The Essential Role Of Elders

Last week we looked at Paul's gospel-rich beginning here in his letter to Titus and to the churches in Crete.

And after that beginning, he moves directly into the main body of his letter

by addressing first the task that he had given to his young colleague.

Titus's purpose in Crete was very practical.

He was responsible for setting things in order so that the churches there would move forward,

strengthened in gospel doctrine, and faithful in godly living.

That's the practical nature of what he's doing. That's the big picture.

He is to set things in order that were lacking in the churches in Crete

so that moving forward, after he and Paul and the other apostles have moved on,

the churches would then, in great strength by the power of God's word and God's spirit,

be able to move forward with gospel fidelity and as fruitful Christians that reflect the kingdom of God.

And crucial to this particular task was the establishment of faithful pastors

who would shepherd their particular congregation.

Bill Mounts describes it this way,

Titus's job was twofold,

to complete the organization of the church in Crete

and preserve it from doctrinal contamination.

The former being the first step to the latter.

And that's helpful for us.

The main objective here that Paul is giving to Titus

is make sure the churches are faithful to the gospel,

that they're sound in doctrine,

that they are refuting heresies that will inevitably begin to creep their way in

and turn people away from Christ.

But the first step in being able to do that

was the organization of the church,

particularly as it related to its leadership.

So Titus's task was practical.

It's also necessary for us to know that Titus's task was temporary.

It was temporary.

Now, contrary to what some Christian traditions have supposed,

Titus did not fill a permanent office as a bishop

who would be responsible for overseeing groups of churches

or cities or regions of churches.

That's not what Titus was doing.

In fact, nothing in the New Testament teaches that style of episcopate

or that order of church government.

It's just not there.

Titus was better understood as an apostolic delegate.

That is what the term that scholars would most often use for he and Timothy.

He was an extension of the apostle Paul.

He was acting temporarily on behalf of the apostle Paul in Crete.

And his duty to establish elders in the churches there

reflects the transitory nature of his role.

It was never meant for him to be the bishop of Crete

where he would then fill an office.

And then after his death,

someone else would then be elevated from one of the churches

to then serve as bishop of Crete or bishop of whatever region.

That's not what Titus is doing.

That's not what he was meant to do.

His role was temporary.

The age of the apostles,

we have mentioned this many times through our study in Titus already,

the age of the apostles was coming to an end.

Paul's going to be martyred very soon.

Many of the apostles have already been martyred at this point in church history.

Eventually, John would be the last one.

And what we would call apostolic succession or what would follow the apostles,

the succession did not come in the form of their office,

but in their doctrine.

It's important for us to understand as we think about church government,

how is the church actually supposed to be structured?

This is a significant difference between a Protestant church and a Roman Catholic church.

is the apostolic succession does not come in the form of an office that someone like a pope would feel.

Apostolic succession came in the form of doctrine.

And that doctrine was then passed on to these churches.

And those churches had leaders.

So that's what Titus is doing.

That's why he's doing it.

What eventually led to the development of the papacy

or the hierarchical episcopate of the Roman Catholic church,

was vastly different than what Paul actually called for in these New Testament letters.

In the centuries that followed the completion of the New Testament,

the place of Christ and his word was slowly diminished.

And the place of man and man's authority was slowly exalted.

So that the church really historically entered a very dark time,

even along with the dark ages, culturally speaking,

the church went through a very dark age as well,

where human authority was put on the level of,

or even supreme to,

the authority of the Bible.

Which is why Alistair Begg says,

that is why the responsibility of the church throughout history

is to be reformed and reforming.

Constantly taking note of who it is,

and what it's made up of,

and what it's doing,

and why it's doing it.

And every local church needs to be careful in this respect as well.

Because it didn't take very long for the early church to get this wrong.

And as they veered away from what Paul was actually teaching,

that introduced all kinds of problems.

Into the churches themselves.

And what they needed, ultimately,

was a reformation.

A reformation that would return the thoughts of the people

to the word of God

as the supreme authority of their lives.

Well, that's our responsibility as well.

That in each age,

it's our responsibility as a church

to continually come back to the word

and say,

what does the word actually say?

What is it that God in his authority

has actually told us to do?

What is the patterns that he has given us?

And we need to make sure that

whatever human element we bring to that

is subservient to what the Bible actually teaches.

So my aim for this morning

is to examine the role of elders.

Next week, we'll get into

the qualification of elders.

But today, we'll look at the necessity of them in the church.

Why was Paul so concerned

that Titus fulfilled this task?

