Polity Part 3: 

Biblical Leadership- A Study of the

Role of the Lead Pastor
7/9/2020

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Review of last two weeks: 

I am attempting another “multi-week” exploration of some truths which may be “outside
the box” for many of you reading this newsletter. For many of our churches, this series
of articles may be surprising, offensive, informative, challenging, mind-stretching,
revelatory (in a non-biblical sense), and/or confusing. The topic which I will be
discussing will be: 

The “Polity” of our local churches. In these articles, the term “polity” means the
system for leading and governing our local churches.

Polity Part 1:  The Sin of Achan (the hidden sacred cow of polity sin)
Polity Part 2:  Biblical Leadership- A View from 30,000 feet

A Preliminary to our Discussion on the Role of the Lead Pastor

I am indebted to Dr. Lance Cole (Ruffin Stacey) for his insights into this preliminary
discussion.  When I speak to churches about the biblical paradigm for a Lead Pastor, I
often experience the hearers admitting that they are constitutionally set up with a very
different paradigm for their Lead Pastor than what I share with them.  When I ask them
why their paradigm is different, the answer as to why is never biblical—it is almost
always pragmatic.  As I have listened to different churches describe their pragmatic
rationale, it seems to me that there are two observations inherent to this discussion.

Observation #1:  We need pastors who consider their calling to a local church to
be a calling to a “long-term pastorate”
The plain truth is that way too many pastors shuffle in and out of our churches like
rotating doors every 3-5 years.  This has a devastating effect upon our churches.  This
leaves our churches every few years reinventing the wheel on their vision, their
ministries, their philosophy of ministry, etc.  Eventually, the sentiment in the church
devolves to the point whereby the church membership says:  “Pastors will come and go,
but we must run the church; we were here before the pastor came, and we will be here
after he is gone”.  

This painful realization by the congregation leads them to take the posture that it is their
job (the congregation) to “drive the car” of the ministries of the church, and it is not the
job of the Lead Pastor to “drive the car”.  This congregational conclusion comes
because of the default of our pastors to not feel called to a local church for an extended
period of time for the long haul, maybe even for life.

This must change!  We pastors cannot just simply accept a call to a local church until
something better, something bigger, or something which pays more comes along.  This
is brutally unfair to the church membership.  Furthermore, this is pragmatically unwise
on our parts because the truth of the matter is that most of us pastors do not even begin
to move into “the season of enhanced fruitfulness in our local church ministries” until
year 5 or year 6.  So many of us move on to “greener pastures” before we even get
started with the big stuff of biblical fruitfulness with a congregation.

Will long pastorates mean a struggle for us to get to the point that the congregation
realizes that biblically the Lead Pastor should “drive the car” instead of the flock
members?  Yes.  Will long pastorates mean we will have to deal with some long-term
conflict situations?  Yes.  Will long pastorates require us eventually to confront the
reality of non-biblical “church traditionalism”?  Yes.  Will long pastorates be harder than
just moving on to another calling?  Yes.  Are long pastorates historically proven to be
more fruitful and more productive for the Lord and His Kingdom?  Yes.

Pastors, do not expect the church family to have a deep respect for your biblical
leadership role unless they know that you sincerely committed to be with them for the
long-haul.

Observation #2:  We need churches to give appropriate financial raises to the

Lead Pastor so that he can stay long-term.

The reality is that many of our churches hire a Lead Pastor with only a marginal salary
and then give him only token raises over the next 3-6 years.  The raises do not reflect
the necessary cost of living dynamics, and neither do they represent an encouraging
posture by the flock that they are in love with their Pastor and want to pay him what he
is worth.

Many of our pastors have Master’s degrees or even higher.  We probably would not sit
on a Board to hire a lawyer or a doctor with equivalent degrees with the same amount of
money which we offer our pastors.  It would be an insult to offer a lawyer or a doctor or
a business manager with a MBA degree the level of compensation which we offer our
pastors.

Please do not misunderstand what I just said.  I suspect that none of our pastors at our
churches have come into the ministry for the money.  None!  However, neither did they
come into the ministry to submit their families to financial hardship and a constant
struggle to hold their heads above water in their fiscal orbit.

To not pay a pastor what he is worth is blatantly unbiblical.  To follow the old school
adage:  “We want to keep the pastor hungry so that he will work hard” is also unbiblical. 
To not support his family as it grows (i.e. children become older, needs grow, life
expenses rise, etc.) is just simply not right.

And eventually, the failure to allow the pastor’s salary package to grow with his
longevity almost always determines that the pastor must “move on to another church”
just so that he can pay his bills.

Pastor, you must come to stay!  Churches, you must pay them enough to be able
to stay!

