Church Governance, Pt 1
This blog post is Part 8 of a series entitled "May I Ask A Question?" by Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith of Donelson First in Nashville, TN.
Message Date: June 25, 2023
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I want to share with you 7 questions we have recently received that warrant a biblically defined conversation about church management, its leaders, families, and volunteers. Due to the complexity of each, I envision that we will spend several weeks on these questions you have submitted as a part of the May I Ask A Question series of which we are now in week 8. Here are the 7 questions:
What is the proper alignment of Church governance, and how do each of these roles differ in aiding to the benefit of the Church?
What is the biblical role of a pastor, and what should that role look like in the Church?
What is the role of a pastor’s wife and their family in the Church?
What is the role of the deacon body in the Church?
My husband’s side of the family is heavily involved in ministry, and we see firsthand the toll it takes on them. As members of the Church, how can we best support, help, and uplift the Ministry Team?
The SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) just voted to remove 2 churches over women pastors. What does Donelson First believe about this decision and is it biblical?
What are the ordinances of the Church, and why are they important?
Let’s begin by discussing the proper alignment of Church governance. To do so, one truly needs to look no further than the Bible. In doing so, I will answer several questions by addressing the role of each of the following: Apostle, Elder, The family of an Elder, Deacon, and Volunteer.
Today I plan to address the role of apostles and elders. So, here we go...
Apostle
We read about the apostles in the Bible. But who are they? What constitutes an “apostle?” Do we still have apostles in the Church today? Let’s discuss this...
Apostle / Greek/ Apostolos = messenger
In the formation of the New Testament Church, the apostle held a very unique and “set apart” role as a follower of Jesus Christ.
The most common sense of the word apostle in the New Testament means: Apostle = messenger of Jesus Christ
The qualifications of an apostle:
1. An apostle possesses the authority to receive words that are God’s words.
However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived,” the things God has prepared for those who love him - these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10
This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 1 Corinthians 2:13
2. An apostle possesses the authority to deliver words that are God’s words.
I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
2 Peter 3:2
... since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you but is powerful among you. 2 Corinthians 13:3
3. An apostle is a unique messenger.
Paul confirms this in Philippians: But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. Philippians 2:25
Jesus, too, uses this same Greek word for messenger in John 13:16:
Very truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. John 13:16
In both of these passages, we find the Greek word:
Messenger / Greek/ Apostolos = apostle; messenger; representative
In the formation of the New Testament Church, the apostle was uniquely qualified as an ordained messenger of God.
4. An apostle saw Jesus with his own eyes after His resurrection.
An apostle was an “eyewitness” to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection. Acts 1:21-22
With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all Acts 4:33
5. An apostle was commissioned by Jesus Christ.
Matthew 10:1-7
...until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. Acts 1:2-3
Some might argue an exception to this because Paul, though having not seen Jesus after His resurrection and before His ascension to heaven, was too considered an apostle. But even though it was after the ascension of Jesus into heaven, in a very unusual and supernatural way, Paul does, in fact, meet Jesus:
Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Acts 9:5-6
“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ Acts 26:15-18
On two occasions, Paul sees Jesus! He then writes to the Church in Corinth to say: Am I not free? Am I, not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? 1 Corinthians 9:1
So we see that apostles were uniquely qualified to receive God’s Words, to deliver God’s Words, and most importantly, were set apart as men who saw Jesus after His resurrection and were personally commissioned by the Savior of the world.
Who were the apostles? The original 11 + 1: Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, Bartholomew, Judas, Thaddeus, Simon Zelotes, Matthias (appointed after Judas Iscariot died).
These men were so important to God, look at what Scripture says about them: The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Revelation 21:14
We know of three more apostles:
Paul (We examined this Scripture earlier.)
Barnabus
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting. Acts 14:14
James, the brother of Jesus (Jesus’ brother, James, was not one of the original 12.)
I saw none of the other apostles - only James, the Lord’s brother. Galatians 1:19
Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 1 Corinthians 15:7-9
This would bring the total number of documented apostles in the Bible to 15: The 12, plus Paul, Barnabus, and James.
Now, could there have been more apostles? Absolutely. But we only know of these.
Taking into consideration these qualifications in becoming an apostle, it is clear:
1. There are no apostles in the Church today.
2. We are to expect no new apostles in the Church today.
Another office of church leadership is the office of: Elder
In discussing an elder, I will answer another question we have received: What is the biblical role of a pastor, and what should that role look like in the Church? Let’s look at Scripture, as we always do here at DF, to help us arrive at the biblically correct answer. There are primarily 2 New Testament passages that outline the biblical role of a pastor:
1 Timothy 3:1-7
Titus 1:5-9
In so very many verses throughout the New Testament which speak of the biblical role of a pastor, we learn several truths about church leadership: Pastors are elders.
