Introduction
Those called to preach and teach the Bible have the responsibility to teach the whole counsel of God. When preaching, much attention is (rightly) given to soteriological and Christological doctrines but often at the expense of neglecting other key doctrines. Allow me to explain experientially. In my first three years of church attendance, I never heard a sermon that addressed ecclesiology! In the Southern Baptist churches that I have served, the ecclesiology has been assumed by tradition rather than considered with Scripture. It is my conviction that plural elder-led congregationalism is the most biblical model of church government. Understanding what the Bible teaches about the office of elder will lead us to view and consider this governmental structure. We will examine eldership in the local church under the following headings: the origin of eldership, interchangeable titles for elder, the qualifications for eldership, the plurality of eldership, plural elder-led congregationalism, and some opposing views.
The Origin of Eldership
Elders are not novel to the New Testament. The origin of the office of elder can be traced to the Old Testament. L. Roy Taylor explains this clearly:
The office of elder originated in the Old Testament. After the Lord had appeared to Moses in the burning bush, he instructed Moses to gather the elders of Israel together to inform them that he was about to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage and lead them into the Promised Land (Exod. 3:16; 4:29). The elders were to go with Moses to represent the people of Israel in their cause before Pharaoh (3:18). After giving Moses the Law (Ex. 20–23), the Lord instructed him to bring seventy elders to the base of the mount that they might worship the Lord in confirmation of the covenant (24:1, 9–11).[1]
In the Gospel of Matthew, we read about members of the Sanhedrin having elders (Matt. 15:2; 16:21; 21:23; 26:3, 57; 27:1).[2] The Christian church followed the Jewish custom of granting authority to older persons who had wisdom.[3] The first Christians were Jewish, and eldership was familiar to them. Thus, Luke did not explain his first reference to Christian elders in Acts 11:30.[4] It should not be surprising that the church appointed elders to be a spiritual office since the church viewed itself at the true Israel of God (Matt. 15:2, Gal. 6:16). An elder is a spiritual office in God’s church with the responsibilities of teaching, preaching, ruling, leading, shepherding, etc.[5]
[1] L. Roy Taylor, “Presbyterianism,” in Who Runs the Church? ed. Paul E. Engle and Steven B. Cowan, Zondervan Counterpoints Collection (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), 76–77.
[2] All Scripture references are quoted from the English Standard Version.
[3] Allen C. Myers, The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1987), 319.
[4] Cornelis Van Dam, “Elder,” in Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, electronic ed., Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996), 198.
[5] For the remainder of this blog series, I will primarily use the term elder to refer to the Spiritual office of the church.
Austin has been one of the pastors of Covenant Baptist Church (Clarksville, TN) since February of 2024. He holds a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Spurgeon College, a M.A. in Pastoral Studies and a M.Div from Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary.
By God’s free and sovereign grace, Austin was saved early in his adulthood. He is married to Rachel, and together they have three children: Geneva, Benjamin, and Bristol.
