Biblical Eldership Church Leadership

The Acts of the Apostles

teachings. The elders were clearly caught in the middle—a place el ders frequently find themselves. Nevertheless, as the church’s leaders, they had to face the problems and provide answers to sensitive, theo logical questions. They walked a fine line trying to protect Paul, the Gentile mission, and the church in Jerusalem. So they had to be wise counselors, judges, peacemakers, and arbitrators. To help calm an explosive situation, James and the elders devised a plan, recorded in verses 23-25, whereby Paul could publicly disavow false criticism before his Jewish brethren, and the elders could main tain their previous counsel regarding Gentile salvation and peaceful, Jew-Gentile coexistence (Acts 15:1 1,19,28,29).9 Paul judged the el ders’ counsel to be a wise plan for shedding false rumors and estab lishing peace, and acted upon it. Acts chapters 13 and 14 record the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas (A.D. 48-49), a momentous turning point in the history of Christianity. In a bold, new way, their gospel mission opened “the door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46,48; 14:27). After preaching the gospel and planting churches in the cities of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, Paul and Barnabas, before returning to Antioch in Syria, visited their newly founded churches. What is pro foundly significant to our study is that upon their visit, they appointed elders in every church. Luke records: And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed (Acts 14:23). This text records the first appearance of Christian elders among Gentile churches. It reveals who decided on the eldership structure of government for the churches and who appointed the elders. No infor mation like this exists concerning the origin of elders in either the Old Testament or among the Jewish Christian churches. Most important, the passage provides indispensable historical information on Paul’s method of organizing churches. Although this is the only time Luke records that Paul appointed elders, the account is most likely intended ELDERS OF THE GENTILE CHURCHES

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