Οἱ καλῶς προεστῶτες πρεσβύτεροι διπλῆς τιμῆς ἀξιούσθωσαν,
The elders who are leading well must be deemed worthy of double honour,
μάλιστα οἱ κοπιῶντες ἐν λόγῳ καὶ διδασκαλίᾳ·
especially they who are working with the word and teaching.
λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφή· Βοῦν ἀλοῶντα οὐ φιμώσεις,
For the Scripture says, "An ox treading you shall not muzzle",
καί· Ἄξιος ὁ ἐργάτης τοῦ μισθοῦ αὐτοῦ. (SBLGNT)
and, "Worthy is the worker of his wage." (1 Tim. 5:17-18, CFB)
What this and related NT texts appear to show is that each church is to have conciliar leadership: not a pastor who dictates, but a council of elders who together take the vital responsibilities for the wellbeing of the church.
Πρεσβυτέρους οὖν τοὺς ἐν ὑμῖν παρακαλῶ
Elders, therefore, who are among you, I exhort,
ὁ συμπρεσβύτερος καὶ μάρτυς τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ παθημάτων,
I who am a co-elder and witness of the sufferings of the Christ,
ὁ καὶ τῆς μελλούσης ἀποκαλύπτεσθαι δόξης κοινωνός,
who am also a sharer of the glory destined to be revealed,
ποιμάνατε τὸ ἐν ὑμῖν ποίμνιον τοῦ θεοῦ,
shepherd the flock of the God that is among you,
ἐπισκοποῦντες μὴ ἀναγκαστῶς ἀλλὰ ἑκουσίως κατὰ θεόν,
overseeing not compulsorily but voluntarily according to God,
μηδὲ αἰσχροκερδῶς ἀλλὰ προθύμως,
nor shamefully for gain but zealously,
μηδ’ ὡς κατακυριεύοντες τῶν κλήρων ἀλλὰ τύποι γινόμενοι τοῦ ποιμνίου· (SBLGNT)
nor as bemastering the lots but being models of the flock. (1 Pet. 5:1-3, CFB)
So whereas the NT appears to provide a simple, transparent and fairly wolf-proof model of governance, where God's Word is applied by church co-governors (elders, overseers) whose work can be evaluated by simply comparing it to what the New Testament says, many churches veer away into complex and perverse set-ups, where for example a professional "pastor", with his own Bible interpretation, is given the responsibility to run the church by elders with little knowledge of God's Word.
A key mistake here appears to be that people misunderstand the New Testament's terms of "elder", "pastor", and "overseer"/"bishop". These appear to be terms for one and the same office. That is to say, an elder is described by the New Testament as a pastor and as an overseer. One of several indications of this is that the apostle Paul addresses the church in Philippi as follows:
Παῦλος καὶ Τιμόθεος δοῦλοι Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ
Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus,
πᾶσιν τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Φιλίπποις
to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,
σὺν ἐπισκόποις καὶ διακόνοις, (SBLGNT)
together with overseers and deacons.... (Phil. 1:1, CFB)
Paul mentions only two types of church offices. Likewise, and perhaps even more compelling, the Letter to Titus (1:5-7) describes an elder as an overseer:
Τούτου χάριν ἀπέλιπόν σε ἐν Κρήτῃ ἵνα τὰ λείποντα ἐπιδιορθώσῃ,
For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting,
καὶ καταστήσῃς κατὰ πόλιν πρεσβυτέρους, ὡς ἐγώ σοι διεταξάμην,
and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
εἴ τίς ἐστιν ἀνέγκλητος, μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἀνήρ,
if any be blameless, the husband of one wife,
τέκνα ἔχων πιστά, μὴ ἐν κατηγορίᾳ ἀσωτίας ἢ ἀνυπότακτα.
having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
δεῖ γὰρ τὸν ἐπίσκοπον ἀνέγκλητον εἶναι ὡς θεοῦ οἰκονόμον,
For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God;
μὴ αὐθάδη, μὴ ὀργίλον, μὴ πάροινον, μὴ πλήκτην, μὴ αἰσχροκερδῆ, (SBLGNT)
not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; (AKJV)
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Notes
CFB: Scripture quoted from the Christ Family Bible. Copyright © 2018 by J.J. Thomas. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
AKJV: Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