And what does this task have to do

with Lakeside Bible Church?

So we'll look at the necessity

of elders and pastors today.

Next week, we'll look more practically at

what are we supposed to be looking for

when it comes to recognizing elders

even in our own congregation here?

Even as small as it is,

what is it that we're supposed,

what's our guide for that?

And Paul gives that to us here.

And in other places, the New Testament.

That's how we're going to spend

the next two weeks of our study, okay?

Let me point this first out to you.

Point number one,

let's see the presence of elders in the church.

The presence of elders in the church.

Look back again with me at verse five.

Paul says in the first phrase,

this is why I left you in Crete.

This is why, Paul writes.

Now, Paul and Titus' visit to Crete

probably came between Paul's first imprisonment

and his final imprisonment.

No doubt they had had

an itinerant preaching ministry on Crete.

Certainly, they probably established

maybe a few churches,

fledgling churches in the process of doing that.

But as I mentioned a few weeks ago

in our introduction,

Acts chapter two says that

there were some Jews from Crete

in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.

That day that Peter preached that great sermon

and the apostles were speaking in tongues

and the people were hearing

the gospel preached in their own language.

And it wouldn't be out of place

for us to assume that some of the Cretans

that were there heard that gospel message,

were converted to Jesus Christ,

probably lingered at least for a time

there in Jerusalem,

learning at least the basics of gospel doctrine

from the apostles as they met together

day by day in the temple,

and eventually went back to Crete

and established churches in their hometowns.

This seems actually very plausible

as we understand the history of the church in Crete.

So rather than assuming that

Paul is giving Titus instructions here

about overseeing Paul's church plants,

it's very likely that upon visiting Crete,

Paul just discovered many struggling churches.

And they were struggling,

not because they did not have the gospel,

but because they did not have strong leadership.

They didn't have leaders who were discipled

in sound doctrine.

They were beginning to be influenced

by the worldly culture of Crete.

They were faithful to the truth of Jesus,

but they were not very strong churches.

They were struggling.

And Paul knew that congregations

without faithful shepherds were doomed to fail.

So his pattern in the New Testament

was to establish elders or pastors

to lead the churches that he established

and the churches that he had influence over.

And let me show you that in the scripture

and other places.

Acts chapter 14 is one place.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

I think this is on the screen for you.

Acts chapter 14, verse 21.

Acts 14:21

This is Paul and Barnabas together.

When they had preached the gospel to that city

and had made many disciples,

they returned to Lystra and to Iconium

and to Antioch,

strengthening the souls of the disciples,

encouraging them to continue in the faith

and saying that through many tribulations,

we must enter the kingdom.

Now, here's the point I want you to see.

And when they had appointed elders for them

in every church with prayer and fasting,

they committed them to the Lord

in whom they had believed.

So this is not a singular instance

that's unfolding here.

This is a pattern that Paul has,

not just for Titus,

but he's now at least in Acts done it in Lystra,

he's done it in Iconium,

and he's done it in Antioch

and probably in all the other places as well.

He has come in,

he's encouraged the Christians there,

he's discipled a few men

that could serve as faithful shepherds.

And then once through prayer and fasting,

he had established those elders,

he moved on to his other mission endeavors

and the churches were encouraged for it and by it.

And we see in Philippians chapter one,

just in the greeting,

Paul and Timothy,

servants of Christ Jesus

to all the saints in Christ Jesus

who are at Philippi

with the overseers and the deacons.

Philippi was one of Paul's church plants.

You'll remember when he began that

and he and Silas spent the night

in the Philippian jail

singing praises to the Lord.

That was the beginnings of the Philippian church.

Paul eventually established his elders in that church.

And he writes back to them,

emphasizing these overseers.

He does the same thing in Colossians.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus

by the will of God,

Timothy, our brother,

to the saints

and the faithful brothers

in Christ at Colossae.

Now, faithful brothers and saints

are not the same thing.

Faithful brothers must be

a nod toward the leadership

that Paul had helped to establish

in the church at Colossae.

So we see this as a pattern.

But if we're going to understand

the presence of elders

and the necessity of them

to the life and health of the church,

we need to understand exactly what they are.

What are elders?

elders.

Well, there's three words

the New Testament uses.

The first one is presbyteros.

That is what is typically translated as elder.

Okay.

Sixty-six times in the New Testament,

this word is used for church leadership

and we translate it as elder

or elders in the plural.

The second one is episkopos.

This is overseer.

Overseer.

This is used five times

in the New Testament

referring to pastors in the church.

