Biblical Leadership: Elders and Deacons at Mercy Hill(Part 1)
You may be wondering why we would decide to do a series on elders and deacons. That’s a very good question. Here’s some of the reasons:
First – because it’s important to understand how Jesus has set up His Church. It’s been a long time since we’ve taught on church government, and many of you come from different backgrounds – some of you come from churches where one pastor made all the decisions; others where the congregation made the decisions; others where deacon board made the decisions. But I want to share with you what our convictions are for how Jesus has set up His Church.
Second – because we need to raise up more elders. Right now we have two elders: Jerry Shipp and myself; but a church of our size would do better with 4 or even 5. Now in the meantime if Jerry and I disagree on anything, or if any big issues come up, we will pull in the other home group leader guys to help us. But what would be optimal for us would be to have 4 or even 5 elders. And I am praying God will use this teaching to stir some of you men to consider eldership and to take steps to grow into that responsibility.
Third -- because we need to raise up deacons. We have never had official deacons. But Jerry and I have become convinced that this is important, because as I will show you there are two offices in the New Testament: Elders and Deacons. And we believe it would be helpful to recognize those who are already functioning as deacons, and teach on what deacons are so we can raise up more.
Fourth – because we have been learning more about eldership. Recently Jerry and I have done some fresh study on what God’s Word says about eldership and to think through who elders are, what elders do, what qualifications they must meet, and how they should be assessed. We’ve studied God’s Word, read pages and pages of documents, and we’ve learned some new things which I want to share with you.
So we’ve been talking about when I should teach on this topic. And this last Tuesday morning as I was praying I felt like the Holy Spirit said it was time. And when I called Jerry and shared this with him, he agreed.
My longing is to see Christ-treasuring men and women raised up here at Mercy Hill and spread throughout this area; to see Christ-treasuring families shining the Gospel in every neighborhood; to see Christ-treasuring home groups multiplied throughout the South Bay; to see Christ-treasuring churches planted in Santa Teresa and North Valley and Los Gatos and West San Jose.
But for this to happen we need to raise up more leaders and more workers – and in the New Testament these are called elders and deacons. So I am praying that God will use this series to raise up more elders and deacons.
So let’s start by asking – what offices has Jesus established for the church? To answer that, let’s turn to Philippians 1:1. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand. We’re going to look up a number of different Scriptures this morning, so you’ll want to have a Bible in front of you. Philippians 1 is on page 980 in the Bibles we are passing out.
Philippi was a Roman colony on the shores of the Aegean sea. And look at how Paul starts off this letter:
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:
So this letter is addressed to all the saints – all those in Philippi who are trusting Jesus and gathered to be His church. But as part of the church Paul also mentions overseers and deacons. Which shows that everyone in Philippi would have known who the overseers were and who the deacons were. Paul is not expecting anyone to ask: “Overseers and deacons? What are you talking about?” No, Paul expected everyone to know who the overseers and the deacons were.
So in the church of Philippi there’s two offices – two official positions: there’s overseers, and there’s deacons.
So who are deacons? Deacons are women and men who have recognized positions of service in the church.
I believe God calls both women and men to be deacons. I will explain more about this in the next two weeks when we look at I Timothy 3 where Paul lists the qualifications for deacons. And this is one of those points on which godly people disagree. But here at Mercy Hill we believe God calls both women and men to be deacons.
And deacons have recognized positions of service in the church. The reason I say that is because the Greek word for “deacon” is “diakonia” – that’s where we get the English word “deacon.” And the Greek word “diakonia” means “servant,” someone who serves. But isn’t every believer called to serve? Yes. But the fact that Paul calls some “deacons” shows that there are some who have recognized positions of service in the church.
I’ll be talking more about deacons in the next two weeks. But this morning I want to focus overseers.
So who are overseers? Overseers (elder-pastor-shepherds) are a team of men who are responsible to Jesus Christ to lead, teach, protect, and equip His Church.
Overseers are also called elders or pastor/shepherds in the New Testament. To see this, turn to Acts 20 (page 929). Notice what Luke says in v.17 –
Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.
So Paul is talking to all of the elders. But then look at what Paul calls them in v.28 –
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.
In v.17 they are called elders; in v.28 they are called overseers. What does that show us? That the elders are the overseers; the overseers are the elders.
But I have to say more about that verse. We elders are to pay careful attention to ourselves – diligently fighting to trust Jesus, taking sin very seriously. And we are to pay careful to all the flock – to care for the church of God which he obtained with his own blood.
Jesus loved the church and laid down His life for the church – paying for our sins with His own blood so that by faith alone we can be forgiven and justified and adopted in to God’s family. Jesus obtained the church with His own blood. That makes me tremble. In Hebrews 13 we read that we leaders will give an account for everyone who is part of Mercy Hill.
