It is agreed by Christians everywhere that there is only one Congregation (or "Church"), and that all believers must walk together in unity. The reality, however, is that in the majority of locations, there is either no unity, the unity is superficial, or it is not complete. It does not help in the least when believers regard others as “not belonging to Christ.” This is a great resistor to true “unity of the heart.”
In a typical location, there will inevitably be a variety of denominational congregations, one or two non-denominational congregations, a few house congregations, and a bunch of non-affiliated believers. In each congregation, there will be a set of elders who will generally have little or no relationship with other sets of elders from other congregations in the same city. Also, these “elders” in these congregations are often ‘lay people’ who have not been called by Jesus, but simply ‘good people’ committed to Christian life.
The contrast with the above is evident from Scripture: “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.” Titus 1:5-6
The word “elder” in the Bible is an adjective; it is never a noun. It is not a title or an office. Likewise, watchmen (overseers) and ministers (servants) are not titles or offices; they are functions. No one leads a congregation other than the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Watchmen merely shepherd the congregation, looking out for it and protecting it, but they are not its leaders. Jesus stated clearly and unequivocally, “Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is Christ” (Matthew 23:10). Peter gives this exhortation to elders:
“Therefore, I exhort the elders among you...shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion, but willingly, according to God; and not for dishonest gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to you, but being examples to the flock.” 1 Peter 5:1-3
Elders in the Bible were appointed on a town-by-town or city-by-city basis. In the book of Revelation, Jesus wrote letters to congregations... the congregation of Ephesus, the congregation of Philadelphia, and so on. In the mind of Jesus, there is only one congregation in each location. There may be many congregational meeting places (different houses they meet in), but there is only one congregation in each location. Observe:
“...the congregation of the Thessalonians...” 1 Thessalonians 1:1
“...the congregation of the Thessalonians...” 2 Thessalonians 1:1
“...the congregation of God which is at Corinth...” 1 Corinthians 1:2
“...the congregation of God which is at Corinth...” 2 Corinthians 1:1
“...the congregation in Ephesus...” Revelation 2:1
“...the congregation in Smyrna...” Revelation 2:8
“...the congregation in Pergamum...” Revelation 2:12
“...the congregation in Thyatira...” Revelation 2:18
“...the congregation in Sardis...” Revelation 3:1
“...the congregation in Philadelphia...” Revelation 3:7
“...the congregation in Laodicea...” Revelation 3:14
Because so many believers today think it is normal for the congregation to be fragmented, they may have never considered that the "eldership" and "leadership" structures they have may not be biblical. In fact, they are not. With only one congregation in each location (according to the Bible), then there should also only be one set of elders (local congregational overseers) in each location, too.
Once we move from the point of having many sets of elders to only one set in a given location, we then start to reconsider the type of people who are appointed as overseers. This is where the list of qualifications given by Paul to Timothy becomes important. It becomes obvious that we would not just pick ‘good people’ committed to Christian life, but people with a genuine call by Jesus.
In Acts 15, we see the phrase “the apostles and the elders” several times. Biblically, elders are the shepherds of the congregation in a given location. In a city, there might be many local congregations but there will only be a handful of elders, and these will be selected from among the ministers already in the city. Elders are chosen from existing ministers in a city.
Understanding this concept reveals much about how we perceive elders in New Testament times. We are not talking about a few slightly more spiritual men in a local congregation who volunteer their time for overseeing, and who may rotate every 3 years, or serve in this role because of a vote. We are talking about men called by Jesus to life-long ministry, selected because of their dedication and qualifications (according to Timothy), appointed by apostles and called to walk in love with the other elders to lead the whole congregation in their city. We are talking about something different to anything we have seen or experienced in our lifetimes.
This is a call to prayer – prayer for right relationship between overseers, prayer for the unity of the Body of Christ in your city, and prayer for the restoration of city-wide elders. Will you answer the call to prayer?