To begin the process of understanding how leadership in the church should function we need a proper understanding of what it really means to be a congregational church. If churches desire to conform as much as possible to the teachings of the New Testament then they should pay careful attention to the structure of leadership in the early church. From Scripture we clearly see only two offices in the church; Elders (also known as: bishops, overseers, pastors, shepherds) and Deacons.  Understanding the early church is quite simple; the people were led, organized, and governed by a plurality of leaders who fit into one of these two categories.

The Bible is quite clear that Jesus Christ is head of the church (Eph. 1:22).  Ultimately Jesus is in charge, ruling over the church as its Spiritual head and ultimately its chief Shepherd. And yet Christ has appointed gifted leaders to equip the saints for the work of ministry to build up the Body of Christ (Eph 4:11-12).  In other words, Christ as the head Shepherd has delegated the duties of shepherding to men whom he has gifted with the ability to lead the church.  Peter expresses this concept very well in 1 Peter 5:1-4 where he tells the elders to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight” and then goes on to say “and when the chief Shepherd appears you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”  Notice that Peter makes an undeniable connection between elders who are shepherds of the church and Christ who is the chief Shepherd of the church.  To put it simply, the elders shepherd the church, tend to the sheep, and exercise oversight in the church all under the leadership, guidance, and example of the chief Shepherd.  It is not a coincidence, then, that Peter refers to Jesus as the “Shepherd and Overseer” of our souls (1 Peter 2:25), using the same titles and terminology used throughout Scripture to describe the elders in the church (Acts 20:28; Phil 1:1; 1 Tim 3:1-3; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 5:2) and the same imagery found in the Book of Hebrews when it claims that we should obey our leaders for they are “keeping watch over your souls” (Hebrews 13:17).  The parallel between Christ as head of the church and elders as overseers is unmistakable.  Elders were recognized as a group of men, set apart, and addressed as ones having authority in the matters of the church.

This is why pluralities of elders were appointed to rule in every church in every town (Acts 14:23, 1 Titus 1:5, 1Tim 5:17).  These were men who had spiritual and governing authority as seen by the many verses referring to their rule, care, and charge of the church.  This is also implied in the other names for an elder: overseer or shepherd.  Today we call them Pastors.  These were men set apart and qualified to lead the church, teach and preach sound doctrine, guard against false teachers, and care for the people.  They protect, nourish, comfort, educate, and shepherd the flock.  The Bible itself gives definition to the idea of shepherding as it refers to those who rule or govern (2 Sam. 5:2; Ps 78:71,72; Matt 2:6; 1 Peter 5:2).  Our understanding of Scripture leads us to grasp the principle that elders had ruling or governing functions in the early church.  These men were appointed, having been called by God, to be overseers of the church.  Paul understood this when he exhorted the elders in the Ephesian church to pay careful attention to the flock “in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God” (Acts 20:28).

Paul and Barnabas affirm the authority of the elders when they bring the debate over circumcision to the apostles and the elders.  Once the debate was settled, Paul traveled throughout the cities reporting the decisions made by the Apostles and elders to the churches (Acts 16:4).  Clearly, the elders had the authority to make such decisions.  Paul even reiterated the same ruling authority of the elders when writing to Timothy.  He says, “let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor” (1 Tim 5:17).   Peter understood eldership the same way.  In 1 Peter 5 he says, “I exhort the elders among you…shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.”  Peter goes on further to encourage those who are younger to “be subject to the elders” (1 Peter 5:5).  In Hebrews 13:17 we see clear indication that submission to leaders is directly commanded and seen as a benefit that brings joy rather than something to be feared.  In Titus 1:5 Paul indicates that things are not in order in the church until Titus appoints elders.  In Titus 1:7 Paul gives us yet another indication of the governing of elders when he addresses the overseer as “God’s steward”.   A steward is one who supervises or manages something, generally finances and property.

The elders were called and appointed to exercise authority and manage the church as the shepherds and overseers.  For this reason, one could not be an elder unless he met certain qualifications (1 Tim 3:1-7).  Due to the nature of the authority given to elders in the early church, one could only be an elder if he was found to be trustworthy, above reproach, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, gentle, humble, dignified, mature, a lover of good, upright, disciplined, and with the ability to teach and preach.

To me it only makes sense that a church would desire to have men who meet these qualifications to be a part of the leadership and governing authority of the church.  What does not make sense is having a church with a governing body with no elders.  This idea is not Biblical and it puts the church at risk.  It is quite clear in Scripture that appointed elders were not advisors who simply provided input hoping the people in charge of governing the church would make the right decisions.  The elders were the people in charge of governing the church and therefore they were the ones making certain decisions.

