I want to ask you, for the purposes of this teaching, to imagine that you are an unbeliever with absolutely no church background at all. You do have a Bible and you begin to read it. Then you come across the word "elders" and then "deacons." So you decide to devote the next several days to finding out who these "elders" and "deacons" are and what they do.
What would be the result of that study? If you could only use the Word of God-and no experience or tradition-how would you define these words?
That's what I have been attempting to do for the last several years as we have sought to explore more effective ways to partner with our Lord in the extension of His Kingdom. I have read books and commentaries and consulted numerous resources. Yet in doing all that, I have been constantly asking myself-is what these authors saying supported fully by God's Word? If I search the Scriptures, what do I come up with?
In all of my study of Scripture, I know God has chosen to speak to us about reality and what He said is true, even if it doesn't always line up with our philosophical and rational preferences. And it is clear that God has spoken about His Church-about things like pastors, elders and deacons, Baptism and Holy Communion. And the more I study the more I discover from Him who wrote the "Owner's Manual" for our lives and the "Original Handbook" for congregational life and ministry.
In our Scripture today, the Apostle Peter writes a letter to the believers who have dispersed, "exhorting" the elders in these far flung communities of faith to "tend the flock of God that is in your charge." As an elder himself, Peter tells the "elders" to "shepherd" or "pastor" God's flock, exercising "oversight" in the ministry entrusted to each congregation.
Like Peter the Apostle Paul was putting a stamp of apostolic authority on the ministry of Titus to complete the ordering the churches they had planted together on the island of Crete by appointing "elders" in every town (Titus 1:5). The word "elder" is used over 20 times to define those called by God and set apart by the congregation to "oversee" and "pastor" the local church by teaching, ruling, caring for and equipping the saints, as loving and humble examples of Jesus Christ. Titus' mandate acknowledges the gifts Christ bestows upon His church which Paul had described in Ephesians 4:11-16, "Some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers for equipping the saints for works of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ" (the Church).
Scripture uses the terms "elders", "overseers" and "pastors" interchangeably-not as three different groups, but rather as different functions or roles for individuals or a team to carry out for the good of God's people. For example in Acts 20:17 we see Paul calling together "the elders of the church" in Ephesus, and exhorts them to "pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers..." They are to care for the flock which indicates they are "pastors" (shepherds) and they are to be "overseers" providing guidance and direction for the ministry in that place. When not referring to oneself, as Peter is doing in our text this morning identifying himself as an elder, we always find the term used in the plural, meaning there is more than one within a congregation...there is a group or a "council of elders" (1 Tim. 4:14). That's why we're purposing five elders in addition to Pastor David and myself to provide accountability, counsel, and assistance in the exercise of pastoral (shepherd) duties. They round out gifts, make up for deficits, supplement judgment, create support, prevent unjust criticism, and ensure continuity.
The Apostle Paul outlines in his letters to Timothy and Titus a list of qualifications for elders. Elders are not required to be perfect or to be super-men or women. Every quality Paul lists is expected of every believer except being able to teach and not being a new believer. The standard is not "higher" for elders, so much as this means that elders should live lives that model what every Christian should be, and it should be evident even to the surrounding culture.
The church does not follow the world's standard in selecting our leaders. We are not Israel looking to have a king "like the nations do." We are like God, looking not on outward appearances, but on the heart. Thus, elders are not chosen merely because they have led successful businesses nor demonstrated proved leadership ability, nor claim long-term involvement, or have an agenda or axe to grind, or because they are simply nice people. Now, this is not to say that the church cannot benefit from the ways of business and even the world, but Paul teaches that elders must first and foremost "hold firm to the trustworthy Word" (Titus 1:9) of God's truth and His ways. Their decisions and actions, ways and means must be grounded in God's Word. It is recognizing that God's ways are not our ways. Jesus teaches that God will often "confound" the wise and "hides these things from them" (Matt. 11:25) and Paul picks up that teaching in his letter to the Corinthians: "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?...Consider your call...not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise..." (1 Cor. 1:26).
