Elders and Deacons, Part 1: What Are Elders?

Questions abound about elders in the life of the church.

Who are they? What do they do? What is the difference between elders and deacons? What is the difference between elders and pastors?

These questions are good and important. I sat next to a swimming pool, eating a hamburger, with some friends last week while we had a wonderful about elders. This series of blogs is a result of that conversation. I pray that it will be helpful to you.

So What Are Elders Anyway?

In order to answer this question we have to understand the terms used for Elders in the Bible. There are three terms that we must understand, and I believe that these three terms all refer to elders. Those three terms are elder, shepherd, and overseer.

Let’s look at each of these terms and what they imply, then we will see why I believe they all refer to the same office in the church.

Elder

The word that occurs in the Greek text is presbuteros (πρεσβύτερος), you can hear this word in the English word Presbyterian. It is not the same word that would be used to refer to someone who is old, that would be presbutes (πρεσβύτης). There isn’t really much to say about this word in terms of the differences between greek and English. It simply means elder.

It does however matter in that it refers to the honor of the position. We have probably all heard the saying that you should respect your elders. This is precisely why the term elder gets used in Scripture. Of course, in English, this is primarily a reference to someone of older age. When the Bible speaks of elders in the church it does not mean that someone must be old in order to be an elder, it does however mean that the person and the office should be respected.

We can be sure that age is not a require meant because in 1 Tim. 4:8 Paul tells Timothy, and elder in Ephesus, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers and example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” You can see that though Timothy was young, Paul expected him to conduct himself in a way that was honorable.

It is a great honor to be an elder in the church that Jesus has purchased with his own blood. Thus the elder is to live honorably and the church is to treat them with honor.

Shepherd (pastor)

There are two words in the Greek that used here. In reality they are the same word but occur in different places as either a verb or a noun. The noun for “shepherd” is poimen (ποιμήν); the verb is “to shepherd” is poimaino (ποιμαίνω).

Interestingly, this word get’s translated in some versions as “pastor” in Ephesians 4. So the word that we tend to use most for church leaders is the word that the Bible uses the least, namely pastor. And what pastor means is really shepherd.

This term refers to work of the role of an elder. Shepherds led the flock, fed the flock, and protected the flock. These are the main roles that shepherds are given in Scripture. Elders are to preach the Word, protect the church from false doctrine, and lead people to God through his Word. (Rather than siting several passages here I would simply encourage you to read the pastoral epistles: 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus)

Overseer

The third and final term for the elder is “overseer” and comes from the word episcopos (ἐπίσκοπος). It means exactly what it sounds like; the Greek prefix epi means “over” while scopos means “look” or “sight.” You can hear the English word “scope” in this word. It simply means to look over.

The elder is charged to look over the flock. This is a term that refers to the authority of the position. When the church appoints elders it gives them the authority needed to do the work of the ministry. I believe this authority rests in the group of elders and not in the individual elders themselves, but we will deal with that more in another blog.

Putting It All Together

Let me see if I can help you put all of this together. We see all of these terms come together in Acts chapter 20. The context of that chapter is that Paul is trying to get to Jerusalem. On his way, so as not to delay him any longer, he calls the elders in Ephesus to come and see him at Miletus.

“Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.”

— Acts 20:17

Note first that who he calls to himself are the elders of this church that he cares so much about. Then he gives them some instructions…

“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

— Acts 20:28-30

You can see the confluence of all of these terms in this passage where Paul is speaking to these men. Let me give you these verse again but I will add the Greek words in parentheses so that you can see what is going on in the text.

“Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders (presbuteros/πρεσβύτερος) of the church to come to him...Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock(poimnion/ποίμνιον), in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (episcopos/ἐπίσκοπος), to care (poimaino/ποιμαίνω) for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock (poimnion/ποίμνιον); 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

— Acts 20:17, 28-30

Here is the bottom line… elder=pastor=shepherd=overseer.

What is the difference between these? Nothing.

In coming posts we will look more at the character and work of the elder. We will look at why we pay some and not others. And we will look at deacons and their role in the church.

Stay tuned.

Where Is God When Life Is Hard?

Where is God when there are hard things in life?

This question matters, and it matters a lot. But over the years I have heard many answers that don’t necessarily line up with Scripture very well.

