| Beloved, As I mentioned last month, presbyterian comes from the Greek word for elder. To be presbyterian is to believe that Christ governs His church through a plurality of elders. When Paul left Titus, a young pastor, in Crete to support and build up the fledgling congregations there, his primary duty was to raise up elders: “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained in order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you” (Tit. 1:5). Notice, Titus is not to appoint a single elder in each local congregation but a plurality of elders. Why a plurality? For at least a couple of reasons. Accountability. As is often said, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Of course, even if a local church was governed by a single man, his authority would not be absolute. Only Christ has absolute authority, and the authority of an elder is always delegated and limited. Nonetheless, any man who knows his heart knows it is not wise to be unaccountable to other men when in a leadership capacity like this. A plurality of elders protects from elders abusing power. Complementality. No man is gifted in every way that a church needs its leaders to be gifted. Dan, Jeff, and I, for example, wonderfully complement one another. Where I am weak, one of them is strong. Where I am strong, one of them is weak. A plurality of elders is necessary because no man is gifted or able to do it all. Complexity. Rarely is shepherding and leadership in the church clear-cut and straight-forward. The longer I am a pastor, the more I see that there is a lot of grey when it comes to descisions and discipline in the church. A plurality of elders means a plurality of perspectives and convictions on particular issues that forces the leadership to wrestle with matters in a deeper way as they pursue the wisest course of action together. In presbyterianism we call the body of elders at the local level the session. Session comes from the Latin word that means “to sit,” referring to a body seated to deliberate. You cannot have a session without having a multiplicity of elders (for how can deliberation take place with a singular person alone?). Paul understood that the churches in Crete could not thrive without such a body of ordained leaders. This was particular so due to the false teaching spreading in these congregations. If these believers were to not be blown about by every wind of doctrine, they needed godly leaders (Tit. 1:7-8) who “held firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that they might be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Tit. 1:9). Without such godly, courageous leadership, the churches in this region would be undone. So too it is with every local church. Leadership is imperative. And God’s will for leadership in the church is not an executive board of business men; it is a Spirit-inhabited body of godly and gifted men who “shepherd the flock of God that is among [them], exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have [them]; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in [their] charge, but being examples to the flock” (1 Pet. 5:2-3). It is a body of men who watch over the souls entrusted to their care as those who will have to give an account to God on judgment day (Heb. 13:17). This is Christ’s design for His body, and the ordinary path by which He keeps and prospers her. And that is why God-exalting government/leadership is a core principle of our church. It is not an optional extra. It is not even a secondary matter. If we would be the church God wants us to be, we must have a body of Spirit-filled elders. Without it, we cease to be a church, institutionally speaking. Next week, I plan to flesh out the distinction we make between teaching and ruling elders and the biblical warrant for this. But for now I think I’ve given you enough to chew on. Let me just close with Paul’s encouragement to the church in light of God’s gift of elders: “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work” (1 Thess. 5:12-13). It feels a bit self-serving to quote that! But it is not. To respect your elders and to esteem them highly in love is not to the end of making them feel great about themselves; it is to the end of the health and vitality of your own soul and the broader body. This is how God wills His church to function. And when it does, it is beautiful! Yours in Christ, Pastor Nick |
