Biblical Eldership Church Leadership

Appointment of Elders

like Aaron and his sons (Lev. 8:12). Elders and deacons are not ap pointed to a special priestly office or holy clerical order. Instead, they are assuming offices of leadership or service among God’s people. We should be careful not to sacralize these positions more than the writ ers ofScripture do.5 The New Testament never shrouds the installation of elders in mystery or sacred ritual. There is no holy rite to perform or special ceremony to observe. Appointment to eldership is not a holy sacrament. Appointment confers no special grace or empowerment, nor does one become a priest, cleric, or holy man at the moment of installation. The vocabulary of the New Testament is carefully chosen to communicate certain concepts and beliefs, and its writers chose to express simple appointment to office. Therefore, to speak of ordaining elders or deacons is as confusing as speaking of ordaining judges or politicians. Luke records that Paul and Barnabas “appointed” elders for their newly founded churches: “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). The Greek word Luke uses for “appointed” is cheimtoneo’, which here means “appoint,” or “designate.” Although the term cheirotoneo‘ later became a technical term for church ordination and the laying on of hands, it simply meant “appoint” at the time Luke wrote Acts. (see chapter 7, page 136). Paul writes to Titus, his personal delegate on the island of Crete, instructing him to “appoint” elders: “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you might set in order what remains, and appoint elders in every city as I directed you” (Titus 125). The Greek term Paul uses for “appoint” is kathiste‘mi, which is a common term for appointing to office or a specific task. Kathiste‘mi has no special religious connotations (see chapter 10, page 227). When referring to appointment to specific tasks or positions, the New Testament writers use common words for appointment (poieo‘, tithe'mi, kathistemi, cheirotoneo‘). These terms do not express or imply modern, ecclesiastical ordination concepts. Even well-known Bible scholars who support clerical ordination and are themselves clergymen admit that the New Testament’s vocabulary speaks of general appointment only. For example, Leon Morris, an Anglican clergyman and one of the most prolific Appointment Terminology

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