Elder / Greek/ presbyteros = overseer; pastor; official leader; shepherd; bishop
When reading about an elder in the Bible, there is a consistent pattern of plural elders as the main governing body of the New Testament Church.
Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. Acts 14:23
From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. Acts 20:17
This is actually the process we have in place now at Donelson First. We presently have 2 elders, myself as Senior Pastor and our Executive Pastor, who is also presently our Student Pastor, Stephen Fisher.
As it relates to our Team growth, I implore you to pray, as we believe we are presently in need of at least three additional Pastors, or Elders, for our Team.
Pastor: /Latin/ pastore = Shepherd
Peter writes to the pastors scattered throughout various provinces, his expectation that they will shepherd, watch over, God’s people.
1 Peter 5:1-2
I have to tell you... I’ve thought in tremendous detail and with fond memories this week about my life and all that the Lord has brought my way since coming to Nashville as an 18-year-old young and naïve boy in 1987.
As quickly as I began my collegiate experience at Belmont University, I immersed myself in college life. I was elected President of my classes during my time at Belmont. I traveled the nation during my Sophomore year in a promotional group for the University getting to see the nation for the first time as a young boy. At graduation, I received the Outstanding Belmont University Senior Award. It would only be a year later that our ministry would launch, and I would be privileged to begin a 28-year ministry of preaching the gospel in every state but one and into 5 other countries. Over the course of those 28 years, I shared the stage with artists I had loved for years, such as Michael W. Smith, Chris Tomlin, The Newsboys, Skillet, DC Talk, Mercy Me, and Toby Mac. I was privileged to sit on President George W. Bush’s Strategic Stakeholders Committee in Washington D.C. and was quoted by Rolling Stone Magazine as a “...hold-nothing-back communicator with a voice of truth for this generation.” I wrote a 12-volume DVD-driven bible study curriculum for Lifeway Resources entitled Flood. I had a monthly column in Direction and Forward Magazines and was published 6 times by the largest publisher in America, Random House Publishing. I partnered with Compassion International to place third-world country children with sponsor families, traveling to Haiti and Guatemala with other musical artists to hold evangelistic and humanitarian events. I spoke on more than 3,000 of our nation’s public and private middle, high school, and college campuses. And I partnered with over 300 Pregnancy Resource Centers nationwide to produce events to articulate a pro-life message to people all over America. Looking back on all of this, I feel so richly and fully blessed and even emotionally moved by the life God gave me before coming to Donelson First as your Pastor.
However... nothing, absolutely nothing I have done up until this moment in my ministry career is as deeply important to me and eternally responsible of me as this very place here at Donelson First as your shepherd.
As a Pastor, I do not consider lightly my call, as Peter reminds me in 1 Peter 5, to shepherd God’s flock.
Notice what Peter calls every elder, every Pastor to in 1 Peter 5:2: 1 Peter 5:2
Peter states that I am to watch over you, not because I must, but because I am willing and eager to serve!
I want you to know that every Pastor should serve under such a mantra as this:
As an elder of the Lord, I watch over you as one willing to do so because I am eager to serve you.
Now in full disclosure... there have been times when, based upon the actions of some, I am less eager to serve you than at other times... But I do want you to know as your shepherd, I am eager, as Peter states, to shepherd well the flock of Donelson First. And I do not take such a responsibility lightly.
Let’s look at these 2 passages again as we discuss the biblical role of a Pastor: 1 Timothy 3:1-7 Titus 1:5-9
When examining both the passage in 1 Timothy and the book of Titus, there are several attributes revealed as to the biblical role of a pastor. Let’s examine them!
The biblical role of a pastor is:
1. A noble task.
1 Timothy 3:1
Typically, when one speaks of nobility, they do so with some degree of reference to notoriety, privilege, or position. Biblically speaking... this is not to be the case in reference to the Pastor. Scripture does not define the role of a pastor as a position accompanied by such repute.
Remember, when Paul is writing to Timothy and Titus these words we now read in the New Testament, do not forget that such a time is this when pastors, missionaries, and God’s people are being killed for their “noble task” of advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The word “noble” used in 1 Timothy does not represent “prestige” or “power.” Instead, the Greek word noble is defined as:
Noble / Greek/ kalos = beautiful
Task / Greek/ = work
Paul is reminding Titus, who is now a pastor on the island of Crete in 63AD, and specifically Timothy here in 1 Timothy that, though such times are difficult to be in the ministry and to do the work of a pastor when so many of God’s people are being martyred, this is actually a beautiful thing to do the work of Lord.
