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Many elder-led churches are broken. Think, for example, about these all-too-familiar scenarios.
Laissez-faire elders: The elders are mere “yes men” to the lead minister. They look to him to be the star of the show and see themselves as gatekeepers there to ensure nothing excessive or terrible happens, and nothing happens too fast.
Divided elders: The pastor is under attack by a new, dominant elder. Quietly but forcefully, he’s undermined the pastor and rallied a couple of elders to see things his way. Church division and pastor burnout are just around the corner.
Micromanaging elders: The elders are active and hands-on. But their hands are on everything. Alongside matters of pastoral and theological significance, they discuss minor things like the coffee machine and staging for the Christmas carols event. They’re overwhelmed and behind because each issue they face has to be worked out from scratch. There’s no big picture of a gospel church in front of them, just a hundred separate issues that need to be addressed now.
To these scenarios, dozens of others could be added: elder-led churches where there’s unresolved conflict, a slow-moving bureaucracy, ineffective busyness, lone-ranger pastors, narcissistic leaders, or gospel-stifling traditionalism.
This litany of failure can make it look as if eldership itself is the problem. Pastor-led churches make progress; elder-led churches don’t. If, however, these church scenarios are examined through a biblical lens, it becomes clear the problem isn’t eldership per se but the way many elder teams work. The Scriptures, by contrast, unfold a picture of eldership that generates compelling and effective leadership for healthy, gospel-hearted churches.
Pathway to Health
Four themes in the Bible’s picture orient us toward what healthy elder-led churches look like.
1. Value eldership.
Eldership is at the heart of God’s leadership plan for his people. Elders are prominent throughout the biblical narrative, with some 100 Old Testament references to elders and a further 60 in the New Testament. Elders were appointed in every church (Acts 14:23) to be pastors (shepherds) and overseers of the flock.
Eldership is at the heart of God’s leadership plan for his people.
The entire biblical narrative shows that eldership shouldn’t be thought of as an exclusively Presbyterian thing, a pragmatic thing, or a bureaucratic thing—much less a problematic thing—but as a deeply biblical thing. But eldership will only work well in a church when it’s valued by all: the pastor, the elders, and the whole congregation.
2. Serve in leadership.
The Bible is crystal clear: the work of elders is primarily the work of leadership. As shepherds, they lead, feed, protect, and provide for the flock. As overseers, they oversee the life and ministry of the church. The strong emphasis on godly character in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 is there because only those who are spiritually mature can provide the kind of leadership God calls them to.
Elder-led churches will only be healthy when the council of elders embraces this reality. They’re not simply a board of governance, a board of reference, or a board of gatekeepers; they’re a team of shepherd-leaders.
3. Work together.
God intends that elders work together for the health and well-being of the church. The Bible’s focus is never on the work of an individual elder but on the body of elders. Each man, individually, must be qualified for the task, but the task is undertaken together.
The wisdom of a plurality of leaders can be seen in multiple ways. Together, the elders share the large responsibility of shepherding God’s flock. They can support and encourage each other; provide accountability; rein in any tendency toward arrogance or folly; bring the gifts and insight of several rather than just one person to bear on the complexity of church life; share the load; and pray, weep, and dream together.
Elder-led churches only work well when the dynamics of team play are delineated, with each elder bringing distinct gifts and perspectives and no one dominating, sidelining, or railroading anyone else.
4. Lead with clarity.
The elders’ combined leadership should bring clarity to the church’s life and ministry. Prayerfully, from God’s Word, they’re to set the trajectories of the church as a whole.
This plays out on a number of key fronts. Of primary importance is ensuring the church is theologically robust—that it’s teaching and defending the faith once for all entrusted to the saints. But orthodoxy alone isn’t enough. On that foundation, elders must ensure the church is aligned with God’s mission to make disciples of all nations.
The Bible’s focus is never on the work of an individual elder but on the body of elders.
They must articulate a clear gospel vision of what the church is to be and do. They must ensure the church’s values and culture reflect that biblical vision, and they’ll need to put in place big-picture strategies for advancing this vision in church life. They’ll also need to oversee, but not micromanage, the day-to-day ministry practice of the church as they equip the saints for works of service.
Elder-Led Vision
The elder-led church will only be effective when these concerns drive the elders’ conversations and when their work is undertaken not as detached directors but as godly men active in church life and engaged in people’s lives.
These four themes begin to unpack the Bible’s rich understanding of the work of elders. It’s a vibrant calling. Those who aspire to it desire a noble task. As the elders together submit themselves to the Lord, to his Word, and to each other, they can work side-by-side as a team to shepherd a healthy flock.