The Need for a Lead Pastor (Elder):

“There are few cases of prospering congregations not led ultimately
by a primary pastor figure.” WRTC p. 150
Descriptive Greek words for the Lead Pastor (one role-three biblical words):

1.  Lead Pastor:  There is one NT role, but there are three biblical words (in the koine
Greek) to describe that role:

 Episcopos translated: Overseer
 Presbuteros translated: Elder
 Poimen translated: Shepherd

2.  Before defining and explaining each of the three words for Lead Pastor, please
allow me to make the biblical case that each of these three words define the exact
same biblical role:

    A.  Titus 1: 5-7 which makes it crystal clear that the presbuteros and the episcopos
are the exact same role.
        For this reason, I (Paul) left you (Titus) in Crete, that you might set in order what
remains, and appoint Elders (presbuteros) in every city as I directed you. . .  For the
Overseer (episcopos) must be above reproach. . . . 

    B. 1 Peter 5:1-4 makes it crystal clear that presbuteros and Poimen are the exact
same role
        Therefore, I exhort the Elders (presbuteros) among you, as your fellow- Elder
(presbuteros) and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory
that is to be revealed, Shepherd (poimen) the flock of God among you. . . 

C. Acts 20: 17, 28 make is crystal clear that presbuteros, episcopos, & poimen are all
three the exact same role. 
    And from Miletus he (Paul) sent to Ephesus and called to him the Elders
(presbuteros) of the church (17)

    Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has
made you
    Overseers (episcopos), to Shepherd (poimen ) the church of God which He
purchased with His own blood.         (28)

    Conclusion:  Biblically, a Lead Pastor is an Overseer, an Elder, and a Shepherd

of the Church of Jesus.
   
3. Overseer (episcopos)        See 1957 Arndt and Gingrich, p. 298.
            This word describes the ruling, directing, and managing function of the biblical
role of Lead Pastor
            Specifically:  his calling is to govern the church: to oversee, manage, & lead the
church

            Biblically, the overseer is the decision-maker for, the overall ministry-manager
of, and the one who "drives the car” of the church’s ministries.

            The corollary of this truth is that neither the Servant Ministers (diaconia), nor the
committees, nor the congregation itself are called to “drive the car” or oversee the
ministries of the local church. That function is biblically prescribed to the Lead Pastor.

            Of course, the Lead Pastor is not the sole Overseer of the church.  The Lead
Pastor must identify, select, train and equip others to assist him in the oversight of the
church’s ministry (Eph. 4: 11-12).

4. Elder (presbuteros)        See 1957 Arndt and Gingrich, p. 706-707.

            This word describes the man who fills the office- seasoned, mature, experienced
                OT word for Elder:  Zophar (meaning:  gray hair on the chin) =
Maturity/Wisdom
                Note:  Not just age; they can be younger, e.g. Timothy (1 Tim 4:12)
                Core:  the Lead Pastor is a man who has biblical and experiential wisdom to
teach others

            The key biblical functions of the Elder are:
                1. The teaching/preaching ministry within the local church
                2.  The counseling ministry within the local church:  apply biblical wisdom to
life 
                    (paraclesis:  both encouragement and exhortation

Of course, the Lead Pastor is not the sole Elder of the church.  The Lead Pastor must
identify, select, train and equip others to assist him in the teaching ministry of the church
(Eph. 4: 11-12).
 

5. Shepherd (poimen) See 1957 Arndt and Gingrich, p. 690-691.

            This word describes his relationship with the congregation (his flock).
            There are three key biblical functions of the caring Shepherd: 
                1. To lead the flock 
                2. To feed the flock 
                3. To protect the flock
           
Of course, the Lead Pastor is not the sole Shepherd of the church.  The Lead Pastor
must identify, select, train and equip others to assist him in the shepherding ministry of
the church (Eph. 4:11-12).

Danger, Danger Will Robinson!!  (Caution:  Three truths to keep in mind at this
point)
Truth #1:  Jesus is the King of His Church; the Lead Pastor is only His “under-overseer”
Truth #2:  Jesus is the Prophet of His Church; the Lead Pastor is only His “under-
teacher” 
Truth #3:  Jesus is the Shepherd of His Church; the Lead Pastor is only His “under-
shepherd”

The King rules His Church through His Word and His Spirit.  Once we are reminded of
these three unassailable truths, we can then note how the role of the Lead Pastor
reflects the King and the Lord of the Church. 

Theological paradigm for Lead Pastor (growing out of the Offices of Christ as
Mediator)
     
A. Prophet: the Key Preacher/Teacher of God’s
People------------------------------------------------ELDER   
            Eph 4- he must also disciple other leaders to teach/preach

 B. Priest: the Key Counselor/Shepherd of God’s

People----------------------------------------------SHEPHERD     
            Eph 4- he must also disciple other carers/shepherds

 C. King:  the Key Leader of God’s

People--------------------------------------------------------------OVERSEER   
            Eph 4- he must also disciple other leaders & ministry managers
One Sample Constitutional Description for a Lead Pastor:

We believe that the Lord has founded the role of the Lead Pastor to be one of biblical
authority subject to the authority of Christ as well as also being subject to the call and
the “emergency brake” of the congregation. We believe the Lead Pastor to be the vision
leader of our flock, the overseer of the ministries of our church, and the
teacher/preacher who brings us the Word of God.  The congregation of Name of Church
holds the position of the Lead Pastor in high regard and will consequently delegate
significant biblical authority to him in accordance with the Word of God and the leading
of the Holy Spirit.  Subsequently, the congregation will submit herself to the biblical
authority delegated to such Lead Pastor.

