Morning Sermon

September 9, 2007

Church Leadership

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I will do something this morning which I almost never do. Rather than focus my sermon upon a single text of Scripture, I will instead speak with reference to a number of different verses in the Bible, all with a single subject. The leadership of the church. So I will be preaching expositionally, as always, but expounding portions of several different texts rather than more exhaustively studying just one.

The overall subject of this whole series of sermons is the church, the body of Christ. And in that study we come to a very practical matter. A very important practical matter. Actually, an essential matter. A matter that is at the very heart of what it is to be a church. And that matter is government.

When I grew up, I had no idea how the church was governed. For my experiences, it was irrelevant. It just didn't matter. But I came to realize that was wrong. It matters very much, and one of the things that so interested me in the first reformed and presbyterian church I attended was the stress that was laid upon that importance.

We see the importance of church government and church leadership in the stressed emphasis of the later books of Paul, especially the letters to Timothy and Titus. It stands to reason that you find a greater emphasis on church government, for the church has had a number of years and decades to become established, and as the age of the Apostles was coming to end, as the church was more and more established, the necessity of maintaining good order in the leadership becomes all the more important. And so Paul writes, for example,

1 Tim. 3:15 "...I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."

That "conduct" is largely a matter of church government, particularly with the instructions regarding both Elders and Deacons. Our subject this morning will particularly stress the importance of the Elders, who bear the spiritual authority and oversight in the church, though many of the points and ideas will also apply to Deacons, who bear the authority to administer the ministry of mercy within the church, attending to the tangible and physical needs of the church while Elders attend to prayer and the ministry of the Word.

Starting with Titus 1:5, what is immediately obvious is the priority which Paul places upon having Elders. The Greek word is "presbyteros." And the English plural form, "presbytery." Titus 1:5

Thus for Paul, laying an apostolic foundation upon which the church would be built,

I. THE APPOINTMENT OF ELDERS IS AN ABSOLUTE NECESSITY. You can't have a church without it. You can have a church without a pastor, without a building, and without enough money. But not without Elders. In fact, as the church in the first century was being built, the absence of elders was the situation that came first and foremost to Paul's mind.

A. The absence of Elders in every congregation is a matter of disorder. And a serious matter of disorder. Paul gets right to the point. He had already commanded Titus to appoint Elders. He had already given the command. This was not new, but a clearly articulated necessity. So Paul actually left him in Crete in order "set in order" what was lacking.

Something had been forsaken. Something had been left behind. Something in the church was destitute, failing. There were not yet elders.

Note something extremely important in this text, and all the others we will examine. The rule of the church is never given to an Elder, singular. The word is always in the plural. The necessity of every congregation is not merely to have an Elder, but to have more than one.

In our situation, we have one Elder called to be a minister of the gospel, and since my labors in the ministry of the word consume my time and energy, you pay me a certain amount of money each month so that I can free from worldly care and employment. In terms of office, I am one of the Elders of the church. We also have another Elder often labeled a Ruling Elder, such that the rule and oversight of the church is not left to one man. And at our request as a congregation, we have asked our Presbytery to add Tony Monaghan to our Session, or body of Elders, so that we might have three men and not just two.

The appointment of Elders, plural, in every congregation, is a matter of absolute necessity. And,

B. The oversight of Elders in every congregation is a matter of spiritual well-being. Let me briefly explain that Scripture establishes the office of Elder to be the office of rule and oversight, to govern the church God and to shepherd the people of God. Several different words are used for this office, including the word translated bishop here in Titus 1:7. That refers to a man charged with the duty of seeing that things to be done by others are done rightly. He is a superintendent. An overseer. A ruler.

It is, most of all, a rule of spiritual oversight, according to, Titus 1:9 "...holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict."

Likewise, Heb. 13:17 "Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account."

That's the role of the Elders, to "watch out for your souls." And these same men, these rulers, are to also to be shepherds. For Paul wrote to the Elders of Ephesus,

Acts 20:28 "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."

Paul goes on to describe the spiritual dangers that faced the church, and the necessary protection provided by the Elders.

Acts. 20:29 "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 "Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves."

So the Elders shepherd the flock, protecting them from attacking wolves. They protect the flock from all dangers and provide for the sheep all the food and nourishment necessary for life. As they rule and govern.

