Elders In Baptist Congregational Life tagged: , ,

Elders In Baptist Congregational Life

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I’m not sure I even knew what an elder was. Our church was invested in FAITH. We had deacons and a church council. We were reaching people but couldn’t get them to church. They needed more than the first contact, but that was all the FAITH teams could do. Sunday Schools had to followup. Their teachers had to lead them to assimilate these new people. However, S.S. member didn’t want to, and some teachers didn’t want to. So what were we to do with all these souls? We decded to push the issue. After all, this was about eternity. If a teacher wouldn’t lead in outreach, then a teacher wouldn’t teach. We presented our plan to the deacons. They all signed off.

One Sunday morning we presented the plan to the church. That afternoon I was in the middle of a firestorm. When push came to shove, I got knocked down. A few days later a junior deacon came and told me I was wrong. My attitude was haughty, but we had to do something. Another deacon meeting ensued. Several agreed that I was wrong, so in anger I asked, “Why then did you all sit there silently and let me stick my head in the noose?” Heads fell and there was no answer. Thus began the year from hell, and thus began the transformation of the leadership of our church.

I had worked hard to establish a functioning church council because I am a team player and because my Church Business Administration textbook said I should. However, some of the people on the council simply were not spiritually mature enough or fit enough to guide a church. Our deacons had begun the process of becoming servants long before I arrived on the scene. I found out they had tried to lead and were shot down a few years earlier. They wanted to serve, not to lead. I was discouraged, frightened and frustrated. I had no idea what to do, but I had a friend whose Baptist church had established elders after the moral failure of the past two pastors and the failure of the deacons to handle either situation well. I had always thought he was insane. Elders, what little I knew of them, were for Presbyterian churches. I didn’t need another board telling me what to do, or failing to tell me what to do. I needed biblical support to lead these people so that we carried out the great commission. I needed counsel and accountability. I needed brothers in arms, not against the congregation, but in support of the congregation. I did not want to fail like this again. It was too painful, and too harmful to my church.

So, I turned to Scripture. I could not find chapter and verse to support my belief that 21st century pastors are really 2nd century elders. I found the equipping ministries of Ephesians and the overseer, teaching ministries of elders in 1 Timothy. I was confronted by the “plurality” of elders everywhere I looked. The thought of having a group of Biblically qualified, godly men helping me lead the congregation, helping me make sound decisions, holding me accountable and helping us all stay on doctrinal track was exciting.

The books I read about elders were good, but seemed too autocratic in their approach. So I stayed with Scripture. I and the deacons studied Scripture together for six months before we talked to anyone in the congregation. Then I taught the congregation for two months, had multiple question and answer sessions, and there was a vote. It was overwhelming. They agreed that we needed deacons who served and elders who led. We also agreed that elders did not preclude congregational input. We did not believe that the leadership of elders was to be demogoguery. The priesthood of the believer meant we would maintain our congregational government. The servanthood of deacons meant deacons would lead the church in service. The oversight of elders meant that they would guide the church and lead the church. No one would be on pastoral staff who was not qualified as an elder. The equipping offices would be respected and empowered. So, I am not above all, but I am “first among equals” on the elder council. That was six years ago. We are only one of a handful of SBC churches in Louisiana who has elders, and I’m pretty sure we’re the only one that is not distinctly Reformed or Calvinistic in nature. I pastor and lead, the elders help me do that, we pray together with our deacons as we serve this congregation. We meet for business at least six times a year. We vote in those meetings.

I just finished my 10th year as pastor. If it were not for the changes in polity, I would not be here. Whether or not it worked, is not my foremost concern. I believe it is Biblical. I’m not a polity-pundit, beating the elder drum. But, it works. We have biblically qualified men acknowledged by the congregation to lead. We have deacons who serve and pray with the elders for the church. I have been through tremendous change in our church since then with the counsel and support of these men who are as traditionally Baptist as any you will ever meet. Our church is healthier than it has ever been, and that health is producing growth.

The downside. Other Baptists are suspicious. I was anathema at associational meetings for awhile. Some who read this will no doubt think I have joined the enemy’s camp. I’m also not the big dog anymore. If you want to be the big dog, elders are not for you. If you want quick, you don’t want elders. We don’t charge into the battle until it is well thought out. If you want real, Scriptural counsel and leadership, I think that is what elders are.

Is this the only way to do it? In every church where there is health, there is this form of polity. Call it deacons. Call it church council. Call it church staff. It is not demogoguery. You can build earthly kingdoms around earthly demagogues, but they don’t last. Deacons or church council members who are not qualified to be elders may try to lead, but they fail. However, healthy pastors and healthy churches have Biblically qualified men as leaders; men who sharpen as iron sharpens iron. These leaders respect the people among whom they minister. They respect them as co-ministers. The co-ministers respect them as leaders. This works. I think it works because it’s God’s design.

If you’re interested in exploring this whole form of church life, a good book to read is Elders in Congregational Life, by Phil A. Newton. It is available at Lifeway Christian stores. Click on the link to check it out.