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Biblical Leadership and the New
Covenant Priesthood
by William J.
Knaub
The structure and function of
the local church is a topic to which most Christians give little
thought. Traditions of men are the standard on this issue rather
than the final authority of Scripture. Alexander Strauch, author of
Biblical Eldership, writes: For many people, the issue of church
government (also referred to as church polity, church structure,
church organization, church order or the ministry) is as irrelevant
an issue as the color of the church pews. Indeed, for many people
the color of the church pews inspires greater interest! To these
people, the organizational structure of the church really doesn’t
matter. The average church member’s disinterest in how the church is
governed needs to be challenged, however. Church government is an
extremely practical and theologically significant issue (Biblical
Eldership, Lewis And Roth, 1995, page 101).
The normal practice for most
local assemblies today is the "one pastor" structure with the focal
point of "ministry" surrounding this one man. The "pastor" is viewed
as the professional ("clergy") who has some type of special
"calling" of God and thereby possesses a holy and unique status as
compared to the others ("laity") in the local body. As a result, the
local church becomes a "spectator church". In this setting, the
"laity" will only sit, listen, sing, and pray while the "pastor" or
paid staff does most everything else in the local body. Not only is
this unbiblical but it also denies the every member ministry of the
New Covenant priesthood (Eph. 4:16). Of course, not every "one
pastor" structure will function as indicated above. However, if one
examines the New Testament data on these issues, one will find that
the Biblical view of local church structure is ignored by many in
the body of Christ today.
Although I admire the zeal,
love, and commitment that many of these "pastors" display in their
ministry to the body of Christ, I contend that the local church with
this structure can hinder or suppress the proper functioning of the
New Covenant priesthood. In the discussion that follows, I will
endeavor to demonstrate that true Biblical leadership is not the
"one pastor" system but rather consists of plural eldership. This
shared leadership structure best promotes and protects the vitality
of the New Covenant priesthood. First, we will examine the biblical
support for plural eldership and how this leadership model functions
in the local church. Next, we will look at how shared leadership
(plural eldership) promotes the priesthood of all believers. We
begin however, with a brief review of the New Covenant priesthood.
The New Covenant
Priesthood
Since the New Covenant has
completely replaced the Old Covenant (Heb. 8:6-13), the structure
and function of the local church must be derived from the New
Testament. Unfortunately, the Old Covenant (Mosaic Law) priesthood
structure is the pattern of local church organization used by many
today in the New Covenant era. Under the Old Covenant, only a few
men served as intermediaries between God and man. Each person in
this setting did not possess equal access to God. The focus of
ministry was given to the priest, with others in the Old Covenant
community depending on these few to approach God on their behalf
(Nu. 3:5-10).
In contrast, the New Covenant
consists of a community of all true believers and all are members of
the holy priesthood. "But you are a chosen people, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may
declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his
wonderful light" (1 Pet. 2:9 NIV). Each believer is of equal value
before God and has the same access to Him through union with Christ
(Heb.10:19-22). Jesus is the perfect High Priest who now brings
every believer near to God. All believers, then, are ministers
before God and offer spiritual sacrifices. God has gifted each
Christian to build up the body of Christ (Rom. 12:3-8) and all
members are to function in the body (1 Cor. 12:12-27).
Therefore, no one person can
be known as "the minister" in the church. The New Covenant structure
of the local church does not focus on one part (the pastor) of the
body but on mutual ministry from all believers. Jon Zens captures
how the New Covenant priesthood is to function:
There is no evidence anywhere
in the New Testament for the primacy of one man’s gifts. There is
evidence 58 times in the New Testament for the importance of mutual
care and multiple gifts: "love one another....admonish one
another...edify one another...comfort one another...forgive one
another...give to one another...pray for one another." Why are our
churches marked by obvious emphasis on "the pastor," but very little
- if any - concern for the cultivation of mutual relationships? We
have exalted that for which there is no evidence, and neglected that
for which there is abundant evidence. We are used to pawning off our
responsibilities on someone else. We want the church to minister to
us, but we think very little as to how we can minister to the needs
of others. (Jon Zens. "The Pastor," 1981, p. 5)
Plurality Of
Leadership
According to the New
Testament, local church leadership consists of elders and deacons.
