Who is responsible for certain roles and activities within a local congregation? Is one man central and indispensable to the congregation? Is one man's ministry more important than all the others? What do the Scriptures, Yahweh God's Holy Word, have to say on the subject? The following table summarizes 27 roles and activities mentioned in the New Testament concerning local Christian assemblies.
| Role or Activity | Responsible Individual or Group |
Relevant Scriptures and Comments |
| Serving as a priest | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | 1 Peter 2:5, 9 |
| Ministering in the main weekly and other settings | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | 1 Cor. 14:26-33; Heb. 10:24-25; Col. 3:16; 1 Peter 4:10-11 |
| Deciding who does what ministry | Yahweh God | Eph. 2:10; 1 Peter 4:10; Col. 4:17 |
| Making ekklesia discipline decisions | Whole ekklesia assembly | Matt. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 5:1-13 |
| Testing revelatory words | Whole ekklesia assembly | 1 Cor. 14:29; 1 Thess. 5:19-22; 1 John 4:1 |
| Loving and caring for one another | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | Matt. 22:39; Gal. 6:9-10 (about 60 verses total) |
| Teaching | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | All: Col. 3:16; Rom. 15:14; Heb. 5:12; James 3:1 Elders: 1 Tim. 3:2; 5:17; Titus 1:9 |
| Admonishing | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | Col. 3:16; 1 Thess. 5:14; 2 Thess. 3:15; Heb. 10:24 |
| Challenging an individual about his/her sin | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | James 5:19-20; Gal. 6:1 |
| Rebuking an individual about his/her sin | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | All: Luke 17:3-4 Elders: Titus 1:9 Also: Gal. 6:1; Eph. 4:29 |
| Hearing a confession of sin | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | James 5:16 |
| Assisting with conflict resolution and lawsuits among believers | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | Matt. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 4:3; 6:1-6 |
| Protecting ekklesia unity | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | Eph. 4:3; Rom. 14; 1 Cor. 10:15-11:1 |
| Reaching out with the Gospel | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | Jude 1:23; 1 Peter 3:15; Matt. 5:14-16; 22:39; Acts 8:4 |
| Preaching | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | Acts 8:1-4; 11:19-21; 15:35; Mark 1:45; 5:20; 7:36; Luke 8:39. New Testament preaching is evangelistic. |
| Baptizing | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | Acts 8:12; 9:18; 10:48; Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 1:10-17 |
| Serving the Lord's Supper | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | 1 Cor. 11:17-34 |
| Praying publicly | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | All: 1 Cor. 11:1-16; 14:6-20; James 5:16 Elders: James 5:14; 1 Tim. 4:14 |
| Praying for healing | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | Mark 16:18; 1 Cor. 12:9, 28; James 5:14-16 |
| Praying for deliverance | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | Mark 16:17; 1 Cor. 12:10 |
| Prophesying, Languages ("Tongues") | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | Acts 18:6; 1 Cor. 12:10, 28-30; 14:1-5, 39 |
| Living as an example | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | All: Hebrews 6:12 Elders: 1 Peter 5:3 |
| Overseeing | Any/Everyone as led by Holy Spirit | All: Hebrews 12:15 Elders: 1 Peter 5:2 |
| Building the Ekklesia | Jesus | Matt. 16:16; Eph. 5:23-32; Psalm 127:1 |
| Deciding who is a local or traveling leader | Holy Spirit working through existing leaders and whole ekklesia | Luke 6:12-13; Acts 6:1-6; 9:15; 13:1-4; 14:23; 16:2; 20:28; 1 Tim. 4:14; Titus 1:5 |
| Shepherding/"Pastoring" | New Testament only mentions elders | Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2; Hebrews 13:17. Unlikely that non-elders were excluded. |
| Protecting sound doctrine | New Testament only mentions elders | Titus 1:9. Unlikely that non-elders were excluded. |
The New Testament knows nothing about, and simply does not speak in terms of, two classes of Christians—“minister” or “clergy” and “laymen” or “laity.” In the New Testament, the terms “clergy” (Greek: kleros; meaning ‘inheritance’) and “laity” (Greek: laos; meaning ‘people’) both apply to the same group—all of God’s people (men, women, and children) without distinctions! In other words, all saints are "clergy" and all saints are "laity." The New Testament distinguishes between ‘elders’ (an adjective—not a noun [the title, position, or "office" that we have made it]) and people (Phil. 1:1), but this distinction assumes the ‘priesthood of all believers’ (1 Pet. 2:5, 9) and does not swallow it up as the “clergy/laity” practice of the past and today.
As you can obviously and clearly see from this table, elders did not have the authority to govern a local congregation. Most decisions in the life of New Testament congregations were made by the whole congregation using voting consensus. In what ways did elders provide leadership within local congregations? They were influencers, encouragers, and facilitators—not organizers and decision-makers. Teaching was a shared responsibility of the community—not a "role" reserved for elders. As elders did the things that all believers are free to do (e.g., teach, read scripture, admonish), they had a highly influential role in the life of the congregation. One of the most important leadership roles is to watch over the souls of other members of the community. As elders do this, they are positioned to pray for and influence others, perhaps with a word of encouragement, an admonishment, a teaching or by giving advice.
A second important dimension of shepherding by influence, which is sometimes needed in congregations, is facilitating the meetings:
- Encouraging quieter members to contribute,
- Encouraging individuals who contribute a great deal to contribute slightly less,
- Stepping in when an inappropriate contribution may result in someone feeling disrespected or hurt, and
- Facilitating consensus-based decision-making.
The shepherding provided by elders is in many ways similar to good parenting, especially of older children.
There is absolutely zero evidence in the New Testament to support the "pastor," the "sermon," and the "pulpit" as being central and indispensable to the local congregation. It has to be imposed upon the text. We have 'read' the modern practice of "the pastor" into the New Testament, which is known as eisegesis. The New Testament does not teach that one man's ministry is more important than the ministry of everyone else; it teaches mutual ministry through the 50+ "one another" statements. According to God’s Word in 1 Corinthians 12:22-24, Paul taught that "the parts that seem to be weaker are necessary, and the ones we think to be less honorable should have more abundant honor bestowed on them." In other words, “pastors” (if they were the least bit biblical) should have the least honour! (see Matt. 23:8-10) How have we maintained a system and structure that is anti-Christ, reducing the Body to one mouth and many ears? How have we let one man give a monologue week after week after week, when it is universally agreed by communication experts that a monologue is the worst possible way to learn? Our systems and structures are not conducive to real spiritual transformation!
Ever-pagan Emperor Constantine (who never actually converted to Christianity, but merely added another God to his pantheon of gods) flipped the Congregation upside down in the 4th century and we have never recovered! What would evolve into the Catholic Church became more and more pagan in their practice of the mystery religions by absorbing every pagan ritual and practice under the lie of "making it easier for the people to transition." Interestingly enough, when Paul planted congregations, some of the new believers came from Judaism and others from other religions. Paul would have introduced all of these new believers not only to Jesus but also to the New Testament pattern of congregational life, which was different to their previous religious experiences. In other words, all their old religious practices were to be left behind.
*Adapted from Anthony Jacomb-Hood's Rediscovering the New Testament Church.