Distinct Characteristics of Hope Bible Church (pt. 13)
Elder Rule
Another distinctive of Hope Bible Church is Elder Rule. This pertains to how the local church is structured, led, and ruled with Christ’s authority.
Not everyone thinks this is an important issue. Admittedly, church polity is not a major doctrine of the Christian faith such as the deity of Christ, salvation by faith, or the authority of Scripture. There is room for disagreement among churches without breaching fellowship.
Historically, churches have had different leadership structures. Dr. Wayne Grudem summarizes these differences on p. 904 of his book, Systematic Theology:
“Churches today have many different forms of government. The Roman Catholic Church has a worldwide government under the authority of the Pope. Episcopalian churches have Bishops with a regional authority and Archbishops over them. Presbyterian churches grant regional authority to presbyteries and national authority to general assemblies. On the other hand, Baptist churches and many other independent churches have no formal governing authority beyond the local congregation, and affiliation with denominations is on a voluntary basis. Within local churches, Baptists often have a single pastor with the board of deacons, but some have a board of elders as well. Presbyterians have a board of elders and Episcopalians have a vestry. Other churches simply have a church board.”
This doctrine does, however, carry with it a number of practical implications for the local church.
Some leadership structures are more vulnerable to specific problems and have not proven to pass the tests of time and trial. Fortunately, a clear recognizable pattern emerges from the pages of the New Testament so that leadership of the local church does not have to be a mystery.
A hierarchical form of church government is admitted by all to be absent from the New Testament. The congregational form of government is also unknown in the New Testament. The early church knew nothing of congregational voting or congregational authority. This absence is so significant it is hard to overcome. The only supposed examples of congregational rule come from passages where assumptions must be made rather than offering explicit teaching that sets forth this form of government. One typical assumption is that if one can show congregational involvement in a church decision, it proves congregational authority. That kind of an argument assumes too much.
Elder rule is the only form of church government taught explicitly in Scripture. The New Testament does not teach a congregation’s appointing of officers. The congregation is only in a position of advising and assisting the elders. The whole congregation clearly did not choose elders in the New Testament. (See 1 Timothy 4:14; Titus 1:5). Furthermore, God tells the congregation to submit to the rule of elders; never does it tell the elders to implement the will of the congregation. This fact shows that God viewed the authority in the local church, under His Son, to be chosen and qualified men.
It is not really possible for elders to lead a congregation unless they have authority to make the most important decisions. If the elders ultimately are accountable to the authority of the congregation, the elder’s ability to lead the congregation is clearly diminished.
Elders were clearly the ruling body in Jewish synagogues which form the background to the New Testament assembly structure. The synagogues had multiple elders and were led by the president of the synagogue, a lead elder. The early church was almost entirely Jewish for the first few years before the Gentile mission was launched from Antioch.
Elders are said to “rule”. (1 Timothy 5:17) The term means to direct. It shows executive power. This verse comes the closest to prescribing one form of church government in the New Testament.
It is not one elder who rules but the elders in the plural rule together as a body of leaders. Wisdom literature among the Jews developed the idea that wisdom was best expressed with many counselors. Listening to a broad number of men yielded the best advice. Many minds, experiences, and gifts are represented in an elder form of government.
When we read the New Testament, we see that there was a plurality of elders in each congregation. We do not find just one elder or pastor assigned to each church, but several. We see this, for example, in the churches of the Galatian region. (Acts 14:21-23) For a brief period of time after the forming of these churches they did not have any elders. However, since that was only an initial arrangement, Paul and Barnabas quickly backtracked to those cities and appointed elders “in every church.” Not only did the city have multiple elders, but each church had multiple elders as well. Peter also acknowledges that the congregations had more than one pastor in 1 Peter 5:1-3. We see the same pattern on the island of Crete in the instructions Paul gave in Titus 1:5. In the region of Macedonia Paul also made sure each congregation had multiple overseers. (Philippians 1:1) Also see Acts 11:30; 15:2; 20:17; 21:18; 1 Tim 5:17; James 5:14.
As we compare the verses above, we realize that the New Testament writers equated elders, pastors, and overseers. The titles emphasize different aspects of the work of church leaders but refer to the same group of men over each congregation. The term “elders” emphasizes their wisdom and maturity (not necessarily their age.) The term “pastors” emphasizes their caring, shepherding role. Pastors care for the well-being of their sheep. This means they feed the sheep the word of God so that they are spiritually nourished and healthy. They also guard the flock from wolves and thieves. They look out for false teachers and prophets who would ruin their spiritual lives. They also lead the sheep to their soul’s benefit. They tenderly care for the weak and correct the unruly. The term “overseers” emphasizes their leadership and oversight of all things occurring in their midst. Overseers must know what is going on in their church and make wise decisions for the benefit of the whole church.
Some elders are to be employed full time and lead the other elders. 1 Timothy 5:17 instructs, “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.” Many NT Scriptures teach the concept of the leader among leaders. James was this in the church at Jerusalem in Acts 15. Titus functioned this way on the island of Crete in Titus 1. Timothy functioned as a lead pastor in Ephesus according to the two epistles that bear his name. Peter was the leader of the apostolic band as seen in Acts 2.
The church’s relationship to the elders is one of submission, honor, and learning. Hebrews 13:17 reads, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.” 1 Peter 5:5 reads, “You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another,” Finally, Titus 2:15 instructs, “These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”
At HBC we believe the Elder Rule form of church government best helps us carry out the vision of the church and maintain and advance the other distinctive characteristics. We strive to be in tune with our congregation, listen to them intently, and then collectively make decisions that advance the purpose of the church, under the leadership of a senior pastor.