth following or an ungodly congregation unwilling to follow.The elders don’t usurp the congregation’s authority but they equip the congregation to exercise its authority rightly.
This is not just about how a church makes decisions. It is actually God’s discipleship programme for the church. Elders teach and model, so that members learn and grow in love for God and one another. When believers are gathered into local churches where they are well-equipped to make disciples by godly leaders, they can exercise their authority to make disciples by guarding the church's belief and membership and discipline. This is God's discipleship plan for the nations that works through local churches.
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