The third word is poimen.

Poimen, this is translated typically

as pastor or shepherd

or some form or tense of that word.

Eleven times this one is used

in the New Testament.

Okay.

Presbyteros, elder, episkopos, overseer,

poimen, pastor, shepherd.

Now here's the point that I want

to bring to the surface here.

It doesn't matter if you remember those words.

Okay.

Here's what I want to say about it.

These three terms are used interchangeably

in the New Testament.

They do not refer to three different types of people.

The reason that we're using elders so much

even in the language of our own church

is because the New Testament uses it

so much more than the other words.

We use pastor more than anything.

Culturally speaking,

the New Testament uses elders 66 times.

It only uses pastor 11.

So there's a huge difference here

and it doesn't matter what you call it,

but that's the point.

That's why we're using this term.

But these terms are interchangeable.

They don't refer to different offices in the church.

They refer to different functions

of the same office.

So elder recognizes the spiritual example of the pastor.

Spiritual maturity is the indication there.

Overseer recognizes the spiritual authority of the pastor.

And shepherd recognizes the spiritual care of the pastor.

Same person, same function, or same office,

but three different functions

that are fulfilled through that office.

Okay?

Spiritual leadership, spiritual care, spiritual example.

Now, let me just show you this in a couple of places

where these terms are used interchangeably

so you don't think I made that up, okay?

Because there's some denominations

that are gonna separate all those words out.

I want you to understand

why we don't separate those words out, okay?

Titus chapter one, you're right there in your Bible.

Verse number five that we just read,

Paul says, appoint elders, presbyteros,

appoint elders in every town as I directed you.

Now, I want your eye to go down to verse seven.

This is where Paul is describing

what the elders are to be in character.

But he doesn't use presbyteros.

He says, overseer, for an overseer, episkopos,

so even right here in Titus,

we see an interchanging of these terms.

It's not referring to two different people.

It's referring to the same office, different function.

Let me show you a better one.

First Peter chapter five, you can flip there if you want.

I think it's on the screen, actually,

if you want to see it there.

First Peter chapter five, verse one,

Peter says, I exhort the elders,

presbyteros, among you as a fellow elder

and a witness of the sufferings of Christ,

as well as a partaker in the glory

that is going to be revealed.

Shepherd, poimen, okay?

Shepherd, the flock of God that is among you,

exercising oversight, episkopos,

not under compulsion, but willingly.

And so on he goes in Peter's letter.

Just another example.

Peter understood these three terms interchangeably.

Paul understood these three terms interchangeably.

So we're not looking for multiple offices in the church.

We're just looking for elders.

So let's define it then.

What is an elder according to the scriptures?

Here it is.

An elder is a pastor who is responsible

for the spiritual care and oversight of a local church.

An elder is a pastor who is responsible

for the spiritual care and oversight of a local church.

Two important emphases in that description I just gave you.

First is responsible.

There is a burden of responsibility

in which those who shepherd God's church

are responsible to Jesus Christ

for the way that they care for your souls.

This is not a position

in which you sit around a boardroom table

and you make decisions

so that you can kind of manipulate

the direction of the organization.

That is not what an elder is.

It's not the mindset that an elder is to have.

An elder carries the responsibility

of the souls of the congregation.

That's a weighty responsibility.

The second emphasis in my definition

is local church.

I am a pastor at Lakeside Bible Church,

not any other church.

I'm not responsible for people

outside of this congregation.

And if you belong to this congregation,

you're not responsible to any other pastor.

There is a working through the local church

that is emphasized all throughout the New Testament

that we cannot ignore.

I have a responsibility for you.

You have a responsibility for me.

And it's a mutual soul care

that we have for one another.

Titus' task for the long-term health

of the churches in Crete

was to appoint men

who would faithfully lead them.

That's what Paul had left them in Crete to do.

Before we move on,

let me just mention

the conspicuous absence

of any mention of deacons here.

Paul doesn't say anything

about establishing deacons.

His first and primary concern

was for the establishment of pastors.

elders.

Now, that's not to diminish

the role of deacons in the church.

It was to emphasize,

rather,

the utter necessity

of elders in the church

from the very beginning.

And we must first be concerned

with our spiritual needs

before we are concerned

with our physical needs.

Something that I'm afraid

a lot of churches

have upside down.

How many churches do you know of?

How many friends that you have

when they're going through

a pastoral search

are more concerned

about who will serve them

than who will shepherd them?

Who will teach them?

Who will lead them?

Okay?

A lot of churches

get this upside down.

