Elder Plurality
Elder plurality – What does the Bible teach?
The ultimate authority regarding church leadership is God’s Word. The New Testament (“NT”) teaches that there are two offices in the church – elders and deacons. The NT refers to “bishops” and “overseers” as synonyms for elders. See for example Titus 1:5 & 7 and Acts 20:17 & 28 where the terms are used interchangeably.
The Greek word πρεσβύτερος (presbuteros) from which the English word elder is derived essentially means “older”, so sometimes elder literally refers to older men or women (e.g. Luke 15:25; I Timothy 5:1 & 2). This article only considers the instances it refers to an office in the church.
Below are all verses in the NT which mention the office of elder/overseer/bishop, with brief commentary following.
Acts 11:30 Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. Elders (plural) in the church (singular) in Jerusalem (see verse 22).
Acts 14:23 And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
Elders (plural) in each church (singular) in Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.
Acts 15:2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. 4 And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. 6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. 22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: 23 And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
Elders (plural) in the church (singular) in Jerusalem.
Acts 16:4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
Elders (plural) in the church (singular) in Jerusalem.
Acts 20:17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. 28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Elders/overseers (plural) in the church (singular) in Ephesus.
Acts 21:18 And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Elders (plural) in the church (singular) in Jerusalem.
Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; This is the only verse in the New Testament that mentions the English word “pastors”. The context of Ephesians 4:11 is Ephesians 4:7-8, which refers to spiritual gifts given by God. Pastors (“shepherds” in Greek) in Ephesians 4:11 refers to a spiritual gift, not an office. The spiritual gift of pastor is given by God. In contrast, the office of an elder is not a spiritual gift, and an elder is chosen by men.
Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
The New Testament only refers to one church per city. Bishops (plural) in the church (singular) in Philippi.
1 Timothy 3:1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
A bishop, not the bishop.
1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
The elders (plural) that rule well and labour in the word and doctrine, not the elder (singular) that rules well and labours well in the word and doctrine.
1 Timothy 5:19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.
An elder, not the elder.
Titus 1:5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
Elders (plural) in every city (singular).
Titus 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
A bishop, not the bishop.
James 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
Elders (plural) in the church (singular).
1 Peter 5:1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
1 Peter is addressed to Christians in five regions in Asia Minor. There is no evidence here of either a plurality of elders or a single elder in each church.
Hebrews 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
Them/they (plural), not him/he (singular).
Hebrews 13:24 Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you.
Them (plural), not him (singular).
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.
Them/their (plural), not him/his (singular).
Not once in these verses is there a definite reference to a single pastor/elder/overseer/bishop of a church. In all verses except a few which are grammatically ambiguous, they specifically refer to a plurality. A fundamental rule of biblical interpretation is to interpret ambiguity in light of what is certain. As the Bible never contradicts itself, a small minority of ambiguous verses can never contradict an overwhelming majority of verses that are clear on a particular topic.
Objections to Elder plurality
The following are objections to a plurality of elders.
Objection: God used Abraham, Moses, David, and many other individuals to lead his people, rather than a team.
Reply: The key is God’s will for us today in the NT age. Although we should learn from the Old Testament (“OT”), it is a basic error of Biblical interpretation to apply everything in the OT to us today. For example, the nation of Israel in OT history was essentially a theocracy. This isn’t the situation for Christians today. Christians today don’t follow many of the laws and instructions given to OT Israel, for good reason.
God’s will for the leadership of the NT church is clearly a plurality of elders. The NT church is not OT Israel. OT Israel was an entire nation that comprised of believers and unbelievers, whereas a NT church only comprises of believers.
Objection: Moses, a man greatly used by God, led the church in the wilderness. Moses is an example of God’s intention that a single man leads God’s church.
