Elders, Deacons, & Church Leadership
At a basic level, the NT teaches two leadership offices in the local church: elders and deacons. Broadly speaking, the elders are the spiritual overseers and the deacons administrate the practical needs of the church.
The term “elder” in the NT is synonymous with “pastor” and “overseer” (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:1-2; Titus 5:1-7). When they are referenced in the Bible, they are always spoken of in plurality. In other words, churches are not to be led exclusively by a single pastor, but rather by a council of biblically qualified elders (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). Within the council, the elders are led by one who serves as “first-among-equals,” usually the primary teaching elder, which in our case, is me (1 Tim. 5:17). At Bridgeway, our Deacons primarily oversee policy, property, and financial accountability in order to free the elders to practice spiritual leadership.
Many churches today practice variations of this form of leadership. Some consider their paid pastoral staff as their elders, others compose their eldership of exclusively volunteer laypersons. In our situation we have a combination of paid and unpaid elders. As the primary teaching pastor, I am currently the only paid elder at this time.
The primary responsibility of elders in the Bible is spiritual leadership (i.e. pastoring). Elders primarily do this through exercising oversight and teaching/preaching. Under Jesus Christ, the Head of the church, the elders serve as undershepherds who provide gentle, loving, caring, Christlike leadership to the people of God. As faithful shepherds, their activities often focus on:
- Feeding the flock (teaching the Word of God)
- Nurturing the flock (counseling, discipling, praying for the sick)
- Leading the flock (providing vision and direction to the church)
- Protecting against wolves (confronting false teachers, predatory people)
- Disciplining the flock (correcting wayward sheep in love)
We had a very special moment this past Sunday as we celebrated the installation of two new elders. After a long period of training and examination we commissioned Stan Philips and Jim Santistevan as elders. Both men, already functioning as spiritual leaders, are great assets to our church family. Until now, I have been the sole elder at Bridgeway. It is our conviction to follow Jesus’ humble example of servant leadership as we lead by serving and serve by leading.
The Leader Who Is Blessed
This morning at our monthly Men’s Breakfast (can I get an amen) I shared with everybody 3 characteristics from Psalm 1 about the leader who is blessed by God. Here’s what we talked about:
1. The leader who is blessed goes against the flow of wickedness- Psalm 1:1
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;”
- This is the man who knows who he is and what he stands for. He is not driven and tossed by the culture around him. Instead he takes a stand for righteousness.
- Choose your friends and influences carefully
- Surround yourself with people who pull you up
2. The leader who is blessed delights in God’s Word- Psalm 1:2-3
“but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”
- Have a specific time each day to read, study, and meditate on Scripture
- Scripture will give you inner strength and nourishment for life and leadership
3. The leader who is blessed understands the futility of wickedness- Psalm 1:4-6
“The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
- The wicked are like chaff that is driven away
- The wicked will not stand in the final judgment
- The wicked will ultimately perish
Leader’s Summit
I’ve been invited to teach a breakout session at this years Leader’s Summit hosted by Allison Park Church. It will be held on Saturday, Nov. 8 from 8:00am-12:30pm. My session is called “How To Lead Others To Study The Bible For All It’s Worth.” I’m humbled by the opportunity and really excited to teach on this subject which I am so passionate about.
The Leader’s Summit is open to anyone currently volunteering in a local church or just desiring to increase effectiveness in ministry. Keynote speakers include Jeff Leake, Johannes Amritzer, and Marie Cartledge. You can register for the summit by clicking here.
More Catalyst
The Catalyst conference was without doubt the most helpful, informative, and thought-provoking ministry and leadership conference I’ve ever attended. Highlight speakers for me on Friday were:
Tim Sanders, Dave Ramsey, Franklin Graham, Matt Chandler, and Andy Stanley
I’m going to be spending a lot of time going over my notes and absorbing the content. I’m definitely going next year.
A Good Re-Read
I first read this book a little over two years ago just before I started pastoring. It was tremendously helpful in helping me get started. Now I’m going through the new 10th anniversary edition. So far its been a great refresher on the big principles of leadership.
