Eldership: An Overview 

Here are some concerns/thoughts about the issue of elders:

• Can Pastors/Staff Be Elders? Scripture seems to say that elders would teach and preach, "direct" the affairs of the church (1 Tim. 3:2, 5, 5:17), "shepherd" the flock, keep it free of "error" (Acts 20:28-31), and pray for and anoint the sick (James 5:14). These activities sound like the things a pastor does, as well. However, Paul wrote to Timothy and Titus about qualifications for elders in their churches, which raises several questions--were those elders "under" Timothy and Titus, who were thus "senior pastors? If they were pastors (which seems likely), it does not seem that Timothy and Titus were elders; otherwise, Paul would have talked about appointing "fellow elders" to their churches. That all seems to say at least the elders and pastors were two different positions or "offices," even though they surely cooperated in duties.
• Does Pastors/Staff as Elders Create a Conflict of Interest? If the elders are responsible for the pastor and staff being "true to the Word" or simply being held spiritually accountable, can they do that without a conflict of interest if the pastor/staff is also an elder? And would a member of the church bring a "truth" issue to the elders if they knew that these people were part of the elders? Can the elders objectively decide things such as the salary for pastor/staff if they are elders, as well? (Even if the deacons handled this before with no difficulties, the pastor/staff were not deacons.) In most churches the answer to these questions is "no." Many think that if there is any doubt in the minds of the congregation, then the pastor/staff members should not also be elders. If we are not "like-minded" in this, should we really continue as planned? We need to be doing things that bring the church together, not divide it.
• Who Were the Elders in the NT Church and What Did They Do? In spite of the lists of qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy and Titus, we know very little specifically about who they were. The only named elders in the NT are Peter (1 Peter 5:1) and John (2 John 1, 3 John 1). They may or may not have held the "office" of elder, since they are also apostles and we do not know that they "ran" any local churches. Further, in each verse, the reference may not be to an office, but to being an older person in the congregation. In Peter 5:5, Peter advises young men to be respectful to those who are "older," right after he talks to the "elders." Similarly, John is generally believed to have been older--perhaps in his 60's or 70's--when he wrote 2 and 3 John. Therefore, references to the "elders" may or may not refer mostly to an "office," but instead to the age of the person. Elders had a long history as the respected, older members of the Jewish synagogue and community, and this very likely carried over into the first church. Note that older women were also supposed to teach younger women, and widows especially had "qualifications" much as elders and deacons did--see 1 Tim. 5:9-10, and notice that Paul interchanges talking about older women and "elders" in the same chapter.
• Choosing Elders over Deacons. Elders are presumed to be "appointed," whatever that word means in Acts 14:23. Should the congregation elect any of the leadership of the church besides senior pastor and staff? The deaconate and boards are no longer functioning at HPBC, and they were elected offices or positions. Do we now operate on an elected or appointed structure, or a mix -- and if it is a mix, what "positions" should be elected, and which should not? If both elders and deacons are mentioned in the NT churches, should we "pick" one over the other and say we'll have elders, but not deacons? Are elders more "important" to have than deacons? If so, why?
• What is the Relationship between Elders and a Gifts-Based Ministry? How does each relate to the other? For example, does a visitor receive a visit from an elder or someone from spiritual environment, or both? What about hospital visits, etc? These are things we need to plan out before we forge ahead. We do not need any more confusion about who is responsible for what than we already have.
• The Issue of Men Only, or Men and Women, as Elders. If we are adopting a gifts-based ministry, anyone--male or female--should be eligible to serve in any position for which that person is gifted, including elder.

A Note Regarding Elders...

by Pastor Bill Wolfe, 4/13/03

We've had some major organizational changes this year.  Most have been positive.  Some are still struggling to either be accepted or figured out as we adjust to new directions and ways of doing things.

One of the major changes was the forming of an Elders Team.  The Elders would come alongside the pastor in support and encouragement, and be charged with keeping the church focused on the direction the Lord is leading us, the urgency of the Gospel, and the truth of the Word.

A couple of concerns were brought forward about how the elders will function and who should be an elder.  The Leadership Team wrestled with this last Sunday, and will continue to wrestle with it.  I suggested to them that we hold off on commissioning the Elders until we have thought through these concerns.  Highland Park has not had Elders for 45 years, so another few months won't break us.

As one person told me, we really have had Elders.  They just weren't "official".  For instance, I knew right away that a man named Elton was an elder of this church, as is Charles Slusser now.  Commissioning elders is simply affirming what is already evident.

We encourage your input on this issue.  Call Carl Prophet, our Moderator, write a letter, or talk to me.

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Here is a summary of the ideas in some of the articles we have found that prompted our concerns and thoughts about the issue of eldership.

How Was the New Testament Church Organized?

The New Testament church did have elders, but who were they? The word "elder" is consistently translated in the New Testament from the Greek work presbuteros. In the Jewish society of Christ’s time presbuteros was used to refer to the respected leaders of the community, the synagogues and the Jewish Sanhedrin. Such common phrases as "traditions of the elders," "elders of the people," "priests, scribes, and elders," "elders of Israel," are examples in the Gospels.

But the word is also used in a very broad and general sense. In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15), presbuteros is used in reference to the elder son (verse 25). Another clear reference to physical age is in John 8:9, where it is translated "the eldest."