We gotta make sure

that we get it right side up.

Bill Mounts again says,

in the young churches,

Paul appointed only elders.

Perhaps the assumption

was that as the churches grew

and the workload increased,

deacons would be appointed to help.

A process paralleling

the growth of the Jerusalem church

in Acts chapter 6.

Acts 6 · chapter mention

And that makes sense there,

doesn't it?

A young church can get along

for a little while

without deacons,

but it won't get very far

without the presence

of faithful pastors.

Paul and Titus

understood this to be true,

and it was something

that we need not overlook

as a young church ourselves.

Okay?

The presence of elders

in the church.

Okay, I know you've had

enough of that.

Let's move on.

Number two,

the purpose of elders

in the church.

The purpose of elders.

Look back at verse 5.

This is why I left you in Crete,

so that you might put

what remained into order.

Now, Paul doesn't describe

what things remained

to be put in order,

but the letter clarifies it for us

as we go through.

Clearly, what he had in view

was structures

to promote gospel fidelity,

sound doctrine,

and godly living.

But setting those things

in order began

with appointing elders

who would continue that work

after Titus leaves Crete

because Titus isn't going

to stay there.

We get to the end

of chapter 3,

and Paul's already telling him,

I'm going to send

some folks to you,

and when they come to you,

I want you to come

to where I am.

And then we get

to 2 Timothy,

and we see that

Paul sends Titus

on to Dalmatia.

And who's left behind

in Crete?

The faithful elders

that he appoints

in the churches there.

That was the purpose.

They were to continue

this work

of setting things in order.

This was as much

a succession plan

as it was anything else,

and the purpose

that these men

had in the church

was the same purpose

carried out

by the apostles

from the very beginning.

But let's take a moment

to dig a little deeper.

What does a pastor

actually do?

What is he responsible

for under God

in the church?

Generally speaking,

elders are to oversee

the church

by providing

a godly example,

teaching sound doctrine,

and confronting heresy.

It's an office

of the word

executed by men

who faithfully live

according to the word.

And we see this

right here

in Titus chapter 1.

Titus 1 · chapter mention

Look at verse 6.

If anyone is above reproach,

the husband of one wife,

his children are believers.

He's not open

to the charge of debauchery

or insubordination.

He is above reproach.

He must not be arrogant,

quick-tempered,

or drunkard,

or violent,

and so on.

It continues on.

Look at verse 9.

He must hold firm

to the trustworthy word.

He needs to know his Bible.

And he needs to be able

to communicate the Bible

so that he may be able

to give instruction

in sound doctrine

and rebuke those

who contradict

the sound doctrine.

Generally speaking,

a pastor serves

as an example

to the congregation

and he teaches

the congregation

sound doctrine

and he confronts

the heresies

that may inevitably

creep their way

into the church as well.

But I want to give you

four specific responsibilities

that the scriptures give us

for biblical elders.

Here's what they do.

Number one,

elders lead the church.

They lead the church.

eldership in a local church

does not allow

for passivity

or lethargy.

It requires

that an individual

carefully

and passionately

exercise

biblical leadership

among God's people.

You shouldn't have to

talk somebody into this.

That's what I mean.

There is a

God-ordained passion

to not only love

the Lord

but to love his people

and to help them

and to edify them

and encourage them

and to lead them.

And just as God

calls a man

to actively

lead his family,

so does God

require elders

to actively

oversee

the members

and ministries

of the church.

It's a stewardship

for which each elder

gives an account

to the Lord Jesus.

It's a responsibility

that must not

be taken lightly

by those who are called

to fulfill it.

Let me show you this

in the scriptures.

In Acts chapter 20

Acts 20 · chapter mention

and verse 28,

this will be on the screen

for you so you don't

have to turn

unless you just want to.

Paul tells the elders

in Ephesus,

pay careful attention

to yourselves

and to all the flock

in which the Holy Spirit

has made you overseers

to care for the church

of God

which he obtained

with his own blood.

What's he telling the elders?

Be faithful to lead

because the Spirit of God

has called you

and has enabled you

to this end.

So fulfill it.

First,

taking careful watch

of your own life

and then of the lives

of the people

to which you have been

given responsibility.

Lead the church.

How about 1 Peter chapter 5?

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

We read it a minute ago.

Let's slow down on it

this time.

Peter says,

shepherd the flock.

That's among you.

Exercising oversight.

There's authority there.

Not under compulsion.

You shouldn't have to be

strong-armed into this

but do it willingly

as God would have you.

Not for shameful gain.