Maxwell’s also added two new laws of leadership, consolidated some others, and added more relevant content. I definitely recommend it to anyone in leadership whether church, business, or non-profit.
Anyone who leads people would benefit from it. Its definitely a classic on the subject of leadership.
Self Leadership
Thought I’d pass along a great post I came across about the importance of self-leadership and discipline. Enjoy.
Good Thoughts On Leadership
Check out my friend Nick’s post for some helpful tips on being a decisive leader.
Good Thoughts On Leadership
Check out my friend Nick’s post for some helpful tips on being a decisive leader.
Catalyst Meeting
This morning I attended our monthly gathering of pastors at Allison Park Church. We are part of a group of churches called Multi-Church Movements- Pittsburgh. This month our guest speaker was Earl Creps.
Earl is the former director of the Doctor of Ministry program at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. He recently resigned his position there in order to pursue a call from God to plant a church in Berkeley, CA. He gave a great talk this morning. You can find some good notes from it here on Jeff’s blog and here on Nick’s blog.
Catalyst Meeting
This morning I attended our monthly gathering of pastors at Allison Park Church. We are part of a group of churches called Multi-Church Movements- Pittsburgh. This month our guest speaker was Earl Creps.
Earl is the former director of the Doctor of Ministry program at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. He recently resigned his position there in order to pursue a call from God to plant a church in Berkeley, CA. He gave a great talk this morning. You can find some good notes from it here on Jeff’s blog and here on Nick’s blog.
Narrow The Focus
Due to an unusual number of people unable to attend our monthly leadership meeting Sunday, I thought I just post up some of the notes from our discussion.
We’ve been working through some of the principles found in Andy Stanley’s book 7 Practices of Effective Ministry. Without agreeing 100% with everything in the book, it does offer some very helpful insights into effective ministry practices. Here is an excerpt from some of our notes from Sunday:
•“Clarify The Win” is defining what success really is. It is defining the goal or target we are aiming for. For the church it is changed lives.
•“Think Steps, Not Programs” – Programs are not an end in and of themselves, they are steps in a process leading to spiritual maturity.
•“Narrow The Focus” is about deciding to do less in order to become more effective.
•Complexity diminishes your potential for
impact.
•We cannot confuse activity with effectiveness.
Activity does not equal effectiveness,
strategic activity equals effectiveness.
•The goal is not to do everything, it is to do a few things well.
•The more you focus, the higher the quality.
•The more you focus, the stronger the
impact.
Also, for anyone who is interested, you can subscribe to an audio podcast of each of the seven practices here.
Narrow The Focus
Due to an unusual number of people unable to attend our monthly leadership meeting Sunday, I thought I just post up some of the notes from our discussion.
We’ve been working through some of the principles found in Andy Stanley’s book 7 Practices of Effective Ministry. Without agreeing 100% with everything in the book, it does offer some very helpful insights into effective ministry practices. Here is an excerpt from some of our notes from Sunday:
•“Clarify The Win” is defining what success really is. It is defining the goal or target we are aiming for. For the church it is changed lives.
•“Think Steps, Not Programs” – Programs are not an end in and of themselves, they are steps in a process leading to spiritual maturity.
•“Narrow The Focus” is about deciding to do less in order to become more effective.
•Complexity diminishes your potential for
impact.
•We cannot confuse activity with effectiveness.
Activity does not equal effectiveness,
strategic activity equals effectiveness.
•The goal is not to do everything, it is to do a few things well.
•The more you focus, the higher the quality.
•The more you focus, the stronger the
impact.
Also, for anyone who is interested, you can subscribe to an audio podcast of each of the seven practices here.
Preach To Yourself
Recently I’ve been reminded about an important principle. We need to preach truth to ourselves. There are times when life has a way of stealing our joy, getting us down, and moving us off target. Sometimes we feel condemnation for a certain failure or discouragement from adverse circumstances. In times like these we must rise up and whip ourselves into shape.
