Healthy Church, part 10 - Biblical Church Leadership

Dever’s chapter in What is a Healthy Church? primarily focuses on the particular office within the church called elder. In some baptist circles, many people are not accustomed to hearing that term, though it is a very biblical one.

In the New Testament, there are three words used to point to this particular office: overseer, elder, and shepherd (or pastor). They are used interchangeably, according to Dever. One place to notice this is in Acts 20 when Paul is talking to the elders from Ephesus. He uses all three words in some way to refer to the same group of men. Therefore, we can conclude that there need not be a distinction made as there is in some denominations.

The term “elder” seems to be the proper biblical label for the office, while the terms “overseer” and “shepherd” (or pastor) seem to be more descriptive words concerning the function and responsibility of the elders. The qualifications for elders, as well as some of their responsibilities, are found in Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3. And, while elders are not in the same class as apostles in the New Testament, Acts 6 does give us a picture, I believe, of one of the primary responsibilities of elders when compared to that of the first deacons (Acts 6:1-7).

Another thing Dever points out is the abundance of times in the NT when “elders” is in the plural rather than the singular. This calls our attention to the fact that a “plurality of elders” is the pattern we find in the NT even one of the “elders” may have the primary responsibility of preaching and teaching. The shepherding responsibility of a congregation is impossible for one man to shoulder alone. God has given us the pattern for the spiritual leadership and care of the congregation through a plurality of elders and deacons in their distinctive roles.

Healthy churches have an understanding of biblical leadership based upon the NT rather than a business or civic club model. Recognizing qualified elders and deacons among the congregation and letting them serve according to the functions laid out in the NT is an essential ingredient for a healthy church.