Here are some truth nuggets for you today. Hope the sun is beaming down upon you as it is here in Tennessee. :>D It's really cheering me up!

It is significant that you see elders exhorted to be pastors (shepherds) but never pastors exhorted to be elders. No one is ever exhorted to be an elder, in fact. See and study Acts 20 and 1 Peter 5. Thus, I believe we should consider elders first in order to understand the pastoral function.. Notice that the elders in the latter passage are directly contrasted to the younger ones, thus making their identity unmistakable.

Elder(s) are always seen in a plurality in the NT and OT as well (naturally - that's the plural form).

Another descriptive term would be parity or equality, in that one elder in a church would have no more privileges or responsibilities than another.

Nowhere is a Biblical reference made to an "office of elder" any more than there is an "office of younger men." With all of the references to elders in the NT, those intent on building a heirarchical model have looked no further. May this house of cards tumble in our time.

And thanks be to our longsuffering Saviour who uses us despite our glaring imperfections and stubbornness.

The full picture of apostolic structure is clearly revealed in Paul's salutation to the Philippians: "To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons" (Philippians 1:1). Notice that the word "bishops," which literally means "overseers" (episkopoi), is plural. Paul's letter was not addressed to the saints and the pastor. In fact, no letter in the Bible was ever addressed to a lone pastor.

The word "deacons" literally means "those who serve" (diakonoi). In the local assembly in Philippi there were the saints, who constituted the general body of believers; the overseers, who shepherded the people; and the servers, who ministered to the practical needs of the congregation. Do these terms indicate a division of classes or levels within the church? As Paul wrote, "For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another" (Romans 12:4-5). Paul also asked the Corinthians, "Is Christ divided?" He then told them that "there should be no schism in the body," for "indeed there are many members, yet one body" (1 Corinthians 1:13; 12:25; 12:20). These verses refute any attempt to attribute a biblical basis to the concept of a division between the leaders and the followers.

In God's way of seeing things, an assembly is a localized expression of His one body and has only one class of members: the blood-bought, blood-washed, born-again believers who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ, who is the Head of the Church. Yet God also sees the members who make up the one body as having a vast array of gifts and abilities; therefore, "all the members do not have the same function." The only thing that distinguishes members of the body is the way in which they function. Nowhere in the New Testament are we told to establish "offices" within a local church 1. What we are to recognize is the various functions within the body: some function as overseers, some function as servers, some function as teachers, some function as helpers, and so on. Everyone in the body is a saint, and every saint is gifted for specific God-ordained functions.

1 The reference to the "office of a bishop" found in 1 Timothy 3:1 in the Authorized Version is misleading. The correct translation is, "If anyone desires oversight...." As Vine's Dictionary says of this verse, "lit., ‘(if any one seeketh) overseership,' there is no Greek word representing office."

Elders, Bishops, and Pastors

Who were the bishops in Philippi? They were men serving in the same capacity as the elders in Ephesus. In the Bible, elders and bishops are functioning in the same ministry. This can be readily seen in Paul's letter to Titus, where he instructed his protege, "Appoint elders in every city as I commanded you;...for a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God" (Titus 1:5, 7). Clearly a bishop is an elder and an elder is a bishop. In this passage the words are used interchangeably. There is no difference between the two. The different terms only serve to provide different emphases. Whereas the term "elder" denotes maturity, the term "bishop" describes the overarching task of these mature men: overseeing God's flock. If we were to translate this verse literally, we would see that Paul was instructing Titus to appoint mature men in every city to oversee the local church.

As we said earlier, the word translated "elders" refers to men who are older or more mature. This does not necessarily mean older in chronological age, since some men are more spiritually mature in their thirties than others are in their sixties. As used in describing the leaders of a Christian assembly, the word carries the connotation of experience, dignity, authority, and honor. Clearly, the use of this word is intended to convey the positive concepts of maturity, respectability, and wisdom.

In ancient Greece, the word translated "bishop" was a common term similar to our English words supervisor, superintendent, or manager. The literal meaning is "one who watches over others." This idea is closely related to the meaning of the Hebrew word for shepherd, ra'ah. Like the Greek, this word literally means "to see or watch over." We can see here that the word "elder" denotes the qualities and characteristics of church leaders whereas the term "bishop" describes their function.

Speaking to the elders of Ephesus, Paul tells them, "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers [i.e. bishops, watchmen], to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28). This passage further describes the responsibilities of elders instructing them to "shepherd the church." The verb poimaino means "to tend as a shepherd," which encompasses the complete shepherding task.

