Elder Roles and Responsibilities

When in doubt, post it in Lounge, right?I was wondering if anyone here has any counsel about the biblical roles and responsibilities of an eldership. We are in the last stages of planting a cell church (cross-culturally) and ready to establish the final level of leadership. The ministry structure of the church (cell leaders, zone leaders, etc.) is well-established and local-led, but we are still in the midst of appointing elders. (We've chosen a plural eldership kind of structure versus a single pastor.) Here are some questions we are currently wrestling with: What should the eldership's oversight practically include? What kind of authority should they have in the church? What kinds of situations should they get involved in, and what kinds should they not get involved in? What are some pitfalls or dangers we should be aware of as we are establishing this eldership?Any help or insight you have would be greatly appreciated! Thanks tons!

Good questions. I don't have much time right now, but I will start the discussion rolling. The primary responsibility of elders I think can best be understood from Paul's exhortation to the Ephesian elders in Acts 19. He says of these elders that God has made them "overseers" to "shepherd" the flock of God in that area. Ultimately, to these men that are appointed these roles, their responsibility is that of overseeing the affairs of the local church, and ultimately the burden of seeing folks mature in the faith rests upon their shoulders. Their ministry is also to oversee the other ministries within the local church (prophets, evangelists, teachers, etc), so that each member of the body of Christ exercises the ministry that the Lord has given them to the fullest possible extent. They are also to watch to make sure that sound doctrine is being taught, and are there to hold people accountable for what happens in their ministries. Of course, in doing these things, these men will co-labor with others in the Church in order to bring about the fullness of Christ in every area. They will patiently and lovingly instruct the flock that God has given them charge over, and build them up in sound doctrine.I like to think of the presbytery (the local college/plurality of elders) as the mature representitives of the households that govern the affairs of the local congregation much like they do their own households (thus the emphasis in 1 Tim 3 of elder canidates governing their own homes well). Elders thus are to act as the fathers of the local church, and run the local church much like they would their own homes. I hope this helps some. I'll try to post more later.

Good Morning. If you would like to get in contact with some people who have long practiced plurality of elders as the form of leadership I would recommend that you check out this website: http://www.gospelcom.net/uplook/I don't know if there will be any actual information useful to you on that website concerning your question specifically, but if you were to contact the folks who run the website, I'm sure that they could get you in touch with men who have long been involved in local assemblies of believers with the plurality of Elders structure. These groups of believers would be known by the public at large as "brethren", "plymouth brethren", "the assemblies", "Bible Chapels" etc. A book which may be of some help to you is called "Assembly Distinctives" by H.G. Mackay. The Publisher (if still at this address)is:Everyday Publications Inc. 421 Nugget Avenue, Unit 2Scarborough, ON, CanadaM1S 4L8The ISBN of the book is 0-88873-049-7God bless as you seek to follow the New Testament pattern!

Hey King Jimmy and repenter,Thanks so much for your responses! I appreciate your insight (and resources) and would love to hear more of your thoughts if you have the time. As you can imagine, this is an extremely important time for us and the churchplant here. What we plant is what will grow ... so the responsibility concerning decisions like this is pretty heavy. Thanks again for the input!

I don't think "plurality of elders" is particularly specific to any one branch, Brethren or otherwise. As far as I can tell, it is the standard form of church government among the Presbyterians. I also saw a similar system in a Church of Christ that I attended briefly (before I knew what they taught).

Hi Keith,I just meant that the website I recommended was from the "brethren" branch of things. I'm sure that there are others that do practice similarly to this way, I've just never seen it done quite the same way as in the brethren. The major difference between the brethren and other branches is that there is no "head" office where deniminational decisions are made. Each local assembly is 100% autonomous with Christ as the only head (Shepherd) above the appointed Elders (undershepherds). The only organizations that exist among the "brethren" are missions organizations which are simply there to channel funds to missionaries, no missions boards directing things, simply a service group that helps missionaries receive their support (which is not "raised" by anyone but God through the prayers of the saints). There is definitely cooperation between different assemblies, and lots of going back and forth of speakers, conferences etc. but there is no kind of "board" or "convention". I do think the "brethren" have a unique way of doing things, although there are similarities with others. I'm not looking to argue or anything, just sharing what I've seen and experienced . By His Grace,meghan