That creates a rub for us, doesn't it? We prefer to think of ourselves as wise, highly sophisticated, and in the know. The tension is further heightened when the New Testament speaks of "elders" as leaders with "spiritual authority" over the congregation. We read that they are to "rebuke, admonish, rule, exhort, feed, and lead" the congregation. In 1 Timothy 5:17, Paul tells Timothy "Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor." Paul is speaking of a "soft" kind of ruling, not that of a monarch or dictator. It refers to someone who provides direction or leads.
God chose the Shepherd/sheep metaphor to explain this important relationship He establishes with us, and the Bible uses these words about 500 in Scripture. It is Jesus' favorite description for the Church. Peter understood well Jesus' command to "shepherd" and "feed" the sheep. He draws that image to remind us that God gives elders as a gift to equip and build up the church. If you know anything about sheep, they do not take care of themselves. They require, more than any other class of livestock, endless attention and meticulous care.
To "shepherd" implies the work of guiding, guarding, leading and feeding. Jesus says, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they FOLLOW ME" (John 10:27). In the Middle East today, as in Jesus' day, the shepherd is always out in front leading the sheep to green pasture, not behind driving them as you would cattle. The shepherd, elder, or pastor is to lead the flock. Now some people today think the church is a democracy, but it is not! You do not get that idea out of the Bible. The Church is a Theocracy, meaning it is led by God who calls His shepherds. The Chief Shepherd, Jesus, calls His under shepherds who are to lead the sheep!
They are also to provide "oversight" which comes from the Greek word, "episkopos" which is translated "to look after" or "Bishop". This is the other role of a pastor: to have oversight, or to look over and into all the ministry, and to guide the affairs of the congregation to see that they are aligned with the will and purpose of God.
Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 that Christians are "to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work," and in Hebrews 13:17, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account."
Elders oversee and pastor the local congregation by teaching, ruling, caring for and equipping the saints. This does not mean that elders are free to do whatever they want. The Church belongs to God, and therefore God has the final say. Therefore, a pastor, elder, bishop, must lead as God has led. One cannot say more than what God has said; and one cannot say less than what God has instructed. Teaching is thus the primary means through which all the duties of elders are carried out. Their oversight and leading/ruling are not done through unilateral commands, but through authoritatively "declaring, exhorting, rebuking, teaching, admonishing, correcting and preaching" from the Word of God (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:9; 2:5; 1 Thess. 5:12-13; 2 Tim. 2:24-25; 4:1-2).
Elders provide, protect, supervise, discipline, instruct, direct and lead, not by lording it over those entrusted to them, but by serving as examples of Christ, who is the Chief Shepherd. You don't just go hire some pastor or minister to do all the work of the congregation. That's not the Biblical way. We see in Acts 6 a concern from the Hellenist Jews coming to the attention of the Apostles. It seems that their widows were not being cared for in the way the Hebrew widows were in the distribution of food. Here we observe in the early church that same animosity between insiders and outsiders that we still wrestle with to this day. Where is the focus of ministry? To those who are "members" or those who are on the outside? In other words, whose going to get preferential treatment?
We see practices beginning to evolve as the assumption is made that the early Church's leaders, the Apostles-the paid staff!-should take care of the problem. They led as a group with wisdom and skill. They recognized the problem and promptly acted upon it to bring about a solution. You will note they had a clear grasp on their responsibilities and priorities and wisely delegated the food distribution ministry to others. They understood that the care of widows-both Hellenist and Hebrew-is the responsibility of the church and that there should not be discrimination against any group or individual. Their primary responsibility as Apostles was the ministry of the Word of God and prayer, so they chose to neglect doing somethings that others could do, in order to devote more time to their primary role. What they neglect, they have the responsibility of getting it accomplished by exercising "oversight" through administration and delegation. The Apostles had faith in the Holy Spirit to guide the selection of deacons as well as to empower and strengthen all in their respective tasks.
