Leadership of the Church

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Introduction

In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul writes, "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up" (Eph. 4:11–12). This passage describes the fivefold ministry of the early church. Paul's other letters also mention a threefold pattern of leadership—bishop (Greek: episkopos, G1985, "overseer"), presbyter (Greek: presbuteros, G4245, "elder"), and deacon (Greek: diakonos, G1249, "server")—which many scholars see as part of the early church's shift from local leadership to a more structured hierarchy (cf. 1 Tim. 3:1–3). Jesus gave us this lesson about church leadership:

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matt. 20:25–28).

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Apostles and Prophets

Today, people often misuse the terms "apostle" and "prophet" when discussing church leadership. Many self-appointed teachers claim to be "led by the Spirit" while spreading false ideas and misusing God's authority. The Greek words apostolos (G652) and prophētēs (G4396) mean "sent one" and "foreteller," respectively. Only God can appoint someone to speak or act on his behalf. If false teachers understood the seriousness of being an apostle or prophet, they would never claim those titles.

In ancient times, misrepresenting a king to another ruler was a crime punishable by death, and God imposed the same penalty on false prophets (Deut. 18:20). Both roles carry strong political and spiritual significance. An apostle represents the kingdom of heaven as God's messenger to the world, while a prophet speaks from within that same kingdom, declaring the King's will. The prophets Nathan (2 Sam. 12), Elijah (1 Kings 18; 21), Isaiah (2 Kings 19–20; Isa. 36–39), and Jeremiah (Jer. 37–38), advised Israel's kings, and in the early church, Philip's daughters and others foretold God's coming kingdom as the apostles shared the message of Jesus' resurrection (Acts 21:9; 1 Cor. 13:2).

The word apostle originally described the twelve men Jesus chose to lead his ministry. Many first followed John the Baptist's ministry before becoming Jesus' disciples (cf. John 1:35–40). Later, Paul became an apostle even though he was not one of the twelve and had persecuted the church. He received his authority because he personally saw the risen Jesus (1 Cor. 9:1–2).

A third use of the word apostle describes men and women who established new churches where none had existed before (Rom. 11:13; 16:7). For example, Epaphras founded churches in the cities of the Lycus Valley—Laodicea, Hierapolis, and his hometown of Colossae (Col. 4:12–14). In this sense, a modern apostle plants missions or Christian communities where the gospel has not yet reached. Although none of us has seen the resurrected Jesus, we can still act as his emissaries, carrying the message of God's kingdom to places that need it most.

Patrick Schneider

Bishops and Presbyters

Paul warned the church elders of Ephesus: "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood" (Acts 20:28). He also gave these instructions to Timothy:

Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap (1 Tim. 3:1–7).

Paul wrote to Titus:

Since an overseer manages God's household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Instead, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it (Titus 1:7–9).

In the first century, the apostles "appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust" (Acts 14:23). Luke uses the verb translated "appointed" instead of "ordained" to show that the apostles selected leaders through prayer and guidance, not by giving them divine authority. The Greek verb cheirotoneō (G5500) means "to appoint" or "to designate," much like a leader choosing a successor. This word describes people choosing and appointing others to lead; it does not mean that God personally anoints them. Paul also uses the word appoint in a broader sense when he writes, "For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous" (Rom. 5:19).

Another Greek word, sometimes mistranslated as "to ordain," is kathistēmi (G2525), meaning "to set in place" or "to delegate authority." The New Testament more often associates true ministerial authority with God's calling and command than with a formal ordination ceremony. Therefore, diatassō (G1299) means "to arrange thoroughly" (1 Cor. 9:14). The Bible shows that God entrusts the appointment of leaders to local churches (2 Cor. 8:19). When translators confuse or misuse these words, they support unbiblical ideas like clericalism and institutional "ordination," which distort the New Testament model of shared and servant-based leadership.

In the New Testament, there is no record of a ceremony for anointing church leaders. The writers used the word anointed only for Jesus, recognizing him as Israel's true King and Priest—the Messiah (John 1:41; Acts 10:38). The titles Messiah (Hebrew: Mashiach, H4899) and Christ (Greek: Christos, G5547) both mean "anointed," referring to one chosen and set apart by God for a sacred purpose. In the Old Testament, anointing referred to pouring olive oil on the heads of kings and priests to set them apart for service (Lev. 8:12; 21:10; 1 Sam. 10:1; 2 Kings 9:6). Today, many church leaders wrongly call themselves "anointed," without realizing that they are claiming a title that belongs to Christ alone. In fact, the only explicit instruction for anointing with oil in relation to church ministry concerns the sick, not leaders being anointed for office (James 5:14).

