God’s design is that every local church should have a plurality of elders leading and shepherding the congregation. Although this is the teaching of Scripture, you won’t find a plurality of elders in every church. In some churches, leadership is vested in a solitary pastor and a group of deacons. In other churches, there may be several associate pastors but only one “Senior Pastor” who possesses greater authority than the other pastors.
These models of church leadership, however, are not supported in the Bible. The teaching and expectation of the New Testament is that every church would be led by a plurality of qualified pastor-elders. While some attempt to draw a distinction between pastors and elders, Scripture makes no such distinction. To be a pastor is to be an elder. The different New Testament titles do not designate different offices; rather, they emphasize the different responsibilities of one office. A pastor possesses specific spiritual qualifications and requisite wisdom for his work (presbuteros, elder; see 1 Tim 5:17). He is skilled at shepherding God’s people (poimaino; shepherd/pastor; see Eph 4:11), and he leads and manages the household of God well (episcope; overseer, bishop; see 1 Tim 3:1ff). This explains why these three words can be used interchangeably in the New Testament (see 1 Pet 5:1-2). They all refer to one office.
As to the number of qualified pastor-elders that should be present in a local church, Scripture is straightforward: a plurality of men is expected and commanded. By saying this we are not suggesting that a church is not a church until it has elders. Rather, as we will show, it is both disobedient and unwise (even dangerous) to remain in a perpetual state of solitary leadership or “senior” leadership. In some churches it may take time to find, train, and develop qualified men for the work of elder leadership, so there may be a season where only one man is qualified to serve as an elder. This situation, however, is not ideal, and the man presently in leadership should make it his aim, like Timothy and Titus, to establish more men as pastor-elders in his local congregation.
In this article, we want to show you from Scripture that God commands and expects every local church to be led by a plurality of qualified men. In a following article, we will illustrate how God’s wisdom is displayed in this model of church leadership.
A Plurality of Elders in the Book of Acts
First and most importantly, we need to see that Scripture is not ambiguous when it comes to this issue. Even before the church was born in Acts 2, Christ had already designated a plurality of male leaders to oversee that new local entity. The twelve disciples (Judas being replaced by Mathias), would now serve as the “pastors” of the church in Jerusalem. The leadership in Jerusalem and the greater Judean region would eventually transition to a plurality of elders, as we see in Acts 11:30 when the church in Antioch sent financial relief to the elders at the churches in Judea by the hand of Paul and Barnabas.
Even before the church was born in Acts 2, Christ had already designated a plurality of male leaders to oversee that new local entity.
From this point onward, elders play a prominent role in the book of Acts. Paul and Barnabas appoint elders at the church in Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch (Acts 14:19-23). When confusion arose around the question of circumcision, Paul and Barnabas were sent to the “apostles and elders” in Jerusalem to discuss the matter (Acts 15:2). Both the apostles and the elders were engaged in the discussion and the final decision regarding how to address the question of circumcision and the gospel (Acts 15:6-23). In the latter third of Acts, we learn that elders had already been established at the church in Ephesus (Acts 20:17), and that the elders in Jerusalem are present when Paul visits James (Acts 21:17-18).
The point of this brief survey of Acts is to demonstrate the basic truth that a plurality of qualified male leaders is present from the very start of the church. The apostles served as the church’s first leaders. Soon, however, the apostles shared their leadership with men called “elders” who were initially appointed by the apostles to oversee local congregations. Every time the word elder is used in reference to the church, it is in the plural. Leadership in the local congregation was never vested in a solitary man for any length of time. Even when it was, as in the case of Timothy and Titus (which may not have been the case for Timothy, see below), one of the first items of business for these two men was to establish elders in their churches (see 1 Tim 3:1-8; 2 Tim 2:2; Titus 1:3-7).
A Plurality of Elders in the Epistles
In his first letter to Timothy, Paul gives detailed instructions about the qualifications that must be present if a man desires to serve as an overseer (1 Tim 3:1ff). But Paul already assumes that Timothy is familiar with the category of elder leadership and the expectation that there would be more than one elder in the congregation. For example, when Paul exhorts Timothy not to neglect his pastoral gifts, he reminds him of when the “council of elders” laid their hands on him (1 Tim 4:4). Paul also instructs Timothy to make sure the elders who labor in preaching and teaching receive double honor for their work (1 Tim 5:17). This latter instruction indicates that Paul expected Timothy to establish a plurality of elders in his congregation. It may even indicate that there were elders already in that congregation which explains why he isn’t as direct with his instruction to appoint elders as he was with Titus (cf. 1 Tim 3:1 with Titus 1:5).
Speaking of Titus, Paul reminds him at the very start of his letter that this young pastor’s job was to establish elders in every local church on the island of Crete (Titus 1:5). Again, we need to observe that, in both cases, Paul instructs Timothy and Titus to install multiple men in the churches, not just one elder.
Beyond these basic instructions from Paul, the remaining New Testament letters speak only of multiple elders, not solitary men overseeing the church and shepherding God’s people. James tells his readers to call the elders of the church if they are sick (James 5:16). Peter exhorts the elders in the churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia to shepherd the flock among them with joy and humility (1 Pet 5:1-3), and for the young men in the congregation to submit themselves to the elders (1 Pet 5:5).
Conclusion
We must conclude, therefore, that Christ expects and instructs local churches to establish a multiplicity of qualified men to oversee and shepherd their congregation. To resist this expectation and instruction is disobedience. It’s not a matter of debate or mere denominational difference or personal preference. Christ designed the church to be led by a plurality of qualified men.
In our next article, we will consider the various ways that God blesses the congregations that follow his instructions on the aspect of church government.