Though it was the norm at one time in our history, many Baptist churches today do not currently have a plurality of elders that lead the church.  If we are honest, we must admit we’ve stepped outside the bounds of the model of church organization in the early church and created a whole new system.  Many churches now use a Deacon Board or a Board of Directors to govern the church.  These boards replace the elder board and take on the governing role and duty of elders.  What is strange is that many of these boards do not allow the elders (pastors) of the church to be a part of the board. Does this make sense?  Should churches have a Board of Directors or Board of Deacons that perform the Biblical duties of elders and then not allow those who meet the Biblical qualifications of elders to be part of that board?  What is even more confusing is that churches allow deacons to be on these governing boards but not the elders.  In the Bible, the elders were the only officers with clear governing and ruling authority in the church.  Clearly we are confused about Biblical leadership and how it should function.

If we we desire to establish the practices and doctrines of our churches on the teachings of the Bible, then I believe it to be unbiblical and unwise for us to deny church appointed pastors the ability to be active participants in the decision-making processes of the church.  The language of the New Testament should not be ignored.  If a church is going to have a board that governs and makes decisions on behalf of the church, that board should include men who meet the qualifications of eldership and are called by the Holy Spirit to lead and govern the church under the headship of Christ.

Churches should not fear this type of leadership. We should embrace that which God has given to his church for the building up of the body of Christ (Eph 4:11-12).  If indeed our leaders are trustworthy and capable of serving, then we should let them serve.  If they are untrustworthy and incapable of serving the church, they should no longer be our leaders.

Churches should take some time to consider how they are structured and governed.  Dust off the old governing documents of the church and consider whether or not they conform to the pattern we see in the New Testament.

Shouldn’t we be so enamored with doing the work of Christ in our world that it consumes us to the point that everyone that knows us and knows our passion would always know what we are doing and where to find us?

Jesus himself seemed frustrated at the idea that the people around him acted as if they did not know where to find him.  When his parents finally located him in the temple, after he had turned up missing as a boy, he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” When Jesus was in the garden, he said to the guards who came to arrest him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me?  Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me.” Who Jesus was, dictated what Jesus did and where Jesus went. His passion to do the will of the father weighed so heavily upon him that it consumed all that He did. We should all desire to have this kind of passion for the things of God.

In Ephesians 5 we are called to be imitators of God.  “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Imitate Christ.  Walk like He walked, love like he loved, give the way he gave. It’s a call to sacrifice. Are we willing to take this challenge on?  Are we willing to step up and be imitators of God in a world that is opposed to such ideas?

Imagine if we began to understand that discipleship is not a class, its a lifestyle!  Imagine if we all began to understand that Christianity isn’t something we do, it’s who we are.  Imagine if we had such passion for Christ that the priorities in life would fade into the distance in comparison to the weight of the glory of knowing Christ and making Him known. Maybe then we would truly understand what it means to be a disciple.  For believers, I think it’s time we stop imagining and start living.  Are you in or out?

“No one can sum up all God is able to accomplish through one solitary life, wholly yielded, adjusted, and obedient to Him.”    
    — D.L.Moody

This can be one of the most frustrating things for me as a pastor.  There are some folks who are members of the church but don’t have family at the church.  At some point they may get sick or have something happen, but given the fact that no one at the church had much connection to them, we might never hear about it.  These people are eventually forgotten.

I got a call from a family wanting me to officiate the funeral of a man who was a member of our church. When I was a young minister, starting out in youth ministry at TBC, I began to walk around on Sunday mornings shaking peoples hands during the services.  This man was one of those guys that I would always go talk to.  I loved talking to him in the mornings, and he was always glad to greet me with a friendly handshake and talk about how things were going.  He probably didn’t know how much that encouraged me.  Along the way he became too sick to come to church and I’ll admit that it has been years since I’ve seen him.  When he was sick and in the hospital, I was unaware.  It wasn’t until his family called to ask me to do the funeral that I realized I’ve missed him.  While I was happy to do the funeral, I was sad to know that I didn’t get to see him before he was gone.

So, what went wrong?  I think the simple answer is he wasn’t connected.  He came to the service, he was a member of the church, but he wasn’t connected to any group within the church that took care of him or knew where he was.  In fact, I did the funeral and I was the only member of our church that showed up.  He was a member here for nine years, yet without being connected to any other people he simply slipped through the cracks and was forgotten.

To be honest I hate this.  I hate having someone who gets overlooked.  This is why I believe that it is important for larger churches to have a small group ministry in place that exists as the arm of the church which reaches out to the members and connects them to the family.