On that final day, when an elder stands before Jesus, Jesus will ask him to give an account for those who were under their charge. Pray for us.
So Acts 20 shows that overseers are elders. But what about pastors? Where do pastors fit in here? It’s interesting that we all talk about pastors, but the word “pastor” is rarely used in the New Testament. When it is used it’s literally the word “shepherd.” And elders and overseers are told to pastor and shepherd the flock. So pastors are supposed to be elders and overseers.
The word that is used most often is “elder” – so that’s the word that we’ll use most of the time.
Also, elders are a team of men. God calls men to be elders. That’s not because women are inferior to men. Women are not inferior to men. God has created women and men equally in His image, He equally loves women and men, gifts women and men, calls into ministry women and men.
But as we’ve studied the Scriptures it’s clear that God has chosen to have men take the role of headship and leadership in the home, and in the church,. We can see that in Ephesians 5 where Paul says the husband is to be the head of the wife, which by the way, men, includes the fact that we lay our lives down for our wives. And we can see that in 1 Timothy 2:12 where Paul says that in the church it is to be men who teach and exercise authority over men.
And elders are a team of men. We saw that in Philippians 1:1 where Paul talks about the overseers and deacons. The church at Philippi had a plurality of elder-overseers. And I think every time elders are talked about, there’s a team.
So elders are a team of men who share authority under Jesus Christ over the church.
So how many New Testament churches had elders? I grew up in churches that didn’t have elders. So it was amazing to me when I studied this and found that not only are elders mentioned way more than pastors, it looked like every single New Testament church had a team of elders.
Here’s one example. Look at Acts 14:21-23 (page 923) --
21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,
22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
23 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 after Paul had planted many churches, he gave them all a return visit. Why? One reason was so that he could appoint elders for them in every church. In how many churches? “Every church.” Every single church. Doesn’t this sound like Paul wants a team of elders in every church?
I’ve put some more Scriptures in your notes which you can study on your own. Peter assumes that all the churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia had elders. James assumes that all of his readers have elders they can ask to pray for them when they are sick. We know from the book of Acts that the churches at Jerusalem and Ephesus had elders. And we know from the book of Titus that the churches in Crete all had elders.
So that’s why we here at Mercy Hill are being led by a team of elders – and why we are going to work towards adding to our elder team.
What are elders called to do? Let me mention five responsibilities;
First, they are to live exemplary lives. Turn to 1 Timothy 3. Two times in the New Testament Paul gives a detailed list of requirements for elders. We are going to look more closely at them next week. But for now let’s read I timothy 3:1-7 --
1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.
2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive,
5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?
6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
This is astonishing when you stop and think about it. Jesus wants his church to be led by men like that. Can you see how much He loves His church? And can you see that the Holy Spirit can powerfully change men?
But also, when I read this list, I am humbled and sobered and become aware of my shortcomings. So pray for me. Pray for Jerry. Because we elders are called to live exemplary lives.
Second, they are to care for the church. Look at I Peter 5:1-3 --
1 So I exhort the elders 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:
2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;
3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
We are to shepherd the flock. That’s the word “pastor.” Care for the flock like a shepherd cares for the sheep. Love the flock. Lay down your life for the flock.
At Mercy Hill the main care of the flock takes place in home groups. So every elder probably needs to be an effective home group leader. Not every home group leader will be an elder. But every elder probably needs to be an effective home group leader.
Third, they are to teach the Bible to the church. Look at 1 Timothy 3:2 --
Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach …
That does not mean that every elder needs to have a call to preach. But every elder needs to be able to communicate God’s word clearly. And some will be called to work hard at teaching and preaching.
Fourth, they are to lead and set policy for the church. Look at I Timothy 5:17 –
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.Elders are called to rule – not in a heavy-handed way, but to lead and set policy for the church’s health and well-being.
And fifth, they are to train and equip other leaders and teachers. This has been a new thought for me. Look at Eph 4:11-12 –
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
The shepherds and teachers are the elder-overseers. And one responsibility Jesus gives to elder-overseers is that they equip the saints for the work of ministry. So elders need to be able to train up men who trust Jesus, read their Bibles, pray earnestly, work hard at their jobs, love their wives, hug their kids, be wise with their money, and lead people to Jesus. Elders need to make disciples who make disciples who make disciples.
Men, does this make your heart beat faster? Are you feeling that you’d love to do this? Paul says that if you aspire to this office,
So what questions does this raise?
And what does this mean for us? Two things:
First, if your heart is stirred about being an elder, talk to your home group leader. They, and Jerry and I, would love to work with you, train you, and help you discern if you are called to be an elder. So talk with us.
And second, pray for Jerry and me. We desperately need God’s help. We are going to give account for every one of you. So pray for us.