The text of our heading reads, “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed you.” Here, we find Paul leaving Titus in Crete to set in order things lacking and ordain elders in every…
When Paul went to Miletus, he sent for the elders of Ephesus, reminding them of his work (apostle’s work) among them and exhorting them to take heed to themselves and the flock. Knowing they would never see his face again, he wanted them to be reminded of their most pressing obligation in shepherding the saints…
Consider the following passage as the existing pattern of their selection. (1) Acts 14:23 “And when they had ordained them elders in every church (ekklesia) and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed..” When the Apostle Paul began his return home from his first journey, he and Barnabas…
There are patterns in the New Testament but the leadership defined by conventional wisdom is surprisingly lacking in the New Testament. If leadership is defined as authority figures who make final decisions and delegate tasks to others, then we are very surprised by the lack of “leadership” among first-century saints. In Acts 15, we discover…
It is often pointed out that every time the term is used, it is in the plural and therefore prohibits a one-man rule. In addition, in this plurality, no one man ever acts independently of the others (Acts 11:30, 14:23, 15:2,4; 20:17; 21:18; Philippians 1:1; 1Tim. 5:1, 17, 19; Tit. 1:5; James 5:14-15, 1 Peter…
The word “elder” is translated from the Greek presbuteros, meaning an older man comparable to our word “senior”. The term is a designation that implies rank due to age, i.e., experience. In other words, he is an older man of experience who is held in honor. Campbell’s work concludes that in both Jewish and Graeco-Roman…
Paul used the word “overseer” in 1 Timothy 3 and the word “elders” in Titus 1:7 when giving a very comparable list of qualifications. Some argue from the Pastoral epistles that “elders” are in the plural and “overseer” is in the singular. Therefore, it is argued that these refer to two different church offices. …
The term “elder” was not a title of an administrative position that focuses on the mundane affairs of the business, including the maintenance of a church building, keeping the worship orderly, and deciding who they will hire to teach. Instead, they are spiritual leaders who occupy a place of honor in the hearts of…
In our last post, we noticed how shepherds led by providing a living example. What is equally clear is that they could not wield their influence without being “among the sheep.” One cannot be a leader until he has followers and he cannot have followers until such a close companionship of shepherd/sheep is developed. The…
We will see that the description of the men God gave the ekklesia in Ephesians 4:11 overlap each other. For example, the role of apostles, shepherds, and teachers share not only the responsibility to teach, but they were also qualified to lead by example. While their primary role is that of teaching, we assume that…