Part of growing in spiritual maturity is taking ownership of our relationship with God. It is important that we take personal responsibility for our spiritual growth. There will be times when it won’t be easy, when we don’t feel spiritual, when we are empty. In these times, we need to rise up and preach truth to ourselves and bring our wandering hearts and minds back into alignment with God’s Word.
In the military there are drill sergeants. If you’re slacking as a soldier, you can be sure your drill sergeant will let you know about it! Unfortunately in the Christian life we don’t always have someone there to push us forward. Therefore we must be the ones who push ourselves forward. Consider what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
It is so easy to live aimlessly these days. There’s not only the danger of discouragement but the temptation to medicate our discouragement by overdosing on entertainment. There’s nothing wrong with entertainment in itself, but when it becomes the thing we turn to in times of trouble we have begun to live aimlessly. Paul’s words speak to us because they say that in order to live a life of significance, we must discipline ourselves.
Here’s what King David did in 1 Samuel 30:6 when he faced overwhelming discouragement. “And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”
So how do you preach to yourself?
Well, whenever you find yourself depressed, discouraged, broken, hurt, and lonely, bring your mind and heart into alignment with Scripture. Find verses that combat the particular struggle you are facing. For instance, if you are feeling condemnation preach to yourself the truth of Romans 8:1-2: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
Simply preach that truth to yourself over and over. I personally find it helpful to pace around the room as I do this. Chances are you won’t feel like you are free from the law of sin and death, but if you are a Christian you are free at the core of your being and you just need to bring your mind and heart into alignment with that truth. This process can be applied to every circumstance, dilemma, trial, tragedy, and attack we might face.
Hope this helps. Happy preaching 
Preach To Yourself
Recently I’ve been reminded about an important principle. We need to preach truth to ourselves. There are times when life has a way of stealing our joy, getting us down, and moving us off target. Sometimes we feel condemnation for a certain failure or discouragement from adverse circumstances. In times like these we must rise up and whip ourselves into shape.
Part of growing in spiritual maturity is taking ownership of our relationship with God. It is important that we take personal responsibility for our spiritual growth. There will be times when it won’t be easy, when we don’t feel spiritual, when we are empty. In these times, we need to rise up and preach truth to ourselves and bring our wandering hearts and minds back into alignment with God’s Word.
In the military there are drill sergeants. If you’re slacking as a soldier, you can be sure your drill sergeant will let you know about it! Unfortunately in the Christian life we don’t always have someone there to push us forward. Therefore we must be the ones who push ourselves forward. Consider what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
It is so easy to live aimlessly these days. There’s not only the danger of discouragement but the temptation to medicate our discouragement by overdosing on entertainment. There’s nothing wrong with entertainment in itself, but when it becomes the thing we turn to in times of trouble we have begun to live aimlessly. Paul’s words speak to us because they say that in order to live a life of significance, we must discipline ourselves.
Here’s what King David did in 1 Samuel 30:6 when he faced overwhelming discouragement. “And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”
So how do you preach to yourself?
Well, whenever you find yourself depressed, discouraged, broken, hurt, and lonely, bring your mind and heart into alignment with Scripture. Find verses that combat the particular struggle you are facing. For instance, if you are feeling condemnation preach to yourself the truth of Romans 8:1-2: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
Simply preach that truth to yourself over and over. I personally find it helpful to pace around the room as I do this. Chances are you won’t feel like you are free from the law of sin and death, but if you are a Christian you are free at the core of your being and you just need to bring your mind and heart into alignment with that truth. This process can be applied to every circumstance, dilemma, trial, tragedy, and attack we might face.
Hope this helps. Happy preaching
5 Keys To Self-Leadership
Check out Jeff’s post on self-leadership. Really good advice for anyone in leadership.
5 Keys To Self-Leadership
Check out Jeff’s post on self-leadership. Really good advice for anyone in leadership.
Spiritual Warfare Retreat
Today Jess and I head off with a bunch of our leaders to a retreat center in Ligonier, PA. We will be joining the other churches associated with the Allison Park network for a Leadership and Spiritual Warfare Retreat. I’m really looking forward to this much needed time away. I like what Mark Batterson says, “Change of place + change of pace = change of perspective.” The retreat will be led by Pastor Jeff Leake from Allison Park Church and Johannes Amritzer , an evangelist from Sweden. It’s going to be great!
