The History of the Language of “Council”
The name “Church Council” was prescribed by the United Methodist Book of Discipline, which offered the alternative “Administrative Board.” It has been historically used by Timberlake, without much critical analysis but more so out of habit.
In the Bible, the term “council” is used in three primary ways, none of which refer to local church leadership. “Council” is used to mean
• The Jewish ruling body, such as Pharisees and Sadducees (John 3:1)
• One-time assemblies for the purpose of establishing church law and theology (Acts 15)
• The saints and angels gathered around the throne of God (Psalm 89:7)
The Biblical Language of “Elder”
On the other hand, the Bible’s word for local church leaders is “elders.” Elders are those who lead, guide, teach, pray for, and encourage the congregation in the way of Jesus. They are decision-makers, but more importantly they are leaders, examples for spiritual maturity, and shepherds for the sheep. Paul instructed the leaders in Ephesus, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers [elders]. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). While the UMC uses the term elder to designate ordained clergypersons, the Bible uses the term to mean the multiple leaders from within each congregation, not merely the clergy (Acts 14:23, I Peter 5:1).
The Role of Elders
The Bible is clear about the expectation and role of elders in Titus 1:4-9:
“To Titus, …I left you behind in Crete so that you should put in order what remained to be done, and should appoint elders in every town, as I directed you: someone who is…
blameless… not accused of debauchery and not rebellious… not arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled.
hav[ing] a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.”
…In summary, according to Titus 1, elders lead through
• Administration and strategy
o “you should put in order what remained to be done,”
• Holy living
o an elder is “blameless, a lover of goodness, hospitable, self-controlled”
• Biblical teaching and transmission of the faith
o “hav[ing] a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.”
Therefore…
This change from “Church Council” to “Elders” is…
• Biblical, reflecting the appropriate use of the words as in the Bible
• Practical, reflecting the actual work of our Timberlake leaders
• Spiritual, reflecting the faith leadership to which our leaders are called
A note on the Role of Women
The Bible affirms the leadership role of women, therefore so does Timberlake. Here are a few examples…
• Phoebe, Priscilla, and Junia were leaders in the early church (Rom 16:1-7)
• The Spirit of God was poured out on the whole church, including women (Acts 2:17)
• Miriam, Deborah, and Anna were prophets, judges, and temple officials (Ex 15:20-21, Judges 4:4, Luke 2:36-37)
• The first people to proclaim the resurrection were women (Luke 24:9-10)
On the Nature of Shared Ministry Leadership in the Bible
The Biblical model for organizing a local church calls for shared leadership, and for multiple men and women to pastor the people. Contrary to what is practiced in many churches, the work of ministry is not mainly what the pastor does, but what all the people do, led by those who are gifted and called for leadership. No person can or should try to pastor everyone. It is a shared effort. Likewise, our leaders have spiritual gifts for pastoring, teaching, discernment, wisdom, administration, exhortation, evangelism, and so forth. Using the language of “elder” sets up our leaders for fruitful ministry by claiming God’s call and gifting, and by communicating to ourselves and our congregation the particular role our leaders exercise for the ministry of Timberlake.