Reply: Acts 7:38 is the relevant verse here, which says This is he (Moses), that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
The Greek word for church in this verse ἐκκλησία (ekklesia) essentially means an assembly of people, as it commonly does in the NT. OT Israel is obviously very different from a NT local church. OT Israel was an entire nation that comprised of believers and nonbelievers, whereas a NT church only comprises of believers in a local area. This argument does not support a single/head pastor local church model at all. Ironically, the verse says that Moses was in the assembly, not leading it. It is a myth that Moses led the nation of Israel by himself. The nation of Israel was predominately led by numerous elders at a national and tribal level. An elder system of governance in Israel was in place before Moses was born and continued to exist for most of the nation’s history, even when they were later ruled by various kings. Moreover, Moses had a unique role. One needs to be extremely careful when using him as an example of Christian leadership in the NT age.
Objection: The following were single/head pastors at their respective churches:
- Timothy at Ephesus.
- James at Jerusalem
- Epaphras at Colossae
- Epaphroditus at Philippi
Reply:
Timothy – Timothy’s main role seems to have been as a trusted assistant of Paul and a co-worker with him. It is not just careless to claim that Timothy was a single/head pastor at Ephesus, it is a false claim as there is no evidence for it. In contrast, Acts 20:17 & 28 clearly show there were multiple elders in the church at Ephesus. There is no evidence in any of the NT churches of a single/head elder.
James – There were multiple elders in the church at Jerusalem. James seemed to be spiritually prominent (along with Peter and John – Galatians 2:9), but there is no evidence that he was a single or head elder at Jerusalem.
Epaphras – Epaphras seems to have been an assistant to Paul and an evangelist. There is no evidence that he was a single/head elder at Colossae.
Epaphroditus – Epaphroditus is simply described as one of Paul’s fellow workers who was sent by the Philippian church as a minister to his needs. There is no evidence that he was a single/head elder at Philippi.
Objection: Perhaps the many NT references to multiple elders are due to that while each church had only one elder or overseer, each city had several different churches.
Reply: Acts 8:1, Acts 13:1, Romans 16:1, Romans 16:3-5, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, Revelation 1:11 point to there being only one church per city in the NT.
Objection: In Revelation chapters 2-3, there is only one “angel” over each church. The Greek word ἄγγελος (anggelos) may be translated “messenger”, so the “angel” refers to a single pastor.
Reply: Although the Greek word ἄγγελος (anggelos) may be translated “messenger,” in all other 67 occurrences of the word in Revelation it refers to literal angels. It is extremely unlikely that the references in chapters 2 and 3 are an exception to the dominant apocalyptic theme of Revelation. Even if ἄγγελος does mean “messenger” in Revelation 2-3, it could hardly be stretched to mean “pastor.” Firstly, a messenger is someone who moves around. The pattern in the NT local churches was for an elder to stay in the one church in the city. Also, in every case where the NT uses the phrase messenger of…” (e.g. “messenger of Satan,” “messengers of John,” etc.), it always describes by whom the messenger is sent, never to whom.
Objection: Even if it can be proven that NT churches had multiple elders that does not mean it is mandatory for churches today.
Reply: This argument might be valid if there was no clear NT pattern e.g. if there only some NT churches with elder plurality. That isn’t the case though, as there are no exceptions in the NT – it was a deliberate choice in every church. The Apostles were chosen by Jesus (God) himself and instructed to establish the first local churches. The Apostles were in total agreement that every church should have a plurality of elders – this is clear based on biblical and historical evidence. For any man to think that he knows better than the Apostles, and therefore God who worked through the Apostles, is spiritual delusion of the highest order.
Objection: Every organisation needs a leader. A plurality of elders results in weak leadership.
Reply: This is not a biblical argument, it is a pragmatic argument. We are commanded to base our decisions on the Bible, not human reasoning, whenever there is Biblical instruction on a matter.
Even based on human reasoning however, this is a “weak” objection. For example, how is “weak” leadership defined? It is true that one man can make decisions faster than a committee, but this does not mean that the decisions that man makes are wise. If his decisions are not wise, the outcome will not be healthy. It is vastly more important to make wise decisions than fast decisions. Proverbs 11:14 Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
Objection: Many churches can’t afford to support multiple elders.