Every member on the role of the church should be assigned to a small group.  That small group should understand their purpose to be more than just meeting together for Bible study.  That group should understand their purpose to be taking care of one another, both the physical and spiritual needs of the people who they are together with in their group.  It’s far more practical for a small group to check on and know the whereabouts of 5 or 6 inactive people in their class than for one man (the pastor) to have to check on and know the whereabouts of 50 or 60.

It only makes sense that if this man had been connected to a group whose purpose was to reach out and take care of him, we would have known where he was, we would have known he was sick, and maybe we would have been there for him.  Maybe some folks from the church would have attended his funeral.  Maybe we could have reached out to some of his family.  Maybe less people would fall through the cracks.

While I’m not angry at anyone, nor do I think we have any finger pointing to do in regards to the situation, I do believe this is just another sign of growing pains.  The more we grow, the more we are going to have to adjust everything we do in order to meet the challenges that accompany growth.  Our small groups have to become the means by which we stay connected.  They have to be the way we keep others from getting lost in the crowd.  They have to be our means of reaching out and building one another up in love.

It’s been said that “a problem well defined is a problem half solved.”  Knowing our difficulties is only half the battle.  The next step is dealing with them.

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Running time: 39:11
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Recorded on June 5, 2011 in the 8:15 am Worship Service
Running time: 34:52
File size: 16 MB

This project was put together and edited by Anna Emily and Christopher Wright.  Christopher includes this introduction to the devotional:

Dueling Christmases

”For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

The Christmas season has always had a bizarre bipolarness to it for me. It wasn’t until several years ago that I really started to notice that I celebrate two very distinct and very different Christmases depending on where I was and who I was with and it started to bother me.

I thought about it so much that I even named my two Christmases. There was “Secular” Christmas and then there was “Sacred” Christmas. The reason for the holiday’s bipolarness is that they aren’t really compatible with each other. I went so far as to create a graphic organizer (that’s what we call it in elementary education land) so that I could better see the differences between the two.  It went something like this:

Upon study of my graphic organizer, I could clearly see how divergent these two Christmases were. There was a friction between my two Christmases. One was about self, and stuff, and people who give me stuff, while the other was the humble beginnings of God’s perfect son, Jesus Christ. One of them was basically focused on me and what I get and the other was focused on Jesus.

One secular Christmas song even makes fun of the me-centric secular Christmas
in a song called The Christmas Can-Can:

Christmas, Christmas time is here, and Christmas songs you love to hear
Thoughts of joy and hope and cheer, but mostly shopping, shopping, shopping!
Christmas. Christmas time is here, the sleigh bells and red nosed deer
Songs and songs we love to hear all played a thousand times each year
Heard this same song 20 times and it’s only Halloween
It’s not even cold outside Christmas,
Christmas time is here, and Christmas songs you love to hear
Thoughts of joy and hope and cheer, but mostly shopping, shopping, shopping!

This brought me to a point of decision. Were these dueling versions of Christmas healthy to have? Did one distract from the other? Even worse, was one destructive to what I know the Christmas season is all about? Tough questions because I love both Christmases! I love the snow, the lights, the trees, the songs and I love the story of the baby in the manger, the carols. I didn’t want to give either Christmas up.

I did however, notice that there was one similar item on my list. Gifts. Sure the giving of gifts came from two totally different perspectives but that was one element both Christmases shared. So this Christmas season we are going to focus, not on gifts, but the Gift. Not the giving of gifts to our friends and family (and the debt that typically accompanies those gifts), but on the gift of Jesus, what that gift is and develop a better
understanding of how the gift affects each one of us. As you are reading and studying this week, our topics won’t bring images of sugar plums dancing in your head. It won’t make you think of a wintery scene painted by Thomas Kinkade. These topics are designed to bring a better understanding of how the gift of Christ works in your life and the lives of our Christian brothers and sisters.

So may you, this Christmas season, grow in knowledge of the purpose of the baby’s arrival on that
Christmas morning and like me, I pray that you wrestle with the appropriate balance in the dichotomy of our modern day Christmases.