Some important questions remain unanswerable. Were elders those regarded highly because of their physical age and experience, or those respected as leaders within the church because of their spiritual maturity? Were they those who, even before their conversion, were regarded as elders or leaders in their community? Did the elders of the early church hold a specific "office" in the church? Did some merely serve temporarily to fill a particular need, such as the seven in Acts 6? Notice, also, that the seven, who were supposed to be the first "deacons," were not chosen by the 12 apostles as most people think. They were chosen by "all the disciples," the "whole group," and then the 12 "laid hands on them," not the other way around. That is mostly the New Testament model.

Further, though scripture plainly lists qualifications for the office of bishop (episcopos) and for the office of deacon (diakonos), nowhere is there any mention of qualifications for "elders" as some official of the congregation. The term "elders" might be roughly equivalent to our word "leaders" -- those who are spiritually older and more mature. Timothy, for example, who was subordinate to the Apostle Paul, had authority to "ordain" leaders of local churches (1 Tim. 3) although he was physically younger than many in the congregations he was overseeing (compare 1 Tim. 4:12 and 5:1-2).

Also, in several key verses the meaning of elders is very debatable. Take Acts 14:23, for instance. On the return leg of Paul’s first evangelistic tour, it says that Paul and Barnabas "ordained them elders in every church." Does this mean that Paul ordained some of the church members to an official church office entitled "Elder," or that Paul ordained or set apart those who were already recognized by the members as elders and leaders in the general sense? And if so, to what did Paul ordain them? To the "office of elder," or as "bishops," "deacons," "ministers," "teachers," etc.?

It is also not exactly clear what the word "ordained" means in Acts 14:23. The Greek verb used here is ceirotoneivn, which is often translated "appoint." But there is no other instance in the New Testament or contemporary literature of the word having had different meaning than what it normally does, that of "election" or "selection." If you keep the meaning "select" or "choose," what the apostles are doing is choosing from among the existing elders of the churches those who are to bear special responsibility -- just as, in Acts 20 Paul calls together the "elders" of Miletus, whom the Holy Spirit has made (eqeto) episkopoi. In all these cases there need be no question to appointing people to be elders: elders exist already.

The New Testament is simply not specific in dealing with local church structure and form. Many terms are used in both a general and a specific sense. Definitions overlap. Scholars disagree on meanings or specific functions, or more often than not, agree that one cannot come to far-reaching, dogmatic conclusions concerning these terms on the basis of New Testament usage. Words change meanings; terms, functions, and structure varied from area to area; and the overall form evolved from the beginning of the New Testament church to the end of the first century and beyond.

There isn’t one, clear form of church organization that can be called "the biblical" or "the one, only, original" church structure for the local congregation. What we must be careful to do is to properly and wisely apply the organizational principles taught in the New Testament. Several forms of organization may work to varying degrees of effectiveness, or to serve differing needs or goals. But a particular form of church organization should be "consistent with scripture" and should not violate Biblical principles and teachings.

It makes sense that local leadership within the church should follow a logical, orderly system facilitating the work of God’s Spirit in every member, with each serving according to God’s gifts and fulfilling his particular function within the body (Eph. 4:7, 11-16).

Women As Elders

Paul himself allowed women to teach in the ministry of the Gospel. Priscilla, for example, seems to have been more instrumental in setting Apollos’ theology straight than her husband, Aquila, and with Paul’s blessing (Acts 18:24-28). The apostle speaks of those quarreling Philippian women, Euodia and Syntyche, as having labored side by side with him in the Gospel together with Clement and the rest of his fellow workers (Phil. 4:2-3). Paul’s labors for the Gospel consisted almost exclusively of proclamation, teaching and preaching in the Gentile world. These women must have preached and taught it they labored "side by side" with Paul in proclaiming the Gospel.

Presbytera, the feminine of presbyter (elder) appears in I Tim. 5:2, while the masculine form occurs in the preceding verse (5:1). If I Tim. 5:1 refers to an elder who is to be entreated as a father (as indicated in some versions), then verse 2 refers to a woman elder who is to be entreated as a mother. A survey of various translations will show how hard the scholars have worked to avoid this implication. From Jewish inscriptions we know that women sometimes bore the title of presbytera. One tombstone tells of a woman who was both a presbytera and a ruler of a synagogue! Jewish women are known to have held such an office both in Asia Minor and in Rome. Presbytera is used by Christian authors to mean woman elder. Some scholars believe that Titus 2:3, in mentioning presbytidas, usually translated "older women" instead means "elders."

One qualification of the presbytidas in Titus 2:3 is of special interest. They must be hieroprepeis or "worthy of sacred office." One New Testament dictionary gives the meaning of this adjective as "like those employed in sacred service," another offers "like a priest (ess)" as an alternative and admits that such a translation is possible here. When we think of qualifications for elders, it is profitable to compare those required of elders in general to those of the presbytidas (I Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:6-9, 2:3-4). The similarities are far more striking in the Greek than in the English.

Those churches that have no women elders may be depriving the church-at-large, as well as the world that the church seeks to serve. Shall we withhold from the church servants of that gender that first brought the news of the Resurrection?

Of course, it is important to choose women elders with the same care we use in choosing male elders. We need to look for qualities necessary for church leadership. We need to look at giftedness, and we need to look at character, integrity, and wisdom in whatever person chosen for this ministry.