Biblical Eldership Church Leadership

Bible-Based Leadership Structure

spiritual care for the entire flock. They are the official shepherds of the church.

ELDERSHIP BEST HARMONIZES WITH AND PROMOTES THE TRUE NATURE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH The local church’s structure of government makes a statement about the nature and philosophy of its ministry. The local church is not an undefined mass of people; it is a particular group of people that has a unique mission and purpose. I am convinced that the elder structure of government best harmonizes with and promotes the true nature of the local church as revealed in the New Testa ment. In Chapter 2, we enumerated three practical reasons for a plurality of elders: (1) balancing people’s weaknesses, (2) lighten ing the work load, and (3) providing accountability. Now we will consider four ways in which the elder structure of government complements the nature of the local church. The Church Is a Family of Brothers and Sisters Of the different New Testament terms used to describe the nature of the church—the body, the bride, the temple, the flock—the most fre quently used is the family, particularly the fraternal aspect of the fami ly, brethren. Robert Banks, a prominent leader in the worldwide, home church movement, makes this observation in his book, Paul 's Idea of Community: Although in recent years Paul’s metaphors for community have been subjected to quite intense study, especially his description of it as a “body,” his application to it of “household” or “family” terminology has all too often been overlooked or only mentioned in passing.9

Banks further comments on the frequency and significance of these familial expressions:

So numerous are these, and so frequently do they appear, that the comparison of the Christian community with a “family” must be

109