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 McCormick is the Pastor of Sheppard Baptist Church in Dixon, Missouri. As a child, he was not raised in church; at the age of 18, he heard the gospel for the first time and was later saved by grace through faith in Christ. He serves his family as a husband and father.
In 2019, he received his BA in Biblical Studies from Spurgeon College (MBTS). He is currently a student at Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary, working towards the MA in Pastoral Studies degree. He is the co-host of the Covenant Podcast, and co-founder of and contributor to Covenant Confessions. Some of his favorite authors include C. H. Spurgeon, J.C. Ryle, Benjamin Keach, John Owen, and Augustine of Hippo.