Avoiding Power Corruption—the call to be a Servant Leader

Probably the primary reason churches depart from the biblical paradigm and seek to
strip authority from the Lead Pastor and give it to the Servant Ministers (diaconia) or
retain it for the congregation itself is best explained by the saying:  
“Power Corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”. That is the fear when one
person has a lot of biblical authority in a local church.

While that certainly is not always the case, it is true that it sometimes is the case. 
However, rather than turning biblical polity upside down and shifting authority to places
or people who are not biblically qualified or depicted to hold such authority, I wish to
suggest that the Lord has already given to the church the mechanism to safeguard the
church against abuse of authority.  The Holy Spirit has thrust upon the
Pastor/Elder/Overseer/Shepherd the biblical responsibility to be a “servant leader”. 
Hear the call of the Scripture:

Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow-elder and witness of the
sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the
flock of God among you, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of
God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted
to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.  And when the Chief Shepherd
appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.  
1 Peter 5:14

And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to
be greatest.  And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and
those who have authority over them are called “Benefactors.”  But not so with you, but
let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and leader as the
servant.”   Luke 22: 24-26 

The key thing to note is that the lure of power corruption is seductive—apparently even
to the 12 Apostles (Luke 22) and to the elders in the local churches (1 Peter 5).  God’s
prescription to lessen this lure is to remind the appropriate biblical “authority-holders” to
be quick to keep before their hearts and eyes both their calling to their God-ordained
role and the example of our Lion-Lamb, Servant-Minister Messiah, Jesus Christ.

As an aside, the lure of power corruption can be just as seductive (and maybe more so)
to both Servant Ministers (diaconia) and to congregational members.  What makes this
possibility of power corruption even more likely is that when these folks hold the mantle
of authority in their churches (rather than the Lead Pastor), they are actually doing so in
contradiction to the Word of God.  Thus, Satan has a wide open invitation to come in
and corrupt the hearts of these believers and to draw them relentlessly down into the pit
of power abuse.  

It is better to empower the biblical authority figure (the Lead Pastor) prescribed by the
Word of God and thus invite the Holy Spirit to work powerfully to transform these biblical
leaders into the Servant-Leader Ministers whom God has called them to be.

The Issue of Submission by the Congregation

Hebrews 13:  7, 17

 “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you, and
considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” (vs. 7)
 “Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as
those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for
this would be unprofitable for you.” (vs. 17)

           
    “Today, elders are thought of as representatives of the church.  Though they may
act as its representatives, the evidence makes clear that they are not mere
representatives.  The description names given to the office suggest that they have an
authority far greater.  Think of the names:  overseer, leader or governor, and steward.
And, as already noted, Acts 20:28 and Ephesians 4:11 suggest an authority not human
but divine in origin Without in any way contradicting the common suffrage of the church
in electing elders, this puts their election in a new light.  We now see that the church is
by its common suffrage gratefully receiving a gift given it by its King!  Provided that the
person being considered is a gift, the church is obliged to accept it.    WRTC, p. 219.  

Other Biblical Passages on Lead Pastors/ Overseers/Elders/Shepherds:

 1 Peter 5: 1-4           

 1 Tim 3:1-7           
 James 5:14   
 Nu 11: 14-15           
 Ex. 18:17-27           
 Ezek 34:1-6
 Acts 20: 17,28,32       
 2 Tim 2: 24-25       
 1 Tim 5: 19,22
  Titus 1; 5-9           
 Acts 14:23           
 Hebrews 13: 7,17,24

Summary
OK, what does this all mean for our churches in the DVMBA who seem to be struggling
to grow and to taste of His blessing and Kingdom fruitfulness?

Well, at the risk of being “tarred and feathered” and run out of town on a rail, may I
humbly suggest that the Servant Ministers (diaconia), and the committees, and the
congregations of such struggling churches might benefit from doing an in-depth study of
God’s Word on the subjects of biblical leadership, of the biblical role of the Lead Pastor,
and the biblical roles for any Servant Ministers (diaconia), any committees, and for the
congregation. 

Further discussions in this series of articles on polity may help such congregations find
their way to seeing the needed changes which might need to be made to their
constitutions and bylaws in order to facilitate a change away from historical traditions
and preferences in church polity as they prayerfully seek a change toward a more
biblical polity for their churches.

Or, of course, you can simply just shoot the messenger (me).

What’s next in this contemplative series of articles on biblical polity?

Polity Part 4:  A leadership study of the Biblical Role of the Team of Pastors
Polity Part 5:  A study of the Biblical Role of the Servant Ministers (diaconia)
Polity Part 6:  A study of the Two Aspects of Congregationalism
Polity Part 7:  A study of the Biblical Role of the Congregation
Polity Part 8:  A discussion of how to actually change your “polity” paradigm for your
church