Various New Testament Words Used for Leadership
  1. Elder (presbuteroV): Definition: One who rules, leads, represents, judges, governs
    1. Usage (66 times in NT)
      1. It has age, maturity in view
      2. OT origin: 70 tribal leaders who assisted Moses (Nu. 11:16, Deut. 27:1)
      3. These leaders judged the people in Deut. 1:9-18
      4. Members of the Sanhedrin (Matt. 16:21, 26:47)
      5. City leadership (1 Sam. 11:3-10, 16:4, 30:26-31)
      6. Leaders over the synagogue in the absence of the temple priests, kings, and prophets
      7. NT writers borrowed this word with which they were familiar and used it to fit their purposes
    2. NT usage
      1. Refer to older people Lu. 15:25
      2. Leaders in Judaism Matt. 16:21
      3. Worshippers in heaven Rev. 4:4, 10
      4. Leaders in the church Acts 11:30, 14:23
    3. Elders responsibilities
      1. Elders rule and teach 1 Tim. 5:17-19
      2. Shepherd 1 Pet. 5:2
      3. 3Have oversight Acts 20:28
    4. Key Thoughts
      1. Deals with the character and nature of the leader
      2. Jewish origins and used primarily in Acts during the infant church with a Jewish audience
  2. Bishop (episkopoV) : one who oversees, superintends, guards, protects
    1. Originates from a Greek secular usage where an emperor would appoint a "bishop" to lead, oversee a captured city-state. The bishop was responsible to the emperor for the well being and order of the city.
    2. Used more in Paul’s epistles than in Acts. Paul was writing to Gentiles who were primarily Greek.
    3. Deals more with the OFFICE
    4. NT function of bishops
      1. Care for the church (1 Tim. 3:5)
      2. Teach the Scriptures (Titus 1:9, 1 Tim. 3:2)
      3. protect the flock (Acts 20:28)
      4. Leads church (1 Tim. 3:1-5)
  3. Pastor (poimhn): One who shepherds, feeds, guides, protects
    1. Shepherd metaphor was common Ps. 23, John 10:1-29
    2. Noun form is only used in Eph. 4:11 (interesting that "pastor" is the preferred term among Baptists).
    3. NT usage
      1. Tend, oversee, provide an example 1 Pet. 5:1-5
      2. Protect against false teaching Acts 20:28
      3. Teaching, edifying Eph. 4:11
  4. Minister, Deacon (diakonoV) A general term used to signify service in the Lord’s work. Actually means "servant."
    1. NT usage
      1. Used of Christ (Rom 15:8, Gal. 2:17)
      2. Rulers and civil authorities (Rom. 13:4)
      3. Used of Satan’s emissaries (2 Cor. 11:15)
      4. Christians in general (Mark 1:31, Matt 25:44, Rom. 12:7, Heb. 6:10, 1 Pet. 4:10-11)
      5. Leaders in the NT church (1 Co. 3:5, 2 Co. 6:4, Eph. 6:21, Col. 1:7)
    2. Deacons’ qualifications are mentioned in 1 Tim. 3:8-12 but not their function. The closest thing we have to identifying their function is Acts 6 where seven men were appointed to "serve tables."
  5. Question? Are These words interchangeable? Yes.
    1. Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:1-2 with 5:17, 19; Titus 1:5, 7
    2. Acts 20:17, 28 elders are to be bishops and pastors to their people
    3. Pet. 5:1-5 Peter calls himself an elder, instructs elders to be good bishops as they pastor the people
    4. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd, implying that there are undershepherds.
  6. Views on Church Government
    1. Episcopal: Methodist, Episcopal, Anglican, Catholic (analogy: monarchy)
    2. Presbyterian: Representative, elders and laity in each level of government (general session, synod, General assembly) Note: analogy is a representative democracy
    3. Congregational: analogy is local government with town meetings
      1. Key points are autonomy and democracy
      2. NT epistles written to churches, not clergy or assemblies
      3. church chose Judas’ successor (Acts 1)
      4. church selected the first deacons (Acts 6)
      5. Paul & Barnabas report to the church (Acts 14:27)

      Note: appoint could mean "hand-picked" or chosen by a group or chosen by the apostles. In Acts 6 the deacons were chosen by the church and approved by the Apostles.

    4. Non-government: Quakers, Friends
  7. Thoughts to Remember:
    1. Some organization is needed (1 Cor. 14:33, 40)
    2. Church was in transition moving from apostolic leadership, to apostolic appointees, to elder rule.
    3. There does not seem to be any set pattern as far as organization is concerned.
    4. As a church grew they appointed elders (Acts 14:23)
    5. Hebrews 13:7 seems to suggest some division between laity and clergy
    6. Pastor/teacher is a gift from God suggesting that it is a special calling
    7. Titus was left in Crete to ordain/appoint elders
    8. "It is probably safe to say that the evidence form the NT is inconclusive; nowhere in the NT do we find a picture closely resembling any of the fully developed systems of today. It is likely that in those days church government was not very highly developed, indeed, that local congregations were rather loosely knit groups. There well may have been rather wide varieties of governmental arrangements. Each church adopted a pattern which fit its individual situation."
    9. Since most national democracies are representative, it might follow that most churches would be that way. But national democracies must be representative due to their sheer size. The local church is more like a city government with town meetings. Thus, a more pure democracy exists. You have direct involvement of all concerned.
    10. The above suggests that when a church becomes very large, it might need to resort to a more representative style of government in order to accomplish its purposes. In a church that is small or where the leadership is still immature, a pastor may need to take a more direct (apostolic) style until leaders can be trained.
    11. Both singular and plural leadership styles were present in the NT.
      1. James 5:14 call for elders (possibly used for aged men rather than office)
      2. Phil. 1:1 Bishops and deacons
      3. Titus 1:5
      4. 1 Tim. 4:14 appointed by a team of elders
      5. Acts 16:4, 20:17 plurality of elders at Jerusalem, Ephesus
      6. Acts 14:23 elders in every church
    12. There were house churches and city churches. It is possible that each house church was to have its own pastor or elder. When ordaining elders (plural) in a city, it might mean ordaining a single pastor for each house church. "Whether a church had one pastor or a team of pastors with a lead pastor (?) depended more upon the size and situation than upon a doctrinal direction from the Lord."
  8. Key Questions to Ask?
    1. Do deacons have any authority in church matters? The NT says a lot about their character, but little about their actual duties.
    2. Are elders to be ordained or just chosen from the laity?
    3. In choosing elders, are they to be elected, selected, or appointed?
    4. What powers (authority) rests in each of the various levels of leadership?