Church Leadership

Throughout my ministry training, I took numerous classes on leadership. I learned lessons about how to lead effectively from some of the world’s most successful and insightful leaders. Yet for all the time I spent learning leadership principles, I was never offered a class on the “theology of leadership.” No course walked us through the biblical models of church leadership or invited us to study how Scripture defines, describes, or directs leadership in the local church. I am convinced it is not enough to have a practical understanding of how to lead—we must also have a theological framework. We need a biblical understanding of church polity, not just a pragmatic one. 

A quick survey of churches reveals a wide spectrum of understanding about how the church should be led, what roles church leaders have, and even what titles the church leaders should wear. It did not take long in the church’s history for there to be debate, disagreement, and confusion over the titles for the leadership positions in the church. 

The Scriptures are not silent about how the church should be governed. I do not believe that God was ambiguous as He used and inspired men to compose the New Testament. On the contrary, God very intentionally directs us and instructs us. In the Bible, we find leadership titles, function, qualifications, and purposes. 

God created the entire universe with order. Similarly, He created human beings with order, instituted the family with order, and established the church with order. There is a God-given structure to church leadership, and we cannot afford to overlook or abandon it. How we structure the church matters. 

I love what Paul tells us about the church in the book of Ephesians: 

To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places (Ephesians 3:8-10 NKJV). 

According to Paul, the church is the means through which God displays His manifold wisdom to the heavenly beings. Thus, we have a responsibility to function as His church in such a way that the rulers in heavenly places might stand in awe of God’s wisdom. We should not presume to improve upon His design. We are not free to revise what God has revealed. 

Furthermore, the basis for our church structures ought to be what the Bible says. After all, this is Jesus’s church. Since the church belongs to Him, we must concede we cannot improve upon His model. It is not our job to adapt or amend the Scriptures. We must not replace God’s design with what we think is more practical. We should strive for the most biblical model of leadership in the local churches—we should always defer to the Word of God. 

If we were to study church leadership in depth, we might begin with the letters of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. These letters are sometimes called the “pastoral epistles,” but they were written to evangelists serving local churches, and they provide instruction on what they ought to be doing. Our goal must be to align ourselves with Scripture. Just as water is purest at its source, if we are going to get better in church leadership, we need to return to the source. We look to where these leadership positions were established. Sadly, throughout the years of church history, leadership structures have been changed and tinkered with to the point that what we see today would be barely recognizable to the apostles. 

There may be many aspects of church life that change from culture to culture and from era to era, but the structure of the church should transcend culture. The apostle Paul should be able to step into our world and our culture and understand how the local church is organized and led. In Ephesians 4, Paul speaks of the establishment of leadership in the church. Specifically, in Ephesians 4:11-12 he says, “He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (NKJV). 

This passage identifies both the origin and purpose of church leadership offices. Paul is clarifying that God established four leadership positions in the church. Two of those positions were temporary offices, with a specific function for the church in her infancy. Those temporary offices are apostles and prophets. These two offices were temporary, foundational gifts for the church. They were like the scaffolding on a building project. In addition, the qualifications of an apostle are not ones that a person can meet today. 

There are also two permanent positions given to the local church. They are the offices of evangelist and pastor teachers. They are to teach what the apostles and prophets revealed. For the sake of clarity, we must understand the term pastor-teacher is synonymous to the office of an elder. Those two words are interchangeable. In other words, the leaders that God established for the church are evangelists and elders. These two offices were given at the same time, by the same person, and for the same purpose. When we look at the New Testament teaching on church leadership, we see that the elders and the evangelists in the church have a common purpose, some overlapping responsibilities, equal authority, and hold a relationship of mutual accountability with one another. 

In a world where “leadership” is one of the most popular topics, we need to understand the uniqueness of church leadership. The Bible not only tells us what title these leaders should bear, but it also gives a clear job description for leaders in the church. Those job descriptions are specific for each office in the church. Elders and evangelists are both leaders in the church, but they serve a different role within the body of Christ. The elders are instructed to shepherd the flock and oversee the work of the church. The evangelist is to be a preacher of the Gospel. However, these two groups have the same purpose: equipping the saints for works of service. 

I’ve heard some people suggest we really need leadership because of our fallenness. There may be some truth to that, but that does not tell the whole story. We need leaders because of our humanness. God created us to need leaders. Order, authority, and leadership were God’s creative design. This was not merely a consequence of the fall. This concept was hardwired into the order of creation. 

These leadership positions are not just about gifted individuals—they are about gifts given to the church. Yes, church leaders are gifts given to the church. The church was established by God, with Jesus as its head, and elders and evangelists were entrusted with leading local congregations and equipping the saints for works of service. We must trust that conformity to the biblical pattern is what is best for the church.