Don't do it for money.

Don't do it for prestige.

Don't do it for honor.

But do it eagerly.

Not domineering

over those in your charge

but being examples

to the flock.

There is authority here.

It is not the kind of authority

that domineers

over the people of God.

It is the kind of authority

given by God

to serve the word of God

to the people of God.

What do elders do?

They lead the church.

Exercise oversight.

Number two,

they teach the church.

They teach the church.

So oversight of the church

is not for the sake

of a man's preferences

or his ego.

The way that elders

lead the church

is by faithfully

teaching the Bible.

In fact,

the only gifting

required for an elder

is an ability to teach.

Every other qualification

given in Titus

and given in 1 Timothy 3

are all character based.

It's all about who he is

as a believer,

not about his gifting

except for the fact

that he has to be able

to teach the word.

Now that doesn't mean

that he has to be

particularly suited

for regularly delivering

the main sermon

on a Sunday morning.

But at the very least,

he needs to be able

to sit down at a table

at a coffee shop

or in somebody's kitchen

and be able to open up

his Bible

and help them understand

what it says

for their life.

Counsel them according

to the word of God.

Constantly point them back

to the gospel of Jesus.

Constantly refute the errors

that may be coming in

to their life.

He has to at least

be able to do that.

It's a gifting

and an empowerment

that comes by God

for a man to serve

the church.

Ephesians chapter 4,

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

we talk about this passage

all the time.

And he gave the apostles,

the prophets,

the evangelists,

the shepherds,

shepherds and teachers

to equip the saints

for the work of the ministry,

for building up

the body of Christ.

How are elders

to equip the saints

with the word of God?

You gotta be able to teach.

On some level,

they gotta know the Bible.

They gotta be able

to communicate

biblical truth.

1 Timothy 5, 17,

Let the elders

who rule well

be considered worthy

of double honor,

especially those

who labor

in preaching

and teaching.

2 Timothy 4,

preach the word,

Timothy.

Be ready in season,

out of season.

reprove,

rebuke,

exhort

with patience

and teaching.

What does an elder do?

He leads the church,

teaches the church.

And through teaching

is ultimately

the way that he exercises

his leadership

and oversight.

Thirdly,

an elder

protects the church.

Lead the church,

teach the church,

protects the church.

So just like a father

has the responsibility

of protecting his family

against dangerous people

and behaviors,

so an elder

has the first responsibility

of protecting

the congregation

against dangerous doctrines

and practices.

which is precisely

why a church

must only recognize

elders

who are clearly

knowledgeable of the Bible

because they need

to be able to spot

error

that is easily missed

by most people.

There's a reason

Jesus said

that the grieving

of wolves

look like sheep

because they're deceptive.

Their doctrines

are deceptive.

And if we're not ready,

we'll miss them.

And we need to at least

make sure

that our shepherds

are equipped

and suited for

spotting the wolves

to protect the church.

Here in Titus chapter 1,

Titus 1 · chapter mention

just look at verse 9.

He must hold firm

to the trustworthy word

as taught

so that he may be able

to give instruction

and also to rebuke

those who contradict it.

You say,

well, that's not very nice.

Well, it doesn't matter

if it's very nice.

It doesn't matter.

Because the elder

has a responsibility

for your soul.

And if he's going to

shortchange his responsibility

to confront error,

he's shortchanging

his responsibility

to truly exercise

love for the congregation.

I know I quote him

all the time,

but Alistair told his church,

he tells him all the time,

he says,

you'll know that

I've stopped loving you

when I stopped caring

about giving you the truth.

It's a responsibility.

What does he continue on with?

Verse 10,

for there are many

who are insubordinate,

they're empty talkers,

they're deceivers,

especially those

of the circumcision party,

the Jews.

They must be silenced

since they're upsetting

whole families

by teaching for shameful game

what they ought not to teach.

What does the burden

of responsibility fall on?

The shoulders of the elders.

Not them alone,

but them first.

Back to Acts chapter 20,

Acts 20 · chapter mention

speaking to the Ephesian elders,

Paul says,

I know after my departure,

fierce wolves

will come in among you.

But then he says,

they won't spare the flock,

but then he says,

even among your own selves

will arise men

speaking twisted things

to draw away

the disciples after them.

You say,

well,

what kind of elders

do we need?

We need elders

that can spot error

outside the church

and elders that can spot error

inside the church as well.

Even amongst themselves

as elders,

they need to be able

to spot the error,

confront it,

protect the church,

lead the church,

teach the church,

protect the church.