Though you are not a Pastor, I so hope that you, too, see the work of the Lord as beautiful. For, as our Donelson First mission articulates...
There is nothing more beautiful than that of partaking in the work of... “Inspiring others to know, grow, and go in Jesus.”
The work I do as pastor here at Donelson First is a work I would call “beautiful...” even when the responsibility is one that is challenging, confrontational, and difficult. I love my work as a Pastor. And I do not take it lightly. And it truly is a beautiful position to witness the power of God, to deeply study His Word, to share with you each week the very teachings of which I have indulged over the past 6 days...
It is such a beautiful process to watch one step from death to life and to find salvation in Jesus Christ, as did young Noah, who I baptized this morning!
The “noble task” of a pastor is a beautiful work - - a work in which I am most profoundly humbled to take part every day.
The biblical role of a pastor is:
2. The highest of expectations.
Listen again to the qualifications detailed in Scripture for a pastor: 1 Timothy 3:2-6
Paul writes to Timothy that a Pastor is to be:
Above reproach – which means not being open to continual blame for his actions. Faithful. Temperate. Self-controlled. Respectable. Hospitable. A Teacher. One who does not get drunk. (I am so proud to be able to say that I have never ever been drunk.) Gentle. Not a fighter. One not in love with money. Wow! That is quite the list.
As you can see, there is a tremendously high expectation for anyone who holds the office of elder, or pastor.
The biblical role of a pastor is:
3. Unremarkable.
As I have read through the qualifications of a Pastor this week in Scripture, I see nowhere where God’s Word highlights that an Elder is to be a rock star. Scripture does not list that a Pastor is to be one elevated in status or popularity. Now, a Pastor may achieve such a position in the eyes of man. But in the eyes of God, there is nothing humanly remarkable detailed in the qualifications as it relates to the role of the Shepherd.
Instead, the Pastor, as Paul reminded Titus, is one who... ...loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. Titus 1:8-9
Dare I say that one today who is seen as upright and holy and of sound doctrine, and one who refutes those who oppose such doctrine is, in fact, viewed as the opposite of remarkable and quite possibly will never be elevated to a status of worldly notoriety.
This is why the next role I want to discuss of a Pastor is such a very important, though equally difficult, role for our culture to accept today.
The biblical role of a pastor is:
4. A calling for a man.
Why does God not fully explain what happened to the dinosaurs? Why do we not know for sure where heaven is? Why does God not give us a clear sequence of events that will unfold at the end of times? Why does it appear that some people get away with gravely sinful acts while others, seemingly innocent, have to deal with the loss of a broken marriage, failed business, or the death of a young child? Why does God say that a woman cannot be a Pastor?
There are unanswered questions for which we desire answers in the Bible. There too, are answers to questions in the Bible, but some do not fully understand nor agree. And then there are answers in the Bible to questions of which we desire much greater and much more defined and detailed reasoning.
I cannot say that I like what God’s Word says about Pastors only being men in the Bible. Because such a doctrine is often difficult for many outside the Church, and even for many in the Church, to reason.
God’s ways are always right. God’s ways are not always admired nor embraced.
In every passage we read detailing the qualifications of a Pastor in Scripture, we read that such qualifications are only for a man.
Another question with which I have been presented from you stems from the vote taken to remove several churches from the Southern Baptist Convention. This vote was taken last week at the annual SBC meeting, which this year was held in New Orleans.
The SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) just voted to remove 2 churches from the SBC over women pastors. What does Donelson First believe about this decision, and is it biblical?
There is perhaps no greater debate among many in the global Church right now than that of a woman serving as a Pastor, particularly in the wake of the recent vote at the 2023 Southern Baptist Convention, which did, in fact, expel two churches for having female Pastors serve their churches in California and Kentucky.
Now... on a personal note, my wife, Dr. Amy Smith, is better than I am at mostly everything!
She is an amazing orator with a brilliant legal mind. She is much smarter. She is highly educated. She graduated at the top of her class twice as a part of two graduating classes at Belmont University in the Spring of 1991 and the Winter of 1991. She has received a Doctor of Jurisprudence. She has achieved the position of partner at one of Nashville’s elite law firms. She holds a lifetime membership on Nashville’s Inn of Courts, which is an elite group by invitation only of judges, attorneys, and professors of law who meet periodically to discuss issues of interest to the legal community.
Amy has also served as General Counsel and then as the Corporate Trustee for a rather large non-profit, managing over 35 million in cash. While achieving each of these significant accomplishments, she too held the position of professor at our alma mater, Belmont University, in the School of Music Business. After only 4 years as a professor, she was elected to hold the prestigious position of Chair of the Mike Curb School of Music Business, which is the largest School, some three times larger than any of the other Schools on the Belmont campus.
