Tag:

Officers

2. The Terms Elder, Bishop And Pastor Are Not Interchangeable

18 May 2015, by Jared Smith

When the term elder is used within Christian circles, it conjures up ideas of ecclesiastical clergy, either elected to office by the congregation, or appointed to office by the denomination. In fact, it is only within Christian churches that the term elder is made to mean something other than persons honored in virtue of their age, wisdom and influence. This irregular interpretation is rooted in a flawed hermeneutic of several biblical texts which refer to elders. It is assumed, because a few scripture passages use the term elder when identifying a bishop/pastor, that therefore, most (if not all) references to elders in the early churches must be bishops/pastors. The absurdity of this presupposition is comparable to one who boasts that all…

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In: • The Plural Eldership Issue,Jared Smith, Eldership | Tags: • The Church, Appointment, Baptist, Bishop, Elders, Election, Officers, Pastor, Polity

3. Evangelists, Bishops And Deacons Are The Only Permanent Offices Recognized In The New Testament

18 May 2015, by Jared Smith

Ephesians 4:11: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;”

The apostles and prophets were temporary offices, laying the foundation for both the establishment and edification of Christian churches—apostles were primarily sent to organize new churches; prophets were appointed to nurture existing churches. The evangelists and pastor-teachers are permanent offices carrying out a…

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In: • The Plural Eldership Issue,Jared Smith, Eldership | Tags: • The Church, Baptist, Bishops, Deacons, Elders, Evangelists, leadership, Missionaries, Officers, Pastors, Polity

Introduction

10 Sep 2013, by Jared Smith

Clifford Pond served in the pastoral ministry among Grace Baptist churches for more than 50 years. Having seen the need for congregations to better understand the complexities of adopting a plurality of elders, he wrote a book entitled “Only Servants.” The back cover of the book offers a reason why the author is a respected authority on the subject: “Clifford Pond writes out of a lifetime of pastoral ministry, having served churches in Suffolk and Surrey as well as exercising a wider ministry at various times by responsible leadership in young people’s fellowships, associations of churches and the council of Grace Baptist Mission.”

In the fifth chapter, under the heading “Plurality of Elders and Deacons”, Mr. Pond writes:

“Since the Second World War every part of life generally has been questioned, and churches too have been put under the scrutiny of Scripture…For example, in the earlier part of this century the most common structure in local churches was a pastor with a group of deacons. In the absence of a pastor…

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In: • The Plural Eldership Issue,Jared Smith, Eldership | Tags: • History, • The Church, Baptists, Deacons, Elders, Government, Leaders, Officers, Pastors, Polity, Presbyterian

Tag:

Officers

2. The Terms Elder, Bishop And Pastor Are Not Interchangeable

3. Evangelists, Bishops And Deacons Are The Only Permanent Offices Recognized In The New Testament

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