Leaders of the church are ultimately responsible for what the Church does and what the church does not do. They are not, however obliged to personally do all they are responsible for. The "elders" are "overseers," who make decisions, supervise and administer-"add to the ministry"-by enlisting others to see that the tasks get done. While the seven selected by the gathered community and appointed by the Apostles to "wait at tables" were not called "deacons" we have here in practice the origin of the concept.
The word "deacon" comes from the Greek word "diakonos" which means "servant" or "minister." Words from the same word-family appear in the New Testament over 100 times as both nouns and verbs. Their work is of a practical nature in meeting specific needs, like the distribution of food, and that work is assigned by the elders to whom the deacons are accountable. Deacons are disciples of Christ in the local church, filled with the Spirit, wise, and godly in life and doctrine, who are set apart by the congregation for specific practical services or ministries in order to free the elders to carry out the ministry of Word and prayer and to protect the unity of the body.
Their responsibility is not related to decision-making for the church as a whole, but they do make valuable contributions through their learnings and suggestions shared with the elders. To be sure there would be decisions made within each arena of ministry, but only in so far as those decisions further the church's mission and vision and compliment and enhance the broader purposes and directives established by the elders.
In our case we would have an individual deacon for each of the five purposes of the Church: Worship, Grow, Fellowship, Serve and Reach Out plus deacons for Ministry Development and Resource Development. Obviously, there would be teams and possibly sub-teams for pop-up ministries associated within a given ministry arena, responsible and accountable to the Deacon. The deacons would meet together periodically to coordinate and facilitate those endeavors that do not fit neatly into a particular silo, but involve other aspects of ministry.
Deacons began and continued through the 5th century as agents of charity. In the Middle Ages they took on an ecclesiastical role, assisting with communion. During the Reformation, it was Luther who sought to restore the original intent of the diaconate, serving in ministry. In the 18th century deacons became church business managers and a division took place in many quarters where pastors dealt with the "spiritual" aspects of ministry while deacons handled the congregation's "temporal" affairs as trustees and became the ruling "board" of the church. It was not long until church council meetings became "business" meetings deciding what bills to pay, or even in my first parish deciding whether to serve green beans or corn at a fellowship dinner.
According to Biblical instruction, God is the Author of life, and He has established the principle that all of life is spiritual. It's when we think we can operate outside that view that we find ourselves in a fog and discover most of our attention is given to those matters we can wrap our arms around and control, or that will most prominently benefit us. And soon churches find themselves focusing on maintenance and survival goals, not ministry and mission, the very purpose for which the Church exists.
I should add one thing more that I believe. Ministry is not easy. We like to measure it according to the standards of the world, but where would Jesus be with His earthly ministry if judged by those standards. A complete failure! He was strung up and His followers disserted Him. We live in a time where everyone wants to be pleased and we work hard at trying to be politically correct or sensitive so no one's feelings are hurt or bruised. It's easier to be whimpish. Isn't that why Jesus forewarns His disciples that He is sending them out like sheep in the midst of wolves...that they will be handed over to councils and flogged...that all manner of evil will be spoken about you, and you will be treated unjustly for My sake!"
But thanks be to God, He also tells them and us not to worry, to keep on track, knowing that His Spirit is there as the Chief Shepherd, still guiding and leading. While I am sincerely and completely convinced that what I have said about elders and deacons is what the Word of God says, I also believe that I could be wrong. I realize that I am a fallible human being, capable of making mistakes. Maybe that lessens your confidence in me, but I have never really wanted your confidence to be ultimately in me. I don't preach so that you'll put your trust in me. I preach so that you'll put your confidence in the Word of God.
If you think that I've erred in this message, I invite your correction from the Bible. Be like Priscilla and Aquila with Apollos in Acts 18-take me and explain the way of God more accurately.
But like Luther, until I'm otherwise convinced, I believe this is God's way; it's what His word teaches. And I believe life-from Creation to Spiritual Rebirth to the Return of the Chief Shepherd-always comes through God's Word. Therefore, I am convinced that a church ordered by the Word of God will be full of life and vigor for the salvation of souls and the glory of God!