The shepherding metaphor blends the ideas of leadership and authority with tenderness, genuine care, hard work, self-sacrifice, and constant watchfulness. The noun form of poimaino is the ordinary Greek word for a shepherd (poimen). Whereas the verb form is used three times in the context of Christian leadership (John 21:16; 1 Peter 5:1-2; and Acts 20:28); the noun form is found only once, where it is often translated "pastor" (Ephesians 4:11). It is interesting to note that in the New Testament the term "pastor" or "shepherd" is never once used as a title for church leaders. This practice was started by the Reformers. In the Bible, Jesus alone holds the title Shepherd (John 10:11; Hebrews 13:20). In fact in 1 Peter 2:25, He is referred to as "the Shepherd [poimen] and Overseer [episkopos] of your souls." Since the work of overseeing and shepherding cannot be separated, in a general sense, a pastor is a bishop and a bishop is a pastor. In the New Testament, the terms elder, bishop (or overseers), and pastor (or shepherd) all can be used to describe men who are functioning as leaders in a local assembly. This is not to say that everyone doing pastoral work is an elder. Nor is it to say that everyone functioning as an elder is a pastor (e.g. apostles, prophets, evangelists; ref. Ephesians 4:11).

Those Who Rule: Gentle Strength

Another New Testament phrase that refers to those functioning as elders and overseers is "those who rule." Paul specifically stated that those who rule are elders. 1 Timothy 5:17 says, "Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor." He also stated that those who rule "watch out for your souls," a clear reference to the oversight function (Hebrews 17:13). In Hebrews 13:24 he wrote, "Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints." The phrase "those who rule" clearly points to a plurality in the local leadership.

In our modern way of thinking, the hierarchical system is most often associated with the phrase "ruling over." But we must understand the biblical concept of ruling by thinking of Jesus. Clearly He is the ultimate Ruler of the Church. Yet He described Himself as "gentle and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29). At the last supper He told His disciples, "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example..." (John 13:14-15). And as the Shepherd of the flock, He declares, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep" (John 10:11).

Ruling a local church must always be understood in the context of the spirit of Jesus. It is not a heavy-handed style of rule, but a rule based on love, care, gentleness, concern, and compassion. It can be characterized as "gentle strength."

Offices verses Functions

It is important to understand the difference between the concept of "holding an office" and "functioning in the body." In the Church of the living God, there is only one person who holds an office—the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Head of the Church, the Shepherd of the Sheep, the Lord of All. No one else holds an "official position" in His Church. This means that if we use the Bible as our guidebook, there is no such office as pastor, elder, deacon, bishop, administrator, or anything else in a local assembly. What the Bible does describe is the functioning of the members of the body. As Paul described it, "We have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function." He did not say they do not all hold the same office.

There is a great diversity of functions within the body, but no offices. As soon as offices are established, an unbiblical distinction is made between the office holder and those who do not hold office. This inevitably leads to a clergy­laity split. As we have shown, Paul said there are to be NO DIVISIONS in the body.

For some, distinguishing between offices and functions is just semantics. But nothing could be farther from the truth. There are three very good reasons why we must not establish offices in our local churches:

1. In many churches, a man's authority is based on his office or the position he holds. But this is not a biblical idea. In the Bible, authority is based on relationship, character, and gifting. Under the office concept, a man with little anointing or very poor character could exercise supreme authority over an entire congregation. This could never be the will of God.

2. When an office is vacated, the assembly usually feels the need to fill it as soon as possible. This often results in the installation of unqualified, inexperienced, or untested men into offices that carry with them vast authority. The practice of placing single leaders in unscriptural positions without accountability to others is a formula for disaster. The multitude of believers wounded by the moral and spiritual failures of unaccountable single leaders is powerful testimony against these unbiblical practices. Again, occupying a particular office should never be the basis for authority. The issue is not filling an office; it is enabling the life-functions of the body to operate.

3. Offices inevitably bring with them titles. But the practice of prefacing men's names with titles such as Reverend or Pastor violates the Lord's prohibition in Matthew 23:8-10, where He said, "But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ." Paul never referred to himself as "Apostle Paul," only as "Paul, an apostle," denoting his function in the body. The only titles appropriate for use in the Church of the living God are "brother" and "sister." In Acts 9:17 and 22:13, Paul is called "Brother Saul." The Church is a family, not a corporation.

While we are on this subject, let us point out that the root meaning of the title "Reverend" comes from the word "revere," which means to venerate or be in awe of someone. Strictly speaking, this attitude should only be directed toward the Lord Himself, for "holy and awesome is His name" (Psalms 111:9). Imagine writing a letter to believers, exhorting them to be humble like the Lord, and then signing it, Respectfully yours, The Awesome Saul of Tarsus.

None of us would even consider calling a church leader by the title Lord, High Priest, Prince, Master, or King; so why use other titles reserved by the Scriptures for exclusive application to the Lord Jesus or employed by the Scriptures to describe various functions of the members? Let's just do away with both the concept of establishing offices and the practice of using titles in the body.