As the biblical story unfolds in the
New Testament, it becomes increasingly clear that each local church was to be
managed and shepherded by a unified team of godly men.
Observation
10 emerges from the plural references to leaders in various local churches
throughout the New Testament world.
Note the following as they appear chronologically in the biblical story:
o
The elders in
Jerusalem (Acts 11:30).
o
"He should
call the elders of the church" (James 5:14).
o
"Paul and
Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church" (Acts 14:23).
o
The apostles and elders
in Jerusalem (Acts 15:2,4,6,22,23).
o
"Those who
work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord ...hold them in the
highest regard" (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).
o
"Paul sent to
Ephesus for the elders of the church" (Acts 20: 17).
o
"Keep watch
over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers"
(Acts 20:28a).
o
"Be shepherds
of the church of God" (Acts 20:28b).
o
"All the elders
[in Jerusalem] were present" (Acts 21:18).
o
"If anyone
sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task" (1
Timothy 3:1).
o
"Now the overseer
must be above reproach" (1 Timothy 3:2).
o "The elders who direct the
affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor"
(1 Timothy 5:17).
o
"Do not
entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or
three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others
may take warning" (I Timothy 5:19-20).
o
"To the elders
among you, I appeal as a fellow elder. ...Be shepherds of God's flock
that is under your care, serving as over- seers" (I Peter 5:1-2).
o
"Appoint elders
in every town. ...An elder must be blameless" (Titus 1:5-6).
o
"Since an overseer
is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless" (Titus 1:7).
o
"Obey your leaders
and submit to their authority" (Hebrews 13:17).
In this unfolding set of references to local church leaders, the overall profile demonstrates that God's ideal plan was that every local church should be led by more than one elder/overseer. (Note the way Paul and Peter used the plural concept when referring to a single elder/overseer in 1 Timothy 3:1, 2; 5:19-20; Titus 1:5-7; 1 Peter 5:1.)
THE NEW TESTAMENT SETTING
To understand how plurality in
leadership worked in the New Testament culture, we must avoid superimposing our
contemporary, Western forms on first-century churches. In contrast to the
multitude of "local churches" we have in a given population center,
every mention of multiple leaders in the New Testament is made in reference to
a single church in a single city or town. In the biblical story,
there was only one church in Jerusalem, in Antioch of Syria, in Lystra,
in Iconium, in Antioch of Pisidia, in Thessalonica, and in Ephesus. This is
also why Paul told Titus to remain in Crete in order to "appoint elders
in every town" (Titus 1:5).
These churches were composed of all believers who lived within a
particular geographical location.
Though they may have met for teaching, fellowship, and worship at
different locations throughout a particular city, they were still considered one
church led by a single body of elders.[1]
This, of course, is a totally different
structural arrangement from what we have in many cultures today. If we live in a large city – or even a small
town – we often encounter different groups of believers from different
denominations, who meet in buildings right across the street from each other.
Furthermore, each local group has its own "board of governance" –
even within "groups" that are part of the same denomination in a
given city.
How, then, did the body of elders in
each geographical location in the New Testament world manage the church and
shepherd the people? Without being
present to observe and experience this process firsthand, we can only speculate
as to how New Testament leaders actually functioned. However, this lack of detail in the New
Testament should not frustrate us. It's by divine design. God wants believers in various cultural
settings to be able to create a multiple leadership plan that will function
effectively regardless of whether we live in the first century of the church or
the twenty-first.
THE
CHURCH IN JERUSALEM: A FUNCTIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Against this backdrop, let's look at
what we do know from the biblical story. The "church in Jerusalem" began with three thousand
baptized believers who initially met in two places — the temple courts and in
their homes (Acts 2:46). The temple
courts were used by the apostles especially to teach and proclaim the message
of Christ to large groups of Jews as they normally gathered for religious
activities. But in order to devote
"them- selves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship,"
believers met in homes all over Jerusalem (Acts 2:42-47). However, after Stephen's martyrdom and the
"great persecution [that] broke out against the church at
Jerusalem" (8:1), the temple courts became off-limits. Believers had no choice but to meet in their
homes scattered throughout the city.
Even then it became difficult to meet.
When "Saul began to destroy the church," he went "from
house to house, [and] dragged off men and women and put them in prison"
(8:3).
