Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership

by Alexander Strauch

Merle d’ Aubigne (1794-1872), a noted Reformation historian, states the problem with remarkable precision: “As we advance through the centuries, light and life begin to decrease in the Church. Why? Because the torch of the Scripture begins to grow dim and because the deceitful light of human authorities begins to replace it.”2

It is not enough merely to have an eldership; the eldership must be actively functioning, competent, and spiritually alive.

Biblical eldership is dependent on men who seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33), men who have presented themselves as living sacrifices to God and slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 12:1,2), men who love Jesus Christ above all else and willingly sacrifice self for the sake of others, men who love as Christ loved, men who are self-disciplined and self-sacrificing, and men who have taken up the cross and are willing to suffer for Christ.

To be a lone chief atop a pyramid is abnormal and corrupting. None of us are perfect by ourselves, and all of us need the help and correcting influence of close colleagues. When someone is moved atop a pyramid, that person no longer has colleagues, only subordinates. Even the frankest and bravest of subordinates do not talk with their boss in the same way that they talk with colleagues who are equals, and normal communication patterns become warped.4

Earl D. Radmacher, chancellor of a Baptist seminary in America: “Human leaders, even Christian ones, are sinners and they only accomplish God’s will imperfectly. Multiple leaders, therefore, will serve as a ‘check and balance’ on each other and serve as a safeguard against the very human tendency to play God over other people.”7

Laymen.. .are indifferent because they are so busy. They have no time to bother with church affairs. Church administration is left, therefore, largely in the hands of the pastor. This is bad for him, and it is bad also for the church. It makes it easier for the minister to build up in himself a dictatorial disposition and to nourish in his heart the love of autocratic power.

Only dictators fear accountability from godly colleagues.

Colson’s wise warning to Christian leaders bears repeating: “Power is like saltwater; the more you drink the thirstier you get. The lure of power can separate the most resolute of Christians from the true nature of Christian leadership, which is service to others. It’s difficult to stand on a pedestal and wash the feet of those below.”

Elders must understand that the agonizing frustrations, problems, and conflicts of pastoral life are the tools God uses to mold them into the image of the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. If they respond to these difficulties in obedience and faith, they will be molded into Christ’s image.

Like the saints at Corinth, we are quick to develop our knowledge and public gifts, but slow to mature in love and humility.

As in any successful household, but especially God’s, proper structure, responsible behavior, discipline, and love are required. An unruly, dysfunctional household ruins the lives of its members and is an offense to the community. God’s household should enrich and protect its members and be an inviting testimony of the gospel’s truth to the unbelieving world. High on Paul’s list for the proper governing of God’s household are qualified, godly elders (1 Tim. 3:1-7,10; 5:17-25). If the elders of God’s household deviate from sound doctrine or are of reproachable character, the entire household will suffer.

One who is gentle refuses to retaliate in kind for wrongs done by others and does not insist upon the letter of the law or his personal rights.

According to the grammatical structure of the phrase, “and some as pastors [shepherds] and teachers,” shepherds and teachers are closely linked together but not identical. Shepherds are included in the category of teachers, but not all teachers are included in the category of shepherds. The shepherd gift, then, uniquely combines teaching and governance.

“shares” (koinoneō, “participate”) in the sins or success of the one appointed. If an unfit person is appointed to leadership and sins by creating division, teaching false doctrine, or acting immorally, those who appointed the leader “share responsibility” for those sins (2 John 11). The more we understand the solemn, personal responsibility of appointing people to positions of leadership in the church, the more we will exercise reservation, thoughtfulness, and prayerfulness in our appointments.

E.F. Scott succinctly expresses Paul’s logic: “In an ordinary household the most trusty servant was chosen as steward, and the same rule must obtain in the household of God.”6

“A pastor needs two voices,” writes Calvin, “one for gathering the sheep and the other for driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means for doing both.”13

King Solomon expressed a similar understanding of the shepherding task in these words: “Know well the condition of your flocks, And pay attention to your herds” (Prov. 27:23).

So elders must never forget that the flock is not their own, and they should never be indifferent toward a single one of His sheep. Cranfield draws out the implications of this truth when he writes, “A church that could be ours would be only a false church. So the sheep are not ours for us to use or misuse as we like. If we lose one, we lose another’s property, not our own; and He is not indifferent to what becomes of His flock.”4

Misuse of the shepherd-flock metaphor, for example, has resulted in tragic abuse of people. It has been used to justify the imperial pastor and to limit God’s people nearly to the status of dumb sheep who are totally dependent on the pastor.

In contrast to lording it over others, elders are to be examples or models of godly living. “Being an example,” says commentator Peter Davids, “fits well with the image of ‘flock,’ for the ancient shepherd did not drive his sheep, but walked in front of them and called them to follow.”

William Kelly admirably summarizes for us the importance of this subject when he writes: “Christ Himself led the way here below in this path of invariable and unswerving obedience.. .[believers] are only blessed as they walk in obedience and submission, instead of a vain clamor for their own rights, which if realized would be Satan’s slavery.”6

the concluding clause is, as biblical commentator William Lane remarks, “a sober reminder that the welfare of the community is tied to the quality of their response to their current leaders.”11 {p. 277}

The old Israel was dependent usually on a few leaders; in the new, spiritual insight, spiritual power, spiritual character and spiritual standing are now much more widely disseminated through the whole body. Consistent with this teaching, the New Testament accords a much higher status and role to the congregation at large than has often been accepted and practised in the experience of the church—though it should be noted that in times of revival and renewal there has been a constant tendency to rectify matters.