Fourthly,

they care for the church.

They care for the church.

Now,

an elder may be

a gifted overseer

who knows their Bible well,

but if they don't display

a genuine love

and concern

for the people of God,

they're not fulfilling

their responsibility

to the church.

I've known pastors

that you would think

after having lunch with them

that the last thing

that they want to spend

their lives doing

is shepherding people

in a church,

and yet it's their vocation.

That's not right.

If a man doesn't seem

to love God's people,

how's he going to care

for them?

There's a reason

that I have

a unique care

for the life

that Ashlyn and Harper

live

because I have

a unique love

for them.

And in the same way,

an elder will have

a unique care

for the people of God

because of a unique love

that God puts

in his heart

for them.

When recognizing

potential elders

in the church,

we need to be sure

that we don't ignore

a lack of care

for people.

In fact,

when the day comes

for us to recognize

more elders

in our church,

we need to be able

to spot the people

who are already

doing eldering work.

They're already

shepherding people.

They're already

doing these things

and it's made evident

in their life.

And part of that

is that they just love

the people of God.

They care

to serve them.

An elder is to be

a faithful counselor,

a prayer warrior

who rejoices

with the joyful

and weeps

with the discouraged.

He must be willing

to sacrifice time

and energy

for the people

He's been called

to lead.

Shepherds smell

like sheep.

And there may be

a man in our church

who is gifted

in the Word,

qualified in His character,

but if He doesn't

smell like sheep,

if He doesn't smell

like sheep,

you should be concerned.

James 5.14

is a pretty good

example of this,

isn't it?

Is anyone sick

among you,

James writes?

Let Him call

for the elders

of the church.

Let them pray

over Him,

anointing Him

with oil

in the name

of the Lord.

Why would they

call the elders?

Why couldn't they

just call other people

in the church?

Well, they could.

But why would He

call the elders first?

Because they care

for the church.

Care for the church.

The responsibilities

of elders are

a serious

and weighty matter.

And lest,

we'll talk about

this more next week,

but we shouldn't

hold expectations

that are,

that any human

is incapable

to actually fulfill

either.

We're not looking

for perfect men.

We're just looking

for men who will

be faithful.

faithful.

Church needs

to guard

against those

who desire

authority of the office

but not the

responsibility of it,

which is the reason

Paul instructed

Timothy not to be

too quick

to recognize elders.

He needs to prove

that he has the

call of God

on his life

because ultimately

the church

doesn't call

the elder.

God does.

The church

just recognizes

the call

through the way

that the Lord

is using him.

Okay?

So we see

the presence

of elders.

We see

the purpose

of elders.

Thirdly,

we'll be finished.

We see

the plurality

of elders

in the church.

The plurality

of elders

in the church.

Verse 5,

this is why

I left you

in Crete.

You might put

what remain

into order

and appoint

elders

in every town

as I directed you.

So two things

to point out

in the language

here.

The plural

use of elders

with the singular

use of town

suggests that

Paul's vision

was for multiple

leaders

in each

church.

So he's not

referring to a

group of elders

that he's then

going to disperse

among the churches.

He's talking about

groups of elders

within each

church.

Brian Chappell

says this about it.

The plurality

of elders

in each place

alerts us

to the need

for multiple

persons in our

churches

who will assume

responsibility

for the

spiritual care

of others.

And before I go

much further

it needs to be

acknowledged

that the Bible

doesn't prohibit

a singular

pastor in a church.

It's also true

that there's

no example

of a singular

pastor in the

New Testament

either.

The New Testament

references to

church leadership

are almost

exclusively

plural.

The fact

is that the

Bible just

doesn't know

a form of

a church

leadership

that doesn't

exist in

some type

of plurality

multiple

leadership.

Now let's

address the

elephant in the

room on that.

That doesn't

mean our church

is in sin.

I truly believe

that.

There are unique

settings in church

planning where

it takes time

to recognize

the people that

God is raising

up and training

and fashioning

into this.

I don't think

we're in sin

but it does

mean that we

need to be

consciously moving

toward multiple

leadership.

We need to be

thinking about it.

I hope you pray

about it.

That you pray for

God to raise up

men in our church

that will come

alongside us and

help serve the

church and lead

it well.

Let me give you

a few reasons

why.

Plurality guards

against pride and

an abuse of power.

guards against pride

which we are all

prone to and the

abuse of power

which we are all

also prone to.

John Murray said

this,

Plurality is a

safeguard against

the arrogance

and tyranny to

which man has the

most characteristic

proclivity.