In terms of architecture, some of these residences were relatively small and some were very large–with a variety in-between. This became very obvious to me personally when I began conducting tours to Israel. On several occasions, we visited the magnificent outdoor model of Jerusalem that represents this ancient city as it virtually existed during the time Jesus walked its streets. As I've stood on the "eastern side" of this model, viewing Herod's temple and the variety of homes clustered on the hills of Jerusalem, I've opened my Bible and read with new meaning:
They devoted themselves to the
apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to
prayer…. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and
ate together with glad and sincere hearts
(Acts 2:42, 46).
What was even more enlightening, however, was the opportunity to visit the underground excavations near the Temple Mount. Archeologists have discovered several large residences measuring in excess of six thousand square feet, with up to twenty rooms. Though totally covered with dirt and debris as a result of the Roman invasion in A.D. 70, when the temple was also destroyed, these excavated rooms are basically intact. One of these homes, or one like it, could have certainly belonged to Mary where many believers were meeting that day when Peter was miraculously delivered from prison (see Acts 12: 11-17).
MOVING BEYOND JERUSALEM
Using private residences as meeting
places became even more necessary as churches were established in cities that
were populated primarily by Gentiles. Though Paul and his traveling companions
often entered local synagogues in cities where they had a contingent of Jews,
their message was eventually rejected. For example, in Ephesus, Paul eventually
faced serious opposition and began to meet in the "lecture hall of
Tyrannus" where he continued to speak daily about Jesus Christ.
In many respects, this "lecture
hall" provided an environment similar to that existing earlier in the
temple courts in Jerusalem. Just as the temple area provided a place for the
apostles to preach and teach the message of Christ in a Judaic setting, so the
lecture hall of Tyrannus provided the same opportunity for Paul to communicate
the Gospel to thousands of people who came to Ephesus from all over Asia. As a result, many became believers and
apparently returned to their hometowns and cities and started churches. But again, these believers had only one
place to meet for worship and fellowship — in their homes. In fact, we have no record of special
buildings being used for Christian worship in the Roman Empire "until the
middle or end of the third century."[2]
ORGANIZATIONAL QUESTIONS
At this point, we need to address the
basic question regarding the functions of elders/ overseers. How did these men
actually organize their shepherding ministry in these various cities and
villages? Was one elder/ overseer
assigned to a particular "house church"? Were several elders/ overseers assigned to a larger "house
church"? Or was one elder/overseer
asked to serve two or more smaller "house churches"? (See figure below for the leadership structure in the
churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, and Crete.)
The Church in
Jerusalem The Church in Antioch
The Church in
Ephesus The Churches in
Crete
These are
"form issues," and the biblical story doesn't answer these questions.
However, if a home was large enough to house hundreds of people, it would
certainly take more than one elder/overseer to shepherd these believers
effectively. Archeologists have discovered residences in some locations in the
Roman Empire that could actually seat up to five hundred people in the garden
room alone. This may describe a family complex owned by a well-to-do man like
Cornelius in Caesarea or Philemon in Colossae.
Clearly, the Scriptures do not describe
forms-only functions. The reason is just as evident. Elders/ overseers are free
to develop approaches that will enable them to function effectively as
managers/ shepherds in their own cultures. Furthermore, as the church grows
numerically, so should the group of elders/overseers in order to manage
effectively. But this poses a "form question" that we'll address in
chapter 35: In order to function effectively, how large should a group of
elders/overseers become in the average church today?
QUALIFIED LEADERS ONLY
Even though the New Testament teaches
and illustrates plurality in leadership, this doesn't mean the apostles and
their assistants appointed more than one elder/overseer in a given local church
just to have more than one spiritual leader. Rather, they were to be appointed only
if they were qualified to serve in this position. This is certainly why there are no references to these leaders in
Antioch of Syria or in Corinth, two very pagan Gentile communities. It took years for men and their families to
become mature enough to measure up to the spiritual criteria outlined by Paul
for elders/overseers. g
Taken from Elders and Leaders – God’s Plan for Leading The Church, by Gene A. Getz, Moody Press, Chicago, IL., 2003. Used with permission. Further reproduction prohibited without written permission from the publisher.
In
the next edition of the GFJ, look for another article by Gene Getz on “The Need
For A Primary Leader.”