Overall: Church Roles and Leadership
Across denominations and throughout history, churches have had a variety of roles and positions. These range from priests, nuns, pastors, deacons, elders, bishops, ministers, evangelists, staff members and administrators. It can be quite confusing. In this article, I'd like to simplify these titles and positions by focusing on the leadership roles described in the New Testament.
There are 3 parts to this Article:
Part 1 - What are the biblical categories for roles in a Church?
Part 2 - What about other categories you’ve heard of?
Part 3 - Are we free to create additional roles?
Part 1
Starting with the Basics - Membership
The scriptures list another church role or position, but it's not one of authority and leadership. That position is “church member.” These are the people whom the elders oversee (Acts 20:28) and who submit to the elders (Hebrews 13:17). To serve the church, participate in its life, and engage in ministry, one doesn't need to be a leader. In fact, being a member implies active participation in the church's life (1 Cor 12, Rom 12, Eph 4, Gal 5).
But what about those attending church who aren’t members? While this isn't an official category, Paul does assume the church will always welcome visitors (1 Cor 14:16-25). However, the church officially consists of members who have made a credible profession of faith and their children (Acts 2:39).
(You can read more about Church Membership Here)
Elected from the Members to Lead the Church - Elder
Elders are the primary leaders of the church. They are elected by the congregation, and the congregation takes vows to yield to, honor and encourage the elders of the church. Christ is the head shepherd of the church, and elders serve as “under-shepherds” until Christ returns. 1 Peter 5 outlines this relationship:
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.
And Hebrews 13:
7 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
The emphasis is not on power and advantages gained by being an elder, but as one who is charged with additional responsibility and burden, to care for the flock, to give themselves to the work in a way that will require a giving of account to God.
And men are not appointed to this role because they are successful in the business realm, or because they are good at debating people on theology. But they are to be examined primarily on their Christian character and love for Christ, along with the ability to teach and correct doctrine, lovingly, as outlined in 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1.
Being elected to the role based on spiritual maturity factors, they are then charged to exercise the government and discipline of the church in order to care for the congregation they are installed over, serving as examples of the faith.
(You can read more about the office of Elder here.)
Appointed by the Elders to Help and Serve - Deacons
But the Elder isn’t the only official leadership role in the church. Paul also describes the role of Deacon (διάκονος, diakonos translated as "servant"). Paul lists the qualifications for the role of Deacon right alongside the role of Elder in 1 Tim 3. He also lists deacons and elders alongside one another in Phil 1:1.
However, Paul does not devote much space in his letters to describe the role of a deacon. Much of what we understand about the role of a deacon comes from what is described in Acts 6. In Acts 6, the elders were so overwhelmed with the task of food distribution that they appointed “servants” to assist them in overseeing this distribution and ensuring fairness. This illustrates the role as one under the authority of the elders, appointed by them and assigned specific tasks.
This means that deacons do not govern the church alongside the elders but rather support the elders by addressing the physical needs of the church and community. This allows the elders to concentrate on teaching the word and prayer. Some churches might make the mistake of referring to deacons as "junior elders" or assign them roles that emphasize doctrine and teaching. However, the scriptures make a clear differentiation between those who cater to the physical needs of the church and community (Deacons) and those who address the spiritual needs of a congregation, emphasizing doctrine and teaching (Elders). They are meant to be two distinct roles, with Elders being the primary leaders.
(You can read more about the office of Deacon here.)
Conclusion
That's it! Those are the 3 main roles the Bible prescribes for the continuing church: Members, Deacons, & Elders.
Now at this point, you might be thinking, but what about other categories I’ve heard of, like; Staff, or Apostles? In “Part 2” below, I’ll address some of those other titles you’ve heard of.
Part 2
What About Apostles, Evangelists, and Teachers?
We see several titles used in the New Testament. This naturally leads to the question: Do these titles describe additional officers and roles? The answer is "No." For example, the roles of evangelist and teacher describe the gifts and passions of those in the church body. Paul never lists qualifications for serving as evangelists, nor does he discuss the need to appoint them over local churches in the New Testament. Evangelists and teachers are simply descriptions of the gifts that different members of the church possess.
But what about the role of Apostle? It's true that Paul speaks of his role as an Apostle as one of leadership, granting him authority over the church. However, the position of Apostle no longer exists. The word "apostle" means "sent one," and the New Testament establishes a requirement that apostles be direct disciples of Christ.
21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection…26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”
-Acts 1:21-26
So, with the death of those "who accompanied the Lord Jesus from his baptism until his resurrection," the office of Apostle ceased.
What about church Staff Members?
You might ask, "What about Staff?" Since the concept of being on staff at a church isn't directly mentioned in the scriptures, I like to think of it this way: Someone can be a member, a deacon, or an elder. They can serve in that role either full-time or part-time, and they can be either paid or unpaid for that role. Moreover, anyone can be any combination of these three factors (role, time, & pay). For instance, a church administrator might be a church member who serves full-time and is paid. The leader of the sound team might be a church member, serving part-time, and is unpaid. Alternatively, a Director of Operations at a church might be a deacon, working full-time, and is paid. The term "staff" typically designates that someone is paid by the church and doesn't denote an official position or title.
Part 3
Are we free to create additional roles?
First off, we should start with the boundaries that aren’t flexible. We aren’t free to change the biblical roles of Elder, Deacon and Member since the stem directly from the bible. Also, we should not do anything to undermine or work around those roles. For example, it would be wrong to create a position that is over and above elders, when the bible shows that they are the ones with a primary responsibility to lead and rule the church.
But it does seem that Paul and others appoint people to various roles, and delegate duties to them in order to support the elders of the church. Acts 6 was an example of people being appointed to oversee food distribution. Letter carriers were appointed to send Paul's letters to the churches. In 1 Corinthians you see people praying and contributing to the worship service, overseen by the elders. So yes, elders should feel free to “rule” the church in various ways.
At Waypoint we have created 2 additional roles we feel are needed to run the church well; the Women’s Care Team and Small Group Leaders.
Women’s Care Team:
In most churches, Elders seek out women of character, competency and calling to assist them in the shepherding of the women of the church. This is not the group that does women’s ministry events and small groups, instead they are there to assist in the care of women at our church.
We also recognize the need to have a group who can assist the session, as advisory members, in thinking through church-wide decisions. They also are there to assist the session in shepherding women at the church. Who can come alongside the elders as they care for couples (men and women equally feel cared for), and can help women know how to advocate for themselves with the Session (be an advocate for women, who can even accompany them to session meetings).
Due to the nature of serving in this role, it’s important that the women who serve on this team are equipped and qualified. Therefore leaders are examined on evidence of faith and repentance in their life, they have demonstrated fruit in the area of caring for members of the church, and they are examined on character and maturity of faith. This means women in the church know there is a trusted group of mature women who they can look up to and go to for shepherding care.
(You can read more about the Women’s Care Team here.)
Small Group Leaders:
Small Group Leaders leaders don't possess authority over the entire church, but they exercise a specific, delegated amount of care and oversight in smaller group settings, such as Support Teams, Discipleship Cohorts, and Flourishing Groups. All such leaders undergo training and evaluation concerning their character and maturity to ensure they are prepared for these roles.
(You can read more about the role of Small Group Leader here.)
