Books

Christian Leadership Training Course

By J.C. Choate

Lesson 2

Elders in the Church

In our last lesson we discussed how God has always provided good leaders for His people. He even sent His own Son into the world and then He chose a group of men called apostles to lead the church in its beginning years. After their departure, He set into motion a natural order of leadership that has continued to this day. That brings us to our present study which will have to do with elders in the church.

There is only one church and it is to be found around the world. It is the Lord’s church, Christ’s church, or the church of Christ (Matthew 16:18,19; Ephesians 4:1-6; 5:23-27). This is the only church we can read about in the Bible, the only one authorized by God. That church is made up of many congregations to enable people to obey God and to worship and serve the Lord wherever they live. We read of many congregations like this in the New Testament, such as the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:2), the church at Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 1:1), and others. Each congregation was made up of a number of members who recognized Christ as their head (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:22,23). Each one was also autonomous or independent from all others, although they fellowshipped each other and worked together since they were all of the same body, wore the same name, worshiped alike, and preached the same gospel. But they were independent in the sense that the Lord authorized that each congregation was to have its own leadership; that is, its own elders and deacons, provided their members were able to meet the qualifications laid down in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

In the scriptures we read of the church at Philippi having bishops (another name for elders) and deacons (Philippians 1:1). Paul exhorted Titus to ordain elders in every city in Crete (Titus 1:5). Even Peter acknowledged that he was an elder. He said, “The elders which are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion, but willingly; not for dishonest gain but eagerly: nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away” (1 Peter 5:1-4). The flocks to which he refers are the local members of the church. The chief Shepherd is Jesus Himself.

Can a local congregation exist without elders and deacons? Yes, because their men may not yet be qualified to be appointed to such positions of leadership. It may be that they are too young physically; that is, not being married, or if they are married, not yet having children old enough to obey God. Or they may be too young spiritually; that is, being novices or too young to serve in this type of leadership. In that case, who will give leadership to that congregation? The male members, of course. What is the difference? The difference is that if one is appointed to serve in a position in which he is not qualified, he is more apt to be filled with pride and fail to serve as he should. If the men as a group recognize that they are not qualified, and yet are willing to humbly lead as best they can, then when they do become qualified and are appointed on that basis, they will make the kind of elders for the local congregation that God wants them to be.

We can see all of this as we read the qualifications laid down in the scriptures for one who would become an elder. Paul wrote, “This is a true saying, if a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money: but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence; (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil” (1 Timothy 3:1-7). Paul then said to Titus, “For this cause left I you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I had commanded you –– If a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money; but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled; holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and to convict those who contradict” (Titus 1:5-9).

First of all, it should be pointed out that each congregation which has elders must have two or more. You never read of any congregation in the scriptures having only one elder. This means that the Lord was opposed to one-man rule, or a dictatorship. Second, elders were to be selected on the basis of their maturity in life and in their spiritual life, enabling them to provide wiser leadership. Third, they were called pastors or shepherds, those who would lead the flock (Acts 20:28). They were known as bishops or overseers, and presbyters, which again is another name for bishops or overseers. Fourth, their qualifications demanded that they be good moral men, having a wife and believing children. This showed that they had the ability to govern and bring up their own family according to the Lord’s will. They were also required to have the ability to teach, not seeking honor and glory, or putting emphasis on material gain, but rather desiring to serve the Lord and their brethren.

Elders, then, are to give leadership to the local congregation of the Lord’s church. They are to see that the word of God is taught, that the church is kept pure, that false teachings are rejected, and that the church worships and serves God faithfully. The members are to respect them and to follow them as they follow Christ.