I think this question has scared many parents over the years. Maybe many Christians too have been scared to be asked this question.

But I believe the Bible answers this question and I am going to try to give you an answer that comes from God’s Word. It will not be an exhaustive answer, but I believe it will be true one.

Before we answer the question let’s recount something that happened to one man…

Jacob’s Encounter with God

In Genesis 32 we read the account of an encounter between God and Jacob. But the story that leads up to this point is really important too, so lets review.

Jacob was the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham. He was also the younger twin brother of Esau. Before Jacob was born God promised to his parents that Jacob, the younger son, would rule over Esau, the older. This is exactly what happened. Through some deceitful actions, Jacob stole the birthright that from his older brother; first having traded Esau for his birthright for a bowl of stew and then by tricking their father into believe that he was actually Esau, his older brother.

After this turn of events Jacob fled his home for fear that his brother would seek retaliation against him for his trickery.

14 years later with 2 wives, many children and incalculable wealth later Jacob goes to return to his homeland. Afraid that his brother is still angry with him and will want revenge (though this turns out to be untrue), Jacob divides up all of his family and possessions into groups to send in waves back to his home. He also sends droves of gifts ahead of them to give to his brother in order to placate him in the hopes that he won’t be angry.

But on the way, despite all of the concerns and worries that Jacob had to this point, he meets God. And the encounter that he has with the Lord isn’t an easy one. Jacob spends one whole night wrestling with God. At the very end of the wrestling match, when Jacob is no doubt exhausted, the Lord touches Jacob’s hip and causes an injury there.

The wrestling match comes to and end, the Lord blesses Jacob, and Jacob walks away limping.

The Problem

For many of us this story will leave us wondering about what seems like a problem. Doesn’t God desire to heal? Doesn’t he desire our good? Doesn’t want to give us blessings? Are we supposed to come away from an encounter with God healed and not hurt?

Some Considerations

Before we unravel that dilemma let’s consider some things from the text.

1. Jacob is no match for God. God will destroy cities, part seas, bring plagues and many other miraculous things through the family line that will come from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God didn’t wrestle with Jacob because he couldn’t prevail, he wrestled with Jacob because Jacob needed to go through the wrestling match.

2. God blessed Jacob. The end of the wrestling match concludes with Jacob clinging to the Lord and asking him to bless him. In other words, Jacob knew he needed something from the Lord that he could not provide for himself. He needed God.

3. God injured Jacob. But…in the process of being injured God revealed something to Jacob that he needed more than a well functioning body, he needed the Lord to provide for him what he was unable to provide for himself.

So Where Is God?

So where is God when life get’s hard? I think that Psalm 119 might give us a clue. Read the two following verses carefully…

“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.”

— Ps. 119:67

“I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.”

— Ps. 119:75

Sometimes we need the affliction of God to keep us from going astray, to keep us from getting lost. But notice that when he does afflict us, he does so in faithfulness. How could this be? How could God be both faithful and afflict us?

Romans 8:28 helps us out here. This verse is often used tritely and to dismiss the concerns of people. But Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, doesn’t offer this as some trite pat answer to whatever may trouble us.

Romans 8:27 tells us that whenever life is hard and we are groaning under the weight of the sinful world that we live in (that is the context of Romans 8), that the Holy Spirit prays for us. Imagine that. The Holy Spirit, groaning under the weight of our struggles, prays for us from right inside us!

Then the very next verse says:

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

— Rom. 8:28

The Conclusion

The reality is that we all live in a broken, sinful, and cursed world. All creation groans under the weight of what our sin has wrought. We groan under the weight of the result of our sin. And the Holy Spirit of God groans right along with us, all while praying for us, because of what our sin has caused.

But God is faithful! He is faithful to use the affliction in our lives to draw out our need of him. He uses it to cause us to see that we need from him what we cannot supply for ourselves. He desires to bless us, but also desires to so in the understanding of our need of him.

I don’t know about you, but I would rather walk with a limp and understand my desperate need of God than be ignorantly self reliant all my days.

Before God afflicted us we went astray. But like the psalmist, in faithfulness God has afflicted us that we might be brought back to him. And when we have returned, we will find that he is more satisfying than anything else we could imagine.