Spiritual Warfare Retreat
Today Jess and I head off with a bunch of our leaders to a retreat center in Ligonier, PA. We will be joining the other churches associated with the Allison Park network for a Leadership and Spiritual Warfare Retreat. I’m really looking forward to this much needed time away. I like what Mark Batterson says, “Change of place + change of pace = change of perspective.” The retreat will be led by Pastor Jeff Leake from Allison Park Church and Johannes Amritzer , an evangelist from Sweden. It’s going to be great!
Cultivating a Spirit-Filled Church
I am currently attending a breakout session called “Cultivating a Spirit-Filled Church” by the conference host Jack Stepp, Pastor of South Hills Assembly. I’ll be blogging notes as he teaches. Here goes:
Cultivating a Spirit-Filled Church
Beginning in the mid 1990s came what we might call “the relevant church movement.”
The charismatic gifts are an integral part of the New Testament…,and Paul considered spiritual languages a desirable and delightful part of personal Christianity.
Can we merge the two? The relevant church movement and the charismatic movement? How can we be Pentecostal and still reach out with a cultural sensitivity?
Cessationists say that the gifts and languages of the Holy Spirit ceased with the close of the New Testament.
Are we Pentecostals becoming practical cessationists? Not doctrinally, but practically.
The disuse, misuse, and abuse of the gifts, along with immersion into the relevant church movement, can turn us into practical cessationists. In our attempts to adopt the valuable principles of the relevant church movement, we must be careful to not neglect our Pentecostal calling and heritage.
There is a road between two ditches. The ditch on one side is where we no longer encourage or operate in the Biblical manifestations of the Spirit. The ditch on the other side of the road is sensationalism. The ditches are to be avoided.
We should not think that the postmodern culture could not be interested in spiritual languages or the gifts of the Holy Spirit. More than likely they would like to experience God’s power in their lives.
Our goal is to cultivate a Spirit-Filled/Relevant church.
To cultivate the Spirit-Filled/Relevant church, we must believe that the Spirit-Filled life is the key to the better life in Christ.
How can we develop a Spirit-filled/Relevant church?
1. Dig deeply into the life with the Holy Spirit
2. Give people consistent and regular opportunities to experince God.
We must continually ask the Lord to use us in his gifts.
3. Cast the vision of what a Spirit-Filled/Relevant church looks like.
4. Guide you leadership in strategic planning and include numeric goals for the infilling with the Holy Spirit.
He references Jim Collins’ hedgehog concept diagram.
The intersection of 3 circles determines your “sweet spot” as a church. These are 1. What you’re best at (as a church), 2. What you are most passionate about, and 3. your time , energy, and resources (different from the business model which would be “what drives your economic engine”).
This was a very good workshop. Lots of great insights into building a Spirit-Filled/Relevant church.
Cultivating a Spirit-Filled Church
I am currently attending a breakout session called “Cultivating a Spirit-Filled Church” by the conference host Jack Stepp, Pastor of South Hills Assembly. I’ll be blogging notes as he teaches. Here goes:
Cultivating a Spirit-Filled Church
Beginning in the mid 1990s came what we might call “the relevant church movement.”
The charismatic gifts are an integral part of the New Testament…,and Paul considered spiritual languages a desirable and delightful part of personal Christianity.
Can we merge the two? The relevant church movement and the charismatic movement? How can we be Pentecostal and still reach out with a cultural sensitivity?
Cessationists say that the gifts and languages of the Holy Spirit ceased with the close of the New Testament.
Are we Pentecostals becoming practical cessationists? Not doctrinally, but practically.
The disuse, misuse, and abuse of the gifts, along with immersion into the relevant church movement, can turn us into practical cessationists. In our attempts to adopt the valuable principles of the relevant church movement, we must be careful to not neglect our Pentecostal calling and heritage.