Thus the Elder is the overseer is the shepherd. The Elder is the bishop is the pastor. It is all one and the same office, the duties that fall upon one and the same man.

And then there is the clear implication that among all the Elders, some of them also particularly labor in preaching and teaching. All the Elders must be able to teach, to protect and preserve the sound doctrine of the church, but some are particularly given to preaching and teaching.

1 Tim. 5:17 "Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine."

And so we have what we call today the "minister of the word." But as such, he is one of the Elders. We might just as rightly call him "the teaching elder." And we could then, by distinction, call the other elders, Ruling Elders. Both are Elders. Both given responsibility for oversight and rule in the church.

Let me go to one more cross reference, where this idea of shepherding is again joined together with the idea of ruling or exercising oversight.

1 Peter 5:2 "Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock."

There is a warning against the abuse of authority, for all men are prone to abuse whatever authority they are given. But the warning comes because the Elder is actually invested with the authority to rule. In the language of our Constitution, that is called "jurisdiction." The authority to rule. And the Elders posses and are to exercise that authority. As they "shepherd the flock." And that is the definition of what might well be labeled "presbyterian" church government. The rule of Elders in the administration of the government of the church. Jurisdiction, or the authority to rule in the church, doesn't rest with the whole congregation, but with the Elders. Yet neither is that jurisdiction vested in a single executive officer, a chairman or a president. Nor an earthly king or head of the church. The biblical pattern of church government is not the rule of an earthly king in the church, as in a monarchy, nor in the rule of all the people, as in a pure democracy. Rather the exercise of rule is by the Elders, representative rulers ruling on behalf of the people. It is the form of government embodied in our national Constitution. It is called a republic.

Those entrusted with the care of the church rule as Elders, and just as a man is called to that leadership within his own home, so, too, the Elders within the church. In fact, a man's oversight of his home is a necessary qualification for the office of Elder, who must be...

1 Tim. 3:4 "...one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?)."

Having said all of that, how do we get Elders? What is,

II. THE PROCESS OF OBTAINING ELDERS. In Titus 1:5, Paul simply refers to "appointing" Elders. That's a good English translation, and not much is implied about the process of how they are actually "appointed." They are placed into office. But how is it that men are installed into the office of Elder?

Let me emphasize the two parts of that process, both with reference to hands. We are in Acts 14:23 about,

A. An appointment by the show of hands. Acts 14:23 "So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed."

There we have a different Greek word for "appoint." It is not merely the word for placing someone into office, but quite literally, a word that means "the stretching of the hand." Or, "the raising of the hands." I believe it refers to the vote of the people, to elect elders by the show of hand of the congregation. To vote by stretching out your hand.

In other words, Elders are not imposed upon the church. They are elected by the church. So just as our responsibility as citizens of the United States is to elect our rulers, so also in the church. The Elders do not appoint successors. They do not even offer a formal recommendation when nominations are received. That right to elect by the show of hands, or written ballots, is vested in the congregation.

I should add as an explanation, the Elders do train and examine men before such an election is held. And since the responsibility of the Elders is to protect the church, we will not call for an election of a man who does meet biblical qualifications. So in scheduling a congregational election, the Elders will first certify that a man meets those qualifications. But that certification is not even a recommendation. The vote belongs to the congregation, by show of hands.

And then, another use of hands. The laying on of hands. Laying on of the hands of the Elders. That's how a man is put into office. We label it "ordination." An Elder, and for that matter also, a Deacon, is not only elected by the congregation by a show of hands but he is,

B. Ordained by the laying on of hands. Paul writes to Timothy, 1 Tim. 4:14 "Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership."

The verse immediately before describes the ministry to which Timothy was ordained,

1 Tim. 4:13 "Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine."

So ordination, the laying on of hands of the eldership, is a vitally significant event. It is not a human tradition or man-made ritual, but the means by which God himself puts a man into office within his church.

Similarly, 2 Tim. 1:6 "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands."

And the further instruction of, 1 Tim. 5:22 "Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep yourself pure."

It is not a quick an easy thing, this act of ordination. Because it is so significant, so vital for the well-being of the church. You actually share in the sins of others by treating ordination lightly. And the positive side of all that is the immense benefit and spiritual profit afforded to the church of Jesus Christ by the ordination of men to the office of Elder.

