Question from a friend of WordTruth Ministries:

WordTruth.Com Response:

Thank you for your question - I'm not sure I fully understand what you trying to find out. But in general ... The New Testament church does not have explicit references to the organization of the local church but it does speak to offices in the local church. 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 provide the qualifications for an overseer (pastor) of the church. You can also find a message I posted regarding the qualification of the pastor at: http://www.wordtruth.com/BibleStudies/NT/1tim_3a.htm

1 Timothy 3:8-13 describes the qualifications for a deacon. One thing we learn from scripture is that the church is shepherded by the pastor (or a group of pastors). The deacons are servants of the church (Acts 6:1-6) at the direction of the pastor. They have no defined authority - their leadership in the church is recognized only through their service to the church.

Some churches have a body of what they call "elders" - layman who manage the church affairs. This confuses the authority and responsibility invested in the pastor/shepherd, who is accountable to the LORD Jesus Himself (the Chief Shepherd) for the governance of the church. In the New Testament, the term "overseer" or "bishop" and "pastor" and "elder are terms used interchangeably (ref. 1 Peter 5:1-4) for the one called to shepherd the church of Jesus Christ our LORD. There is no biblical precedent for usurping the authority of the pastor with a ruling council of layman, no matter how mature they may be as Christians.

I hope this provides some helpful insight into the leadership of the church. You may also want to browse some of the other questions/answers posted at: http://www.wordtruth.com/BibleStudies/QuestionLog/questions.htm

May God bless you with His wisdom and the courage to follow Jesus!

Rev. Randy Lariscy :-)
Director - WordTruth Ministries