TEACHING NOTES ‌ Introduction In this session we begin a study leadership in the Bible. Why are we doing this study? Because our church is growing and growth requires leadership. As more people are added to our church family more needs, tasks, and responsibilities are also added. This means that we need more than one leader to care for the needs of our church family. In this first session, we need to correctly define leadership before we can do anything else. ‌ Part 1: Defining Biblical Leadership ‌ The Bible defines leadership very differently than the world defines leadership. In fact, the definitions are opposites. ‌ If we have an unbiblical definition of leadership, we will choose the wrong leaders and operate the church in a worldly way. ‌ Leadership in the Old Testament The leadership roles found in the New Testament are not totally new ideas, but are based on the roles found in the Torah. Therefore, to understand NT leadership we first need to understand the OT foundation on which the idea of the Church is built. ‌ At the rebellion of the tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9), the nations had rejected their creator and were worshiping other gods. So God chose Abram (Gen. 12) in order to create a new nation/people for Himself that is eventually named Israel. Centuries later while Israel is enslaved in Egypt, God chooses Moses as His prophet to deliver His people from slavery (Exodus). On the way to Mt. Sinai Exodus 18 tells us Moses needed help leading Israel, so at the advice of his father-in-law Jethro Moses chose elders to help him. ‌ Exodus 18:13–16 13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” ‌ 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; 16 when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” ‌ 17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. 19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, 20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do.” ‌ 21 Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.” ‌ 24 So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 26 And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. 27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went away to his own country.” ‌ A few chapters later in Exodus, Israel arrives at Mt. Sinai, God gives Moses the covenant, which included instructions for leadership structure. Leadership Roles of Israel: ‌ The King: Originally, God was supposed to be Israel’s king. However, in 1 Samuel 8 Israel demands a human king and God allows it with many warnings. As we continue to read, it becomes clear that the king submits to God’s prophet. The king is also not allowed to be high priest or even a priest. It seems that the king is not supposed to have as much power and authority as we would think. ‌ The Prophet(s): Moses is the first prophet of Israel. Afterward, there were many prophets, but none quite like Moses (see Deut. 34:10-12). The prophets were the mouthpiece for God to teach, guide, and rebuke the people. ‌ The High Priest: Aaron, Moses’ brother, was the first high priest of Israel. Aaron was a Levite and the high priest was supposed to be chosen from his lineage. The high priest was the only human allowed into the “most holy place” or the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. This was only to occur once a year on the Day of Atonement. ‌ The Priests: The priests served in the tabernacle by helping the high priest perform all the rituals of God’s house. ‌ The Levites: The Levites were the priestly tribe and those who were not a high priest or priest were caretakers of God’s house. In the wilderness years, the Levites would breakdown, move, and setup the tabernacle. The Levites were servants who maintained God’s house. ‌ The Elders: Each tribe of Israel had elders who lead, taught, and judged the people. We’re told in Ex. 24:1 that there were 70 elders total. ‌ Leadership in the New Testament Contrary to the popular structure in many churches today of having a single pastor as the leader, the New Testament shows a plurality of leadership roles in the church. Unfortunately, many churches today function like early Israel, where Moses is the leader and is always in conflict with the congregation. As a result, many pastors today have the same experience as Moses. Many times the people want to replace Moses with a new leader and many times Moses wants to quit or die. The New Testament provides a much better system than that. ‌ Ephesians 4:7-8, 11–12 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ‌ Positions or Roles? Many modern churches view these as titles or positions. However, Paul is describing how Jesus gave the church these gifts as functions or verbs. Also, we find out later that some of these roles are combined. For example, elders are told to shepherd God’s flock (1 Pet. 5:1-4) and must also be teachers (1 Tim. 3:1-2). Apostles also prophesy, teach, evangelize, and shepherd. Both Peter and John are called apostles and elders (1 Pet. 5:1; 2 John 1; 3 John 1). In other words, these are not single positions, but gifts for God’s church. ‌ Apostles = Grk. apostolous - sent ones. There are two categories of apostles in the New Testament. One group we might call “the Apostles” who were called by Jesus and directly witnessed His ministry and resurrection. These Apostles—and their direct associates—also wrote the New Testament. The other apostles functioned more like missionaries who are “sent” to spread the gospel. ‌ Prophets = Grk. prophetas - While this can include divine information about the future, prophesy is most often about simply hearing from God and sharing those words with others. ‌ Evangelists = Grk. euangelistas - proclaimer of the gospel. We’re told that Philip was an evangelist (Acts 21:8) and Timothy is told to “do the work of an evangelist (2 Tim. 4:5). In the ancient