The roles of elder and deacon are the only two local church offices
indicated in the New Testament which have continuing validity. For
example, the book of First Timothy was written by Paul to give
instructions regarding church conduct. When Paul addresses the issue
of leadership (1 Tim. 3), the two offices mentioned are elder and
deacon. Elders (also called pastors or overseers) are to direct the
affairs of the church and deacons are elder helpers with the basic
function of serving the body of Christ. The only qualifications for
elders and deacons are stated in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
Some will contend that the
Bible does not present a specific pattern of church government which
is binding upon the local church for all times and places. However,
Scripture gives us only one model for church government. This
structure is plural eldership (shared leadership). There is no
example in the New Testament of a local church ruled by one elder.
Some maintain that Paul, Timothy or James were pastors, but no
Scripture can be found to support this. Each local church is to
function with a plurality of elders.
The New Testament provides
clear evidence for plural leadership: Acts 14:23; Acts 20:17,28;
Phil. 1:1; Titus 1:5 and James 5:14. You will note that it is elders
(plural) and church (singular). Thus, at least two or more qualified
men must be elders at each local church.
Functions Of
Biblical Elders
As with any subject, the
careful definition of terms is crucial. Many will state that they
embrace the plurality of eldership structure, but in reality they
practice the "one elder" model. The New Testament uses the words
"overseer", "elder" and "pastor" in reference to the same office.
These words are interchangeable. The different functions for the
office of elder are described by the terms of elder, overseer, and
pastor.
Acts 20:17-36 deals with
Paul’s farewell to the Ephesian elders and provides support for the
interchangeability of terms for the role of elder. In Acts 20:17,
Paul sends for the "elders" of the church. Then in verse 28, Paul
refers to this same group of elders as "overseers" and "shepherds".
"The term "elder" refers to maturity; "bishop" ("overseer") refers
to oversight and administration, and "pastor" refers to the elements
of shepherding such as feeding and guarding" (Jon Zens. "The Major
Concepts of Eldership In The New Testament," Baptist Reformation
Review, Summer 1978, p. 29).
Overall, elders are to govern
or direct the affairs of the local church (1 Pet. 5:2-3). Biblical
elders equip believers for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:11-12).
Pastors (or elders) are to develop and prepare believers through
teaching, exhorting, directing, protecting, caring and serving the
body of Christ. The idea of elders doing sermon preparation and
delivery as their main functions while almost ignoring the
shepherding aspect is foreign to the New Testament. Elders are to
love people and must be actively involved in people’s lives.
As already indicated, the New
Covenant priesthood is a body of believer/priests who are gifted by
the Spirit to minister to one another (1 Pet. 4:10-11). Elders,
then, do not take on all the work of ministry for themselves.
Rather, biblical elders function as player-coaches to develop and
direct believers into active ministry. The elders are responsible
for facilitating this mutual ministry concept.
Equality And
Diversity Among The Elders
All elders have equal
authority and share equal responsibility for leadership in the local
assembly. The only "Chief Shepherd " in the church is Jesus Christ
(1 Pet. 5:4). Since all elders are pastors and all pastors are
elders, the idea of an elder board with a "pastor" as the commanding
officer is without New Testament warrant. The concept of elder
equality does not indicate that all elders perform the exact same
functions. All elders are equal because they occupy the same office.
The true test of plural
eldership is the submission of elders to one another in the decision
making process. That is, all elders of a local church have the final
say on matters pertaining to the faith and practice of that local
assembly. Of course, the elders are all subject to the final
authority of God’s Word. Elders, then, must work together as a
council of equals to arrive at conclusions of which each elder is
supportive. One can see why having Biblically qualified elders is of
great importance.
Although elders are equal in
office, they are not equal regarding gifts and spiritual influence.
The eldership should promote each man’s gifts and abilities in such
a way that maximizes the edification of the body. Each elder is
responsible to lead and care for the flock, but flexibility exists
as to how each man will function in the body. Some would assert that
1 Timothy 5:17 divides elders into "ruling" and "teaching"
functions. However, this text simply points out the diversity of
gifts among the elders since all elders must rule and teach in the
church (1 Tim. 3:2,5).
Promoting The New
Covenant Priesthood
With the biblical foundation
of plural elder leadership laid, we will now examine how this model
of eldership promotes the proper functioning of the priesthood of
believers. One major way biblical eldership encourages the true
nature of the local church is through the denial of the
"clergy/laity" distinction. The New Testament never indicates such a
distinction. Although each local church is to be ruled by elders
(Heb. 13:17), the New Testament does not specify this leadership as
some separate priestly class of "ordained" leaders. Instead, the New
Covenant makes every believer a royal priest before God (Rev. 1:6).
Biblical eldership, then, has
no place for special religious titles or exalted positions. No New
Testament warrant can be found for titles such as "Reverend",
"Minister", "Senior Pastor", "Associate Pastor", etc. Unfortunately,
this "professional" clergy system is alive and well in today’s
Christian culture. When will sola scriptura be taken seriously?
