Biblical Eldership Church Leadership

Shared Leadership

THE NEW TESTAMENT MODEL OF SHARED PASTORAL LEADERSHIP

Shared leadership should not be a new concept to a Bible-reading Christian. Shared leadership is rooted in the Old Testament institution of the elders of Israel and in Jesus’ founding of the apostolate. It is a highly significant and often overlooked fact that our Lord did not ap point one man to lead His Church. He personally appointed and trained twelve men. Jesus Christ gave the Church plurality ofleadership. The Twelve comprised the first leadership council of the Church and, in the most exemplary way, jointly led and taught the first Christian com munity. The Twelve provide a marvelous example of unity, humble brotherly love, and shared leadership structure. Shared leadership is also evidenced by the Seven who were ap pointed to relieve the twelve apostles of the responsibility of dispens ing funds to the church’s widows (Acts 623-6). The Seven were the prototype of the later deacons.l There is no indication that one of the Seven was chief and the others were his assistants. As a body of ser vants, they did their work on behalf of the church in Jerusalem. Based on all the evidence we have, the deacons, like the elders, formed a collective leadership council. The New Testament reveals that the pastoral oversight of many of the first churches was committed to a plurality of elders. This was true of the earliest Jewish Christian churches in Jerusalem, Judea, and neigh boring countries, as well as many of the first Gentile churches. Note the following evidence: 0 The elders of the church in Jerusalem united with the twelve apostles to deliberate over doctrinal controversy (Acts 15). Like the apostolate, the elders comprised a collective leadership body.

0 James instructed the sick believer to “call for the elders [plural] of the church [singular]” (James 5:14).

0 At the end of Paul’s first missionary journey, he appointed a council of elders for each newly founded church: “And when they had appointed elders [plural] for them in every church [singular], having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed” (Acts 14:23). Note that

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