world an evangelist was not limited to a religious function. When a king conquered a region an evangelist would be sent ahead to each city to announce the “euangelia” or the news about the king and his victories. Jesus and the apostles used the same language to proclaim that Jesus is king and has conquered the world. In reality, every Christian should be an evangelist who tells others about the gospel. ‌ Shepherds = Grk. poimenas - This where we get our word “pastor” which comes from “pasture” meaning to shepherd. A shepherd is not just an authoritative leader, but is a person who cares deeply for the sheep and has devoted their life to the well-being of the sheep. ‌ Teachers = Grk. didaskalous - Teaching has always been a major element in God’s family since ancient Israel. Since God’s Word has been written and preserved for us, and since there is so much to learn, the church needs teachers who are devoted to studying and teaching. We’re told a list of what the early church was devoted to, and the apostles teaching is first on the list (Acts 2:42). ‌ To equip the saints for the work of ministry = The job of church leaders is not to do all the ministry, but the equip the entire church to do the ministry. Unfortunately, the modern church has adopted a worldly corporate system by hiring professionals to do all the ministry. However, the Bible presents the church as a family of priests who are all doing the work of ministry. The leaders are part of the family who are devoted to training disciples. ‌ Leadership in the Church During the early decades of the church the apostles traveled starting churches and appointing leaders in those churches. For example, Paul wrote to Titus “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you” (Titus 1:5). The apostles knew that another generations of leaders were needed to carry the church forward after they died. This is why elders and deacons were appointed early to help the apostles lead and care for the churches. ‌ Elders/Overseers/Shepherds: There are two Greek words used interchangeably in the New Testament (episkopos, presbyteros, poimenos). Episkopos is often translated as overseer or bishop. Presbyteros is often translated as elder or longer in the faith. Poimenos is often translated as shepherd or pastor. The New Testament does not separate these into different roles but uses each word interchangeably (Acts 11:27-30; 14:23; Acts 15; 20:17; 21:18; 1 Tim. 4:14; 5:1, 17-19; 1 Pet. 5:1-5). Therefore, the leaders of the church should be not new Christians (elder in the faith) and should oversee and shepherd the church. Qualification for elders/overseers are found in 1 Tim. 5:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. The next session of this study will be entirely focused on this group. ‌ Deacons: Grk. diakonous - servants, ministers. This group is similar to the Levites in the Old Testament, who served God’s house by helping the priests. In the New Testament, deacons are men and women who serve the ongoing needs of the church. They are not a board of major decision-makers, as that would fall on the elders/overseers. Deacons are first mentioned in Acts 6:1-7 when the needs of the ministry were distracting the apostles from studying and teaching God’s Word. As a result of appointing deacons to help the apostles “the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7). More on deacons in a later session of this series. ‌ Leaders or Servants? We tend to think of leadership as authority or control. In our culture, leaders are in charge of others and those lower on the hierarchy must get in line do what they’re told. This is the exact opposite of biblical leadership. Jesus told us exactly how Christian leadership should be defined. Luke 22:24–26 24 A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.” ‌ The kings of the Gentiles = Jesus is referring to pagan/worldly leaders. ‌ Exercise lordship over them = Grk. kyrieuousin - actively dominate, rule, wield authority over. This word comes from kyrios meaning “lord” or “master”. In worldly culture, leaders wield power and authority over others. They are elevate above those they lead and demand obedience at threat of punishment. ‌ Benefactors = Grk. euergetai - title of honor for civic contributions. It was common for a wealthy person or a person of high status to contribute something to their community or city in order to gain more status or honor. This would also occur on the individual level. For example, a wealthy of high status person would pay for a paved street or building and that project would be named in their honor. Or a person of higher status would give their business to a person of lower status or help them connect to better business opportunities. However, this was not done as simply a donation, but obligating the receiving party to reciprocate in return. In other words, if you received some benefit from someone, you are now indebted to them in some form. The downside is what we call “holding it over your head.” ‌ Not so with you = Literally, “you are not to be like this.” Jesus is clear that His disciples are never to lead like worldly leaders. However, the modern church has spent the last several decades modeling the church after corporate business culture. ‌ The leader as one who serves = Literally, “the one who leads must be like one who serves” or “leaders must be like servants.” This is Jesus’ definition of leadership in His kingdom. Leaders are not to be authoritarians who lord over you and hold their position over your head. Leaders in the church should function and act like servants, who are lower than others. ‌ Conclusion Church leaders are members of the church family, chosen by the church family, and are devoted to serving the church family. ‌ Next Week: Elders/Overseers (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9)