Now let me

interpret that with

Alistair Begg's

words.

The New Testament

provides all the

safeguards necessary

to prevent the

kind of tyranny

that is easily

exercised in a

local church

where one man

with a fat head

and a big mouth

runs the operation.

That was a

less special way

to say what John

Murray said.

And it's true,

isn't it?

We know this.

We've experienced

these things before

where a godly man

is rightly

exercising leadership

in the church

but because there

aren't the right

safeguards that God

has provided

around him

over time

through temptation

and pride

he can get a

fat head

and a big mouth

and think he's

responsible to run

everybody's life

and what he says

goes.

And that's not

the picture that

we see in the

New Testament.

I'm not saying

that our disposition

toward leaders

should be

suspicious.

In fact,

I don't think

it should be.

If you don't

trust someone,

don't appoint

them.

So we shouldn't

constantly just

evaluate to see

what is this guy

doing wrong

and how can we

fix him.

That's not the

disposition that we

have.

But we should care

to put the Bible

safeguards in place

to prevent the

church from having

to deal with a

huge mess down

the road.

And plurality is

the first step

in this kind of

protection.

Number two,

plurality provides

consistent,

long-term

leadership.

Let me just ask

you a very

practical question.

What happens

to a church

that is served

by a singular

pastor

and then loses

that pastor?

What happens?

You've been in

churches like this.

You know what

happens.

Unfortunately,

the burden of

responsibility falls

on a group of

men who are

well-meaning

and love the

Lord and love

their church.

And now the

weight of

choosing a

pastor falls

on them and

they don't have

pastoral

responsibilities

themselves.

But they're

supposed to

choose the next

guy.

So they do it

the best way

that they can

and the best

way that they

can is with

the mindset

of the

business

framework

that they're

used to.

So they have

a search

committee and

they sit

around a room

and they ask

guys to come

in and they

look at their

resumes and

they see,

does this guy

have some

skills?

Like, is he

capable of

doing things?

And let me

tell you something,

it's pretty easy

to convince somebody

that you got the

skills when you

don't have the

skills.

It's not that

hard to do.

Every preacher

has one good

sermon and if

you're going to

let him preach

on one Sunday,

he's going to

preach that one

good sermon,

isn't he,

Terry?

You know

what it's

like?

And then you're

going to invite

him to come

be your

pastor and

you're going

to realize

he only had

one good

sermon.

Well, what

happens to

the church?

They have to

go on an

extensive church

for a new

pastor who

undoubtedly

will come

in with his

own agenda

that may or

may not be

consistent with

the church's

mind and

mission.

But if a

congregation is

led by a

healthy plurality,

it will

surely be

consistently

shepherded

for many,

many years.

If we have a

plurality of

faithful pastors

in our church

and something

happens to

Jared, who

do you turn

to?

The other

pastors in

the church.

The other

men who are

already shepherding

you.

Your spiritual

life doesn't

rely on me.

and if I

leave this

church to

where you're

dependent on

me instead

of the Lord

Jesus and

the gifts that

he gives in

multiple leadership,

then I have

failed in doing

what I should

do to lead

you according

to the Bible.

Something

happens to me

or if you

find me to

be in sin,

who's going to

point it out?

Who's going

to have that

kind of access

to my life

as a senior

pastor?

Well,

ultimately,

it's going to

be my wife

and it's going

to be the

elders of the

church.

And when

something happens

to me,

you just turn

to the other

elders who are

going to shepherd

you faithfully.

And it may be

that one of

them are now

suited to take

the place of

senior pastor.

But at the

very least,

they'll be

pastors who

can rightly

evaluate another

potential pastor.

Consistent,

long-term

leadership.

Number three,

plurality helps

to exercise

prudence.

We could point

out a hundred

different things

that it does

this with just

out of basic

wisdom that we

see all throughout

the scripture.

We won't do

that this morning,

but let me

just say it

from this

perspective.

A plurality

of elders doesn't

mean that every

pastor is

vocational.

It doesn't

mean that every

pastor relates

relies on the

church to

provide their

living.

In fact,

I think it's

actually very

prudent to

have multiple

lay elders,

what we would

call lay elders,

whose leadership

and judgment

isn't

potentially clouded

by the fact

that their

living is

directly tied to

the people that

they lead.

Again,

that doesn't

mean that we

are to approach

our pastors with

suspicion.

I hope you're

not suspicious of

me in the

hope I'm

accountable to

you in a

faithful way

and in a

righteous way.