In contrast, biblical
leadership (plural eldership) promotes the pattern of ministry in
which each part of the body works towards building up one another in
the body of Christ (Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor. 12:12-27). The elders, like all
members of the body of Christ, will have diverse gifts for ministry.
Therefore, the focal point of ministry is not the "pastor" but the
entire body of believers. While there is a Biblical mandate for
qualified leaders in the local church, the body of Christ must be
viewed as a unit with "equal concern" for all parts of the body (1
Cor. 12:24-25). All believers are one in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:13-20)
and the clerical class distinction cannot exist in the New Covenant
priesthood.
The model of shared leadership
also helps communicate the family character of the local church.
Believers are brothers and sisters in Christ which produces intimate
relationships with one another. Alexander Strauch summarizes this
point as follows:
The reality of this strong,
familial community supersaturates the New Testament. The New
Testament writers most commonly refer to believers as brethren.
Peter refers to the worldwide Christian community as "the
brotherhood" (1 Peter 2:17; 5:9). The terms brethren, brother, or
sister occur approximately 250 times throughout the New Testament.
These terms are particularly abundant in Paul’s letters (Biblical
Eldership, Lewis And Roth, 1995, page 110).
Plural eldership is most
compatible with this family character. Elders are leaders from among
the family. They are not to "lord it over" others but instead act as
servant leaders working for the welfare of others in the family (1
Pet. 5:2-3). With this perspective, the Biblical eldership structure
protects against self-promotion since the elders are viewed as part
of the priesthood of all believers and contribute to the family of
believers through leadership functions and gifts.
Finally, the shared leadership
structure promotes the New Covenant priesthood through manifesting
Christ as the true and only head of the church. Scripture is clear
that Christ is head of the church (Col. 1:18). The "one man" pastor
system may lead to an abuse of authority where the assembly becomes
pastor dependent and not Christ dependent. Plural leadership can
help shift the focus from the gifts and influence of the leaders to
the absolute Headship of Jesus Christ. With shared leadership it is
much more difficult to exalt one man’s gifts since each elder has
diverse gifts and varying strengths and weaknesses. Elders, then,
are part of the New Covenant priesthood and not the priesthood.
Christ alone is Commander in Chief.
Concluding Thoughts
If one takes the doctrine of
sola scriptura seriously, the structure and functioning of the local
church must be Biblical. Traditions of men must be put aside in
favor of God’s order for the local church. Not only is plural
eldership Biblical but it also promotes the New Covenant priesthood.
Although many godly men adhere to the "one man" pastor church
structure and enjoy very fruitful ministries, pragmatism can never
replace Biblical truth. Change is difficult but necessary if one is
to honor his Lord.
This examination on Biblical
eldership and the New Covenant priesthood is not intended to cause
division in the body of Christ. Rather, if you hold to the "one man"
pastor system, you are urged to study the Scriptures on this subject
and then strive to find other qualified men from your assembly who
can serve with you as fellow elders/pastors. As a result, you will
better serve the New Covenant priesthood where each believer is a
minister before God and the Glory of Christ will be exalted through
His church (Eph. 1:22-23).
Many of the ideas presented in
this article did not originate with me. I owe a debt of gratitude to
others whose writings on this subject have helped me better grasp
the Biblical structure and function of the church. The following
resources were consulted and are recommended for further study:
Searching Together, "Four
Tragic Shifts In The Visible Church," Volume 21:1-4, 1993, 65pp. **
Sixteen Tests of An Authentic
New Testament Church, Fellowship Bible Church, 1980, 64pp.
Alexander Strauch, Biblical
Eldership, Lewis And Roth, 1995, 337pp.
Bruce Stabbert, The Team
Concept: Paul’s Church Leadership Patterns or Ours?, Hegg Bros.,
1982, 226pp.
Jon Zens, "Building Up The
Body: One Man or One Another?," Baptist Reformation Review, Volume
10, Number 2, 1981, pp. 10-33. **
Jon Zens, "The Major Concepts
of Eldership in the New Testament," Volume 7, Number 2, 1978, pp.
26-33. **
Jon Zens, "The Pastor," 1981,
8pp. **
Jon Zens, "What Is A
‘Minister’?," Searching Together, Volume 11, Number 3, 1982, pp.
8-21. **
**These resources can be
obtained from:
Searching Together Box 548 St
Croix Falls, WI 54024
www.searchingtogether.org
Bill Knaub
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