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Recorded on November 14, 2010 in the 8:15 am Worship Service
Running time: 38:36
File size: 18.5 MB

“An old preacher used to say, ‘the Word has mighty free course among many nowadays, for it goes in at one of their ears and out at the other; so it seems to be with some readers–they can read a very great deal, because they do not read anything.  They eye glances but the mind never rests.  The soul does not light upon the truth and stay there.  Such reading is not reading at all.’” – Charles Spurgeon

I often wonder how we can claim to know and love that which we do not pursue?    When my wife and I were dating, one of the most exciting things about our relationship was discovering who we were.  We talked for hours, we relived our childhood, we discussed our dreams, and mulled over the things we liked and disliked.  Our relationship grew because we began sharing our lives with one another.  People would find it strange indeed if I asked a girl to marry me that I didn’t know or had only briefly heard about from someone else.  Stranger still would be for me to profess my love and desire for her, but refuse to live with her, talk to her, learn anything else about her, or even allow her to be a part of my life.  That would not only be dysfunction with a capital D, we might consider it a bit psychotic or abusive.  So why don’t we find it strange that many Christians today enter into a “relationship” with Jesus and claim to love and desire him and yet spend so little time reading the word?  I believe it to be a strange thing that you can find some of the most biblically illiterate people standing in the church singing songs like, “Standing on the promises of God”.

Gary Burge, professor of New Testament at Wheaton College wrote an article entitled “The Greatest Story Never Read: Recovering biblical literacy in the church” in Christianity Today.  He claims “Christian faith is not being built on the firm foundation of hard-won thoughts, ideas, history, or theology. Spirituality is being built on private emotional attachments.”  Thus claiming that Christians base their religion not on their understanding of the Bible but on the emotions they experience centering around the religion itself.  Can we really call this true Christianity?

Researcher George Barna, in his book “Boiling Point”, reports that “The average born-again, baptized, churchgoing person has embraced elements of Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Mormonism, Scientology, Unitarianism and Christian Science—without any idea they have just created their own faith.”  Therefore he says, “we cannot really call the faith of American Christians a Bible-based faith. It is a synthetic, syncretic faith.”  Biblical illiteracy has led American Christians down the dangerous path of accepting and combining many different ideas from other religions and worldviews and thus creating their own religion.

Now, more than ever, it is essential that American believers actually pick up their Bibles and read it to discover if their beliefs match up with the truth found in the Word of God.  The Bible is filled with knowledge and wisdom from God.  We read about God and how He relates to humanity.  If the wealth of information never gets from the pages of your Bible into your mind, it is of no value.  We cannot simply rely on listening to sermons and Bible studies.  It’s not sufficient to simply attend church, listen to Christian music, and take notes during the messages.  This type of Christianity is not a good example of “meditating on God’s law day and night” (Psalms 1:2; 119:15, 48; Joshua 1:8).

Psalm chapter 19 declares that God’s instruction is perfect, trustworthy, right, radiant, pure, reliable, and righteous.  It also says that it revives the soul, makes us wise, makes the heart glad, and teaches us how to live.  The Word of God is an invaluable treasure greater than gold and honey.  Yeah, the Bible is more valuable than money and food…two of the most sought after items of all time.  Think about what people do for money!  Steal, cheat, kill, and even go on reality TV to eat some nasty 100 year old rotten egg to attempt to win cold hard cash.  Yet, in the end money will be gone and it’s value will be altogether worthless.

Would Christians go so far as to do crazy things for Jesus?  Here is an unpopular question: Which would influence you more?  If I asked you to read two chapters out of the Bible everyday for a year because it is the most valuable book in human history would you be motivated to do it?  What if I told you that I would monitor your progress and if you actually read the Bible everyday for a year then I’ll give you $1,000,000.  Would your motivation change?  In the end I believe more church goers would be willing to read their Bibles more if they were getting paid for it.  Why is that?  Isn’t it because there are many evangelical Christians who don’t really believe that the Bible is more valuable than all the gold in the world?  Yet the Bible claims, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul.”  – Matt 16:26.

Think about the advice of Deuteronomy 6:6-7 “And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” The American Christian might say, ‘surely that isn’t literal.’  I would venture to say this is the type of foolish, lazy reasoning that accentuates our problem.  Many Jews have taken this to be quite literal and have bound boxes containing the word upon their arm and forehead or attached it to their doorposts.  While I may not go as far as to say that we should all get Deuteronomy 6:4-5 tattooed on our arms and foreheads (though I am not entirely opposed to this), I would say that we should go so far as to making the Word of God a part of our everyday life so much so that it becomes permanently attached to all that we do and all that we are.  Grudem points out that “The nature of opposites in these verses (sit/walk, lie down/rise) suggest any and every time, place, and activity.”  The Word of God should, quite literally, become our greatest and most prominent priority and therefore it should interrupt our everyday lives as it might if we were literally wearing it on our foreheads.

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Recorded on October 7, 2010

Running time: 16:33
File size: 15.9 MB

This message is part of  the Acts series called Divine Legacy.  Click Here to listen to  other messages in the series.

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Recorded on August 1, 2010 in the 8:15 am Worship Service
Running time: 48:39
File size: 22.3 MB