There is a road between two ditches. The ditch on one side is where we no longer encourage or operate in the Biblical manifestations of the Spirit. The ditch on the other side of the road is sensationalism. The ditches are to be avoided.
We should not think that the postmodern culture could not be interested in spiritual languages or the gifts of the Holy Spirit. More than likely they would like to experience God’s power in their lives.
Our goal is to cultivate a Spirit-Filled/Relevant church.
To cultivate the Spirit-Filled/Relevant church, we must believe that the Spirit-Filled life is the key to the better life in Christ.
How can we develop a Spirit-filled/Relevant church?
1. Dig deeply into the life with the Holy Spirit
2. Give people consistent and regular opportunities to experince God.
We must continually ask the Lord to use us in his gifts.
3. Cast the vision of what a Spirit-Filled/Relevant church looks like.
4. Guide you leadership in strategic planning and include numeric goals for the infilling with the Holy Spirit.
He references Jim Collins’ hedgehog concept diagram.
The intersection of 3 circles determines your “sweet spot” as a church. These are 1. What you’re best at (as a church), 2. What you are most passionate about, and 3. your time , energy, and resources (different from the business model which would be “what drives your economic engine”).
This was a very good workshop. Lots of great insights into building a Spirit-Filled/Relevant church.
3 Aspects of a Leadership Culture
We just finished our first all-church leadership meeting! Ministry is definitely done best as a team. Such a privilege to dream and serve with such amazing leaders. I gave short talk on building a leadership culture. As Jesus is leading us into a new season at ACC, He’s calling us to do three things. This was my basic outline:
Permission to:
Dream Big
– Mark 9:23 “Everything is possible for him who believes”
– Don’t let how keep you from pursuing the dream
– There’s nothing we can’t do, there’s only things we haven’t done
Take Risks
– Have you ever played a risky game? The fun starts when someone gets really daring.
– “The greatest risk is taking no risk at all”
– “Our greatest regrets in life will be the things we didn’t do, the opportunities we didn’t seize”
Make Mistakes
– If we’re not making mistakes, we’re probably not doing things right
– It’s ok to make mistakes. We just don’t want to make the same mistakes twice.
In other words, Go for it!
3 Aspects of a Leadership Culture
We just finished our first all-church leadership meeting! Ministry is definitely done best as a team. Such a privilege to dream and serve with such amazing leaders. I gave short talk on building a leadership culture. As Jesus is leading us into a new season at ACC, He’s calling us to do three things. This was my basic outline:
Permission to:
Dream Big
– Mark 9:23 “Everything is possible for him who believes”
– Don’t let how keep you from pursuing the dream
– There’s nothing we can’t do, there’s only things we haven’t done
Take Risks
– Have you ever played a risky game? The fun starts when someone gets really daring.
– “The greatest risk is taking no risk at all”
– “Our greatest regrets in life will be the things we didn’t do, the opportunities we didn’t seize”
Make Mistakes
– If we’re not making mistakes, we’re probably not doing things right
– It’s ok to make mistakes. We just don’t want to make the same mistakes twice.
In other words, Go for it!
LSBC
Had a great time this morning at the Leader’s Serving Beaver County quarterly breakfast. It was a privilege to meet so many people serving in leadership in different parts of Beaver County. This quarter’s meeting was in Aliquippa and the keynote speaker was Keith Starcher, a professor at Geneva College. Great to see so many people committed to God’s purposes in revitalizing Beaver Co. I’m learning the importance of connections. God’s heart for our communities is so much bigger than any one church or business. The more we can link arms with one another the more we can accomplish for his Kingdom!
LSBC
Had a great time this morning at the Leader’s Serving Beaver County quarterly breakfast. It was a privilege to meet so many people serving in leadership in different parts of Beaver County. This quarter’s meeting was in Aliquippa and the keynote speaker was Keith Starcher, a professor at Geneva College. Great to see so many people committed to God’s purposes in revitalizing Beaver Co. I’m learning the importance of connections. God’s heart for our communities is so much bigger than any one church or business. The more we can link arms with one another the more we can accomplish for his Kingdom!
