Why we should go to a plural eldership? (for pastors)
Topic: plural eldership
by David Cox 1998
The question presented is one that can simply be answered, because the plurality model is the biblical representation of local church government. In other articles I wish to present, I will deal with specific issues and especially the biblical basis, but in this article I would like to present a general argument on the basis of some Scriptures and some common sense.
When we look at the local church, many typically have a single pastor which does the majority of the preaching, teaching, and administration of the local church. There are usually a small group of men who are called deacons who approve the financial affairs of the local church. The attitude of our typical local church is one that would be summed up in the following, “we pay the pastor to do the work of the ministry, so why should we get involved?” The exception is that of finances, but other than that and some Sunday School classes, most of the work of the ministry is laid on the shoulders of one man, the pastor.
Taken from a white paper by David Cox written August 11, 1994
The New Testament does not lay down a whole lot of foundational teaching on elders (some, but not a lot). This is because the concept of “elders” is already defined in the Old Testament. The idea of elders comes from the tribes of Israel, where there is in this culture a profound respect for “older people”. This respect extends to giving them a place on administration and group decisions as well as weighing in on many matters.
Let me say that there is a difference between an older person and an elder. The difference is that an elder is a person who is respected because of HOW he lived his life. Basically hard work, good decisions, and faithfulness to the basic tasks of work, home, family, nation, and church is what defines a person as an elder. In the Old Testament there were not churches of course, but “the congregation” or the people of Israel in their religious capacity. Before this structure came to be though, the elders of a group of people saw to the religious affairs of that group. Job is an example that is without date, but very old. Yet without the tabernacle nor the temple, Job was worried about the religious state of his children. The is a good man being an elder. We see Cain and Able offering sacrifices for their family, and Abraham as well. This leadership in life is what makes the difference between an old man and an elder.
In time, God brought chosen leaders onto the scene, and while in a sense they replaced the elders as leaders, they really only became more focused leaders given over to the ministry of administration and leadership. They both received support the elders, and they ministered to the elders.
Following our study of 7 Deadly sins of a dying church, the next one is that they have few outwardly focused ministries. The key here is introspection, or a selfishness of doing everything for their own selves. As a missionary, I have experienced some 50 years of watching things in local churches. At one time churches rallied around their work abroad, and today, church after church either just does not support missions at all, or their missions budget is sending their own people on joy rides around the world (mission trips) where the go to England to pass out some tracts, and mostly see sights.
Where do babies go when they die.Recently I had another person ask me about where babies go when they die. This has come up several times over my ministry, and I gave this person my answer, and I thought it might be of solace to others.
I do not know about infants that die. The Bible is strangely silent on that. On the one hand God gives men the chance of hearing and exercising faith. Babies don’t have that opportunity. So God’s mercy would seem to indicate that He will do something special for them.
On the hand there is the very strict understanding that without faith in Jesus Christ there cannot be salvation. No exceptions. So I leave that to God’s mercy.
When a couple loses there unborn baby what do you tell them?
I think that the baby is in God’s hands, and God is a merciful God. We cannot make up stuff to comfort people. Some theologians think that David’s comment on losing his child was that there is not that can bring the child back, I can only go to him. In some way, that sounds like the child is in heaven. Maybe that is the way it is. I cannnot say that dogmatically. The truth here is that the child is in God’s hands to do whatsoever God wants with him. We just cannot go beyond that.
When the parents have no control over the life or death of the child, or even when they did and something went wrong, we are to do God’s will the best we understand it and leave things there. God will hold us accountable or not. In cases of the death of an infant where the parents had no control over it, or they did something thinking to save the baby’s life but that didn’t end like they were trying, I see no blame on the parents hands.
Last year a lady in our church died. She was like 40 years old, younger than Tule and I. She had a tumor in her stomach the size of a fist. Her husband decided that she was too weak for the surgery, and that is debatable. Probably was too weak. But he refused to sign the papers for them to operate. The doctors took a poor attitude and sent her home. We cannot do anything else for her. That was not helpful as she needed more blood transfusions and stuff. She died.
In the next series of posts, I am examining more Warning Signs of a Bad Pastor. I am taking these from my own experience and several posts on the subject that I have found around the Internet, comparing all of that with what I understand of Scripture.