Reply: This is not a biblical argument, it is a pragmatic argument and shows lack of understanding of the role of an elder. This argument assumes that elders are paid for full time work. There is no need for churches to pay to support full time elders. One of the practical reasons for elder plurality is that the work of leading a church is shared between multiple men. As a church grows, there will also be more men available to act as elders.
Objection: Elder plurality might solve some problems, but at the same time it would create problems of its own.
Reply: Problems will always result where sinful humans are present. Regardless of what problems might be solved or created, we should obey Scripture as a matter of principle, not for pragmatic reasons.
Objection: You can’t deny that God has used many pastors and churches who have used the single/head pastor system and continues to do so today.
Reply: No one would deny this. Yet who would claim that the fruitfulness of the Church as a whole is anywhere near the divinely intended level? Is mediocrity to be glorified? It is a mistake to think that because God uses someone with certain beliefs or practices, that He thereby endorses those beliefs or practices. God uses imperfect people, as there are no perfect people. But as we are given further light on the Scriptures, it is our duty to conform our beliefs and practices as close as possible to the Word of God.
Are multiple pastors the same as a plurality of elders?
Some churches have a senior pastor and one or more associate pastors. This is not a plurality of elders as there is a “senior” and one or more “associates”. In contrast, the NT teaches shared leadership.
Elder plurality in name does not necessarily mean elder plurality in reality. Having multiple pastors doesn’t mean they are actually functioning as the NT intends. It is a matter of substance rather than form.
Some churches have a single pastor and multiple deacons. They may argue that their deacons effectively function as elders. If so, why not call them elders instead of deacons? If the deacons are elders then where are the deacons? This practice shows a lack of understanding of biblical eldership.
Churches that use the title “Pastor” to refer to a church office do not truly understand biblical eldership. As per Ephesians 4:11, the word pastor refers to a spiritual gift, not a position. Unfortunately, the use of the word “Pastor” for a church office has been a bad practice for many hundreds of years.
Elders is the most common term in the NT for a church office. When “Pastor” is used instead of “Elder”, it draws attention away from the NT references to the pluralities of elders and the requirements of an elder. Consequently, most Christians are not aware of what the NT says about elder plurality. As the Bible does not even use the term pastor for an office, false doctrine that promotes a single/head pastor is more readily accepted. Over many years, it has then become a tradition.
Why does the New Testament teach Elder plurality?
It should be sufficient for Christians to trust and obey God’s Word by faith without needing to understand why. However, here are reasons why elder plurality is wise.
Christ’s Glory
Christ is the head of the Church. Christ alone is worthy of glory from the Church which he purchased with his own blood. A plurality of elders avoids one man bringing glory on himself. The larger a church with a head pastor grows, the more glory seems to go to the head pastor.
Wholeness
No man has many, let alone all the spiritual gifts. In single pastor churches, unbalanced ministry always results. No matter how hard a single pastor might try, his ministry will always skew towards his own spiritual gifts. Moreover, in such churches the pastor does most or all of the Bible teaching, with others contributing minimally. A plurality of elders ensures a much more balanced application of spiritual gifts in the church.
Burden sharing
God never intended for one man to bear the burden of caring for a whole church. Single pastor churches commonly result in the pastor burning out, with many leaving the role permanently. Statistics show that the burnout rate for single pastors is high, and extremely few sustain a pastoring role for their whole working life. In some churches, the pastor may not have a demanding role, and therefore he may not burn out. This is not a good argument for a single pastor, as it means he is not doing much in the first place!
Accountability
In most cases when pastors fall into sin, personal accountability is lacking. Lack of accountability feeds secrecy or pride, and either always leads to sin. Although elder plurality is no guarantee against an elder falling into sin, it greatly reduces the chance of it happening.
Interestingly, no one argues with a plurality of deacons in a local church. Yet there are far more Bible verses that discuss a plurality of elders than discuss a plurality of deacons. The only logical reason is the pride of men. Deacons don’t lead the church but elders do. Controlling pastors like to have deacons under them, but they don’t like sharing leadership.
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