Each spring, Amy regularly teaches a class in LA and New York City, and next spring, she will be teaching a class in London for three weeks... yes, I will be taking that trip with her! All of this to say... My wife, like many women, is more than capable of serving in a high position of leadership.
This is why this biblical mandate allowing only men to serve as pastors is not one merited only by ability, talent, or skill sets.
Thus, as some wrestle with this biblical directive, it is understandable how one can allow emotion and human reasoning to dictate a response to a command of God that some see as archaic and bias.
As a matter of fact, an extremely popular and rich Pastor who is a best-selling author, having sold over 120 million books, said this about Baptists in a post this week in response to the SBC vote: “There are people who want to take the SBC back to the 1950s when white men ruled supreme and when the woman’s place was in the home.” A popular author and Pastor
How very disappointing and divisive and, sadly, unbiblical. Church, this is a very clear and dangerous and telling example of what I have shared before as to the direction of the mainstream popular movement in the Church today to mislead humanity into believing that God’s Word is out-of-date and not relevant for this generation! I have shared this verse before with you:
For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 2 Timothy 4:3
Again, this is why... As the Church, we cannot, and we will not allow emotion, culture, popularity, or any global mantra to sway nor define the way in which we, as the Church, both interpret and apply God’s Word. We have to get this right because we are held responsible for the way in which we manage the Church, protect her integrity, and safeguard the holiness of God’s Word.
As Christians, we should be very proud to be a part of a Church where the holiness of God’s Word is at the forefront of who we are and what we profess.
So to answer this question as to what we believe about the SBC ruling, let’s again let Scripture lead our decision-making: One needs to look no further than the structure of 1 Timothy 2:12-14 to clearly understand the reasoning by which God states that a Pastor is to be a man: 1 Timothy 2:12-14
The word I bring to your attention is the word with which verse 13 begins. It is the word: “For.”
For what? Well, look at the previous sentence in verse 12: I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man.
Why? ... For.
For / Greek/ gar = because of
A woman is not permitted to teach or to assume authority over a man for, because of, the reason that man was created before woman.
At Creation, God made man first. God created Adam, and then He created Eve.
This order was not one of happenstance nor coincidence. The ordained order of Creation has divine impact and application upon the family and too upon the leadership of the Church. Ephesians 5:22–33
Consider specifically: Ephesians 5:32
Paul writes that He is speaking of Christ and also of the “Church.” Man is first at Creation, and too, as Paul states, in the Church. God ordained the Church as such, not because men are better, or women are inferior. This is simply as God designed the function of the Church.
The last role I want to mention today of the Pastor is one that is timely and important for our Church, and all churches.
The biblical role of a pastor is:
5. Management
I want to take you one last time to 1 Timothy. Look at verse 5:
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 1 Timothy 5:17
Direct /Greek/ proistemi = lead; manage; care for
Paul is exhorting the Pastor, who preaches and teaches, to also be the Pastor who leads, manages, and cares for the “affairs” of the Church.
Earlier in the same epistle, we read where Paul stated: He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 1 Timothy 3:4
The word “manage” here in Greek is, proistemi, the same word we see used in 1 Timothy 5:17 which speaks to “directing the affairs of the church.” Paul is reminding Timothy that, if one cannot well manage his home, how can he, as a Pastor, well manage the Church?
Peter, too speaks to this very idea of a Pastor, (we looked at this passage earlier) managing the affairs of the Church when he writes: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 1 Peter 5:2-4
Shepherd / Greek/ poimaino To rule over
Now, is it true that throughout the history of the Church, some leaders have abused this responsibility and in the wake of their decision, have left many people in hurt? Of course, this has happened. And this is why accountability and prayer for God’s protection and wisdom is so very vitally important to the health and stamina and responsibilities of the Pastor.
Where we as the Church have to be careful is in crafting law and order based upon concern or fear over a potential misstep by a Pastor, because other Pastors have misstepped.
We cannot hinder a Pastor from assuming such biblical responsibilities as Scripture has clearly outlined out of fear of repeating the ill deeds of previous Pastors.
God has called Pastors to lead. Let’s be the Church that prayerfully embraces these roles.
And lastly, personally, I ask that you be a Church who diligently and willfully prays for Stephen and myself as Elders of Donelson First. I implore you to keep us ever before the Father as we strive to bring Him glory and honor in this ever-important position as the Shepherds of Donelson First.
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Jeffrey Dean Smith is a husband, father to Bailey & Brynnan, author, and the Senior Pastor at Donelson First in Nashville, TN. If you are in Music City, meet Jeffrey and enjoy iced tea on the front lawn each Sunday at 10:30a.