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Deacons: Servers in Leadership

The server acts as the church's administrator, managing the budget and other practical duties. Scripture says servers must be "known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom" (Acts 6:3). Their work is an actual act of service, not an honorary title for long-time members. The role mirrors that of a modern restaurant server—someone who meets the needs of others—just as the apostles said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on [diakoneō, G1247] tables" (Acts 6:2). This statement led to the appointment of seven servers: Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus (Acts 6:5).

Here are the Bible's requirements for servers:

In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. In the same way, the women [who are deacons] are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 3:8–13).

Both men and women served in the first-century diaconate. Historical evidence shows that the early church appointed female deacons, as noted in Canon 15 of the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, which lowered the minimum age for women deacons from sixty to forty (cf. 1 Tim. 3:11; 5:9). Paul also acknowledged Phoebe of Cenchreae as a deacon, who carried and read his letter to the Romans (Rom. 16:1; see "Mutuality & Praiseworthy Women").

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Evangelists and Teachers

When the apostle Paul wrote, "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers" (Eph. 4:11), the Greek language lacked commas and other punctuation. Because of the lack of punctuation, some readers interpret the phrase "pastors and teachers" as a single role, while others see it as two distinct roles. The word pastor comes from the Latin translation of the Greek noun poimēn (G4166), which means "shepherd." Ephesians 4:11 is the only verse in which poimēn refers to anyone besides Jesus, who calls himself the Good Shepherd (Greek: Poimēn ho Kalos, John 10:1–18). Every church leader acts as a pastor, and many modern churches recognize this by using titles such as teaching pastor, senior pastor, or youth pastor. However, when a single elder takes control as the pastor, that person ignores the shared leadership that Scripture teaches and turns the church into a one-person rule. The apostle Peter writes:

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ's sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble" (1 Pet. 5:1–5; cf. Prov. 3:34).

What seems like a fivefold ministry in Ephesians and a threefold ministry in Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus were actually the same roles within one unified ministry. The different words likely reflected local customs and ways of speaking. For example, an American president and a Canadian prime minister have similar duties but represent different traditions. A teacher (Greek: didaskalos, G1320) taught lessons from Scripture and sometimes handled other responsibilities (Acts 18:26). An evangelist (Greek: euaggelistēs, G2099) proclaimed the good news of Christ, such as Philip (Acts 21:8), while the church later also applied the title to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John because of their gospels (Greek: euaggelion, G2098). Evangelists focused on delivering the message publicly rather than through personal teaching. They were like town criers who announced the coming of a Roman emperor, but instead, they proclaimed the coming of God in Christ—the "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (Rev. 19:16).

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Bibliography

Primary Sources

Percival, Henry R., trans. The Fourth Ecumenical Council: The Council of Chalcedon. In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 14. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1899.

Monographs

Atkerson, Stephen E. New Testament Church Dynamics: Help for Bi-vocational, House-Church, and Small-Church Leaders. 2nd ed. Atlanta: New Testament Reformation Fellowship, 2024.

Atkerson, Stephen E. The Practice of the Early Church: A Theological Workbook. Atlanta: New Testament Reformation Fellowship, 2024.

González, Justo L. From the Beginnings to the Council of Chalcedon. Vol. 1 of A History of Christian Thought. Nashville: Abingdon, 1987.

MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. New York: Penguin, 2011.

Scharf, Greg R., and Arthur Kok. New Elder's Handbook: A Biblical Guide to Developing Faithful Leaders. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2018.

Wright, N. T., and Michael F. Bird. The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019.

Edited Volumes

Cowan, Steven B., ed. Who Runs the Church? Four Views on Church Government. Counterpoints. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004.

Reference Works

Attridge, Harold W., ed. The NRSV HarperCollins Study Bible, Revised and Updated with Apocryphal and Deuterocanonical Books. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2006.

Dobson, Kent. NIV First-Century Study Bible: Explore Scripture in Its Jewish and Early Christian Context. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014.

Kaiser, Walter C., Jr., and Duane Garrett, eds. NIV Archaeological Study Bible: An Illustrated Walk Through Biblical History and Culture. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.

Keener, Craig S., and John H. Walton, eds. NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016.

Journal Articles

Karras, Valerie A. "Female Deacons in the Byzantine Church."↗ Church History 73, no. 2 (2004): 272–316.