But when

there's other

men sitting

around me and

we're making

real decisions

about the

church that

maybe have

strong opinions

on different

sides of the

aisle in our

church,

our church

will be helped

when I'm not

the only one

making that

decision.

Our church

will be helped

to have men

who won't be

tempted by the

fact that if

the good givers

in the church

don't like

what I say,

there goes my

paycheck for

the month or

whatever it is.

You know what I

mean?

There's just some

prudence in that.

There's a lot of

different ways that

we could talk

about that.

That's a helpful

way, I think.

Fourthly and

finally, plurality

encourages what we

would call parity.

Parity.

Alexander Strzok said

that healthy

elderships involve

equality with

diversity.

Equality with

diversity among

its leadership.

And here's what

that means.

It doesn't

preclude the

need or role

of a senior

pastor or

someone that

is to be a

leader among

the leaders and

will carry the

load of the

regular preaching

in the church.

It doesn't

preclude that.

But a plurality

of elders does

allow for

differing gifts

and experiences

to be fruitfully

used by God

for the good

of his church.

My gift may

have to do

with preaching

a sermon

on a Sunday.

But there will

be other men

in our church

who are gifted

in ways that

I am not.

They may have

a unique

sense of

compassion

and sympathy

and they'll be

able to shepherd

our church

in the role

and the function

of care

in a way that

I'm not as good

at doing.

Whatever it may

be.

Parity.

Equality.

Not hierarchy.

Not inferior

elders and superior

elders.

Not that at all.

Diversity.

Differing gifts

all fulfilling

the same role.

So a healthy

plurality then

is not only good

for the church.

It's good for

the elders.

It provides

camaraderie.

Unity of purpose.

It will help

avoid decision

fatigue for a

senior pastor.

It protects

any one leader

from unnecessary

or unhelpful

accusations.

Christians.

I believe it's

God's plan

for his church

and that in

itself is enough

for us to care

about it.

And I think

there's hints

of it

for sure

in verse 5.

And we could

go to a lot

of places

in the New

Testament to see

that fleshed out.

Let me just

bring it to a

close this way.

When it comes

to the issue

of church

leadership,

remember the

structure itself

isn't the goal.

The structure

itself isn't

the goal.

Remember Titus'

primary task

is to make sure

that the churches

are faithful

to the gospel,

that they're

committed to

sound doctrine,

that they're

living godly

lives that show

the glory of

God.

That's the

greater end

to which

the lesser

goal of

plurality of

eldership

actually achieves.

So that's what

we're looking for.

Without faithful

elders, our church

will eventually

fall into

dysfunction,

it'll fall

into error,

it'll be

subject to it

at least.

Let me give

two specific

applications as

we finish.

One, the

congregation is

at least in

part responsible

for this.

In 2 Timothy

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4 or

chapter 3,

Paul tells

Timothy that

eventually there's

going to come,

there's going to

be congregations

with itching

ears and they're

going to heap

to themselves

teachers who

will tell them

whatever it is

that they want

to hear.

Meaning that

the congregation

bears some

responsibility in

this, at least

in part.

You're responsible

for your

leadership.

And what we

need to do as a

church is care

deeply about this.

I know for most

people, talking

about church

polity will send

you into the

deeper stages

of sleep for

sure in your

REM cycle.

But it's at

least something

that you need

to care about

because you

love your

church.

So as a

congregation we

need to care

about it and to

pray about it, we

need to think

about it.

But let me give

you this final

application.

Paul said that

those who desire

to shepherd a

church desire a

noble thing.

and we need

men who will

desire the

work.

Who will desire

the work.

Now understand

that the Lord

does this,

understand that.

But we need

men who will

desire to love

and to lead

his church.

Doesn't

automatically

qualify a man

to lead, but

no man will be

willing or able

to shepherd a

church without a

God-given desire

to do so.

And when's the

last time that

in your time with

the Lord you

prayed and you

said, Lord, if

you were to ever

want me to serve

in this way, I

would be willing

to do it because

I love you and I

love your church.

Can I also say

that we need

wives who will

encourage this in

their husbands?

If not for any

other thing, to

look at the

qualifications of a

godly man, Titus

1 and 1 Timothy

3, and say, I

want you to be

that man in our

home.

And if the

Lord uses it to

put you in a

place of leadership

in our church, I'm

not going to stand

in the way of

that.

And I'm going to

encourage you in

that.

And I'm going to

help you in

that.

A wife won't

make your

ministry, but a

wife can certainly

break it.

And maybe some

of you as wives

would pray, you

know, if the