But let me move on to something of even more significance regarding the office of Elder within the church, and that is,

III. THE SPIRITUAL NATURE OF THE OFFICE OF ELDERS. The spiritual nature.

The Eldership is not merely a committee of the church. It is not merely a board upon which a man might be willing to serve a term. It is not merely an external necessity of church government that finds its meaning in pragmatic benefits of leadership. This is not a human institution or an earthly flow chart for organizational structure. This is how Jesus set up his church. The rule of Elders is the apostolic foundation of the church. But most of all, this is the way in which Jesus, himself, rules within the church.

Jesus rules the church, as the chief shepherd, the chief pastor, the chief elder. That's what Peter calls him in,

1 Peter 5:4 "...and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away."

And yet those human Shepherds, under-shepherds we might call them, are still given these instructions,

1 Peter 5:2 "Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers."

Exercising oversight. That's what Elders do. But it is Jesus' authority.

A. The authority of the Elders is an administration of the authority of Jesus. So Jesus exercises his rule not simply through the rather subjective working of the Holy Spirit, but through the actual, literal, practical and earthly rule of men who are ordained as Elders. And so, when the Elders act in the oversight of the church, Jesus is actually exercising his authority, as he had himself declared to Peter,

Mat. 16:19 "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

You see, church government is not really patterned after the form we would call a republic. Actually, the church government presented in the Bible is a monarchy. There is a king. He has absolute, sovereign authority, vested solely and completed in himself. This is the power of God,

Eph. 1:20 "...which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."

The reality of the situation is this, Jesus Christ governs his church. And he governs by the exercise of authority entrusted to men. But not merely to men, rather men ordained by the laying on of hands of the Presbytery. And, by that action, therefore, men ordained to office by the Holy Spirit himself.

Acts 20:28 "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."

Jesus bought the church with his own blood. And he entrusts the care of his sheep to men, made to be overseers by the powerful working of the Holy Spirit.

Beloved, the spiritual nature of the office of Elders can't get any clearer than that. The exercise of elder's authority can't be emphasized any greater than that. This stuff is real. It is the ground upon which our church is governed. It is how Jesus, by power of his Holy Spirit, governs his church.

And yet there is one more absolutely essential thing to understand. And that is accountability. I've talked about the exercise of authority by Elders. But what about their accountability, and I might add, the necessity of their accountability.

Don't ever give a man authority and don't make him accountable for how he exercises it. God never does. There are always restraints, put in place by God, to keep the one in authority in check. Our fallen nature requires that protection. And here it is. Again, in the context of the spiritual nature of the office of Elders we see the spiritual nature of their accountability.

B. The accountability of the Elders is to the authority of Jesus. Now, in our church we have lesser systems of accountability established. The work of the Elders is routinely examined by the Presbytery, and each of you has the right to question, challenge or complain against anything the Session does, in a legal sense of that word complain. You have the right to request a review of our actions at any time. And even without that request, everything we do is reviewed for evaluation and approval.

But as essential as that system of checks and balances is, there is a higher accountability clearly established in Scripture. Going back to,

Heb. 13:17 "Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account."

That accounting is clearly implied before God. The Elders exercise the authority of Jesus in their work and labors overseeing the church, and because they exercise the authority of Jesus they have to answer to Jesus.

Now beloved, that is for your protection. Your spiritual protection and well-being. And no man is fit to be an Elder that is ever tempted to lose that perspective. Authority doesn't mean we can do whatever we want. It means we must seek to do that which Jesus would approve.

And then, when that is done, however imperfectly it yet remains, Jesus will bless his church.

We live in an age where authority is so often abused and misused, where it is flaunted such that a man exalts himself and the exercise of his power. But we also live in an age where the authoritative exercise of authority is looked upon with suspicion and disdain, where those who are called to lead often fail miserably because they fail to recognize the nature of the calling of the Eldership, to administer the authority of Jesus himself, to administer the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

And so we have it, God's design for his church, the body of Jesus. A body ruled and governed by Jesus through the faithful oversight of mortal men, faulty and imperfect men, yet men nonetheless ordained to the office of Elder and placed in that office by the Holy Spirit himself.

In all of this, Jesus Christ, Col. 1:17 "...is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence."

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